August 11, 2025
Gippsland entry list announced as ARC title fight heats up
The entry list for this month’s The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally has been released with a strong EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) field of 21 crews entered in the fourth round of the 2025 season.
Leading the way are reigning champions Harry Bates and Coral Taylor in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia GR Yaris alongside current championship leaders and Hyundai stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, while fellow title contenders Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin round out the top three seeded crews.
With the second half of the season kicking off in regional Victoria, The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally, which is the first Endurance round of the year, is likely to play a pivotal role in the overall title fight.
Crews likely to have a say in that battle between the top three seeded crews include the likes of Alex Rullo and Steve Glenney in the sole IntelliSpatial Fleetcare Racing Hyundai i20N Rally 2 for the round, and Ezi Up Tyre Repair Kit’s Troy Dowel, who welcomes back Bernie Webb to his Toyota GR Yaris AP4.
WOLF Production Cup leaders Clayton Hoy and Erin Kelly in the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 and fellow class title rivals Bodie Reading and Brad Jones in the Les Walkden Rallying Subaru Impreza headline the popular class.
Joining the two title contenders in the WOLF Production are a number of season 2025 regulars cross-entered in other Cups, which include ARC Junior Cup leader Jackson Long and co-driver Damien Long, 2WD Cup leaders Tony Sullens and Kaylie Newell, and 4WD Cup leaders Shane and Sylvie Garner.
The Cup also has a host of crews making their first appearances for the year, including Kevin Millard and Patrick Hughes of Portland Conveyor Services and DT Electrical’s Danny Traverso and Anthony Carr – both of whom are behind the wheel of Mitsubishis – and Michael Nicholls and Callan Randall in the Subaru Impreza.
While the majority of the crews in the WOLF Production Cup will be repping Mitsubishis and Subarus, the Citroën of Sullens and Newell, as well as the Toyota Corolla Sportivo of Jimmy and Mark Leoncini add some diversity to the class.
Following their runner-up finish at Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, Tony Oates and Anthony Staltari lead the charge for the 2WD Classic Cup, while Molly Spalding and Matt Dillon will be looking to recreate their 4WD Classic Cup podium last month.
“We’re super excited to be able to welcome the EROAD Australian Rally Championship to Victoria for this year’s The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally,” Roseman said.
“The ARC has had an awesome year so far and although there are few notable names missing from the entry list, there are some really strong crews entered in this event.
“Having a strong field in the WOLF Production Cup is massive and it’s certainly going to make for entertaining viewing - especially when it comes to some of the night stages on Saturday evening.”
The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally takes place in and around the forests of Heyfield on 24-26 August.