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CONTENTS - #8 DECEMBER 2016 FEATURES
EVENT REPORTS
20 SPECTATOR HEAVEN
12 RALLY AUSTRALIA
06 EDITORIAL
32 THE VOICE OF RALLY
24 RALLY AUSTRALIA
07 LATEST RALLY NEWS
FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD VENTURED TO RALLY AUSTRALIA
FOLLOW US ON:
REGULARS
LUKE WHITTEN SPENDS A DAY WITH WRC RADIO’S COLIN CLARK
34 THE ONLY WAY IS SIDEWAYS
PART 2 OF OUR FEATURE WITH IRISH SUPERSTAR FRANK KELLY
38 FIESTA TIME
MIKKELSEN SENDS VOLKSWAGEN OUT ON A HIGH
THE ARC CROWNS ITS FIRST FEMALE DRIVERS’ CHAMPION
49 RALLY OF INDIA
42 PNG SAFARI
TOM SMITH LOOKS BACK ON PNG’S MOST SUCCESSFUL RALLY
44 HYUNDAI I20 WRC
NEWS FROM AROUND THE SPORT
22 HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN
GAURAV GILL WINS ON HOME SOIL
MORE STEPS FORWARD FOR THE KIWI AT RALLY AUSTRALIA
50 CLASSIC ADELAIDE
30 FIVE MINUTES WITH ...
51 BEGONIA RALLY
46 HOLMES COLUMN
BUSBY MASTERS THE TARMAC
RSM’S PETER WHITTEN TEST DRIVES A FORD FIESTA IN VICTORIA
ANOTHER EXCITING MONTH HAS FLOWN BY
RAIN SHORTENS VRC FINALE
54 SILVER FERN RALLY
ESCORTS, ESCORTS AND MORE ESCORTS IN THE NZ CLASSIC
MOLLY TAYLOR IS THE ARC’S YOUNGEST EVER WINNER OUR WRC EXPERT DELVES INTO THE LATEST HAPPENINGS
62 PHOTO OF THE MONTH
THIS MONTH’S “TOP SHOT”
MICHEL NANDAN CHATS ABOUT HYUNDAI’S 2017 CHALLENGER
60 HISTORY NOTED
PACE NOTES DIDN’T START HOW YOU MAY IMAGINE THEY DID
COVER PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
✸
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The passion for rallying .... MANAGING EDITOR
PETER WHITTEN peter@rallysportmag.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS
Martin Holmes, Luke Whitten, Blair Bartels, Geoff Ridder, John Doutch, Jeff Whitten, Craig O’Brien, John Crouch
SENIOR WRITER
TOM SMITH tom@rallysportmag.com.au
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Dominic Corkeron, 0499 981 188 dominic@rallysportmag.com.au
PUBLISHED BY:
Peter Whitten RallySport Magazine peter@rallysportmag.com.au www.rallysportmag.com.au
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COPYRIGHT:
No material, artwork or photos may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. RallySport Magazine takes care in compiling specifications, prices and details but cannot accept responsibility for any errors. The opinions expressed by columnists and contributors to this magazine are not necessarily those of RallySport Magazine.
Click the covers to read
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 5
EDITORIAL
HIGHS AND LOWS ON SHOW By PETER WHITTEN
T
o say the past month has been action packed would be an understatement, as rally fans the world over eagerly scoured the internet for the latest news on where the redundant Volkswagen drivers will end up. It seems not a day went by without Sebastien Ogier being linked to one team or another, after which his former team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen are slotted into the remaining WRC seats. More locally, the Australian Rally Championship has received a major shot in the arm with news that threetime champion, Eli Evans, will return to the series next year in a new Mini built to AP4 specifiations. With a Toyota Yaris already under construction in Canberra for Harry Bates, Australia will finally get a firsthand look at the exciting new AP4 category that has already taken New Zealand by storm. After a few years in the doldrums, the ARC is finally start to kick some goals again, and Subaru’s imminent title defence only strengthens the series further.
B
ut not everything is sweet and rosy, and social media’s reaction to Molly Taylor’s Australian Rally Championship victory has seen the highs and lows of rallying displayed in a public forum for everyone to see. Some of the comments regarding the unfortunate error co-driver Dale Moscatt made on the final day of Rally Australia have been disgraceful, and false allegations thrown in all directions Both the NZRC and ARC have had successful seasons in 2016. (Photos: Geoff Ridder)
6 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
It may be the end of the season, but that’s just meant that the rally news has come thicker and faster ....
have been not only disrespectful, but detrimental to the sport. We all respect the public’s right to have their say, and we all love the ability we now have to interact with the world on matters that interest us, thanks to the beast that is social media. However, giving opinions that are just that – opinions – rather than basing comments on real facts can be harmful to those involved. Let’s retain that incredible passion for the sport, but let’s also be mindful of the downside to social media comments, and think long and hard before you press the ‘Enter’ key.
T
he wheels often turn slowly at a managerial level, and 10 days before Christmas we’re still awaiting news on the Australian Rally Championship’s new tyre supplier for 2017. It’s probably no secret that the expected multi-year deal will be with a tyre manufacturer based in Asia, but other than that we can’t say much more at this stage. RallySport Magazine understands that a six-year contract is waiting to be signed that will offer all sorts of benefits to
the sport over the coming years.
I
n New Zealand, Hayden Paddon’s success in the WRC sees the sport continue to grow, and it’s fantastic to see the likeable star putting just as much back into the sport as he’s taken out of it. The launch of the Hayden Paddon Rally Foundation and the recently completed scholarship competition will be key ingredients to the success of NZ rallying for many years to come and may well unearth the country’s next WRC regular. The Trans Tasman neighbours may be well removed from the ‘home’ of rallying in the Northern Hemisphere, but recent happenings (Rally Australia included) prove that we still punch well above our weight.
W
ith Christmas nearly upon us, I’d like to thank all our advertisers, contributors and you, the readers, for your support of RallySport Magazine over the past eight months. It’s been an exciting year for rallying in Australia and New Zealand, and the future is looking even brighter. The next issue of RallySport Magazine will be available on February 2, but in the meantime, keep checking the website for all the latest news – and given recent events, there’s sure to be plenty of that. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.
NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
MINI PROGRAM MASSIVE FOR ARC
T
hree times Australian Rally Champion, Eli Evans, will return to the 2017 Australian Rally Championship in a new car to be run by the Evans Motorsport Team. The team will build a brand new MINI Cooper AP4 rally car to support the new and exciting regulations. “The ARC’s new set of rules has huge potential so the decision was easy. The hardest part was deciding on what is the best car to build to give us every chance for the title,” team boss, Peter Evans said. Team manager Jesse Robison added: “We have been discussing which car we thought was best suited to the new AP4 rules. The team wanted a car that is light, fast and easy to work on, and the MINI Cooper was at the top of the list.” The car is currently under construction at Force Motorsport in New Zealand, the company behind many of the AP4 cars already running in the NZRC, including Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai i20. “I’m extremely excited for the 2017 season,” Eli Evans said. “It’s going to be a huge challenge getting back in a 4WD rally car, but that’s what I’m looking forward to most of all. “Glen (Weston) and I had great success in the 2WD formula with a
record of 12 straight wins in 2012 and 2013, and at one point we had won 16 of 20 rallies that we had entered. “Fingers crossed, the skill set I have learnt in driving a front-wheel drive rally car to its limit will aid us in chasing the success that I want now that I’m in 4WD. “I also plan to extract as much knowledge as I can from my big brother Simon. He knows a couple of things about driving a 4WD and is extremely good at getting the most out of a rally car.” The MINI will debut at the first round, the Eureka Rally, in March. Evans’ new MINI under construction in New Zealand. (Photos: Geoff Ridder, Gary Boyd)
SUBARU BACK FOR MORE IN ‘17 AS TAYLOR DEFENDS TITLE
A
lthough a decision won’t be officially made until mid-January, Subaru Australia is set to return to defend their Australian Rally Championship title in 2017. Molly Taylor’s season of consistency culminated in her first championship title at Rally Australia, as well as being the first female winner, and the youngest ever holder of the title. Subaru management will meet next month to rubber-stamp the 2017 program, however there is already speculation that next year’s car will be up-specced from the Group N machine run this season. Les Walkden Rallying currently has a new WRX STI being built, and it is thought that car – with more modifications – will be the vehicle Taylor uses to defend her title, starting at Victoria’s Eureka Rally in March. - PETER WHITTEN DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 7
NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU Job Quantock (left) co-driver Alan Steel and Hayden Paddon.
NZ news By BLAIR BARTELS
Second Toyota
Photo: Geoff Ridder
A second Toyota has been confirmed for the 2017 NZ season, to be piloted by Carl Davies and Tracey Millar. The car has had AP4 work done by Force Motorsport before heading to PF Automotive in Tauranga for the remainder of the build. While the Shannon Chambers car will utilise a 4AGE engine, Davies’ example will use a 2ZR engine found in the late model Corollas, de-stroked to 1600cc, and will use a single plane rear wing to be fully AP4 compliant. The car is expected to be completed well before the start of the season to allow Davies plenty of seat time before the season starts.
Inkster and Allport Glenn Inkster (above) will team up with three-time national rally champion, Neil Allport, for the 2017 season. Inkster returned to gravel rallying in 2016 with a Skoda Fabia AP4+ car after a four-year lay-off and set some impressive stage times, but a fourth place at the final round, Rally Coromandel, represented his only finish in a frustrating season. Allport will not only take over car preparation and on-event running of the car, but will also act as a mentor to Inkster throughout the season.
JOB’S BIG BREAK
C
anterbury’s Job Quantock has won the biggest rally driver development package on offer in New Zealand motorsport by being selected as the winner of the inaugural Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout and Scholarship. Quantock, 22, will now benefit in a range of ways from the programme designed to boost his motorsport career aspirations, including the opportunity to drive the Hyundai NZ AP4 i20 rally car run by Paddon Rallysport in two rounds of the 2017 New Zealand Rally Championship, as well as testing and training with Paddon. There is also the potential for an expanded programme in 2018 for Quantock. Quantock is relatively new to rally competition, having contested his first full season this year, yet he took second overall in the 2016 Mainland Rally Series and finished second in two other regional rallies. He impressed Paddon and other judges to win the two-day shootout. He and the other four finalists went through fitness assessments and classroom sessions from Paddon and other guest experts on sponsorship planning, nutrition, media presence, career planning, writing pace notes and car set-up, before enjoying time behind
the wheel of the Hyundai AP4 car. The scholarship attracted over 180 applicants with the other four finalists being: · Max Bayley, 20, Hawke’s Bay · Sloan Cox, 24, Rotorua · Matt Summerfield, 24, Rangiora · Dylan Thomson, 21, Waiuku “It’s amazing; a surreal feeling to win. There was always a chance of winning, but I wasn’t too sure how big a chance we had, being relatively new to the sport. “It was whoever had the best package that Hyundai was looking for; luckily that was us,” Quantock said. “Job is definitely the most inexperienced of the crews in the final, but he showed a lot of potential in all aspects,” Paddon said. “He fits the whole philosophy of the Hyundai brand to foster new talent. I think Job can be a great ambassador for rallying, a great ambassador for Hyundai, and he has a lot of potential to learn and improve. We believe he can be a New Zealand champion and potentially compete well internationally.” Paddon said the shootout judging was almost harder than a rally. “It was made even harder with how good and how close everyone was when we came to actually pick a winner. “
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PICTURE PERFECT
M-Sport’s 2017 Fiesta WRC has got the rally world talking with its striking good looks.
MIXED NEWS FOR TOP ARC CREWS By PETER WHITTEN
T
he 2016 season is done and dusted, and most competitors have already set their sights on
2017. But as is the norm for an expensive sport like rallying, there are some who have firm plans, and others who are madly searching for the funds to enable them to chase their dreams. West Australian Tom Wilde is one driver set to sit out much of next season unless significant sponsorship dollars can be found. Wilde was sitting only a point behind eventual ARC winner, Molly Taylor, after three rounds this year, but a shortage in his budget meant that was where the season ended, and it was a familiar story of “what if”. “I’ve been working hard on trying to find the funds to compete in 2017, but at the moment it’s looking very unlikely,” Wilde said. “If we were to compete it would be no doubt in a Maximum Motorsport Subaru again, although with a non-
syncro gearbox and more of a PRC package, rather than in a heavier Group N car.” Having said that, Wilde still only gives himself a 20 per cent chance of contesting next year’s ARC. Fellow West Australian, Brad Markovic, has more solid plans, however. “We are currently working with our partners to confirm our plans for next year,” Markovic said. “At this stage we will run in our current Subaru and will compete at all rounds.” Canberra’s Adrian Coppin has only committed to his home event, the National Capital Rally, next season, thanks to support from his sponsor, DOMA Hotels. However, in a cryptic twist, Coppin hinted that he might make a trip or two to Europe – but wouldn’t expand on whether that would be on holiday or to rally ….
Harry Bates has confirmed his participation in 2017, rather than heading to Europe, although he admits that’s something planned for the future.
Tom Wilde (left) may sit out 2017.
Toyota is playing its cards close to their chest regarding the new AP4 Yaris that he’ll drive next year, with Bates unable to further enlighten the rallying public with any new details about the car. More details will emerge soon.
