Well said Snowy, I'm not privvy to anything that Steve ran, but agree these new gen "street tyres" must be something a bit speccy considering the 'ring times etc. Given there's not too many really long stages in Aus rallying (longest is Arrowsmith @ 47.8klm) these tyres might not be as bad as i first feared?
I do think it's important to remember that Tugga West is by all accounts a very fast rally, favouring the big top end cars like the R35 and Porsches. Other rallies in my opinion will hold a much better indication of how good the 35 is going to be, and whether weight will have a significant bearing on the performance. Of course, this may or may not be clear until a few tyres are developed to suit the car.
But again, props to the crew, Steve is obviously a very very good steerer, and don't forget his nav was right there for him calling the shots, and would need balls of steel to get a "new" guy to rallying going that quickly.