In this three-part series, Bond University journalism student Medinah Wells interviews Bondies who balanced their studies with the high-octane world of motorsport. On pole position, former World Rally Championship driver Chris Atkinson.
Chris ‘Atko’ Atkinson’s rally career started off giving bad directions, heading up the wrong road as a navigator, not as a driver. “I was the worst co-driver ever,” says the man who went on to become Australia’s finest rally driver.
“Well, maybe not ever … but I remember it was with one of my brother's friends and I sent them up the wrong road a couple of times.” It was a rare detour for someone used to high performance in his sporting and finance careers.
Atkinson (Class of 1998) graduated from Bond University with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in finance and accounting. Given a headstart with a Bond accelerated degree, he became one of Australia’s youngest stockbrokers at 19.
It was fellow Australian rally driver Rick Bates who convinced Atkinson he might have a different career option behind the wheel. Participating in a rally school run by Bates, Atkinson did a run-up and down a road. When he returned, Bates asked how long he had been rallying for. It was his first time pushing a rally car to its limits.
With some encouragement from Bates and further advice from connections of his father John – himself a former motocross rider and rally driver – Atkinson began his driving career. On a phone call with Australian rally champion Ed Ordynski, Atkinson received some of the most important advice of his life: the necessity of accurate pace notes.
“If you want to be good at this sport you need to be able to obviously drive fast, but also write good pace notes. And it's sort of an art, in a way.”
Pace notes are written by a driver describing a rallying route to help them visualise the road ahead during the race. The best drivers in the world will be able to show up to an event, drive down a road once, write good pace notes and be faster than anyone else. It’s the ability to not only be fast but to be able to describe a road that makes good drivers, Atkinson says.
“At that early stage (of my career) we would go out at night and drive around at 40km/h and write pace notes for hours and hours and hours and then check them and drive over the road.”
For his first full season of rallying, Atkinson, his brother Ben and their father John split the cost of a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. With Ben as co-driver they finished the ARC season in the top 10 of Group N and in the overall top 20 in every round they contested. At the end of the season they had notched ninth outright to become Privateer Champions.
This impressive first season caught the attention of Suzuki which offered Atkinson the opportunity to drive with the Suzuki Sport team in the 2003 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), just a year and a half after his first rally. Atkinson had a class win in the opening round in Canberra, then placed in New Zealand, Japan, Thailand and India. He finished fifth in the overall championship and also took out the Super 1600 title.
These strong performances in the ARC and APRC drew the attention of the powerful Subaru World Rally Team and he was given the opportunity to drive in a one-off race in New Zealand. Impressed by his performances, Subaru signed Atkinson to its World Rally Team factory squad in 2005, making him the only Australian to compete as a full-time factory driver in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Speaking to Atkinson, he reinforces the importance of taking opportunities when they present themselves. While travelling to Rally Japan, Atkinson’s father John and a friend were in Hokkaido Airport when they came across a lost-looking Paul Howarth, the then-team manager of the Subaru World Rally Team. After chatting they decided to watch Atko’s races together. Atkinson came through the stage and was racking up good times but a mix up in the driver order meant everyone thought he was European driver Daniel Carson. After it was established the driver was Atkinson, team Atko were quickly having dinner with Howarth and discussing going into the World Rally Championship.
Atkinson continued with Subaru for the next four years, his driving improving each year as he finished 12th in 2005, 10th in 2006, 7th in 2007 and 5th in 2008. But just as he hit this career high, Subaru pulled out of the WRC at the end of the 2008 season, leaving Atkinson without a team.
When Atkinson received a message on Facebook from a representative of a Chinese rally team looking for a driver, he again leaned heavily on his mantra of taking opportunities when they arise. He was offered a drive with the Citroen team in the Chinese Rally Championship (CRC) which led to amazing experiences including building World Rally Cars with Prodrive and travelling throughout China racing.
From there, Atkinson began transitioning to the world of Rally Cross - although he didn’t know it at the time. Asked to come to the US for what he thought was a quick job testing a Rally Cross car, he soon realised it was a driver test, with NASCAR drivers and others from motor-racing formats around the world competing for race seats.
Rally Cross is raced on small, tight circuits. Having become used to short circuits during his time racing in China, Atkinson broke the lap record on his second lap. “Lance Smith, who runs the team, pulled me over and said, ‘Can you stay in the US and come and do a Rally Cross event for us?’ And that turned into four years in America.”
Now back on the Gold Coast and retired from full-time racing, Atkinson has again leveraged his Commerce degree and is a Private Banker with Macquarie Private Bank. His stint at the top of the sport of rallying also served as a training ground for his post-racing career.
“It gave me insights into the mindset of large corporations, as well as a good understanding of global economic cycles and their impact,” he says. “But I wouldn’t be in this position without my education at Bond. Creating a good educational foundation has enabled me to transition through multiple careers and opened doors that I would have never expected.”
About the writer
Medinah Wells is a Bond University journalism student with a drive for high-speed thrills. Growing up around her father’s rally team, motorsport is in her genes. During her Bachelor of Journalism Medinah has worked for the Queensland Rally Championship, interviewed drivers and collaborated with local motorsport clubs. Her dream is to combine her love of journalism and motorsport, bringing the excitement of racing to readers.
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