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WRC DRIVER UPDATES
2017 DRIVER LINE-UPS ....
HYUNDAI Hayden Paddon Thierry Neuville Dani Sordo CITROEN Kris Meeke Craig Breen Stephane Lefebvre M-SPORT Sebastien Ogier Ott Tanak TOYOTA Jari-Matti Latvala Juho Hanninen Esapekka Lappi
OGIER, TANAK TO HEAD M-SPORT’S 2017 ATTACK
S
ebastien Ogier and Ott Tanak will be M-Sport’s lead drivers in the 2017 FIA World Rally Champion-
ship. This ends weeks of indecision by Ogier about his future after the sudden withdrawal of the official Volkswagen team. The brief announcement did not state the length of the agreement with the four-time world champions, though Ogier stated he was only looking for a one year agreement. Nor does the communique state who will be the third driver in the WRC team in 2017. Also notably absent from the announcement was the future for the M-Sport team leader Mads Ostberg, who in 2016 amassed the most championship points for a Fiesta WRC driver, or the long-time M-Sport protégé driver Elfyn Evans. There has so far been no mention about Red Bull being involved with the Ogier agreement with M-Sport, or the opportunity to fund a private team running the 2017 Polo World Rally Cars. Under current FIA rules, the new Polo cannot be homologated unless the cars are run in a registered WRC team. - MARTIN HOLMES 10 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
ALL FINNISH AFFAIR
T
oyota has snapped up Finnish star Jari-Matti Latvala to lead its return to the World Rally Championship, confirming another key move in the sport’s biggest driver shake-up in years, just five weeks before the 2017 season starts. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s signing of Latvala and new WRC2 champion, Esapekka Lappi, to join existing team member, Juho Hänninen, was announced in Finland on December 13.
L ro R: Janne Ferm, Kaj Lindström, Mikka Anttila, Jari-Matti Latvala, Juho Hänninen, Esapekka Lappi and Tommi Mäkinen.
OGIER COULD JOIN THE WRC GREATS
A
t the completion of the 2017 season we may finally have more of an idea as to whether Sebastien Ogier deserves to be ranked higher on the ‘all time greats’ list than his countryman, Sebastien Loeb. Now before you rightly point out that Loeb has won more than twice as many WRC titles as Ogier, hear me out. Many believe Loeb deserves the title as the best driver of all time, given he’s won 78 WRC events, yet there’s one main asterisk against his record. The man from Alsace only ever drove for Citroen. All 78 of his wins, all 9 titles, all 116 podium finishes, and all 905 stage wins came in a Citroen. Not so Ogier. Already, seven of his 38 wins have been in Citroens, the other
31 in Volkswagens, and with his move to M-Sport and the Ford Fiesta WRC, he has the chance to join the rarefied air of those drivers to have won in three or more different brands of cars. Tommi Makinen and Ari Vatanen won for two different makes. Juha Kankkunen, Carlos Sainz, Didier Auriol and Bjorn Waldegard for four. And the great Hannu Mikkola took victories for an incredible five different manufacturers. If Ogier can join these ranks, having developed a brand new car for a new team, then he will deservedly be spoken about in similar terms as those legendary drivers above. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a cracker 2017 season. - PETER WHITTEN DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 11
REPORT: RALLY AUSTRALIA - WRC 13
FINAL F
VW ended their WRC reign as exp on the of step of the podium wasn’t
By MARTIN HOLMES Photos: PETER WHITTEN
Mikkelsen’s timely win was his most impressive WRC success yet. 12 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
FLING
pected, although the man t Sebastien Ogier ....
A
ndeas Mikkelsen rounded off Volkswagen’s four-year WRC campaign with the team’s ninth, and his second, win of the year, beating the champion Sebastien Ogier, who suffered again from a running order disadvantage.
Andreas, however, was beaten in the race to second place in the 2016 World Drivers’ Championship by Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Hyundai drivers suffered a collection of troubles, including a time penalty for Dani Sordo after a navigation
confusion, a bold but wrong tyre choice for Hayden Paddon and Neuville, and a late puncture for Paddon as well. Skoda driver Esapekka Lappi walked away with the WRC2 category, clinching the FIA title, the last remaining major rally honour to be won this year. DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 13
REPORT: RALLY AUSTRALIA - WRC 13
Photo: Geoff Ridder
Hayden Paddon was really cooking, with his best Rally Australia performance yet.
H
ot and abrasive stage conditions due to a new later calendar date for the event forced surprising tyre choices which helped Ogier minimise his handicap, but an uncharacteristic spin three stages from the end denied him the hope of a final win. The conditions also blunted DMack driver Ott Tanak’s challenge, leaving sixth placed Mads Ostberg as the top M-Sport driver in the rally, and the series. The news that VW was withdrawing from the WRC came only after the end of Wales Rally GB and threw a new prospect on to Rally Australia. Suddenly there were unexpected collateral consequences through the sport, not only for the drivers and personnel concerned at VW, but with so many unknown futures in the sport, on the whole emotional experience of the event. People had a sudden need to reidentify themselves in the sport. Anyway, this event was always expected to be a three-way battleground between VW, Hyundai and M-Sport, with Citroen having decided
“Ogier was driven to extremes, the only top driver to choose soft tyres for the early morning stages on Day 2.” that the long-haul rallies were outside their agenda this year. There were no special driver line ups, no special technical developments, just one final time to see the best rally drivers in the world battle it out at the wheel of the best rally cars in the WRC in 2016. The main objective for Volkswagen has always been the opportunity of scoring second place for Mikkelsen in the Drivers’ championship, which largely depended on the performance of Neuville, but they had a big shock on the first stage when Latvala damaged his suspension after touching a bridge. This dropped him down to 17th place
and well over seven minutes behind the leader. He did well not to lose heart and fought back, eventually finishing in ninth place. Ogier was driven to extremes, the only top driver to choose soft tyres for the early morning stages on Day 2, when the gravel coverage was at its worst for fast driving. Mikkelsen, however, was going well, losing the lead only on the second stage when fourth running Paddon had a run clear of hanging dust and took the lead. Mikkelsen’s only crisis came seven stages from the end on Saturday afternoon when the underneath of his car was damaged, leading to damage to the foot pedal unit, in which the clutch pedal jammed the brake pedal in the down position. This cost him around 10 seconds and by the end of Day 2 his lead of 12 seconds had been reduced to two, leading to an exciting morning on the final day. On the final morning Ogier had an uncharacteristic spin and lost a quarter of a minute, giving Mikkelsen the breathing space he needed for victory.
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The four-time World Champion almost pulled off an incredible victory.
There were scenes of emotion around the team when the rally came to an end. yundai achieved everything it could hope for when Neuville took a podium position at the end and had sufficient points to maintain his second place in the Drivers’ championship. But the team had a muddled event, largely because of the difficulty of deciding the correct tyre choices. Second running Neuville found the tracks so challenging that he drastically changed his driving style, finding sideways driving gave him better grip, while Paddon used a mixture of soft and hard tyres when every other Michelin driver used softs in the morning stages, and found he could barely drive his car in a straight line. Just when he was safely in a podium place within sight of the leaders, he punctured on the final morning. Sordo had a miserable first day when he incurred a 20 second penalty on a very short WRC event, when the top runners stayed closely bunched together, and it would cost him a podium place. It was unusual for Mads Ostberg to enjoy a rally without the countless time consuming problems that have been plaguing him during the season. He finished sixth overall, after lying fifth
H
during a long battle with Dani Sordo, despite two poor times on the long 50km Nambucca stages, suffering firstly from dust and then handling difficulties after he had suggested a change in his set-up. His teammate Eric Camilli was driving a steady event and lying seventh, close behind Ostberg, when he then rolled his car three stages from the end and
did not finish. After some excellent performances during the season on his new generation range of DMacks, these tyres did not work well for Tanak in the extreme hot and abrasive conditions of Australia. He bravely battled on after he dropped back after a spin on Friday morning, and then was stopped by police on the Saturday, after which led to a 40 second time control penalty. Once again Ostberg finished a season with the top championship score in his team, but it was widely wondered if he was being squeezed out of the M-Sport team. The race for the WRC2 title was finally won by Esapekka Lappi in the official Skoda team Fabia R5, while his championship rival, Teemu Suninen (in the private Oreca team Skoda), waited to see if his earlier efforts had been enough – they weren’t. Suninen tied on points with Fiesta R5 driver Elfyn Evans for second place, but Suninen took the position under tie deciding rules. Simone Tempestini had already done enough to take the WRC3 title, but nevertheless Michel Fabre went to Australia and his walkover result brought him to within just one point of the title. Mads Ostberg was the best of the M-Sport runners, despite never challenging.
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REPORT: RALLY AUSTRALIA - WRC 13
25th Kennards Hire Rally Australia 2016 - Coffs Harbour 18-20/11/2016 Round 13/13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Andreas MIKKELSEN/Anders Jaeger Sebastien OGIER/Julien Ingrassia Thierry NEUVILLE/Nicolas Gilsoul Hayden PADDON/John Kennard Dani SORDO/Marc Marti Mads OSTBERG/Ola Floene Ott TANAK/Raigo Molder Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm Jari-Matti LATVALA/Miikka Anttila Lorenzo Bertelli/Simone Scattolin
Volkswagen Polo R (M) Volkswagen Polo R (M) Hyundai NG i20 (M) Hyundai NG i20 (M) Hyundai NG i20 (M) Ford Fiesta RS (M) Ford Fiesta RS (DM) Skoda Fabia R5 (M) Volkswagen Polo R (M) Ford Fiesta RS (P)
2h.46m.05.7s 2h.46m.20.6s 2h.47m.18.3s 2h.47m.32.4s 2h.47m.34.0s 2h.47m.47.2s 2h.49m.10.0s 2h.53m.38.0s 2h.54m.02.6s 2h.54m.05.8s
32 (5 WRC2/1 WRC3) starters. 25 (5 WRC2/1 WRC3) finishers. Tyres: DM=DMack, M=Michelin, P=Pirelli. Winner’s average speed over stages: 102.37km/h. Leading retirements: (6) Eric CAMILLI/Benjamin Veillas Ford Fiesta RS (M) Accident, stage 20 Rally leaders: Mikkelsen stage 1, Paddon 2, Mikkelsen 3-23. Weather: hot and dusty.
Final positions in World Championship for Rallies (WCR): Leading Special Stages Volkswagen WRT 377 points, Hyundai WRT 312, Volkswagen WRT II 163, positions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 M-Sport 162, Hyundai N WRT 146, DMack 98, Jipocar Czech National Mikkelsen 10 3 7 - 1 1 Team 18, Yazeed Racing 4. Ogier 8 6 4 2 - 1 Neuville 3 3 3 4 2 1 Final leading positions in World Championship for Drivers (WCD): Latvala 2 5 1 1 2 2 Ogier 268 points, Neuville 160, Mikkelsen 154, Paddon 138, Sordo 130, Paddon 2 3 3 6 2 4 Latvala 112, Ostberg 102, Tanak 88, Meeke 64, Breen 36, etc. Sordo 1 1 2 6 4 2 Final leading positions in WRC2 (4WD)(Best 6 of 7 scores count): Ostberg - 1 1 2 5 10 Lappi 130(132) points, Suninen & Evans 120, Kopecky 92, Tidemand 85, Tanak - 1 1 1 4 2 etc. Camilli - - 1 - 1 3 Final leading position in WRC3 (2WD)(Best 6 of 7 scores count): WRC2/RC2 Lappi won 22 stages, Fuchs 1. Tempestini 123 points, Fabre 122(126), Andolfi 91, Koci 87, Veiby 73, etc. WRC3/RC3 Fabre won 23 stages. 16 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
Esapekka Lappi scored a well deserved WRC2 title.
Tyre wear was an issue for Ott Tanak and his Fiesta. PHOTOS: Peter Whitten
Thierry Neuville flew into third place, while Mads Ostberg (right) is interviewed for WRC TV.
Warm weather brought the locals out in force.
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 17
RALLY AUSTRALIA: WHAT THEY SAID
Highlights from the post-event press conference Andreas Mikkelsen Q: Andreas what a hot weekend, how do you feel now? AM: Everything else other than cool!
I feel amazing! There are some really mixed emotions sitting here, for sure I have probably done my best ever rally and to finish my career with Volkswagen with a win is an amazing feeling. To be able to give this to the team, I can’t be more proud. But I’m also sad to see it all disappear, already in the last stage I was telling Anders – in the last one kilometre of the Power Stage: “Wow, I am going to miss this car and this team!” For sure, it will be strange not to tackle any more WRC rallies with this amazing crew. The weekend was also amazing and I had a great time in the Polo. It was maximum attack from the start. When I woke this morning, I knew we had a big fight and we just gave it everything and it was enough. I’m really happy and really proud to sit here in the middle of these fantastic drivers. I don’t think anybody expected the three of us would sit here with these running positions.
Q: How does this win rate against the others? AM: I would say my IRC win when
I won the championship felt better than Poland and the first WRC win, but this one was so special. I know it’s the last one with Volkswagen and that makes it special, but to fight off a four-time champion in terms of pace and performance, with no mechanical problems… I’m really proud of that.
Q: Will this help for next season? AM: I think this one is a bit different.
Going into this year, me and my team set a plan to drive for the championship by being fast but consistent and not taking any risks. We made a good pace and we finished all the events with nothing drastic. I feel like I’m driving in a way that I’m really comfortable with the pace, but coming here we had 18 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
nothing to lose. The only chance we had to finish second in the championship was with the win. I did the best job I could and I think we really showed we have the top pace. And I never felt so comfortable at that pace – we had no big moments. It felt really, really good. In that way, it’s been a great rally for us.
