Double podium for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia at ARC Gippsland Rally

Comprising of 18 stages across two days, Gippsland Rally follows an endurance race format. On Saturday, defending ARC champions Harry Bates and Coral Taylor were consistently hunting for car performance and optimum setup, but changes made overnight lead to a more consistent day on Sunday’s stages, which included three stage wins and securing a second-place finish behind eventual winners Hayden Paddon and John Kennard.

Meanwhile, Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin raced consistently all weekend to finish third overall, only 34.5 seconds behind Harry and Coral, which included a win on Saturday night’s final stage.

Saturday included the first instance of night stages in the ARC since 2017, with Harry and Lewis finishing second and third respectively in eight of the ten stages. Lewis’ stage 10 win was completed after dark and set the team up for a steady Sunday.

Sunday proved to be tightly-fought battle between Harry and Hayden Paddon, who traded stage wins throughout the day. Harry came out on top in stage 12, 14 and 16, slightly reducing the gap from Saturday and securing his second-place finish.

The TGRA team was joined by three technicians from Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, working across both vehicles with Neal Bates Motorsport to gain further knowledge and experience which can feed back into TOYOTA GAZOO Racing motorsport and production cars.

The penultimate round of the 2025 ARC season heads to the South Australian hinterland for the Adelaide Hills Rally in early October, which has been a dominant location for Lewis and Anthony who have taken out the previous three editions of the race.

Gippsland Rally results

Overall

2nd: Harry Bates
3rd: Lewis Bates

Championship standings

1st: Hayden Paddon & John Kennard, 366
2nd: Lewis Bates & Anthony McLoughlin, 295
3rd: Harry Bates & Coral Taylor, 278
4th: Alex Rullo & Steve Glenney, 197
5th: Jackson Long & Damian Long, 126