PERFORMANCE & RACING
TRAVEL WITH A PURPOSE The iconic Variety Bash is on again
For the ultimate bucket-list travel experience, how about putting the iconic Variety Bash on your calendar for 2022? You can kick off in Winton, Hyden, Tassie’s wild west coast, Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, or the Northern Territory for the adventure of a lifetime. The first Variety Bash was held in 1985 following an idea by Dick Smith, in which he invited his mates “for a drive in the bush” and raised $250,000 for Variety - the Children’s Charity, to help kids living with disability, disadvantage or illness. This inaugural event travelled from Bourke (NSW) to Burketown (QLD) and was such a success that many more Bashes have been held since then across all of Australia, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for Variety kids.
The original concept continues today, whereby hundreds of Australians annually grab an old car, rally their friends to join in, all the while fundraising together to raise more than $7 million nationally in funds to help kids. There are eight Variety Bashes which are organised annually throughout Australia, most of which are 10 days long. In addition, there’s a myriad of other Variety touring events such as jet ski and motorbike journeys to choose from. What they all have in common is a chance to experience the roads less travelled. “It’s a great way to experience the outback while making new friends and you’ve got the security of knowing you have a full support group including mechanics and first aid crews,” Variety Australia General Manager David Small, said, speaking for all the states and territories that manage and stage the eight Variety Bash events nationally. “Not only do we help kids via the funds raised, but we bring important economic impact to the regional towns we visit.” Studies have shown that larger Bashes leave around $40,000 to $60,000 in towns they visit.
Another advantage of the Bash is the usually “unobtainable experience” – the opportunity to tour on private roads and perhaps stay at places only exclusively available to the Bash, or even meet a famous face or two. For example, last year the Queensland Bash stayed overnight at RM Williams’ property where James Blundell performed some of his country music hits, while on last year’s NSW Bash singer John Williamson took part in the Bash and Dave Gleeson of Screaming Jets performed a surprise gig in Lightning Ridge. The 2022 Variety Bashes cover many different routes all over Australia, so there will be a trip to suit everyone. To register your interest or to find out more, go to www.variety.org.au/state-events
HISTORIC RACING AT ITS BEST
The 2022 Australian Phillip Island Classic lived up to its reputation in March The Victorian Historic Racing Register (VHRR) once again staged the biggest historic event in Australia at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in recently. The event is proudly sponsored by Burson Auto Parts, CoolDrive Auto Parts and Penrite, and 450 entries provided interesting fields across a wide range of categories from the five litre V8 Touring Cars, through to a field of fifty-seven Formula Fords. There were no international cars due to shipping difficulties, however the huge field included three overseas drivers: Richard Tarling from the United Kingdom, Gislain Genecand from Switzerland and Xavier Michel from France; who all did battle with the locals for The Perkins Cup. The International drivers enjoyed great success with Gislain Genecand winning the Formula Ford outright with Richard Tarling seventh and Xavier Michel eleventh in a 57-car grid.
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine June 2022
The Don Kinsey Encouragement Award for Young Drivers went to 16 year old junior member, William Sala, who was driving a 1975 Elfin Formula V and winner of the Q & R F5000. F1, Indy Cars and Invited, was won by Guido Belgiorno-Nettis in his 1985 Ferrari 156/85. In Saturday’s race Guido was challenged closely by second place winner Grant Doulman in a 1988 Shrike NB89H although Guido stretched the margin out in Sunday’s final race. Q & R Sports & P & Invited was won handsomely from start to finish by Thomas Tweedie in a 1974 Elfin MS7 who wasn’t seriously challenged over the three-day event. Larry Perkins and his son Jack were at the Island to race Holden Commodores in the Australian fans’ favourite category, the five litre touring car races. Following his successes in Europe, Larry became a local legend in touring cars and the seventy-one-year-old, six-time winner of the Bathurst 1000-kilometre race, was enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of historic racing. Jack was the outright winner of this spirited challenge. Andy Newall was the fourth overseas driver to make the trip down under. Unfortunately, Andy’s borrowed McLaren M6B suffered a hub failure on Friday so he missed racing on the weekend.
The single seater event for cars from the seventies through to the nineties provided the fascinating sight of famed racing car designer Malcolm Oastler in a Ralt RT1 dicing with a Reynard 92D, a car he designed. After following the Reynard for a number of laps Oastler edged his 1600cc Ralt past the three-litre car taking fourth place in the Sunday morning race. The winner of the Sir Jack Brabham Trophy for Driver of the Meeting was Nick Bennett who raced in two categories and achieved 3 outright wins in Class M & O Sports Racing driving a 1970 Elfin TC-W 600B. Many of the spectators took the opportunity to drive their special cars to the track, with car clubs providing displays in the vast area overlooking the main straight. Organisers hope that next year some international cars can add further interest to the VHRR’s impressive event. For more information, visit www.vhrr.com