Sébastien Ogier Q: Seb it started well, then in the second stage this morning you had a spin. Tell us about that… SO: I think first I will say I am happy, OK not completely happy. We had the last day of our career with this team and it was with a big fight and that helped us go through all this emotion. For me and Julien, we were close to a pretty unique performance to win by opening the road. That would have been amazing, but we failed today. We had two great days on Friday and Saturday and to be only two seconds behind Andreas and Anders was really great. The plan was to try to catch them. I knew it would not be easy, I knew they would fight, and we were at pretty much the same
speed when I did my mistake. It was only the second spin of the year – I cannot complain much for that. Two spins in the season? I would sign for the same in the future. There was a bit of frustration when we did that, but I am still proud of what we have done this year and this week with Julien. A one-two for the team
made us happy.
Q: There was a lot of emotion this week, did you find that distracting today? SO: It’s hard to put the right words on
Q: You have a busy week ahead? SO: Definitely. I’m glad you didn’t ask
me [about the future]: I have nothing more to say, but it’s urgent and in the next days and next weeks, hopefully I will be able to tell you something as soon as possible.
doesn’t change much. He wins the rally and this is important for him for next year. I’m really happy to be with these guys on the podium.
Q: How are the next few weeks looking for you? TN: My agenda is more clear than
these guys. I am testing in the new car for the first time on Tarmac next Sunday, then we have our presentation of the new car at Monza, a champions day in Belgium where we race cars – this will be fun. There’s also a race show in Italy – I enjoy every second of it. Sometimes you realise how nice is our job, it was the biggest dream for me to be here. I have been twice second in the championship and now there is only one more place to go – I don’t know when this will happen, but I’m working on it.
Q: What have you learned about fighting for the title? TN: To be honest, I have learned a
Thierry Neuville Q: Thierry, congratulations on third place and runner-up in the championship. How do you feel? TN: I feel quite well. I couldn’t
imagine that I would be fighting my mate Andreas to be second in the championship. I expected a more calm weekend. I was pretty sure the road positions, well, I did not expect to be on the podium and not expect Andreas to be there. After two or three stages, I realised if I want to be second in the championship then I have to push hard and I have done that. Andreas has done very well, leading nearly all the time. I had no other choice but to go as fast as possible. I’m happy with this performance, we achieved our goal and for Andreas it
PHOTOS: Peter Whitten
that. It’s nice to see what this sport and this job brings in terms of emotions and it’s hard to watch all the team at the last service with tears in their eyes, knowing we have all done this together and this was the last time. It’s a difficult time now, but we have to look ahead. Sometimes things you don’t expect are coming. But OK, I will cherish this year and remember it forever. Who knows what the future will bring for us.
lot. I have been working on myself for the last couple of years. When I came here [to Hyundai] the team’s objectives were not always the same as mine: I was ready for winning, but the team was still learning. I made huge progress with this at the end of last year and this season I was back on pace. We kept calm and when the car was more reliable, we have been consistent. This rally is five times in a row we have been on the podium and we’ve gone from eighth to second place in the championship since the start. In my driving, I’ve learned a lot. Here, I was the first to follow Seb, so I could see his lines. I have seen some interesting things!
Sven Smeets Q: Sven, this feels like the end of an era… how are you feeling? SS: A bit like the drivers… I am very
happy to end it like this. They gave us a big battle. We hoped it would go to the Power Stage, but it ended in the long
stage today. This (Volkswagen’s decision to depart the WRC) happens. When you work for the big companies, they can make these decisions. We will not be there for the next three years, we have to look forward.
Q: There’s been great support for Volkswagen from all around the WRC… SS: Fantastic. The WRC is always
the big family. We have done it when Hyundai got their first victory in Germany three years ago and they did it for us today. Everybody is invited to our farewell drinks tonight to be together with us.
Q: How can you sum up Volkswagen’s contribution to the WRC? titles, SS: Maybe we need a fewFive hours! I but
Dunkerton don’t know. I hope we left a mark, the doesn’t make results speak for themselves. I hope in Gover’s Top 10. other ways, like the marketing, I hope we will never be forgotten. I want to add something quickly… I just didn’t mention one thing. I made my mistake, but I want to say a big well done to Andreas and Anders, this was a proper win and I didn’t say it. If it helps them to be with us next year – although also I don’t know if I will be there! But these guys need to be there. DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 19
RALLY AUSTRALIA SPECTATOR TOUR
EXCLUSIVE SPECTATING
A
fter what seemed like months of waiting, Kennards Hire Rally Australia finally arrived, and fans from Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Japan and the UK arrived in Coffs Harbour for RallySport Magazine’s annual spectator tour. After checking in at the Aanuka Beach Resort, guests had a few hours to unwind before the tour got underway with a welcome dinner on Wednesday night. Guest speaker at the dinner was WRC TV presenter and end of stage
Photos: PETER WHITTEN
Lorenzo Bertelli was the only privateer running a World Rally Car, and did it in style. 20 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
reporter, Julian Porter, who kept everyone entertained for nearly 90 minutes with stories from the WRC and, most importantly, where he thought the VW drivers might end up.
A visit to the service park and the Rally Show completed the day – with some time in between for swimming in the ocean or making the most of Aanuka’s beautiful pools.
With buses loaded we headed for shakedown early on Thursday morning with a brisk walk up the hill to the Wedding Bells jump, where the WRC crews quickly got into their stride. Both Ott Tanak and Lorenzo Bertelli almost pushed too hard and were lucky not to damage their Fiestas after very heavy landings.
Day 1 was the longest day of all for the tour guests, with a 4.50am departure time testing even the earliest of risers! The buses drove some of the magnificent Baker’s Creek stage to our exclusive tour location, where we watched the whole field from a private spectator point. The afternoon saw us take in the
Baker’s Creek stage again before heading back into Coffs Harbour for the first running of the super special stage on the jetty, where we had grandstand seats close to the action. Another early start on Saturday morning led to another two exclusive locations, the first high up on the long Nambucca stage, the second towards the end of the stage on the second running of ‘Valla’. We gave the SSS a miss on day two, with most keen for an early night and to prepare for the final day of the rally – and the fight for victory between Mikkelsen, Ogier and Paddon. Sunday was spent at the Flooded Gums Rally Village with a dedicated RSM tour area at the famous Wedding Bells jump, before watching the cars negotiate the watersplash on the second running of the stage. From there it was back into Coffs Harbour to take up our grandstand seats at the podium finish, where Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger celebrated a brilliant victory. Most took to the pool again late on Sunday afternoon to wash the dust off, before the tour concluded with a buffet dinner at Aanuka Beach on Sunday night. The official Rally Australia tour was once again a great success, and many of the guests have already started planning their holidays for next November, when the event once again hits the NSW coast. With new cars set to debut in 2017, it promises to be an event not to miss. - PETER WHITTEN
PHOTOS: Peter Whitten
Tour guests were up close to the action, but taking much needed shade when possible.
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 21
COLUMN: HAYDEN PADDON
T
he dust has finally settled following the final round of the 2016 WRC - Rally Australia. It was a rally we had been looking forward to for a long time and the huge Kiwi support made it a special event for us. Unfortunately what should have been a podium finish was dashed by a puncture on the final day, but fourth for the rally and fourth for the championship is nothing to turn our nose up at. We took a lot of lessons from the rally last year and put them into practice this year. The target going into the rally was to focus on a good performance, and while this was not quite up to my high standards, it was an improvement on last year. There are still key stages and road surfaces that we are struggling on that we must address before next season, as at this level you simply cannot afford to have ‘off’ stages. We always targeted Friday as a ‘setup’ day, Saturday as ‘moving’ day and Sunday as ‘consolidation’ day. The plan almost played out well. At the end of day 1 we were P4, 22 seconds back. While we would have liked to be a little closer, it was still a position we could fight back from, which we did on Saturday morning. The bulk of Saturday was made up of two runs of the iconic 50km Nambucca stage. On the morning pass we had a good run (despite huge dust inside the car) and we leapt from fourth to second in one stage – while also halving the gap to the leader. In the afternoon we knew tyre consumption was going to be a big problem in the 30-degree air temps, and we knew from 2015 that you cannot not attack the stage in order to keep the tyres for the whole stage. So for the first 25-30km we took a more steady approach, but unfortunately we took it a little too easy and despite a fastest final spilt on the stage, we lost seven seconds which halted our charge. Going into the final day in P3 and just 12 seconds from the lead, we had to keep the pressure on the two VWs ahead. While we missed a little speed, we were not content to settle for a safe third, as in the future settling for position will not win you championships. So we had a go, and unfortunately it bit back as we ran a little wide, touched the bank slightly on the outside, which pushed the tyre off the rim. We continued through the final 20km of the stage with a puncture, dropping nearly one minute and from third to fifth. We were able to then recover to fourth by the rally end.
22 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN
While it was a missed opportunity for a podium, we have no regrets as we wanted to give it a nudge to maybe climb further up the leaderboard. More importantly, there were a lot of lessons taken from the weekend which will help us come back stronger next year. While we would have hoped for a little more from the second half of
the year, we can be proud that we have been consistent and have shown significant improvements on each event and each stage compared to last year. 2018 is the focus, and if each year and rally we can continue to make the planned steps, then we will be on target. Of course none of this would be possible without our amazing Hyundai Motorsport team who I am forever thankful to. Also, our close-knit support team of my co-driver John, Katie, Engineer Rui and our car mechanics, our NZ partners Hyundai New Zealand, Z Energy and Pakn’Save, and everyone involved within HPRG. There are too many people to thank, but a huge thank you to each and every one. This is a team sport! A huge thanks to all the Kiwis that travelled across the Tasman to support us – including our tour group of 110. It’s really a special feeling representing your country and seeing the same enthusiasm and passion that we have for our sport shared by so many other people. We look forward to hosting many more guests at different events around the world in the future. A huge thanks to Katie who worked tirelessly putting the tour together. After Rally Australia, the WRC hosted a Gala dinner in Sydney. Unfortunately due to some PR commitments, we were unable to make it, but it was humbling
to win the Certina Timing Award for our performance on the final stage of Rally Argentina. It’s quite an honor to be recognised and thanks to everyone that voted. Also congratulations to John who, on the same day, won
Marlborough Sports Person of the Year award. We now have a huge couple of months ahead – and the term ‘off season’ seems to be quite misleading, as it is anything but! We have a lot of PR activities here in NZ, the Young Driver NZ Shootout this month, more details soon being
released about the Paddon Rally Foundation, and of course, returning to Europe for winter testing in preparation for Monte Carlo. We will keep you posted. A huge thank you to you all for your continued support. We will have more news, which we will update you on before the end of the year. Best regards, Hayden.
A last day puncture cost Paddon a podium finish. Photos: Geoff Ridder DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 23
REPORT: KENNARDS HIRE RALLY AUSTRALIA
MOLLY’s
WRX-ellent adventure
24 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
Story: TOM SMITH Photos: PETER WHITTEN
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 25
REPORT: KENNARDS HIRE RALLY AUSTRALIA
T
he story has been written many times over, but there is only one way to say it. Molly Taylor is the 2016 Australian Rally Champion driver. The 2016 Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship had received plenty of media coverage, and in the weeks leading up to, and after Kennards Hire Rally Australia, specialist motorport and social media brought the impending three-way battle for championship honours to an absolute crescendo. The tussle during the 2016 competition year had been more interesting than many in recent memory, and the genuine rally-byrally fight for supremacy and points culminated in the incredible scenario at Coffs Harbour where any of the three protagonists could have become ARC champ. What started as a six point difference between Simon Evans, Harry Bates and Molly Taylor, ended up as an eight point blanket over the three - with Taylor and co-driver Bill Hayes in top spot, clinching their first Australian Rally Championship title. Molly also became the first female ARC driver’s champion, and in the process became the youngest ever driver’s title-holder. The intensity of the challenge was ever-present, and no-one was mistake free, although Taylor and Hayes continued their confident strategy behind the wheel of the Les WalkdenSimon Evans’ hopes of a fifth ARC title were dashed with two punctures on the same stage.
26 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
Molly Taylor and Bill Hayes secured their first Australian Rally Championship.
prepared ‘Subaru do Motorsport’ Group N WRX STI. Evans and co-driver Ben Searcy brought out ‘old faithful’ – the black ETS Racing Fuels GC8 Subaru Impreza – and as usual, drove the wheels off the car. During Saturday’s stages, word filtered through that the team was chasing a replacement centre diff, and local contacts were dragged out of the address book in an effort to locate spare parts. Harry Bates ended day two in a dominant position, staring down the barrel of the potential top spot, when an early puncture in the hard, dusty stages north-east of Coffs Harbour ripped the mudguard off the S2000 Corolla, tore off a brake line and caused the loss of many precious minutes.
Mixing it with the best of them and showing his best performance all year, Mark Pedder and co-driver Dale Moscatt drove determinedly and quickly in the Pedders Peugeot 208 Maxi to seriously challenge for the outright win and spoil the party.
