Former Ralliart Australia driver Scott Pedder will contest the full APRC series in an MRF Mitsubishi.

Rumours circulating for the last week that Pedder, and his long-term co-driver Glen Weston, would join the MRF squad have proven to be true, the Victorian replacing Jussi Valimaki. “This is incredibly exciting for both Glen and I. The Rally New Zealand experience last year…reconfirmed our passion for competition and really since that event we have been trying our hardest to put a programme together”.

Pedder was formally a Mitsubishi factory driver in the ARC before the Japanese brand withdrew from the series in 2006. Despite a series of mechanical failures that wrecked his 2006 campaign, he was arguably the only driver able to challenge Simon Evans, the man who took the title that year and in 2007.

“The deal with Race Torque and MRF enables us to continue to compete at one of the highest levels in the sport. To also be back in a Mitsubishi, a brand that I have had experience with now for over 10 years, is tremendous and possibly an advantage for us – one that hopefully we can exploit against the new Subaru.”

Race Torque Engineering boss Lane Heenan was please to have Pedder and Weston join the team.

“Obviously our aim is to win rallies and the championship and to provide strong return for our key team partners – particularly MRF Tyres and Mitsubishi. Securing the services of Scott and Glen to back up the rest of the team is a huge positive. Also, despite the fact that we are Australian based, we have never had a full time Australian driver in our APRC line up so hopefully the inclusion of Scott and Glen can widen interest in the team. Things are looking very positive for a successful 2008 season.”

Photos courtesy of Joel Strickland.