2026 EROAD ARC Adelaide Hills Rally

The 2026 EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) Round 5 was the Adelaide Hills Rally run on the weekend starting on the Friday night of 2nd October through to the Sunday of 4th October. The round was also the 3rd and final round of the South Australian Rally Championship, Ultimate Motorsport Events Adelaide Hills Rally and it would be double points on offer for that, as was the case with Round 1, the Rally of the Heartland held back in April. The 2026 Adelaide Hills Rally had some news stage, Hillsview, and the return of a previous stage not run for a few years, Retreat Valley. Rather than the usual wildlife of kangaroos that rally drivers might come across, this stage had some rather unusual animals to deal with on the stage….peacocks!

Lewis Bates/Anthony McLoughlin arrive in South Australia as the new championship leaders after winning in Tasmania, while Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall are only 12 points behind after finishing 2nd in Tassie. Last year’s champions Harry Bates/Coral Taylor dropped to third in the championship after retiring their Toyota GR Yaris in Tasmania, and going into the SA round 58 points behind Pedder/Macneall and all to play for. Therefore the event looked like a fight between Lewis Bates (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) and Scott Pedder (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) with Harry Bates and the Long brothers (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) ready to spoil the party. There would be a mix of Subaru WRXs and Mitsubishi EVO Lancers for their fans to follow. Darren Crozier had made the switch from a Subaru WRX to a Ford Fiesta G4. In SARC, the title was on between Guy Tyler/Scott Fisher (bright yellow Mitsubishi Magna “taxi”) and Bradley Clements/Naomi Povey (bright orange Subaru WRX)

Heat 1 would have 12 stages, starting with 2 stages at the Mid Murray Motorplex near Cambrai before the remainder of the stages would be held south of the South Eastern Freeway, culminating in the SS12 Kuitpo2 Power Stage. Longest stage of the day were the 2 Clarendon stages at 8.76km.

Heat 2 had stages north of the South Eastern Freeway including the return of the Retreat Valley stage, and regulars Kenton Valley (in reverse), Charliegate (western end), Red Creek (first time run in 2025) and Callington (without the freeway tunnel). The longest stage of the day and of the event was Charliegate West 13.96km and then Red Creek stages at 11.4km.

When selecting a photo to view, click on the thumbnail, then click on the small photo that first appears, to then view the larger image.

Note these photos are just a small collection of photos available, with multiple photos of all cars on each stage covered.

HEAT 1 – Friday & Saturday

The weekend had been forecast with cool and overcast weather, but as is often the case of late the weather bureau got it wrong and drizzle eventuated for a lot of Heat 1. Lewis Bates would set the tone on stage 1 at MMM complex in the low setting sun, with Pedder taking stage 2 in the dark, with light drizzly rain. Lewis would take the maximum points for Heat 1, winning 6 of the 12 stages with 4 fastest times in the last 5 stages of Saturday. Scott Pedder had 4 fastest stage times and Harry Bates 3. Lewis and Harry had dead-heated for fastest stage time on SS5 Bugle Ranges 1 with its iconic railway crossings. The masters of consistency were Jackson Long and Damien Long recording 4th fastest stage times on 11 of the 12 stages! The first retirement of the day would be Tony Sullens/Julia Barkley-Rabbatt (Peugeot 208 AP4) in stage 5 sustaining some damage in an accident. Clayton Hoy/Brad Jones (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI) were next to fall by the wayside with mechanical issues on SS9 Clarendon 1. Stage 9 would put a big spanner in the works for the SARC title chase for Bradley Clements as their Subaru left the road and went into a slow roll landing on the roof. The car would need a windscreen replaced, and some tape and would be able to start Heat 2 the next day. They continued Heat 1 under Super Rules. Brett and Bec Baldwin would retire their Subaru WRX on the penultimate stage of the day, SS11 Clarendon 2.

