Chris Atkinson

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Chris Atkinson
Telstra Rally Australia 2006
Background information
Also known as
Team	Subaru World Rally Team
Car	Impreza WRC 2006
Role	Driver
Co-Driver	Glenn Macneall
Debut	2004
Nationality	Australian
Resides	Oxfordshire, UK
Date of Birth	November 30,1979
Place of Birth	Bega, Australia
Website	chrisatkinson.com.au

Chris Atkinson born November 30, 1979 in Bega, New South Wales, Australia, is a professional rally driver. He entered into the World Rally Championship Subaru team in 2005 with co-driver Glenn MacNeall. In Rally Japan 2005 he placed third, his best finish thus far in the World Rally Championship.

In November 2005, it was announced that he will compete in the WRC for Subaru again in 2006, driving the new version of the Impreza WRC.

After a 2006 season with plenty of speed, but no quality results, Subaru told Atkinson that his job was on the line, and if he couldn't balance his speed with safety and achieve quality results he would be replaced by another driver.

At the start of the 2007 World Rally Championship Atkinson put all of his critics and the rumour that he would be replaced to rest with a terrific 4th place in the Rally Monte Carlo. Atkinson was even the fastest in the 10th stage of the rally, St Bonnett and again in stage 13, a re-run of St Bonnett. On the final day of the rally Atkinson was 0.8 seconds behind 4th place man Mikko Hirvonen and had to beat him in the super special stage, a 2.4 km run through Monaco which uses part of the world famous Formula 1 course. Hirvonen set a time of 1:50.9 meaning the Atkinson had to at least set a time of 1:50.1 to beat him, but Atkinson did better. Atkinson then went out for his run and came back to the pits with a massive smile on his face after setting a time of 1:49.9 and also winning the stage. Hirvonen showed great sportsmanship by being the first person over to Atkinson to congratulate him.

Championship debut

At the wheel of a privately-entered Group N Mitsubishi Lancer, Chris impressed in his first full season of competition in the ARC. He finished inside the top ten in Group N and well inside the overall top 20 on every round he contested. During the year, Chris set second-fastest stage times on two occasions which, considering his age and experience, gave an indication of his tremendous potential. In one of the most competitive Australian Rally Championships ever, the Atkinson boys finished ninth outright and were crowned Privateer Champions. This performance brought Chris to the attention of Suzuki, who offered him the opportunity to drive one of its Super 1600 Ignis models with the Suzuki Sport team in the 2003 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.

Chris rewarded the team with a class win in the opening round of the championship in Canberra. Next came a second place in New Zealand, a second in Japan and two remarkable wins in Thailand and India. Atkinson was duly crowned Asia-Pacific Super 1600 Champion, but perhaps of more significance was his position of fifth overall, across all classes, in the Asia-Pacific Championship ahead of many more powerful, four-wheel-drive, turbo-charged cars.

Career Highlights