W
hile media focus and most attention was centred on what was becoming an enthralling final round of the World Rally Championship, and with it, the final rally for the mighty Volkswagen factory team – locally the fight for the ARC title was genuinely the closest it has been in recent history. With the battle literally coming down to the wire, it was a rare and unusual error which saw a one-minute penalty
applied to the Pedders Peugot for late arrival at the penultimate stage. This tiny 60 second notation on the route card – which in many other rallies would not have even been the difference between first and second placing – caused a reshuffle of the placing and outright point scores. Had the time penalty not been applied, or been overturned, the championship winner would have been Simon Evans and co-driver Ben Searcy. With so much at stake, cordial relationships were tested after the event as confusion and conjecture overtook the importance of the occasion. In the end, Taylor and Hayes finished on top of the ARC table, beating Evans and Searcy by just two points. The win adds to Subaru Australia’s victories that include 10 consecutive ARC titles from 1996 to 2005, before the team withdrew from domestic rallying, re-emerging this year under the ‘Subaru do Motorsport’ campaign. “We knew we had to beat Mark Pedder, but we weren’t 100 per cent certain what the result of the penalty was going to be - whether Mark would get a one minute or 10 second penalty - we were given that information just minutes before we started the final stage,” explained Subaru co-driver Bill Hayes. “It wasn’t until 9pm that we were told with absolute certainty that we’d won the championship.” s the results showed, a devastated Evans and Searcy clinched fifth place after a double puncture and differential problems in the first two days of the event, which was enough for them to hold onto second place in the ARC title race, a mere two points behind Taylor and Hayes. Much has also been said and written about the maturity of Harry Bates and co-driver John McCarthy. Considering that 2016 was only Bates’ second full year in top-level rallying, his approach to the season and this event sounds a gong for his future at a youthful 21 years of age. Harry offered an insight when interviewed for the Rally Australia crowds: “It’s a little surreal being here challenging for the championship in a car which my father used to win the ARC eight years ago.” The event was not just a three
A
A final day puncture robbed Harry Bates of the national championship.
There was heartache for Mark Pedder who was denied a first ARC event win.
After a troubled season, Brad Markovic finished sixth at Rally Australia.
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 27
REPORT: KENNARDS HIRE RALLY AUSTRALIA Molly Taylor is the first female driver to win the Australian Rally Championship.
car rally however, and recognition goes to Brad Markovic for a superb top-six result, co-driven by the experienced Glenn MacNeall. Markovic recovered from a 100% loss when his car burnt to the ground in the opening round of the series in WA. Struggling to regain confidence, his finish at Rally Australia was an apt reward for a challenging year. Mick Patton and Bernie Webb put in a mature drive to take fourth place in their Repco sponsored Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Rallying was the overall winner out of this unusual series of events, with much mainstream media attention being directed to the sport and, of course, Australia’s ‘maiden’ female rally champ. Subaru’s return to the sport on a national basis was carefully considered and smoothly applied, as expected, by the Subaru Australia team and Les Walkden’s workshop, who delivered speed, consistency and a 100% finishing rate. With speculation that 2017 may deliver a renaissance in Australian rallying, Molly Taylor’s continuing role as a professional driver is guaranteed. The Neal Bates Motorsport workshop has revealed that a new AP4 Toyota Yaris is under construction for the new season, and recent announcements from Harry Bates that he intends to focus on the national series (instead of a potential push overseas) also bodes well for a continuation of the new Bates/Taylor era.
Final results, Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship: 1. Molly Taylor/Bill Hayes, Subaru Impreza RX STi, 3:08:06.5 2. Mark Pedder/Dale Moscatt, Peugeot 208 Maxi, + 39.3 3. Harry Bates/John McCarthy, Toyota Corolla S2000, + 1:46.7 4. Mick Patton/Bernie Webb, Mitsubishi Evo X, +2:52.5 5. Simon Evans/Ben Searcy, Subaru Impreza WRX, +0:31.6 6. Brad Markovic/Glenn Macneall, Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, +06:17.5
Australian Rally Championship driver standings (final): 1. Molly Taylor 329, 2. Simon Evans 327, 3. Harry Bates 321 Adrian Coppin jumps his pretty Toyota Corolla S2000.
TAILOR-MADE PACKAGES TO 28 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
BATES MASTERS KENNARDS KLASSICS The Toyota man was in a class of his own at Coffs Harbour, reports Tom Smith.
W
ith a battle raging in the final round of the 2016 World Rally Championship at Kennards Hire Rally Australia, and a new dramatic chapter simultaneously unfolding in the Australian Rally Championship, the Classic category delivered results headed once again by the Neal Bates Motorsport Toyota Celica RA40. Bates and long-time co-driver, Coral Taylor, focussed on the task at hand, undistracted by their respective offspring challenging for ARC prominence on the rally roads ahead. Bates and Taylor were pleasingly challenged by the newly-arrived BDA Escort of Irish visitors McCormack/ Mitchell and the crowd favourite S1 Quattro replica of Mal Keogh/Pip Bennett. After three long days of competition in hot, dry and dusty conditions, it was the ex-Alistair McRae Escort of Dermody/Moynihan which clinched a sound second place behind the Bates Celica, and Badenoch/Kelly in the sister Celica who grabbed the last spot on the podium. The tough event saw a large number of retirements including the muchfancied local Wayne Hoy (Datsun 1600), and motorsport entrepreneur Tony Quinn in his BMW M3. With the Australian 2WD Classic Rally Challenge all over bar the shouting, Neal Bates celebrated the outright win with 263 points, over clay Badenoch
O SUIT YOU
on 196 in the second Toyota, and Tom Dermody taking third in the brilliant red Escort. Coral Taylor took top Co-Driver’s spot, from Eoin Moynihan (with Dermody) and Cate Kelly (with Badenoch). Keogh and Bennett were the 4WD winners in the beautiful Quattro replica. The 2016 Classic Rally Challenge delivered stronger fields throughout the year, proving again that the category is growing in competitor popularity, and continues to be a drawcard for spectators.
It was a good event for the Toyota Celicas of Bates and Badenoch.
Local star Wayne Hoy was great to watch in his Datsun 1600.
To advertise in RallySport Magazine call Dominic on 0499 981 188 or email dominic@rallysportmag.com.au DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 29
FIVE MINUTES WITH ....
5
. minutes with .. R O L Y A T Y L L O M
In her first year as a factory driver, Molly Taylor was hoping for a top three finish in the ARC. She did better than that .... First of all, congratulations on winning your first Australian title. Has it all been a bit of a blur since the rally?
Thank you! Yes, to be honest none of it has sunken in yet. It’s always been my dream, but I honestly didn’t expect it to happen this year.
Your Subaru ran faultlessly all season, and you didn’t put a mark on it - was your number one goal to be consistent all year?
This season was my first year as a factory driver and also in an all-wheel-drive car, so my main focus was making sure I did the very best job I was capable of. After working for so long for an opportunity like this, it was very important to me to grab this with both hands and put everything into it. I think running as the only Group N car in most events actually forced us to concentrate on our own race and tick every box we could as a team. We knew we had a strong, reliable and well built car, so of course we had to play to our strengths. The team, and what we are all here to achieve, is so much bigger than me trying to satisfy my ego on one stage, I am just one piece of a jigsaw puzzle and it only works if we all fit together.
Presumably you were confident in yourself and your car heading into Rally Australia, but did you ever let yourself look ahead and think what could be on Sunday afternoon? I didn’t want to entertain the idea of winning during Rally Australia. Our plan was the same as every rally, to do what we could to put ourselves in the best position possible, but coming into the event I thought that if we could finish the year in the top three it would have been a fantastic result for our first season together. Les Walkden (left) built a strong a reliable car for Subaru.
30 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
I was so happy with the whole team’s performance during the rally and how hard we all worked. Coming into the final day I thought, whatever the result, we can be happy knowing we have done the best job we could have.
What does it mean to bring Les Walkden and Subaru an Australian title?
It’s incredibly special. Subaru and Les took a chance with me and I’ll always be so grateful for that. From our very first test we all gelled really well and have become a family. I think this has been one of the reasons for our success, and it also makes it all the more special when you share this journey with a group of people all working for the same dream.
Is the plan to campaign the same Group N Subaru in 2017, or is it all still up in the air? Could the car be up-specced for next year? It’s something we will discuss, but we haven’t confirmed any plans for 2017 yet.
The last three factory Subaru drivers to win the Australian title are Possum Bourne, Cody Crocker and Molly Taylor. Has does that feel? That’s the first time I have seen our names together and, wow! I remember Possum used to stay at our house when I was
little and he really was a hero figure, even if he was Mum and Neal’s rival too! I’ve also looked up to Cody a lot and his incredibly consistent success. They have set the benchmark within Subaru and helped develop the brand’s fantastic culture. I certainly still have a long way to go before I’m confortable with having my name in the same sentence ...
What will you be doing over the off-season?
We have a busy few weeks now with the upcoming launch of the all-new Impreza, which I am really excited to be a part of. An incredible amount of development has gone into this car and it’s already had rave reviews from everyone who’s driven it so far. We are also planning some other events and activities over January and February, so it’s going to be a busy summer :)
Can Subaru do Motorsport make it two in a row, and can Molly Taylor go back-to-back?
Well, we are certainly going to give it a crack! - LUKE WHITTEN
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 31
FEATURE: A DAY WITH COLIN CLARK
A DAY WITH THE VOICE OF RALLY A
Dmack technicians check Tanak’s tyre temperatures.
Broken rear suspension for Lorenzo Bertelli on the Nambucca stage. 32 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
s a gap year student in 2016, I have been trying to get as much work experience as I can to best decide a career path for myself, so in the lead up to Kennards Hire Rally Australia, I got in contact with Colin Clark, enquiring about the possibility of some work experience at the final round of the championship. The opportunity would let me explore what goes on to produce World Rally Radio from the stage end itself - right in the thick of the action. Much to my delight, the well-known ‘Voice of Rally’ was all too happy to have me along. So, after the day was arranged, I was dropped in the pretty town of Bowraville early on Saturday morning by one of the RallySport Magazine tour buses and met Colin at the Old Coach Inn for breakfast. Talking rallying, careers, marketing and more rallying, we chatted over breakfast. Colin got into rally radio by coincidence. Taking an open mind into everything and taking up opportunities can play in your favour immensely. A huge fan of rallying first and foremost, he now travels the globe doing something he loves. While it’s difficult to give a blow-by-blow description of what ‘A day in the life of Colin Clark’ looks like, here’s a few highlights of my day …. tt Tanak’s mysterious run ins with the local police were a talking point, as were tyres for the morning’s loop of stages (including Nambucca). World Champion Sebastien Ogier’s surprising choice to take a majority of soft tyres set up an interesting loop of stages. It was agreed, however, that if anyone could pull it off, it was Ogier. Time would tell. Arriving at the stop control of Nambucca on rapidly heating bitumen, we immediately felt welcome by the fantastic volunteers that met us - a testament to the people of the rally. The hospitality at the stage end was unbelievable, both for the drivers and the WRC media. Water, lollies and a friendly smile
O
Story & Photos: LUKE WHITTEN greeted everyone in attendance. The timing board, in particular, had a great showing of a personal Australian touch. Colin, now live on air, would pace up and down the stop control talking to Becs Williams back at Rally Radio HQ in the service park. On this morning, he was armed with a New South Wales police hat and badge, which had been ‘loaned’ to him from a local officer. Unlike other sports commentators, the action is not followed play-by-play or ballby-ball, so it is difficult to bring excitement and anticipation for a commentator, who, for the majority of his time on air- is seeing no action. Relating it to cricket, Colin gives excitement when needed, fills in time on appropriate topics, but all in all, commentates off the bat and as he sees it – there is no plan, and no manufactured excitement. It was business as usual for the WRC media. Julian Porter was atop of all things regarding split times, and the stage went hiccup free on radio. Unsurprisingly, Hayden Paddon won the stage he had targeted, albeit with dust billowing into his i20. Ogier’s soft tyre gamble had also paid dividends through the first stage of the morning. The surprising choice was the right one. A dozen or so cars passed through before we set off to the Raleigh Raceway Super Special Stage. We were on track with plenty of time to spare, but with hundreds of spectator cars halting our entry into the stage, it was touch and go whether we would make it. Conveniently, we could just sneak up the right hand side of the road and made it with only a couple of minutes to spare. To further inconvenience us, we struggled to transmit at the stop control. This led to me being thrust in as chief aerial holder.
RallySport Mag’s Luke Whitten with Colin Clark.
Colin chats to Ogier at the end of the Raleigh Raceway stage.
“Colin commentates off the bat and as he sees it – there is no plan, and no manufactured excitement.” I was to hold the aerial up as high as possible, with the hope of improving the signal. A minor inconvenience to me, but it meant I had to be up close and personal, as Colin interviewed the world’s best drivers. The issue was a hassle, and rather frustrating as we could hardly be heard speaking to some drivers. As there were no troubles at this location on Friday, it was thought to be an issue with the second ‘back up’ aerial in use. Just like the competitors themselves, I found out first hand that one of a number of things can go wrong at any time. A quick lunch stop was had back in Bowraville, and with the heat now beaming off the tarmac at 44 degrees, we were back at the second run of Nambucca - perhaps the most critical stage of the rally. As they were in the morning, the DMack guys were gathering tyre data from their man, Ott Tanak, in what was some of the harshest conditions of the season. Ogier, now on equal road conditions, showed his class and won comfortably against his closest rivals. Yet
surprisingly, he was the only driver to get out and inspect his tyres. In a failed effort to be fast and save his tyres, Lavala’s ploy to ‘push, then calm down,’ did not work ideally, but a stage win gave him some consolation. Italian, Lorenzo Bertelli, unbeknowns to him and his small army of fans at the stage end, entered with a broken suspension arm, while Hubert Ptaszek suffered a right rear puncture on the marathon stage.
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ou simply cannot match the human drama of a rally and the excitement that it brings. Being there in the thick of the action was a real thrill. All too soon the day’s stages had come to an end, as had my time with Colin. As he headed back to his accommodation, I was dropped at the end of the Valla stage where I was soon reunited with the RallySport Magazine tour group and the trip back to Coffs Harbour. It had been a day I’ll not soon forget. In closing, I’d like to thank Colin Clark for the opportunity - it may well change my career path.
