CANBERRA RAIDER

Scott Pedder is out to kick the Bates boys where it hurts – at home in the ACT – when he steps up his assault on the Australian Rally Championship for season 2025.

Hayden Paddon is also stirring the pot for the most explosive rally brew since the late Possum Bourne began his Kiwi raider assault on Australian forests.

Everyone in rallying knows Scott Pedder is fast, but that's not nearly good enough when the speed is offset by the most crash-prone record in the sport

The 2014 national champion mounted a fast-but-flawed comeback campaign in 2024, which handed the advantage to Harry Bates and Toyota, and is going all-in for the new season.

Pedder has a new car and more clarity, importing a factory-fresh Skoda Fabia Rally2 rocket from the Czech republic and adding four-time national champion Simon Evans to his support squad, and hopes he has not lost his speed.

"Everything was wrong last year. It didn't click in a lot of areas. And I'm hoping it will this year," Pedder tells Race.news

His best finish last year was a win in Rally Queensland and he took 28 stage wins, compared to title winner Harry Bates on 33 with his Toyota GR Yaris.

So, what went wrong?

"I probably made four mistakes through the season," Pedder admits.

"Two were because of over-enthusiasm, old-fashioned going too fast. And two were because I was too complacent, and forget to drive the car while I was practising my podium speech."

He concedes he also took time to get back to his best, which meant he was also battling Lewis Bates in the second of the factory Yaris.

"Being out of the seat for eight years, not really doing the hustle-and-bustlee of a championship, it dawned on me that it was my biggest weakness. The other guys were match fit."

So, the bottom line?

"It was everything. It didn't click in a lot of areas. And I'm hoping it will this year.

Now the 48-year-old, whose day job is managing director of Pedders Suspension, has gone all-in on the new Skoda.

"It's number 169 from the factory and #1 for 2025," he said.

And the price?

"It's a lot of money."

48. Mangaging director of Pedders Suepsnion.

"Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. "It number 169 and numbe 1 for 2025.

"It's a lot of money."

Will it be the crucial difference for someone who also has a new attitude and is much more calm than in the past.

"We made a decision, my family and the rally team, that we wouldn't do it again unless we could do it right. And it's all fitted together nicely.

"Last year the speed was there, but it was an older Skoda. It was a tall ask to come back after eight years. And I made a few mistakes taking it beyond 100 per cent."

Pedder will not get into dollars-and-sense, but the spend for season 2025 is likelyl to be more than $500,000 and is all-in to win.

"What's better in the new Rally2 car versus the old R5 car is that everything is better in the Rally2 car.

"My fitness is pretty good. I'm pretty happy with that. It's not perfect, I'm not 25 and 85 kilos, but I don't think that will hold me back. The age might . . .

"You very rarely get better as you get older," Pedder laughs.

So, as he faces up against defending champion Harry Bates, Lewis Bates and Hayden Paddon for Canberra, what does he expect>

"I think i've got to live up to the maturity angle this year. I didn't achieve that last year. If I can continue at the same level of speed . . .

"I got let down a little bit by my lack of maturity and lack of match fitness. If I can fix that, and we are certainly spending a factory budget to do it, I think we can fight up at the front."

Pedder says he's also looking forward to a four-way fight at the front of the ARC, which promises to be the most competitive championship for more than 15 year.

"I fell in love with the ARC because of the 2000s, when it was probably the best national championship in world. You would do your best and finish 10th.

"If the championship is back to that era, even with only four cars at the top, that's four top drivers and that's fantastic."