Bourne and Bates share opening honours

NEAL Bates and Possum Bourne split the wins in the two opening heats of the Australia Rally Championship in Western Australia on Saturday and Sunday.

The two superstars of Australian rallying also scored a second place each in the "Respect Yourself" Forest Rally, to be tied on 36 drivers' championship points after the first two of 10 ARC Super Series heats.

Bates drove his Toyota Corolla to a 40-second win on Saturday over Bourne after the New Zealander's new Subaru Impreza World Rally Car broke a front strut on the sixth of 10 stages.

"I'm expecting this championship to come down to speed and reliability, today proved to be a bit of both, but I think reliability is our strong point and we proved that today," said Bates.

A problem-free Bourne powered his way to a dominant victory in the second heat, eventually beating Bates home by one minute and 35 seconds.

"We came here with a new car and very little testing under our belt," said Bourne, the five times national champion.

"So to demonstrate from the start just how competitive the new Impreza WRC2000 will be, augurs well for the rest of the season." In Group N, Bourne's teammate Cody Crocker also shared the class wins and third outright, this time with Mitsubishi's Ed Ordynski.

A flat tyre cost Impreza WRX driver Crocker his chances of victory on Saturday but he lead all the way on Sunday to record a hard-fought 11-second win over Ordynski.

Local star Dean Herridge was fifth outright on both days and third in the Group N class.

The next event is the Subaru Rally of Canberra from May 4 to 6. The next round of the Super Series takes place in Queensland on June 16-17.

Drivers' Championship:Neal Bates (Toyota Corolla) 36 Possum Bourne (Subura Impreza WRC2000) 36