Rhianon Smyth and Brendan Reeves
Brother-sister rally driving team Rhianon Smyth and Brendan Reeves took to the bitumen in the Targa High Country Rally at Mt Buller on the weekend.
Growing up in Wedderburn, an hour North-West of Bendigo the pair honed their skills on regional Victoria’s gravel roads.
“Having grown up in Victoria we started rallying here and it is great to see Targa High Country in the state. It is the longest tarmac rally of its kind,” Rhianon said.
“It’s great for regional Victoria. Targa has 300 entrants, that’s 600 drivers and co-drivers. It supports the region’s local businesses and puts the state out there. It really showcases our roads.”
Targa High Country is the first Targa event to be held on the mainland and is an off-shoot of Targa Tasmania which has been running for almost 20 years. The two-day race weaved through Mansfield, Mount Buller, Murrindindi and Wangaratta.
“It’s fantastic to have Targa in Victoria, when we usually compete in this event we have to get on a boat and now we only have to travel three hours from home,” Rhianon said.
Rhianon and Brendan, who won the Rally New Caledonia and the Pirelli Star Driver Shootout in Spain this year, couldn’t do any of it without the support of the Wedderburn community.
“In a small country town everyone is friends and the community and newspapers get behind you, there is great support and people really want to help out,” Rhiannon said.
Rhianon moved back to Wedderburn from Ballarat after the pair had a serious crash in Rally South Australia last year and has taken time off from teaching Physical Education at Ballarat Secondary College.
When asked about how she got into rally co-driving and where to from here, Rhianon said it was a natural progression.
“It started as - I’m little, I can learn how to co-drive, let’s be Australian Rally Champions. Now it’s more like, let’s be World Rally Champions!” she said.
Brendan and Rhiannon finished the first day of the Targa High Country in first place but unfortunately rolled their car on the second day and did not finish the race.