ARC results

1. Lewis Bates – Anthony McLoughlin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia)

2. Scott Pedder – Glenn Macneall (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)

3. Harry Bates – Coral Taylor (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia)

4. Jackson Long – Damien Long (Škoda Fabia R5)

5. Josh Redhead – Ray Winwood-Smith (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)

6. Darren Crozier – Michelle Crozier (Ford Fiesta G4)

SARC results

1. Guy Tyler – Steven Fisher (Mitsubishi Magna)

2. Rob Hunt – Jeremy Browne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)

3. Michael Mohr – Casey Mohr (Subaru Impreza WRX STi)

4. Jason McCormack – Sarah McCormack (Ford Falcon XR6)

5. Kyle Johnson – Connor Cooper (Datsun 1600)

6. Glenn Campbell – B Campbell-Heffernan (Volkswagen Polo)

SS1 MMM Special Stage – Friday night

SS 3 Signal Flat 1

Strathalbyn Service Park

SS8 Bugle Ranges 2

SS10 Kuitpo 1

SS11 Clarendon 1

HEAT 2 – SUNDAY

Drier conditions greeted the teams and the spectators, albeit overcast for the entire day. This would be the day where Harry Bates would need to have the bit between the teeth and mount a serious challenge. The first stage of the day with an errant peacock on the stage didn’t seem to pose any problems. Brett and Bec Baldwin wouldn’t start the day. Scott Pedder would have an accident but was able to continue the rally under Super Rules in last place. He would eventually claim 14th fastest stage time on Retreat Valley 2, at 1min 26secs behind Harry Bates, the fastest on the stage. His car would still have problems on the next stage with only a lowly 17th fastest stage time as the car limped through the stage. Service after SS18 Charliegate West couldn’t come sooner after being 1min 54secs slower than that fastest time set by Harry Bates! After service Pedder’s Mitsubishi was back on song and he would record 2nd fastest stage time on the first run through Red Creek. At the tail end of the runners Kyle Johnson/Connor Cooper’s Datsun 1600 would hit a tree, pushing the co-driver’s corner in and dislodging the windscreen. Emergency services were quick on the scene and able to extricate the trapped co-driver. Due to the delays, the second run through Red Creek would be scrapped, leaving only the Power Stage of Callington Back 2 remaining. Harry Bates/Coral Taylor would be dominant winners of Heat 2, taking 7 of the 9 stage wins. One stage win a piece went to Lewis Bates (taking the overall Rally win) and Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall once the car was back to normal. The ARC heads to the Gippsland Rally in Victoria next. ARC standings after Adelaide Hills Rally sees Lewis Bates/Anthony McLoughlin on 465 points (1st overall), Scott Pedder/Glenn Macneall on 424 points (2nd overall, 41 points behind the lead) and Harry Bates/Coral Taylor: approximately 385+ points (sitting roughly 80 points behind Lewis after closing the gap with a Heat 2 win).

SARC’s Guy Tyler/Steven Fisher finished Heat 2 ahead of Bradley Clements/Naomi Povey despite Clements having four 5th fastest stage times against Tyler’s mainly 6th fastest stage times, the damage being done on SS16 Retreat Valley 2 when Tyler would be 7secs faster. The final margin between Tyler in 5th outright over Clements 6th would be a paltry 4.5secs! An with that result Guy Tyler would take the 2026 South Australian Rally Championship.

ARC results

1. Harry Bates – Coral Taylor (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia)

2. Bates Lewis – McLoughlin Anthony (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia)

3. Jackson Long – Damien Long (Škoda Fabia R5)
4. Josh Redhead – Ray Winwood-Smith (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V)

5. Guy Tyler – Steven Fisher (Mitsubishi Magna)

6. Bradley Clements – Naomi Povey (Subaru Impreza WRX)

SARC results

1. Tyler Guy – Fisher Steven (Mitsubishi Magna)

2. Clements Bradley – Povey Naomi (Subaru Impreza WRX)

3. Mohr Michael – Mohr Casey (Subaru Impreza WRX STi)

4. Rob Hunt – Jeremy Browne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)

5. Jason McCormack – Sarah McCormack (Ford Falcon XR6)