2018 Rally Australia
The 2018 Rally Australia (formally known as the 27. Kennards Hire Rally Australia) was a motor racing event for rally cars that took place between 15 and 18 November. The event was open to entries competing in World Rally Cars and cars complying with Group R regulations. It marked the twenty-seventh running of Rally Australia and was the final round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship and its support series, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships. The 2018 event was based in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and consisted of twenty-four special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of a 316.30 km (196.54 miles) and an additional 698.91 km (434.28 miles) in transport stages.
| 2018 Rally Australia 27. Kennards Hire Rally Australia 2018 | ||
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Round 13 of 13 in the 2018 World Rally Championship
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Team celebration of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT at the podium. | ||
| Host country | Australia | |
| Rally base | Coffs Harbour, New South Wales | |
| Dates run | 15 – 18 November 2018 | |
| Start location | Coffs Harbour, New South Wales | |
| Finish location | Coramba, New South Wales | |
| Stages | 24 (316.30 km; 196.54 miles) | |
| Stage surface | Gravel | |
| Transport distance | 698.91 km (434.28 miles) | |
| Overall distance | 1,015.21 km (630.82 miles) | |
| Statistics | ||
| Crews registered | 29 | |
| Crews | 25 at start, 15 at finish | |
| Overall results | ||
| Overall winner | Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 2:59:52.0 | |
| Power Stage winner | Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia M-Sport Ford WRT | |
| Support category results | ||
| WRC-2 winner | Alberto Heller José Diaz M-Sport Ford WRT 3:22:20.5 | |
| WRC-3 winner | no classified finishers | |
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the defending rally winners. The Finnish crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the reigning winners of the World Rally Championship-2, but did not enter the rally this year. There were no defending crews in the World Rally Championship-3 category since no crews entered here last year.
Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila won their first rally victory since 2017 Rally Sweden. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. The M-Sport Ford WRT crew of Alberto Heller and José Diaz won the World Rally Championship-2 category in a Škoda Fabia R5. In the World Rally Championship-3, there were no classified finishers.
Defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia took fifth place, which was enough for them to secure their sixth consecutive drivers' and co-drivers' titles respectively. Following a win and a 4th-place finish, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT won their first manufacturers' title since 1999. In the WRC-3 championships, Enrico Brazzoli and Luca Beltrame still secured the titles although the Italian crews retired from the event.