Seb Ogier checks his tyres on the crucial second day at Rally Australia.
A dusty Paddon after he won the first run through the Nambucca stage. DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 33
FEATURE: FRANK KELLY
“THE ONLY WAY IS SIDEWAYS” PART 2
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his month in RallySport Magazine we continue with part 2 of the Frank Kelly story. As a skilled and entertaining rally driver, we invited Frank to introduce himself to the southern hemisphere a little more personally. We found that Frank could turn a phrase very well and his own story of his early years in a range of small Fords has proven to be extremely entertaining. This story, combined with an amazing range of photos of Frank in action, adds further to the legend status of the man behind the wheel of ‘Baby Blue’. Special mention is made, and recognition given, to the various photographers who provided these spectacular
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Around this time I discovered DMS suspension in Australia. Jamie Drummond was keen to develop a set-up for the Mk2 and I was guinea pig. What a revelation they were - without
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photos to Kelly Motorsport. At Kennards Hire Rally Australia in November, Aussie spectators were introduced to another Irish Escort driver, Marty McCormack, who brought his amazing Escort out to compete in some local events. RallySport Magazine and Australian spectators hope that an opportunity may arise for Frank Kelly to show his own special talents in an Australian or New Zealand event in the near future. Read on, as Frank Kelly brings readers up to speed with his more recent achievements and future plans. - TOM SMITH
doubt the single biggest improvement I have ever felt. Straight out of the box we were flying, literally. I now had a set-up that could move from gravel to tarmac with only minor adjustments,
and this opened another rally chapter for us. 2011 was a complete change for me. With shipping still out of the question, Liam suggested we do a few tarmac rallies to see what it was like. I thought he was bonkers, but we decided to give it a go. Although I did a few tarmac rallies over the years, I was always more comfortable on gravel. We signed up for the Dunlop National Tarmac Championship and had a go at Class 13 with a 2-litre JRE engine installed. It took us a couple of rallies to get adjusted to the surface change, but we were much closer to the pace than I expected. With brake upgrades, suspension tweaks and the feel you get from the Kumho tyre, it all started to click. By the end of the season we clinched Class 13 and just missed out on the overall 2WD title by one point! It was a “no brainer” to come back
in 2012 and give it another go, this time with a 2.5 JRE under Baby Blue’s bonnet. It turned out to be the season of our lives. It seemed we could do no wrong. Victories on the Mk2 challenge in Carlow, the Ulster National Rally, Cork 20 National Rally and outright victory on the GSMC Mini Stages Rally were high points, and our only big disappointment was the Donegal International when we retired on SS2. We were able to fit in some gravel rallies and won 2WD on every one we did. It would be very difficult to pick a single highlight from the year but Carlow, with the nature of the stages and the battle that we had that day, will live with me for a long time to come. We ended the season with the 2WD Rally Championship, Mk2 Escort Champions and overall Top Part West Coast Champions. ollowing a very successful 2012 season I gave Baby Blue a complete rebuild with a development version of JREs 2.5 Vauxhall engine installed. With Liam taking a year out to get married, I didn’t commit to any championships and decided to pick and choose events. We won the coveted Mk2 Challenge in Carlow again and became “Master of the Woods” in the Cork Forest Rally. The year was rounded off with being voted “Driver of the Year” by the ANICC. For 2014 I built a brand new outright tarmac Mk2 (Baby Blue 3). We did a deal with Millington to run their new 2.5Ltr Series 2+ engine - 350bhp of pure insanity! We planned to use the year to develop the car and didn’t expect much success, but things went well and with Liam back in the passengers’ seat we won the Dunlop National 2WD and Mk2 championships again. We also sent Baby Blue 2 to Trinidad
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after an invite. It was an amazing experience on excellent gravel roads. First 2WD and fifth overall was a great bonus. In 2015 we set out to retain our championships, but on the first round we had a massive accident when we aquaplaned in heavy rain. BB3 was a mess, but Liam and I were unhurt. BB2 was on her second trip to Trinidad, so it took a while to rebuild and our season was patchy. Trinidad was fantastic again and when we got BB3 back on the road we had a couple of great results. Then came another BIG off on the Laois Heartlands Rally two weeks before our scheduled outing on the Donegal International. We rolled three times at high speed and it wasn’t good. Immediately my thoughts went to BB2. She was at sea on her way back from the Caribbean. Rosemarie tracked her down while I stripped what was salvageable from the tarmac car. With nine days to Donegal, BB2 arrived home. She was very tired after a tough Trinidad and needed a rebuild. The tarmac engine, gearbox and axle from BB3 all went into her to get to Donegal. Amazingly we made it, and even more amazingly, we completed the three-day marathon and came second overall in the national. BB2 finished off the season with three more 2WD victories. For 2016 BB3 was fully rebuilt just in time for the AutoSport show in January, where she was a big hit. We did selected events with Paul Twomey in the hot seat, but had a lot of bad luck
with engine problems and differential failures. We cut a few rallies and channelled all our efforts towards Donegal. It was a fantastic weekend with Mick Coady navigating. The crowds were massive and the buzz was unreal. We led going into the third and final day, but unfortunately the diff let go again and we were demoted to second, but it was still an epic weekend. As a result of being the first Irish crew home, we won an all-expenses paid trip to compete in the Mull Rally in Scotland for our efforts. The Galway Summer Rally in August is always a good fast event. We were in a great battle, but on the last stage it all went wrong and there I was again hanging upside down after a 120mph accident. So the season was over there and then. allying has become a complete family obsession at this stage. Our lives revolve around the rally calendar and most of the banter at the dinner table is rally talk. I am very lucky in that regard to have the support at home. There is never an argument about lack of money because rallying has gobbled it all up. I enjoy building and developing my Mk2. I spend a minimum of two or three hours every night in the
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DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 35
FEATURE: FRANK KELLY
workshop after work fixing what I’ve broken, and trying to improve the car. Rallying in Ireland has such a cult following it’s hard not to get sucked in. Competition among the modified Mk2s is fantastic. Any event we turn up at you can count at least 10 or 12 men capable of winning, and no matter where you go on this island you will bump into rally people. We have some of the best, most challenging roads in the world and some of the most dedicated clubs, clubmen and supporters in the world as well, who pull the whole thing together. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when we are hurtling down a closed public road and revel in the fact that we get to do this. Having said all that, my first love is gravel. Being brought up on the loose it will always be my favoured surface. Real good gravel roads are getting difficult to find and maintain around home. We find ourselves having to travel more or do more tarmac instead. It probably explains my way of driving. I only really feel comfortable when the car is sliding as if it’s on gravel. It’s high risk and there are those who keep telling me to tidy up to go faster. Sometimes I set out to do just that, but something takes over when the flag drops and that tingle feeling starts at the back of my knee, and next thing we are sideways or 10 feet in the air, or both, at a ridiculous speed. It’s addictive, so I’ve given up trying to change. None of this would be possible without the Kelly Motorsport team. My brother Gary has kept me running through all my rally seasons, with onevent servicing and pep talks when I’ve 36 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
lost the plot. Rosemarie (my wife) hasn’t said a word when I have spent endless hours at night preparing the car for the next event. She takes care of our
“My first love is gravel. Being bought up on the loose it will always be my favoured surface.” merchandising both on events and online, she’s a diamond. Both my kids, Lauren and Jack, clean the car and make sure it is looking good for the next rally. Lauren is gifted when it comes to film editing and she makes me look good on screen, which can’t be easy. She navigated for me for the first time on the Glens of Antrim gravel rally last year and did such a brilliant job. I was so proud of her that day. But it’s Liam that I owe the biggest debt to. For a large period I struggled to get anyone to rally with me, and when it was becoming impossible he stepped in. I’ve tried to kill him several times, but he has always kept the faith and has never said: “You made a mistake Frank,” even when I have dropped some serious clangers! He is world class and most of all, a great friend, and I don’t say that lightly. Sponsors have also played a big part in keeping us rallying and they include, Bathshack.com, Jefferson Tools, Charlie McEnery Motor Services, GRP4
Fabrications, PH Shotblasting, Campbell Contracts, 1st Alert Alarm Systems Ltd & MM Graphics. Close working relationships with Samsonas Transmissions, Millington race engines and DMS suspension has been very important in the quest to find those extra few seconds. Right now I have a busy winter ahead with two cars to rebuild, but I’ll put the head down and we will get there. We will look at the opportunities we have to rally abroad in 2017, and maybe even get to rally down under. It would be a dream come true to rally some of those iconic gravel roads in NZ or Oz. The retirement plan is to build an historic BDA in gravel spec (Baby Blue 4), fit a tow-bar, buy a caravan, sell the house and tour the world from rally to rally! Sounds like a plan?
FOOTNOTE: Kelly Motorsport Merchandise is looked after by Rosemarie (Frank’s wife) and is available to purchase from most events, as well as online. Lauren (Frank’s daughter) and Ciaran
(Frank’s nephew) take care of the media side of things. Lauren, who operates LK Media, is responsible for capturing the day’s footage and posting it onto YouTube, as well as looking after the team’s Twitter page. Ciaran, an up-and-coming
photographer, snaps away to capture “baby blue” at her finest so that his images can be shared via the team’s Facebook page, as well as his own page CMG Pics.”
RallySport Magazine thanks Frank Kelly for sharing his incredible story with us.
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 37
TEST DRIVE: FORD FIESTA
FIESTA TIM It’s obvious that there’s a world of difference between a standard Ford Fiesta and the World Rally Car version that tears up the WRC stages. One looks purposeful and mean, the other …. well, let’s just say it doesn’t look like a rally car. Story: PETER WHITTEN Photos: GREG BROWNE
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DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 39
TEST DRIVE: FORD FIESTA
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o when the opportunity arose for me to test drive one of the cars earmarked for next year’s Ford Fiesta Rally Series in Victoria, I jumped at the chance. But to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d seen plenty of Fiestas in various trim running in events across Australia and New Zealand, and while they looked to be reliable and fun to drive, they didn’t look like something that would get me out of a rear-wheel drive Escort and into a front-wheel drive shopping trolley. Luckily for me, preconceived ideas can be quickly thrown out the window. Victorian rallying stalwart, John Carney, had offered me a drive of a car that he’d recently purchased to run in the series that he and Col Hardinge are the brains behind. Also the founders of Victoria’s Hyundai Excel one-make series, John and Col thought the time was right to expand on their idea. While the Excel series will continue as a true entry-level category in the sport, the Fiesta series will be for those with either a little more coin in their pockets, or the desire to go faster in a more modern car. My test drive was held on Brendan Reeves’ own test track, which he also uses for his driver training courses throughout the year. About a kilometre and a half in length, it offers a wide variety of conditions and cambers, and is ideal to test a car’s capabilities. Carney’s Fiesta really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It looks racey from the outside with a great colour scheme, but when you open the door and sit in the driver’s seat you can tell that it’s more than a standard Fiesta. The most notable addition is a sequential five-speed Sadev gearbox. I’d used a sequential box many moons ago in Simon Evans’ VW Golf Kit Car, so was looking forward to blasting through the gears with clutch-less changes. By the time I got my chance behind the wheel, Carney and Reeves had already ensured that the front tyres were shot, but with dry and dusty conditions that wouldn’t prove to be much of a problem. After a sighting lap around the track, and with Reeves sitting shot-gun, I put my foot down and was immediately amazed by the power of the Fiesta’s 1.6-litre engine. The engine seemed to pull right through the rev range, and hitting fifth gear on the short straights was achieved effortlessly. Once the brakes warmed up I could keep the car turned in with left-foot braking, and while the seating position 40 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
was less than ideal (I struggled to reach the pedals!), it gave you great confidence that the car would do what you asked of it. The handling was also impressive, despite the lack of grip from the front tyres. The Fiesta series regulations allow for some variations in specification, and with a sequential box and a computer management system installed this car is at the higher end of those regs, but it was clear to see that even a standard Fiesta would be incredibly enjoyable to drive. With only a few laps in the car it is difficult to give a detailed impression on the car’s good and bad points, particularly as it is still being developed by Carney and his Gunnawyn Motorsport team, but it’s obvious it has huge potential. And perhaps the most telling question I’ve been asked since is “Would I buy one?”. The answer is a definite yes. While my heart lies in a rear-wheel drive car that you can power slide through corners, the lure of a modern, front-wheel drive car that would leave most of its ‘rooster tailing’ rivals in its wake is difficult to ignore. My two rally-mad sons are already scouring eBay and Gumtree looking for possible project cars …..
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To the winners, the spoils.
lso doing laps of the track on the day was Nathan Berry in his magnificently prepared R2-spec Fiesta (pictured above) that he’s spent three years building. Formerly a Lancer Evo punter, Berry’s Fiesta build had taken longer than expected, but the announcement of the new Fiesta one-make series was the shot in the arm he needed to get the car completed. After purchasing a complete R2 kit from M-Sport in the UK (including roll cage, suspension, engine management and gearbox), the car is at the top of the price scale, but is a real work of art and is indecently fast. At Rally Australia last month I took more of an interest in the R2-spec Fords running in the event, and while they looked painfully slow compared to the WRC cars, I now know from experience that looks can be VERY deceiving.
