Rally Tasmania champion Harry Bates hopped onto the podium, uttering the word redemption in his wake.
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"Last year, we didn't have a very good event," Bates said.
Car problems on day two in Rally Tasmania's return to the Australian Rally Championship calendar had cost the sport's rising star the chance to finish, let alone the win.
The 24-year-old's return to the state one year on was not only victorious but clinching all bar one of the 17 stages.
"So I guess this weekend was sort of all about redemption from last year," he said.
"I did not want to leave [Launceston] that way again."
The championship leader certainly didn't see his and co-driver John McCarthy's win as bittersweet either.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing pair were looking down the barrel of a clean sweep until Molly Taylor and Malcolm Read pinched the final stage of the Tasmanian event.
That last-gasp triumph on Lonestar Ridge 2 was another story of a thrilling third round of the ARC season.
Taylor and Read had come back from lunch with suspension issues fixed, but still forced to drive to the finish with a broken control arm.
"To be honest, it was still probably a perfect weekend for us," Bates said.
"My co-driver, John, and I have been commenting for a couple of hours [since the win] that it was probably our best weekend ever in a rally car that we can remember.
"Everything, I think, just went really smooth."
"I think it was one of those events when I look back that we didn't put a foot wrong the whole weekend," Bates said.
"We just kept it clean and drove really well."
In contrast to last year's disappointing experience, Bates could only speak in glowing terms about the race.
The roads "are so good" and the course was "so much fun to compete on", he said.
"It was such an enjoyable rally - Launceston is such a great place to do a rally.
"The people here really do get behind it, which is just awesome to see as a driver."
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
