Former North West Coast resident David Catchpole teamed with partner Heather Clarke in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4, have won the 2006 Rallye Burnie by 10 seconds from Jim Richards in his 944 Porsche Turbo in very wet and slippery conditions around the infamous Hellyer Gorge stages. The challenging conditions caught out a number of drivers including Jason White.

Catchpole drove consistently fast all day and on the last stage snapped the lead from Richards by taking 25 seconds from him on the 15.62 Kilometre Hellyer Reverse Stage.

Catchpole was unaware he had won, until he got back to Burnie and awaiting him was former Karting mate Jason White with a champagne spray. White unfortunately had a crash on Saturday in the Lamborghini Gallardo and had to withdraw from the event.

The third place on the podium was a tight tussle with V8 Super Car Driver Tony Longhurst and David Scott in a Subaru WRX STI managing to hold onto the position by 2 seconds from Simon Bartler and Ian Wheeler in another Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

It appeared that third place was in the grasp of Jason Appleton and Ben Wooster in their Nissan Skyline but unfortunately they had an off road excursion on the last stage.

The preparation of the Rallye Burnie winning Evo 4 was meticulous and to further enhance performance and reliability, incorporates the full Martini Competition Fluids Program, Motorsport 102 Race Fuel, Sint 40R/T Engine Oil & Sint 75/90 Gear Oil.

Said Catchpole, “I am thrilled that the new combination of driver and navigator worked effectively right from the start of the event. Heather did an awesome job calling the notes. Quite an accomplishment for a first time co-driver who has not had any form of motorsport experience prior to this.

For me it was great to be able to compete at the top level in this premier event where conditions equalled the playing field. I was thrilled to have beaten all of the later model 4wd vehicles with a funding program much less than our competitors. A reflection on our times throughout the event will show that we were consistently on the pace and the effort and concentration that we applied on Sunday paid off.

Many thanks to Martini Racing Products and the rest of our sponsors for assisting us in winning the 2006 Rallye of Burnie, David Catchpole, Catchpole-Clarke Motorsport