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 41
RETROSPECTIVE: PNG SAFARI
PNG SAFARI
Story: TOM SMITH
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hile Australia battled for recognition in its efforts to obtain international rally status in the late 80s with Rally Australia, another international event was on its doorstep, and it wasn’t New Zealand. Papua New Guinea, to the north of Australia, enjoys a large expatriate Australian contingent of residents and workers, and with a largely undeveloped country it’s no surprise that rallying found a home as one of the few motorsport options. The South Pacific Motor Sports Club, whilst providing a social hub for rally nuts in Port Moresby, has a rich history, founded in 1965. While the club may have initially been formed more for social gatherings than motorsport competition, members combined resources to develop events based out of Port Moresby. The club has been famous for staging the original Papuan Safari, renamed to the ‘Independence Safari’ after PNG gained independence in 1975. The first major competition on the calendar was a 300 mile rally that became the annual Papua Safari of 500 miles. The Safari took place over mainly wartime roads and at its peak it attracted works teams from Australia, including Australian rally champions, and Brian Culcheth, who was flown in from the U.K. to drive a works Leyland for PNG Motors. Australian drivers were attracted north in the early years, including Colin Bond, Evan Green, Bob Riley and Ross Dunkerton. During the late 80s and early 90s the event continued to attract quite a lot of interest from leading Australian drivers, including Murray Coote, Doug Briscoe and Richard Anderson, who was a two-time Safari winner in 1993 and ’94. In the latter years of the Safari, the event was held over 42 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
four days and somewhere in the region of 40 special stages. What was equally challenging for the crews were the ‘rally’ stages – liaison or transport to those elsewhere – which were so testing, crews were just as likely to incur time penalties on ‘open’ roads as they were on closed stages. erhaps not surprisingly, a number of ex-works cars found their way into the hands of PNG ex-pats who could afford such machinery. Japanese manufacturers also had a strong presence in the country, with local Boroko Motors prominent in the PNG market. One advertisement offered a free pig with the purchase of a Datsun 1200 ute, such was the value of the livestock in the country. Long-time supporter of the event and Clerkof-Course many times over, Mike Ryan, was a favourite of the Australian contingent with whom he forged very strong friendships. When Mike unfortunately passed away in the late 90s, a close-knit group of his closest Queensland rally mates instituted the Michael Ryan Memorial Trophy, a medal which was awarded to a competitor judged to have shown the spirit of rallying that Mike aspired to in his life. Most often awarded to the Championshipwinning co-drivers each year, the 2016 winner, Neill Woolley (Qld Champion Co-Driver), was awarded the 20th and final ‘Mike Ryan Trophy’. Sadly, the PNG Safari is no longer a feature on the international rally calendar, but the South Pacific Motor Sports Club is alive and well. The club’s website and Facebook pages reveal some of the history of this important rallying community. See more at www.spmsc. org.pg/index.html
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DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 43
FIRST LOOK: 2017 HYUNDAI I20 WRC
Hyundai’s presentation of their 2017 World Rally Car was the first opportunity for the media to inspect a car built to the new WRC regulations, and a chance to understand the significance and the challenge that the new regulations presented. Martin Holmes reports ...
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ichel Nandan doubles up not only as Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal, but is also head of the engineering side of the project to build not only their third World Rally Car model in three years, but a winning car evolved in what in many respects is uncharted territory. And, of course, living up to expectations of being a favourite for the 2017 championship title, having finished second behind the now absent Volkswagen this year! Of the three main factors about the 2017 regulations – aero work, central differentials and more powerful engines - Nandan is sure that the biggest challenge with the new technical regulations is to judge how far to go with aerodynamic work.
MN: These cars are being driven on gravel roads and a lot of parts can be damaged which will change the balance of the car. It is a compromise but we cannot go too far in some areas because the car is not driving on smooth circuits. So it is probably one of things that has been difficult. Also, because the car is riding on gravel the effect of the aerodynamics is a little bit less - the ride height is not constant even before the pieces become damaged. MH: What is the main change caused by the aerodynamic changes? Jari Ketomaa took second in his Mitsubishi Mirage. MN: Well, it provides downforce to 44 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
of drag from the car now higher than it has been before? MN: Because the car is wider and the
rear wing is higher you have more drag, but it is not something which is really changing the car because, as I told you, we have more power so we can compensate easily.
keep the balance from front to rear. When we had just the rear wing, it was not possible to do so much. Now with wings front and back it is possible to balance the car a bit more, even though the effect of the downforce for cornering is still limited. And regarding the increased drag we now have 80 more horsepower, so the extra drag is compensated easily.
MH: What about improving the balance side to side? MN: This is a bit trickier but the new skirts help. They can help increase downforce, but the pieces can also be damaged. We have tried to reduce damage to the parts that are under the car, the front splitter and the rear diffuser for example. They all have to be made stronger just to resist all this abrasive effect of flying stones and impact damage.
MH: What about drag? Is the total amount
MH: Many aspects of your aero changes are very old. They had Kamm tails before the war (WWII). The Americans used Naca ducts just after WWII. These double scoops that you’ve got on the wings remind us of the Lancia S4 in 1995. Is there anything new about the aero work or has it really gone back to original days? MN: A lot of the new things they do
in Formula 1 are forbidden in rallying, so it is quite conservative when you look at the car. You have a rear wing, a diffuser, a splitter in the front, things that were used 30 years ago, but I think a lot of these things are also still used on circuit cars!
MH: Regarding engine changes, Sebastien Ogier was saying that the character of the Volkswagen 2017 engine was a lot more power but not much more torque. Is that the same for you (for the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)? MN: I think it will be the same for everybody because the increase of the restrictor size is giving more power, but we still have the limit on boost, so we cannot increase the torque a lot more.
So torque is similar to what we already had and it is only the power that is different.
MH: How does the bigger restrictor affect areas of design of the car? MN: Transmission is not affected
so much because we did not have so much torque. The transmission is not affected and that is why we keep 80% of the components from the previous transmission (on the NG i20 2016 WRC). The fact that you have more power and that the power is coming a bit more quicker means it affects the tyre wear, so you need to work much more on the suspensions, really to get more grip. But I have to say that the effect of the extra power is not affecting the balance of the car, but it really affects the grip, especially on gravel. So we need to be more careful with tyre wear and work constantly on the suspension for that.
MH: There is only a marginal increase in the number of tyres that you can use next year (by being able to reuse the shakedown tyres). Isn’t the extra power going to mean that tyre wear is going to become more difficult than ever? MN: Well I think in some stages in
some events it could be crucial. Not in all the events, but in some. Even this year (2016) you already had quite a big tyre wear like in Rally Australia, with warm temperature and everything, when tyre wear was already quite significant. For sure next year with more power if we have almost the same number of tyres it has to be more difficult. One other change in 2017 was about the kinematic positions of the suspension, now all the kinematic
points are free. On the 2016 car our problem with the front suspension was that we had to stick with standard position. Now we can really optimise the travel and the footprint on the stage.
MH: What changes to design and to driving will the newly allowed central differential make? MN: It could
make those things very complicated, especially for the engineers! I think in terms of driveability and adaptation to the driver it is helping a bit because we can try to reduce the oversteering effect we have to turn in. It can also optimise the traction between the front and the rear axle, but I think the main change is you can reduce the normal understeering. As for the effect on tyre wear, it can have a small effect because of the improvement in turning in to corners, but maybe distribute better the tyre wear.
MH: Anything new electronically? MN: Nothing really new because we
use the same ECU, in fact with the ECU we have we can do a lot of things, but
it is not allowed, so we just add central differential on it, but everything is driven by the ECU. Traction control is completely forbidden. Okay, you could get some traction control benefit in other ways, but all the time what you are doing in the car it is recorded in an FIA box, so they can control the parameter and it is very easy to see if you are doing traction control. Plus, the fact that software is checked and controlled by FIA, approved by FIA. - MARTIN HOLMES
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 45
HOLMES COLUMN HOLMES
INSIDE LINE
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Story: MARTIN HOLMES
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ometimes I feel that rallysport unnecessarily makes life difficult for itself! The arrival of the 2017 World Rally Car rules are some of the most exciting days in recent decades. We not only have countries and drivers to get excited about, we have new cars! The FIA has broken away from the era of stagnation in its rally cars – however well meaning for financial aspects – and offered us fresh rules, fresh technologies, and a fresh team. But what to call these new cars, that is not so easy for the teams. When a new family member arrives in our world and the gender is established, the first thing to choose is the name. When a new rally car arrives, it is almost the last. One glance at the world of colleagues in Formula 1, the name of new cars is the first thing to be defined. Each new car follows a numerical sequence. Not so in rallying. For Citroen a problem does not arise. It had been decided long ago that the name DS was to disappear from Citroen’s products and eventually, even though reluctantly, the name C3 was spoken about publicly in corporate circles. The rally car name C3 WRC was
straightforward. Hyundai also has a new basic model for 2017, the Coupe, so the name Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC was also obvious, and a welcome escape from the 2016 car that was called the cumbersome New Generation i20 WRC. Toyota, however, is venturing into new territory completely, not just in the cars but also with the name of their team. Who dreamed up the name Gazoo? Is it true that Toyota’s worldwide sport carries the name of a Flintstones character? Among the many elements of Japanese life that the western world find hard to comprehend, Gazoo is right there high in the list. For years we baffled over Lancia’s use of the title HF in their cars. The only coherent explanation offered by Italy was the name originated from early days of High Fidelity high quality sound reproduction, a spirit pursued by Lancia for their more sporting range of cars, a name that then stuck.
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hen it comes to the Toyota Yaris WRC, we have a long history of confusion. Yaris cars were long considered as possible competition cars by Toyota Motorsport GmbH. A project in world championship rallying was one of them. TMG built prototypes, leading to
conjecture that they were first off the blocks in developing 2017 cars. Actually it was not correct. As soon as Toyota’s global managers could see what was happening, the TMG project was canned and the Toyota Gazoo Racing operation took it over, moving from Germany to Finland. These TMG prototype cars were never real World Rally Cars, being built before the 2017 rules were written, so the TMG car could truly be called Yaris WRC. That brings us to Ford… Their 2017 rally car has no new name, even though it was based on the latest version Fiesta production car. It is called Ford Fiesta WRC. Familiar? Partially. The name they used from the start of the Fiesta WRC era was Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Ford’s way to honour the most exciting looking top-level rally car is to drop the “RS” part of the name! Ford has never been good at names, a problem right from the top. Who is responsible for the un-scintillating car name? Who doesn’t want this car fondly remembered in history? It was a corporate decision. Any surprise? The corporate supremo went to Dovenby recently to indicate the support of Ford to the latest project. His name was Henry Ford III. Ford have dropped the ‘RS’ name from the new Fiesta WRC.
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The grand father of Henry Ford III is famous for two quotations. One for speaking fervently about the colour black, and then for saying that history was bunk. ho controls rallying? Who are the most powerful people? If there was ever doubt, the most accomplished rally driver of the moment is certainly Sebastien Ogier. He had the chance to capitalise on his opportunity to develop the Volkswagen Polo R WRC cars to his personal taste and four straight championship titles were the result. Power? That did not become evident until VW announced they were stopping their world championship programme, leaving their competition personnel potentially looking for different employment. That was the moment that the sport stood still. Ogier announced he would like to test the four various prototype cars being prepared by other teams, so he would know which team to approach for future employment. Two of the teams (Toyota and M-Sport) complied, Hyundai had already scheduled their 2017 team launch date, while Citroen sat back and said nothing. Both Hyundai and Citroen considered their teams were already full of drivers for 2017. So what stopped Ogier from negotiating with Citroen? The strained circumstances in which Ogier left the team at the end of 2011 were presumed to be the basis of a lack of enthusiasm at the idea of Ogier’s return. And as for Hyundai? Obviously that was the power of promotion people, or did Hyundai feel they are already favourites for the 2017 titles without Ogier and his Volkswagen cars?
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or all Ogier’s impressive performances, the only unanswered question is knowing how much of Ogier’s success was down to Volkswagen. Without the power of the promotion people, rally drivers of Ogier’s level have nowhere they can go! So far the situation, however unusual, was understandable. Then Volkswagen, who had publicly stated that their 2017 cars were prematurely due for museums, said it would be a pity not to rent these cars out to a team, so long as the project did not cost them money. For Ogier, that statement must have come as an even greater shock than the original withdrawal! Suddenly there was one more dimension to Ogier’s puzzle.
Happy 80th Andrew Cowan
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f the world championship is all that matters in the world of rallying, one of Britain’s finest rallying stars would slide into obscurity. All to do with the fact that rally life, as we know it now, did not start until the Monte Carlo Rally in 1973. Cynics could say that Andrew Cowan was born at the wrong time, which is why we talk about him again, now. He is 80 years old this week. His professional rally career embraced a huge variety of manufacturers not seen on the stages these days. They included Sunbeam, Rover, Hillman, BMC, Triumph, Alpine Renault, Polski-Fiat, Chrysler, Mercedes and Mitsubishi. All teams absent from the stages these days. It was his achievements rather than his opportunities which are best remembered. In WRC terms, all the driver Cowan
could be remembered for are podium positions on the Safari and in the Ivory Coast. But in the vast, timeless world of rallying, his three huge victories were winning the London to Sydney Marathons in 1968 and 1977, then the 20,000 miles Tour of South America in 1978, as well as five times winner of Australia’s premier event, the Southern Cross, and New Zealand’s vast Heatway Rally in 1972. WRC people, however, best remember Andrew for leading the world championship Mitsubishi Ralliart team which won the 1998 world championship for Manufacturers, and provided Tommi Makinen with four straight titles in the Drivers’ world championship. For his family, and especially his wife Linda, he is just a Scottish farmer. - MARTIN HOLMES
Andrew Cowan at home on his farm in Scotland in 1995. (Photo: Holmes) DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 47
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Straight advice, specialists you understand and... 48 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
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REPORT: INDIA RALLY
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koda’s Fabia R5 driver, Gaurav Gill, won his country’s event, the Coffee Day Rally India, the final round of the 2016 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, scoring maximum points on all six rounds of the series and winning five of the events outright. His teammate, Fabian Kreim, lost stages after damaging his car’s suspension, but ended up as the FIA’s Pacific Cup Champion and was second in the APRC series. Kreim took the initial lead on Friday’s super-special, but on the narrow roads of the nearby coffee and banana estates Gill moved into a commanding lead on the remaining three days. He was aided by Kreim’s problem when he blocked the stage and the German was out for the rest of the day. When Kreim fell back, Cusco team driver, Yuya Sumiyama, took over second place but fell back with brake trouble in his Group N Subaru, and eventually went off the road. Fellow Cusco driver, the New Zealander Mike Young, was struggling with a down on power engine and over-heating brakes on his Subaru but moved up to second place, which he kept despite power-steering trouble on the final morning.
