// PROFILE

Maximum Motorsport is a collaboration between Rob Herridge and Steve Wisby that dates back to 1993. The partnership having brought together two of the most experienced motorsport professionals in Western Australia. Rob has a long history in the sport and an enviable reputation as twice Australian Rally Champion and five times State Champion. Steve has more than 20 years experience in the industry having worked for several high profile motorsport teams including Glenn Seton Racing.

Over the past decade Maximum Motorsport have had successful contracts with manufacturers such as Kia Motors Korea, Subaru Australia and Hyundai Automotive Distributors Australia. Maximum Motorsport proved itself once again at being at the forefront of Australian rallying by successfully campaigning Rob’s son Dean to the Australian Privateer Championship in 2000. This result and many years worth of hard work have seen Dean retain contracts with Subaru Australia since 2001. The team has once again enjoyed success in the Australian Championship with Dean in 2006 and 2007 by taking on the factory teams. During this time Maximum Motorsport have won the Privateers Championship, won events outright and even scored WRC points at Rally Australia.

In addition, more and more competitors are now clamoring to get the latest updates, and modifications through Maximum Motorsport who have established themselves as the undisputed leader in Rally preparation. They continue to build and run many cars involved in all levels of the sport, including Sam Brand (ARC) Toby Heyring and Graham Furness (WARC) and Ross Dunkerton (Tarmac).

// Maximum Motorsport would like to thank the following sponsors for their support in the Australian Rally Championship.

// MEET THE TEAM

// Rob Herridge

From the moment he fronted for his first rally Robert showed he would be a force to be reckoned with. Driving a Datsun 1600 in his first season he gained a third outright in only his fourth event and went on to win the Grade Four championship in 1983.

He won his first state championship event, the Safari Rally in June 1986 and followed it up with victory in the very next round, the “Experts” Cup.

In 1987 Herridge acquired a more competitive Subaru RX Turbo and developed this car to go on and win the Western Australian Rally Championship in 1988 and 1990 and was runner-up three times in 1986, 87 and 89.

Rob then went on to win the 1991 Australian Rally Championship as a privateer. In 1992 Rob was invited to drive for Team Subaru in the Group N version of the two car team and against the likes of Group A drivers Possum Bourne [Subaru team mate] and Neal Bates he won the outright championship again.

In 1993, Rob remained with the Team Subaru and finished with two thirds and a fourth before withdrawing as a result of the death of team mate Roger Freeth in Rally Australia.

After having a few years off to allow his son to climb the rally ladder, Rob has since returned to the State Championship and has proved he has lost none of his speed by winning the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Championships and has now won more state titles than any other driver.

For the last couple of seasons Rob has scaled down is competition program to selected State and Tarmac Rallies. He is still however very much involved with the day to day running of the company including the fabrication of many of the specialist Rally parts used by Maximum Motorsport.

// Steve Wisby

Steve started in the automotive industry at age 14, qualified as a mechanic in 1983 and began to work in a local automatics business in Bayswater. In the same year Steve also started his involvement in Motorsport by helping prepare race cars to compete on the local “Black Track” scene.

In 1989 Steve established a successful tyre business in Malaga, with his heavy involvement with motor racing the company became the state Bridgestone Motorsport dealer. At the same time, Steve began an involvement with Glenn Seton Racing, working with the team in the Australian Touring Car Championship and was a full time member when they finished 1-2 in that series in 1993.

Steve partnered Rob in the opening of Maximum Motorsport in 1993 and began full time work in the company in 1995. Since then Steve has become an important part of the company and rally teams success over the years, working as the main engine and gearbox builder and successfully tuning and maintaining all of the team and customer cars around Australia.

// Dean Herridge

The young Herridge started rallying in 1994, winning the WA Clubman Championship behind the wheel of a Hyundai Lantra. Later that year Dean competed in his first Rally Australia at only 18 years of age. The youngest rally driver ever to drive in a World Championship rally.

The following year Dean gained more experience by driving the family Subaru Legacy on rallysprints while competing in the State series in the Hyundai.

In 1996 and 1997 saw Dean behind the wheel of Factory supported Cars from Kia and Hyundai. Dean took the newly homologated Hyundai Coupe FX on the ARC, and secured his first ARC 2lt title in 1997. The following year in the ARC saw Dean take more F2 wins, and some negotiation overseas saw the team pack up the Hyundai and take off to England for the start of the 1999 season. The team impressed with Dean becoming the first Australian to score points in the British Rally Championship.

Maximum Motorsport built up a Version 5 Impreza at the beginning of 2000 and the team took out the Privateer's Cup against substantial opposition. So much so that in 2001 Dean scored a drive for the much respected Les Walkden team in a Subaru backed Impreza and once again took out the Privateer Championship.

Dean drove for the Subaru factory team - Subaru Rally Team Australia from 2002 until the team withdrew from Australian Rallying in 2005. During that time Dean recorded many podium positions in the ARC and Won Group N in Rally New Zealand in 2004 and the Asia Pacific event, Rally Canberra the same year. Dean was also the 2nd in the Australian series in 2005.

Since then Dean continues to drive for Subaru Australia in Selected Tarmac Rallies and Circuit events like the Bathurst 12 hour where he lined up with Chris Atkinson and Cody Crocker to finish 2nd on debut in 2007. Add to this the Australian Championship with Maximum Motorsport and the Chinese Rally Championship with Subaru Rally Team China and you can see that Dean has a very busy competition program.