It was a good day for the Mitsubishis, as Lancer Evos finished in all three positions on the podium.

Driver Bryan van Eck and navigator Jim Gleeson took out the event in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, finishing no worse than fifth in any of the stages to take victory in a total time of 1:19:51.

This was a special victory for the team, who were not participants in the 2016 Rally of the Bay, instead running as a course car for the event.

It also marks the team’s first round win at a state level, an achievement they have been working towards since 2009.

The winners were in the thick of it all day, although they did rely on a little bit of luck to top the podium.

Richard Shimmon and Brett Kerr were leading the race halfway through the day, holding a five-second lead over the eventual winners after stage three.

However, it wasn’t to be for Shimmon and Kerr, as a gearbox failure would end their race during stage five.

Brothers Tom and Nick Ryan will also be ruing their missed chance, as a poor third stage led to them being 52 seconds off the pace in second position with a time of 1:20:43.

Driver Tom has had a strong start to his rally career, as he was the Australian Junior Champion in 2013, as well as being the youngest man to ever obtain a podium finish in the Australian Rally Championship.

Justin Hatton and Steve Fisher rounded out the podium in third with a time of 1:21:55.

Course clerk Ian Bigg was pleased with how the day ran, and is already gearing up for the 2018 race.

“On the Saturday Afternoon you can’t think of yourself organizing this again,” said Ian. “But when you’re tidying up the tracks on the Sunday, you find yourself looking at other roads thinking ‘I could use that next year.’”

“We are planning on using both Ross Ridge and Runnyford Roads for 2018.”

Although it is hard to keep track of exact numbers, Ian told us that over 200 people attended the spectator points during the day, and that didn’t include the amount of people at the evening session.

The teams partook in the ceremonial start on Orient Street before the action began, however, it wasn’t long before the natural carnage of rally car racing took over.

Of the 36 teams that started the race, only 24 managed to complete all six stages.

They couldn’t blame the weather though, as Batemans Bay put on a perfect day for rally racing.

Ian said there was enough breeze during the day to keep the dust down, allowing the cars to run at two-minute intervals.

This did change in the evening, meaning the cars started at three minute intervals, but this did not have a major effect on the running of the day.

South Coast competitors David May and Todd Almond finished 18^th.