SERIES leaders Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Gelsomino have their work cut out for them if they are to build on their advantage at the Australian Rally Championship in South Australia this weekend.
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The Wedderburn siblings finished second in their Mazda2 behind arch rival Scott Pedder in heat one of the Scouts Rally SA on Friday.
Reeves was 12.5 seconds behind the Renault Clio after three stages of the race.
Pedder also took out the morning Power Stage over Reeves in muddy conditions around Mount Crawford, in the Adelaide Hills.
While Reeves went into the rally holding a 16-point buffer at the top of the championship table after winning two of the opening three rounds, Pedder has narrowed the gap.
Scouts Rally SA is traditionally the coldest and wettest round of the series and organisers have already cancelled some stages due to water over the road.
Reeves said conditions were difficult on Friday.
“It was so slippery, much more slippery than qualifying,” he said after the Power Stage.
“I was finding the rear was locking up, so I went all the way to the front with the bias and the rears were still locking up. I just knew I didn’t want to spin in these conditions.
“It’s given us a taste of what is to come for the weekend, it’s going to be very tricky.”
But the pair know the area well and were confident they would perform well.
“Rhi and I have done this rally more than any other as we perfected our pacenoting on the South Australian roads early in our careers.
“But we need to ensure we score points over the whole weekend.”
There are 40 championship points on offer for the winner Saturday and another 20 points on Sunday.