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Every WRC driver wants to do well on home soil, but Subaru World Rally Team's Chris Atkinson is especially keen to score a top finish on Rally Australia on 26-29 October.


The national event for Atkinson and his co-driver Glenn Macneall is unlikely to feature on the WRC calendar next season - it is due to take a year's sabbatical as the rally's base moves from Western Australia to Queensland. So before the break, world rallying's wizard of Oz wants to give his homegrown supporters something to cheer about.

The omens are good: the man from New South Wales has only tackled the event twice, but both times he's finished in the top five. In 2004 he was a giant-killing fifth overall in a Group N Subaru WRX Sti, while his performance at the wheel of an Impreza WRC2005 on last year's event cemented his reputation.

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He stormed into the lead before a bent steering arm cost him the chance of victory. Even with the problem he finished fourth, and his pace gives him cause for optimism ahead of this year's event.

"It'd be nice to get a good result," says the 26-year-old. "Going into Australia last year, we knew that we could set fast times, but I was a little bit surprised how much of a lead we got early on. Obviously it would be nice to do that again. We've still got a bit of time before we get there and, if we can make some steps forward in the next few tests, then it gives us more of a chance."

Don't think for one moment that Atkinson's stunning performance on home soil last year was simply down to local knowledge, because it was the first time he'd tackled those tricky gravel stages in a World Rally Car.

"Actually I probably know the stages the least out of any of the leading drivers," he admits. "You have to remember that Perth is about 4000 kilometres from where I live [on the east coast of Australia] so it's like saying that Cyprus is the home rally for someone who lives in Wales! I still think the home turf advantage gives you a little bit extra, though."

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Since joining Subaru, Atkinson only spends about two months of the year in his country of origin; the rest of the time he's travelling to events or tests, or at his home-from-home in Oxfordshire. One advantage of being based on this side of the globe is that he can play a hands-on role in the development of the Impreza WRC2006.

"I spend a fair bit of time at the team headquarters trying to help them push things forward. If anyone's got any questions about what's been going on, it's good to give that feedback to the team and be part of the development process," he says.

It's that development which will put him in a position to again be a local hero when SWRT makes the trek to Perth this week.