Four-time Australian rally champion Neal Bates set the fastest overall time at the Adelaide Rally racing his Celica GT-Four ST205 for the first time in 22 years last weekend.
Bates and co-driver Coral Taylor finished ahead of 300 competitors in the modern classic category and claimed 24 of 31 stages over the three days to win by 46 seconds.
It was the first time Bates and Taylor had competed in the turbocharged Celica since winning the national rally championship and Targa Tasmania in 1995, and their first appearance in the Adelaide event.
Bates and Taylor scored a hat-trick of Australian rally championships in the Celica from 1993-95, and won another title in 2008 in a Corolla S2000.
Bates sold the Celica GT-Four in 1997, but has since re-repurchased and rebuilt it and said he was delighted with its handling and braking during the competitive stages.
"I really enjoyed being back driving the car, with Coral, it was a great way to end the year and amazing to win the modern category and to be the fastest car overall," Bates said.
