Luke Anear and co-driver Malcolm Read will return to the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship for the first time in 2024 and the pair will be sporting a very different look.
Having competed in the ARC for a number of years in their familiar AGI Sport backed M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5, at this week’s Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland the duo will instead switch to a Championship winning Toyota.
Jumping aboard Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin’s 2022 Championship winning machine, Anear and Read will make their debut in AP4 machinery – their first taste of the iconic Toyota GR Yaris AP4.
And it was a sales pitch from Lewis Bates after his international WRC debut in Portugal that gave Anear the inspiration to return to the ARC and to do so in some new machinery.
“After last year, I decided to take this year off due to my work commitments and having less time for racing. So I sold all of my cars, including my much loved AMG GT R tarmac car and my M-Sport Fiesta,” Anear said.
“I haven’t raced since last year and after watching Lewis race in Portugal, he made mention his car was available, so I thought it was too good to refuse.”
And asked if there was potential for more ARC action this year, Anear was coy about his plans.
“I don’t have any plans for more events at the moment…but you never know,” he added.
“The level of competition in the championship is so high now that unless you are focused on racing all of the time, it’s hard to stay competitive.
“I’ll give it my best this weekend and see how the Toyota feels. Having an extra gear and only three cylinders will be interesting but the team at Neal Bates Motorsport will prepare the car well so it’s a good challenge.”
Anear and Read will return to the ARC at the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland in Gympie this weekend, 28-30 June.
Spectator information can be found here, while the full entry list can be seen here.