GILL WINS AT HOME
Third place went to another Indian driver, Sanjay Takale, also driving a Cusco team Subaru. Takale also won the India Rally Championship round run concurrently with the APRC event. The event was based at Chikmagalur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Final results:
1. Gill/Macneall, Skoda Fabia R5, 3h 39m 37.9s 2. Young/Read, Subaru WRX STI, 3h 51m 10.3s 3. Takale/Takeshita, Subaru WRC STI, 4h 03m 51.0s APRC points: Gill 230, Kreim 157, Young 110, Takale 93. - MARTIN HOLMES
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 49
REPORT: CLASSIC ADELAIDE RALLY
BUSBY’S CLASSIC WIN
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ichael Busby and John Caldicott won a sensational Shannons Classic Adelaide Rally, powering their Mazda RX7 home to victory by just over 30 seconds after two days of competition. They extended their margin on Saturday morning as the rally launched into the incredible driving roads that made up the Adelaide Hills stages. Despite losing five seconds on the next stage (Mount Bold), they rebounded on SS17 (Scott Bottom) to take their third stage win of the day to consolidate their margin, before slamming home their advantage with another win on the last hills stage - at Mount Lofty - to all but secure their victory. Conservative runs through the two Adelaide City Council night stages that concluded the rally saw their margin reduced to a slim, yet ultimately safe 31 seconds at the end of the rally. Behind the leader, an intense fight for second and third was decided in the favour of Craig Haysman and Julie Boorman, their Triumph TR7 V8 just beating the Toyota AE86 of Oscar Matthews and Darren Masters for the final two spots on the outright podium. “That was a really hard rally,” Busby said. “We suffered some mechanical dramas on the way to Anstey’s Hill (on Saturday) by losing the power steering, and once we did lose the power steering we actually had a pretty hard charge and managed to gap the competition. “We just drove hard and fast and flat out all weekend.” Behind them the fight for second and third was the most intense of the entire rally, with the Haysman and Matthews never split by more than 10 seconds throughout the entire day.
Photos: RedMAGAZINE Bull Content Pool | RALLYSPORT 50 - DECEMBER 2016
The margin between Haysman and Matthews was only four seconds after Gorge Road, while Matthews took two seconds back on the run through Castambul early in the afternoon. Haysman dragged that time back on the run through Mount Bold, the TR7 back to four seconds adrift as the field regrouped ahead of the final two hills stages of the day. It was on the final hills stage up Mount Lofty where the Triumph made its biggest break of the entire event, gapping the Toyota by 22 seconds heading into the final two sprint stages in the city. The final margin of 48 seconds between the pair belied how close the battle was for most of the event. The Matthews / Masters Toyota would also ultimately win the Late Classic handicap competition. Nick Streckeisen and Mike Dale had held fourth outright until the final hills stage, their Porsche 944 Turbo in touch with the leaders for much of the rally before mechanical failure saw them stop just before the end of the Mount Lofty stage. Their misfortune elevated Cameron and Tania Wearing’s Triumph TR7 to fourth place, the long-time Classic Adelaide Rally competitors enjoying a consistent run throughout the entire event. A tight battle for the Early Classic handicap went the way of the Datsun 240Z driven by Roger Lomman and
Annie Bainbridge, who also finished a strong fifth outright. The Datsun duo edged out the Glenn Dean / Jacob Streckeisen Ford Escort by less than 30 seconds for Early Classic honours, with Guy Standen and Andrew Coles third in their Alfa Romeo. Martin Farkas and Tristan Catford stormed to a comfortable victory in the GT Sports Trophy, driving a BMW M3, winning the rally by three minutes over Kristian Downing and Clayton Webber, driving a Subaru WRX. Michael Lowe and Kerry Chevis finished third in their Alfa. In the Thoroughbred Trophy, Porsche 911 driver Tim Pryzibilla and Dainis Sillins fought a close battle with the BMW M3 of Phil Peak and Sam Hackett, the pair split by less than 30 seconds at the end of the day. Karl vanSanden and Alexander Visintin were third. Finally, the TSD Trophy went to the stunning Jaguar F-Type driven by Christoper Waldock and Christine Kirby.
Final results:
1. Busby / Caldicott (Mazda RX7) 2. Haysman / Boorman (Triumph TR7) +31s (pictured below) 3. Matthews / Masters (Toyota AE86) +48s
REPORT: BEGONIA RALLY
MUD MASTER Story: CRAIG O’BRIEN
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n atrocious weather, Andrew Pannam and Tim Batten (Subaru) reigned supreme, winning the Bully Zero Begonia Rally on November 13, ahead of Andrew Daniell/Emily Leech in a Datsun Stanza. Luke Sytema and Adam Wright rounded out the podium with third in a Ford Escort RS1800. Following heavy overnight rain, 37 crews set out under threatening skies for the fifth and final round of the Focus on Furniture Victorian Rally Championship. Based in Ballarat the event was to consist of 10 stages divided into two heats, using the technical forestry tracks of Caralulup Forest and the more open roads near Creswick. In becoming the first back-to-back drivers’ champion since Mark Fawcett in 2008/09, at last months’ Akademos Rally, Darren Windus came into the final round targeting a win on home soil to cap off two dominant seasons. His bid was short lived when a broken driveshaft ended his day on SS3. Pannam and Batten, who were only one second off Windus after the two opening stages, then seized the lead. Behind them another classic battle for 2WD supremacy was unfolding. Coming into Begonia, Neil Schey/Scott Middleton held a slender lead over Michael Conway/Jenny Cole and Grant Walker, all in Ford Escorts, while Daniell and Sytema ultimately battled it out for 2WD event honours. Young gun Andrew Daniell impressed again in his Datsun Stanza.
Begonia winners Andrew Pannam and Tim Batten. Mike Conway and Jenny Cole push their Escort hard.
Conway held a nine second advantage over Schey following the two
opening stages, before extending his lead when Schey dropped more than a minute on the long challenging SS3, and maintained his position over the next two stages to end Heat 1 ahead of his two rivals. In the Our Auto Rally Series for Hyundai Excels, Stephen Eccles/ Simon Pilepich in a borrowed car, having seriously damaged theirs at the Akademos, comfortably won the heat ahead of Luca Giacomin/Brett Williams. With persistent rain becoming torrential at the completion of Heat 1, event director Arron Secombe made the decision to cancel Heat 2 under safety grounds, and avoid any further road damage. The cancellation resulted in Conway/ Cole securing the 2WD championship, Eccles/Pilepich the Excel series, and Joe Brick outright co-driver.
Photos: Greg Browne, John Doutch DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 51
NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
KAHLER’S MEMORIES
Peter Kahler, son of George, contacted RallySport Magazine and offered his own recollections of the story which featured in last month’s edition. “Dad did have a laugh at the missed sponsorship opportunity when he lost his daks. Here’s a bit of background as to how it happened..... “He went through the water splash and flicked on the windscreen wipers on the dash, but accidently flicked off the fuel pump switches as well .... That is why the car stopped! He had no idea why the car stopped and didn’t realise the switches were off. “Now the pants - he had a long waist so would undo the Velcro on his racing pants when sitting in the seat to be more comfortable ... he jumped out of the car to push it, and down they came! “They were only 180 metres from the timing marker so he drove the car on the starter motor - holding the key on with one hand and steering with the other. There were no other hands to hold up his pants -. what a sacrifice!! “Duckhams, his sponsor, were furious they didn’t get worldwide coverage and Murray Coote thought his name would have looked good blazed across Dad’s butt as car builder! “The family was mortified, but Dad thought it was hilarious! He was famous. Or is that infamous?” Thanks to Peter for sharing these memories.
STONIE CLASSICS
SIX ROUNDS FOR ‘17 NZRC An exciting six round calendar has been announced for the 2017 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship. Otago, Whangarei, Canterbury, Coromandel, a new addition of the Waitomo Rally and the return of Rally New Zealand as the season Grand Finale, form the six rounds of the 2017 championship. The 2017 calendar includes an even balance of two day (Otago, Whangarei and Rally New Zealand), and one day events (Canterbury, Coromandel and Waitomo), and with all six rounds to count for the overall title the championship is set to be wide open to the final round. The class titles (2WD and Classic) will continue to be contested over five rounds (allowing competitors to drop their worst score from the opening five rounds) and the Gull Rally Challenge will continue the popular four round format. The iconic Otago Rally will host the opening round of the championship over the weekend of 8-9th April and includes the hugely popular Otago Classic Rally. The International Rally of Whangarei which also doubles as a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally moves to the later date of 28-30th April as round two of the championship.
Queen’s Birthday long weekend on 4th June, will take crews back to the South Island for the Lone Star Canterbury Rally, a true winter forest rally that has featured snow and ice in recent editions. Following an 11 week mid-season break the championship then returns to action at the beachside holiday destination of Whitianga, the venue for the Gold Rush Rally of Coromandel on 26th August. The challenging roads of the Coromandel ranges have become a driver and fan favourite. The penultimate round of the championship sees a return to the gravel roads of the Waikato for Rally Waitomo on 14th October. The season will then culminate with the return of Rally New Zealand at the new host venue of Tauranga as the organising team continue to prepare for the future return of a World Championship event in 2018. The 2016 Brian Green Property Group NZ Rally Championship attracted one of the most competitive fields in recent years and with continued growth in the new generation AP4 style rallycar at least 10 different manufacturers are set to contest the overall championship in 2017.
2017 Brian Green Property Group NZ Rally Championship Calendar 8-9th April – Otago Rally - Dunedin 28-30th April – International Rally of Whangarei 4th June - Lone Star Rally Canterbury - Christchurch 26th August – Goldrush Rally of Coromandel - Whitianga 14th October – Waitomo Rally - Waikato 25-26th November - Rally New Zealand – Tauranga 52 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
TRAVELLING MAN ... A
t the end of a very exhausting season in which every journey back home between rallies involves travelling around the world again, New Zealand’s Hyundai WRC driver, Hayden Paddon, gave some insights into his unseen expertise in travelling, during Hyundai’s rally car launch in Monza, Italy. Hayden lives not just in New Zealand, but well down the South Island at Wanaka. The first question fans always ask is his secret in overcoming jetlag. “There is no secret unfortunately. I think the more you do it the easier it becomes and you just don’t think about it, you hop on a plane and hope to sleep and wake up at the other end,” he says. So does he go to sleep on planes easily? “Actually no. I try to, but I quite enjoy long plane rides because it gives you a good chance to do a lot of work and not be interrupted. It’s a good chance to catch up on things.” Can you give any advice about jetlag to people who don’t travel as much as you and don’t get used to it? “There is no secret, really. I’ve tried all the things under the sky, the medications, the tricks and all sorts. Probably the biggest thing I’ve found useful is to drink lots of water, drink like a fish, and make sure you are hydrated all the time. And try to have some sleep. Just try and be as rested as you can.” Is going to sleep helped or made worse by alcohol? ”I don’t drink alcohol so I’m not the
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Your say ...
know this is being pedantic, but while Molly is the first female to win the Australian Rally Championship as a driver, her mum, Coral, has been a multiple ARC Champion co-driver. Please do not diminish the importance of rallying as a team sport which demands as much of the codriver as it does the driver. Have always enjoyed RSM and hope to for many years to come. - Malcolm Hobrough
By MARTIN HOLMES best judge of that. Another good thing when you get to your destination is to go out immediately and do some exercise. “If you arrive at 3, 4, 5 o’clock in the afternoon and you want to go to sleep, you must put on your running shoes and go for a run or a bike ride. That keeps you awake. You’ve just got to stay awake and make sure you don’t go to bed too early. “Physically you have to fight to do it. You have to do it when it’s very easy to fall asleep. You just have to keep telling yourself mentally and physically that you must not fall asleep!” Does global travelling give you a buzz? “The novelty of it has all worn off. A lot of people say you’re so lucky to travel the world and do what we do, but we’re lucky to drive the rally cars and go to some pretty amazing countries, but you get over the thrill of actual travel, of the airports, of the planes. “I spend more time in airports and planes than what people do at home. The motivation is that you get to hop into a rally car when you get to the other end. That’s what keeps me going!” How long do you think you will continue all this travelling with living in New Zealand? Will you permanently move over to Europe some time? “At the moment we have a base in Europe so we spend more time in Europe than in New Zealand, but our sponsor commitments back in New
You’re right Malcolm. Coral, and before her, Kate Officer (Hobson) are pioneers of Australian rallying and deserve plenty of credit for breaking down the ‘male only’ barriers.
