Marshall Clarke and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari moved to third overall in the WRC2 championship after a podium finish on Rally Australia. The Qatari driver and his Fermanagh navigator returned to the series after missing the three previous rounds of the championship, but were quickly back into their stride over the dusty roads of New South Wales, taking third place in their Ford Fiesta.

Going into the event the pair were down in sixth place in WRC2 and championship points were a priority, and they started well. After the opening loop of four stages they held third spot, just ten seconds adrift of second place driver Yuri Protasov. With dust lingering in the air a lack of visibility was making it difficult for all the drivers, but Al-Kuwari held on to third on the second loop of the opening day’s stages to go into the first overnight halt with an advantage of over a minute on fourth place.

The four stages on day two included two runnings of the mammoth 50 kilometre Nambucca stage, but with a significant gap in front and behind them Al-Kuwaria and Clarke were intent on nursing their car home safely and grabbing 25 much needed championship points.

With their nearest challenger for third spot retiring on the second run over the long stage, the pair finished day two with a comfortable cushion. With no threat coming from the following cars, the final day was all about preservation, and they maintained their position over the final five stages of the final day to secure third overall in WRC2.

The podium lifted the pair from sixth to third in the standings, and they will be hoping to make further progress when they return for Rally Catalunya at the end of October.