Mitsubishi’s Ed Ordynski and Iain Stewart completed a hat-trick of victories in the Group N production car category of the Australian Rally Championship when they won the Cooper’s Pale Ale Rally of South Australia.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Ed Ordynski / Iain Stewart Rally of South Australia

Ordynski and Stewart now have 108 points in the championship to the 96 of Cody Crocker and Greg Foletta. Ordynski and Stewart were clearly on top in Saturday’s first leg in their Ralliart-prepared Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI, finishing 1 minute 4 seconds ahead of the Subaru, and then finished just 18 seconds behind in Sunday’s leg.

The Mitsubishi pair won the category at last month’s Rally of Queensland and were joint winners with the Subaru combination at the opening round of the championship in Western Australia.

"This weekend has been the hardest rally we’ve done this year, by far, because of the extremely slippery conditions after the rain in the lead-up and during the event", Ordynski said. "The roads were like porridge. But rallying’s a sport against the elements - that’s where it’s so different to circuit racing".

Stewart said the conditions had been very difficult at Mt Crawford, north-east of Adelaide and where eight forest stages were held each day. "We went from wide, super-fast roads that were like ’highways’ to very, very narrow stages", Stewart said. "And, because of the rain, the final super special stage both days at Wayville Showgrounds was like a ploughed paddock that’s 100 per cent clay. It was very, very tricky".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Ed Ordynski / Iain Stewart Rally of South Australia