Tasmanian duo Bodie Reading and Mark Young win 2023 Australian Production Cup Championship

They had to contend with a talented field and their own car issues but that hasn’t stopped a Tasmanian duo from winning big at the Australian Rally Championship.

Bodie Reading and Mark Young following their 2023 Australian Production Cup Championship win. Picture: Aaron Wishart

They may have had to contend with a talented field and their own car issues, but that didn’t stop Tasmanian duo Bodie Reading and Mark Young from being crowned the 2023 Australian Production Cup Champions earlier this month.

Competing in the final round of the Australian Rally Championship in Canberra, the pair recovered from a crash in the penultimate round to finish fifth in their class.

Mark Young and Bodie Reading after taking out the Production Class in stage three in Queensland. Picture: Aaron Wishart.

Following three wins across the opening four rounds, the fifth place finish was enough for them to secure the Production Cup Championship and also finish outright fifth in the Australian Championship.

Back home after what had been a hectic 12 months competing everywhere from Launceston to Western Australia, Reading said it was incredibly humbling to be crowned champions after initially thinking their year was over following the crash.

“Yeah I think we did an exceptional job considering what we were up against,” Reading said.

“Round five in South Australia on the second day I got caught out on a patch of road and slid out and rolled the car four times, so it pretty much ruined the car. I thought the year was over because the car wasn’t going to be repairable in a month’s time and the guy that we were up against (for the title) had to win the last round if we weren’t there.

“But we got great support. One of the bigger sponsors of the event reached out to ask if he could help and that really got the ball rolling. He helped out with leasing a car and my partner helped with some fundraising which got us around the $20,000 mark we needed to race.”

It’s been some kind of year for the Tasmanian duo who actually led the series at the halfway point, making it all the more impressive given they were up against much more wealthier and experienced drivers.

Bodie Reading and Mark Young compete at the 2023 ARC Motorsport Australia Rally Championship in Canberra. Picture: Aaron Wishart.

“If you go back to the first round in March that was pretty much where we made a name for ourselves,” Reading said.

“Because the car was 27 years old and the others we competed against are pretty new and expensive. After the first three stages of the year we were leading the whole event outright and everyone was cob smacked and so were we.”

Reading plans to stay closer to home in 2024, competing locally, but praised the work of his sponsors who made all their success this year possible.