Scott Pedder to upgrade Skoda for 2025 title charge

Following last year’s successful return to the EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC), Scott Pedder will be back bigger and better in 2025 after obtaining a brand new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car. Having campaigned the 2017-spec Skoda Rally R5 last year for the full season, where he enjoyed his first ARC victory in a decade, Pedder’s upgrade will undoubtedly boost his hopes of securing a title. The new Skoda is currently in the Czech Republic, where members of the Pedders Rally Team will receive extensive training on maintaining the car from the manufacturer’s factory team as part of the detailed handover.

The car will then be flown over to Australia in readiness for the 2025 season, where Pedder will then complete a number of test sessions before tackling the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally of Canberra in March. Following the acquisition of the new Skoda, Pedder was thrilled with the opportunity the new car presented and was looking forward to the year ahead.

“To get a car of this calibre is really exciting because we believed that if we wanted to stay in the championship and remain competitive, we needed to upgrade to more modern machinery,” Pedder said.

“The decision to contest our first full season in the ARC since 2014 in the older Rally R5 Skoda was the right one as it helped us gain important knowledge and experience in the championship again with a familiar car and setup, however it had reached the end of its development and I could feel I was driving it beyond its capabilities.

“When we made the decision to upgrade after Tasmania, we went to Skoda but it immediately looked like a challenge as the demand was outstripping the supply and there was a one-year waiting list - thankfully a combination of my performances last year, Skoda’s knowledge of what we want to achieve in Australia and some begging helped us secure the new car for 2025.

“Skoda has been awesome to deal with and will have good support and logistical IP support throughout the year. Having the guys go over to Czech for training and setup is fantastic and will allow us to hit the ground running.

“We are spending a lot of time and money on this year’s program, and we wouldn’t if we didn’t think we were a chance for the title. From our side, there are lots of similarities to 2013 and 2014 seasons, so hopefully 11 years down the track, it will be the same - apart from age and talent, there are no excuses.”

First introduced in 2022, the Skoda Fabia Rally2 has had a major presence within the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), with a number of high-profile WRC2 drivers piloting the state-of-the-art vehicle, including Gus Greensmith, Andreas Mikkelsen and Oliver Solberg.

In what will be the first Skoda Fabia Rally2 to compete on Australian shores, the vehicle boasts a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with 289 horsepower, while also featuring all-wheel drive, a sequential 5-speed gearbox, and advanced suspension.

“It’s exciting to not only be in good international company in driving the Skoda Rally2, but also with the competition here in Australia,” Pedder added.

“We are hopeful of getting the car flown over by the third week of February and then take part in a couple of tests in Melbourne and potentially one in Canberra before the opening round. We need to get the setup and car right from the get go, so those tests are important.

“Our Melbourne test will be the first time ever in the car, but I have friends overseas who I can lean on with what I need to focus my attention on. I know that some of the things I struggled with last year have been fixed by the team for this new car, so I can’t wait.”

While the car is an obvious upgrade for Pedder and the boost he needs to give him a chance at the title, the Victorian was also confident it would assist the commercial side for his rally campaign, which proved a success last year.

“Probably when I look back at my 30-year career, there have been only a couple of years where I’ve had legitimately equal machinery. Having a competitive outright car, as well as support from Skoda in regard to information and advice, is going to help,” Pedder explained.

“It all helps in the grand scheme of things and this year is not just a rally program for us - there are a lot of commercial benefits too.

“Last year, we did a number of store nights on the Tuesday night prior to each event, while also doing VIP Customer Drives the following day with a focus on “The Impacts of Weight” and general road safety surrounding this widely misunderstood risk. These days were so successful that we saw a third of our network sales growth came from those 30 customers we invited.

“Additionally, we have had incredible success with sponsorship and support from our supply network - our key suppliers have really supported the team this year which is a continuation of the faith they showed in our campaign last year.  We simply would not be able to do this without the support of these sponsors and the wider Pedders network and family.”

Pedder’s acquisition adds to the growing list of top-level Rally2 cars in Australia, with both Harry and Lewis Bates to once again drive the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, while Western Australia’s Peter Rullo and Alex Rullo each ran a Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car last year.

The EROAD Australian Rally Championship begins its 2025 season with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally of Canberra on 21-23 March.

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