Kristensson confirmation completes Pedders Rally Team line for Gippsland and ARC Festival 

Pedders Rally Team Protected By Famous Insurance has completed its line-up for the upcoming Australian Rally Championship Festival, with Swedish star Tom Kristensson confirmed to return to the country.

The Swede confirmed his place in the highly anticipated exhibition event earlier this week, announcing he will be running the Skoda Fabia Rally2 driven by Scott Pedder in the EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) throughout the weekend.

Run by Maximum Motorsport, Kristensson’s confirmation now completes the full three-car Skoda Fabia Rally2 line-up for the bp Adelaide Grand Final event, which will be made up of the recently announced Lia Block, rising star Jackson Long, Scott Pedder and now Kristensson.

Both Block and Long will run all four days at the bp Adelaide Grand Final on board their own Skoda Fabias, while Pedder will run behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia Rally2 he campaigned this year on the Thursday of the event before handing the car over to Kristensson, who will compete in the remaining three days.

In addition to featuring in the Australian Rally Championship Festival, Kristensson has also confirmed he will contest the Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally in a Skoda Fabia R5, making it his longest stay in the country since he debuted in 2025.

The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally will be Kristensson’s third official rally in the ARC after the Swede and co-driver Andreas Johansson enjoyed an outright podium on debut at the Forest Rally in 2025 before returning to Western Australia again this year, where he enjoyed multiple stage wins.

A highly acclaimed rally driver across Europe, Kristensson has competed at the top level in the continent for a number of years, with his biggest highlight securing the Junior World Rally Championship in 2020.

The 2022 Polish Rally Champion has long been a contender in his native Sweden and returns to Australia off the back of a successful 2025 campaign, where he enjoyed a perfect record of event wins on home soil.

The two-week deal came about through the joint efforts of Pedders Rally Team, Maximum Motorsport and Kristensson himself, who will be making his maiden appearance in an ARC endurance round.

The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally takes place in and around Heyfield and Sale on 20-22 November, while the Australian Rally Championship Festival features in the bp Adelaide Grand Final on 26-29 November.

“Two outings in Australia this November are now confirmed, and we can’t wait to get back behind the wheel on the other side of the world,” Kristensson said.

“First up is Gippsland Rally on 20–22 November, the final round of the Australian Rally Championship. We’ll be driving our familiar Skoda Fabia R5, which we have previously competed in at Forest Rally.

“Then we’re heading to Adelaide for a demonstration at the 2026 bp Adelaide Grand Final on 26–29 November – the Supercars season finale! We’ll be switching to Scott Pedder’s Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and putting on a rally show at an event attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators!

“Two action-packed weekends of competition and demonstrations. We’re really looking forward to getting back to Australia!”

“I am pleased we have been able to finalise the Pedders Rally Team Protected By Famous Insurance line-up for the final two events of the year to have someone familiar like Tom,” Pedder said.

“We are super excited to have Tom feature with the Pedders Rally Team Protected By Famous Insurance both at The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally and the Australian Rally Championship Festival.

“He has already competed twice with the team since debuting at the Forest Rally last year, and he brings plenty of experience to the fold, so I am confident he will be able to deliver strong performances across both events.

“While I am unable to attend the full Australian Rally Championship Festival, I have no doubt he, along with Andreas, will do a fantastic job in the exhibition event in the Rally2 car and represent the brand in front of thousands of people.”

“We’re really excited about the final few weeks of the season, with Gippsland our immediate focus. Scott is still very much in the Championship mix, while Jackson is motivated to finish his ARC season on a high after a challenging Rally SA,” Herridge said.

“It’s also fantastic to welcome Tom and Andreas back to Australia, and for the first time have them competing with us on the east coast. They’ve shown plenty of pace in their previous outings, so we’re really looking forward to seeing what they can do in the Victorian round.

Then to head to Adelaide for the Adelaide  with such a strong line up is a fantastic way to finish the year. Having Tom take over Scott’s car, Jackson getting another opportunity to showcase his talent, and Lia joining us for the event makes it a pretty exciting couple of weeks for the whole team.”