Rally star Orders gets the staggers

– Marc McGowan
BERWICK rally star Will Orders had a weekend to forget as the 2007 Australian Rally Championship kicked off in Queensland.
Orders and co-driver Toni Feaver, who are in their third year as a tandem, staggered into eighth position in their Subaru Impreza STI in race one on Saturday before failing to finish in race two on Sunday, with both days plagued by mechanical problems.
“With the car being new it didn’t help and we hadn’t done a lot of testing, so we weren’t sure what the weekend would bring,” Orders said.
“Eighth was shocking. If you take the 22 minutes off that we lost, we would have been on the podium, but it’s just what ifs. We’ll be hoping to improve on that.”
Despite the mediocre start, the duo has high expectations and will be looking to score several podium finishes and take out the privateers’ championship.
“We’ve found a bit of speed in the car and when the car is running good we are second and third fastest, so we’re happy with its speed,” he said. “It was an electrical problem on the weekend and it’s just one-off things that restrict us. I’ve got a couple of guys who look after the car (between rounds), so there are no dramas.”
Round two of the series moves to Western Australia and drivers will return to the road in a month’s time.