Photo: Roy Meuronen Photography
Josh Redhead and Ray Winwood-Smith will take a very different approach to the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay, swapping their front-running Mitsubishi Evo V for a shed-built Datsun Stanza.
The pair had hoped to continue fighting at the front of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship in Batemans Bay, but with the Evo now undergoing preparation for the upcoming Australian Rally Championship round in Tasmania, Redhead has made the difficult decision to leave the car at home.
Redhead and Winwood-Smith’s primary focus this season remains their East Coast Cup and WOLF Cup campaigns within the Australian Rally Championship. Preparing the Evo properly for Tasmania has become a significant job, particularly with Redhead carrying out much of the work himself.
“Our main focus is the East Coast Cup and WOLF Cup in the ARC, so we decided to sideline the Evo and make sure the preparation is done correctly ahead of Tasmania,” Redhead said. “It’s a full-on juggling act when I am doing almost everything myself. I would love to have another battle with the boys at the front of the NSW Championship, but realistically we had to make a choice.”
Rather than miss the Lazer Rally of the Bay entirely, Redhead and Winwood-Smith will line up in their Datsun Stanza, a basic classic rally car pieced together from spare parts in Redhead’s shed.
The Stanza features an L20B engine with carburettors, a Z-series gearbox and a standard rear end. With approximately 80 horsepower available, outright victory might be a tall order, but the car should provide plenty of entertainment for its crew and spectators.
“It has the whole 80 horsepower of fury,” Redhead joked. “It is a bit of a Frankenstein. We built it from bits we had lying around, and like most of my cars, it is currently in pieces before the rally.
“It sounds like it is ready to party, but it does not really go anywhere quickly. It is a very basic, true classic rally car, built in the shed late at night with the assistance of caffeine and nicotine.”
While the Datsun will be a major change from the turbocharged four-wheel-drive machinery the pair normally compete in, the Lazer Rally of the Bay will still play an important part in their preparation for Tasmania.
Redhead and Winwood-Smith plan to use the Batemans Bay event to continue developing their pacenote communication and gain more experience working together in competitive conditions.
“We really wanted to do the event, so the plan is to go out, do some skids, stir up a few people in an underpowered classic and have a laugh,” Redhead continued. “It will also give Ray and me more time working with pacenotes before Tasmania. Even though the car is completely different, the communication and experience inside the car will still be valuable.”
The change of machinery is likely to remove Redhead and Winwood-Smith from the outright championship battle, but it will give the pair an opportunity to enjoy the event without the usual pressure of chasing a major result.
“We are going there to enjoy ourselves,” Redhead said. “The Stanza is simple, noisy and not particularly fast, but it is a lot of fun. Sometimes that is exactly what rallying should be about.”
The 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay will be held in Batemans Bay on Saturday, 25 July.