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first met Molly Taylor at her motorkhana debut in Armidale when she was a 14-year old student at New England Girls School. On the Friday at the WRC rally I was Stage Commander at Bakers Creek, Stage 2. When she was waiting at the time control, I went to the Subaru and said that this is an endurance event, get to a pace where you and the car are comfortable, maintain that and watch as the other contenders crash and burn. She and Bill both nodded.
Zealand means we have to go back five or six times a year for PR and media commitments. “And of course I like going home. For me it’s the best place in the world, so any opportunity I get to go back to New Zealand I’ll take it.” And the weirdest aspect of Hayden’s work is that his regular co-driver, New Zealand bred John Kennard, actually lives in Finland! “John’s wife is Finnish. Together they export a lot of their wine business products in New Zealand to Finland, so I guess travel for John is a bit business and personal. “He has got to go back to New Zealand where they grow the wine so he can actually sell it in Finland. They have a cottage in Finland where they can base themselves, especially during the mid part of the European season, but he goes back and forth between New Zealand and Finland.” And therefore I am claiming a teeny bit of assistance in Molly and Bill’s result. - Richard Opie
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huge thank you to RallySport Magazine for making our first (won’t be the last) visit to a WRC event such an amazing experience. We were able to get immersed in this amazing motorsport from some truly awesome exclusive viewing points, without having to worry about the logistics of getting from point to point, all the while sharing the company of a great group of people from around the globe. Couldn’t recommend them more highly! - Matthew Spriggs DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 53
REPORT: SILVER FERN RALLY
ESCORT SERVICE Story: ROSS MACKAY Photos: JOHN CROUCH
54 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
Stewart Reid had Kiwi Dave Neill calling the corners.
Watch all the Silver Fern Rally video highlights HERE
New Zealand’s biennial Silver Fern Rally - the sixth edition having just been run and won - is a celebration of everything that was, and by all accounts still is, good about long-distance marathon-style events in the Shaky Isles. DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 55
REPORT: SILVER FERN RALLY Derek Ayson won the Silver Fern Challenge in his Nissan-powered Escort.
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n theory it is a revival event, but in practice it is much more, as the winner of this year’s 2,700km odyssey in the country’s South Island, Ford Escort RS1800-driving Welshman Meirion Evans, confirmed on the final day. “It’s been an adventure, a challenge and overall just absolutely brilliant,” he said. The current run of events (which started in 2006) was created to commemorate New Zealand’s original Silver Fern Rally held in 1969. And this year 45 crews came from all over the world to sample its unique mix of sublime roads, state-of-the-art timing/ car tracking logistics and laid-back, ‘cando/not-a-problem-mate’ Kiwi spirit. History will record that Welsh pair, Meirion Evans and co-driver Iestyn Williams, won this year’s event by just 45 seconds from Aussie Stewart Reid and co-driver, Dave Neill, in what effectively is a sister car to the Evans/ Williams one. There was more – much more – to the story of this year’s event than that, however.
For a start, Challenge category winner Derek Ayson and co-driver Gavin McDermott from Gore in rural Southland were first home – by almost four minutes to boot. Their MK2 Ford Escort was outwardly virtually identical to the RS1800s of Evans and Williams and Reid and Neill, but ineligible for the main Historic class. The Ayson Escort has a well-worked FJ20 Nissan four-cylinder engine under the bonnet, so was running in the Challenge class against contemporary cars like Aucklander Dave Strong’s Honda Civic Type R, the Toyota 86 of Brent Taylor, and later model (but not quite) classics like Aussie veteran Ed Mulligan’s E30 BMW 325i.
Reid and Neill were also quicker on the road at least - than Evans and Williams. The trans-Tasman pair were second to the Mk2 RS1800 of 2014 event runner-up, Simon Tysoe and co-driver Paul Morris, after the first day, and led Evans and Williams at the end of the fourth. But it was always going to be an uphill battle for the popular Queensland ace after problems on the first stage on the second day saw him copping a 4m10s time penalty for arriving late at the start of the next stage. By the time Evans and Williams finally got, and managed to stay in front of, Reid and Neill (on the sixth day), only a crash or catastrophic car failure was going to change the result on the seventh. The Evans/Williams Escort led home Reid and Neill by under a minute, with the first local duo home, Allan Dippie and Paul Coghill from Wanaka, 10 minutes back in Dippie’s Porsche 911S. The Porsche 911s of Dippie and Coghill, and Hamilton father and son Stuart and Brad McFarlane (who
Stuart McFarlane, Porsche 911
Stewart Reid, Ford Escort 56 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
finished sixth), were the exceptions that proved the rule in this year’s event, dominated numerically and on the road by Mk 2 Ford Escort RS1800s Brit pair Phil Squires and Nigel Hutchinson were fourth, Aussie husbandand-wife duo Keith and Mary-Anne Callinan fifth (after losing out in a fight for third with the Dippie/ Coghill Porsche when a ball joint broke on the final day), and Brent Rawstron and co-driver Ian McKee seventh. Quick, but out of overall contention, were former national champion Brian Stokes and co-driving wife Anne, who ended up 13th overall after a couple of off-road excursions, and 2014 event winner, Vince Bristow and co-driver Tim Sayer, who finished 17th after a combination of mechanical issues and (spectacular!) trips off the road. No-one finishes an event as long and arduous as the Silver Fern without some sort of heart-stopping moment (or two), and for Derek Ayson and Gavin McDermott theirs came on the final day when a rose joint in the car’s rear suspension cried enough, forcing them to slow down for two stages before they could replace it at the lunchtime service. Once the rose joint and a wheel stud were replaced, they were back
on the front-running pace, however, to claim line and class honours, just over half-an-hour up on the BMW of Ed Mulligan and Tony Brandon, and almost three-quarters-of-an-hour ahead of the Mk 2 Escort of Dunedin duo Brodie Anderson and Brad Lyon.
Craig Salter, Ford Escort Mk1
2016 Silver Fern Rally Final classification Historic
1. Meirion Evans/Iestyn Williams (Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800) 9:48:03.4 2. Stewart Reid/Dave Neill (Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800) 9:48:49.2 +0:45.8 3. Allan Dippie/Paul Coghill (Porsche 911) 9:58:41.2 +10:37.8 4. Phil Squires/Nigel Hutchinson (Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800) 10:02:01.6 +13:58.2 5. Keith & Mary-Anne Callinan (Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800) 10:07:25.8 +19:22.4
Challenge
Keith Callinan, Ford Escort RS1800 1. Derek Ayson/Gavin McDermott (Ford Escort) Dennis Green 9:44:09.7 (BMW) passes 2. Ed Mulligan/Tony James Shand Brandon (BMW E30 325i) (Escort). 10:18:03.7 +33:54.0 3. Brodie Anderson/Brad Lyons (Ford Escort Mk2) 10:26:12.6 +42:02.9 4. Darryl Campbell/Phil Walker (Toyota Altezza) 10:32:13.1 +48:03.4 5. Charlie Evans/Sue O’Neill (Honda Civic 1800) 10:32:59.0 +48:49.3
John Spencer was spectacular in his Datsun 1600, but things didn’t always go his way (right).
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 57
REPORT: NSW RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
QUINN CROWNED NSW CHAMPION PHOTOS: PETER WHITTEN
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athan Quinn has taken out the Gary’s Motorsport Tyres NSW Rally Championship, following his win in the final round at Rally Australia. For the second consecutive year, Quinn has narrowly won the championship over Peter Roberts, who finished the event in third place. The duo were trading times at each event throughout the year in a tightly fought battle. The final round of the championship saw Roberts hampered by dust early in the first pass of the 50km Nambucca stage, giving Quinn a 49 second lead, which he went on to extend to 1 minute 18 seconds by the end of the day. With Adrian Coppin finishing second in the NSWRC field, Roberts collected 36 points from the event, Quinn 40, giving the Coffs Harbour local the title. Peter Roberts’ co-driver, Andrew Crowley, scooped enough points on the day to give him the title of first outright co-driver in the championship. Suffering from heatstroke during the event, Crowley’s efforts to guide Roberts through the challenging stages were commendable, and the title is a fitting result. Competing in a Citroen DS3, Tony Sullens and Kaylie Newell finished the event in third place, elevating Sullens to third outright in the championship. Heading into the final round at Coffs Harbour, Tim Wilkins led the pointscores, with Tom Clarke narrowly behind. A broken gearbox towards the end of the first stage put to bed any of Wilkins’ hopes of a podium finish, unfortunate after a near-flawless year competing in his Nissan S15 Silvia. Clarke was driving to impress at the 58 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
event, but was unable to catch the Evos of Quinn and Roberts, and had to settle for seventh place in the rally. Tom Dermody and Eoin Moynihan in the red Escort once again took out the Pocket-Rocket class, and Moynihan finished the year with enough points to see him finish third overall co-driver. Rally Australia was included in the 2016 Gary’s Motorsport Tyres NSW Rally Championship following a lengthy collaboration between the NSW Rally Panel and the event organisers. The NSWRC component of the event was designed to provide statelevel competitors an opportunity to compete at the most prestigious and exciting event on the Australian rally calendar, without the typical time and cost commitments required by such an event. The NSWRC was conducted over the six Saturday stages of Rally Australia only, giving crews 130 tough, competitive kilometres. Competitor feedback from the event has been extremely positive, and the event will remain on the NSW rally calendar for 2017.
Information on the presentation for the NSW Rally Championship will be released shortly on www.rallynsw.com. au The 2016 pointscores have been finalised, and the outright championship winners are: Driver
Co-driver
1st
Nathan Quinn
Andrew Crowley
2nd
Peter Roberts
Katie Fletcher
3rd
Tony Sullens
Eoin Moynihan
Nathan Quinn, Tom Dermody and Tony Sullens in action at Rally Australia.
REPORT: SOUTHERN CROSS RALLY
MORE ‘CROSS MEMORIES MADE T he Historic Rally Association added another iconic event to its portfolio of revived classics when it ran the Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally in November. The club has previously revived the classic BP Rally of South Eastern Australia and the Alpine Rally that dates back to 1922. The 3000km Southern Cross event, run to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inaugural ‘Cross in 1966, started in Albury on Tuesday, November 8 with a welcome BBQ function at Lake Hume Resort, attended by special guest George Fury (pictured right), winner of the 1978 and 1979 Southern Cross events. The course for the first half of the event generally followed the route of the 1966 event south through Mansfield, Pakenham and Sale, then north over the scenic and challenging Barry Way along the Snowy River to Jindabyne, Cooma and Canberra to Sydney. Sadly Ian Reddiex and Mike Mitchell, all the way from Queensland, had an engine failure in their highly favoured Datsun 1600 before the start, and took no part in the rally. Apart from this, reliability among the field was pleasingly high. Fittingly, the first touring stage of the event followed one of the sections of the notorious 1966 Bethanga Stampede, where four competitive loops were run into and out of the tiny town in an atmosphere of absolute pandemonium. The locals still remember it. The rally was run as a Touring Road Event, which allowed vehicles not fitted with roll over protection to compete, lowering costs for competitors. Competition included several timed sections each day, mixing closed road forest sections, autocross tracks, hill climbs and other venues with touring stages along the original Southern Cross route. To reflect the retrospective
By BOB WATSON
nature of the event a night navigation stage was held in the Mullungdung forest south of Sale. A dinner was held in Sydney to farewell Albury to Sydney sector competitors and welcome those competing from Sydney to Coffs Harbour. Highlight of the evening was a live TV cross to six times Southern Cross Rally winner, Andrew Cowan, who chatted with former team mates Dave Johnson, Barry Ferguson, Bob Riley and John Bryson about Southern Cross days (pictured below left). Commentator Will Hagon gave an excellent retrospective of the significance of the original Southern Cross events, which placed Australia firmly on the international rally scene. Winners of the Albury to Sydney sector were Steve Blair and Dave
sound of this car’s engine is like a mechanical symphony! Overall winners in a Datsun 1600 were the experienced combination of five times Aussie rally champ and 1980 Southern Cross winner, Ross Dunkerton, navigated by wife Lisa, but the win was far from easy. Hot competition from Steve and Benjamin Marron in a beautifully built and driven Mitsubishi Galant, Darryn Snooks in an immaculate George Fury replica Datsun 710 Violet, and John Rawson and Jenny Pollock in a very Husband and wife teams were a feature of the Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally.
Johnson in the ex-Shekhar Mehta Datsun PB210 from the 1977 ‘Cross. From Sydney the rally headed north to Coffs Harbour via Taree, Port Macquarie and Kempsey, to join in the activities of Rally Australia, the final round of the World Rally Championship. Another night navigation stage was thrown in near Kempsey, and the route followed many of the famous Southern Cross roads of the 1970s. The event gave a true taste of what the original events were like. The Southern Cross cars took part in WRC forest stages at Lower Bucca and the WRC Super Special stages at Coffs Harbour and Raleigh Raceway. Iconic venues such as the site of South Australian Tom Barr-Smith’s hair raising high speed crossing of the Pacific Highway, the Taylor’s Arm Hotel (Slim Dusty’s ‘pub with no beer’) and the Gordonville ford near Bellingen were included in the route. Winners of the Sydney to Coffs Harbour segment were Mark Pickering and Dave Boddy in Mark’s Peking to Paris Rally winning Datsun 240Z. The
rapid Datsun Stanza all took fastest times on occasions, and in fact the Marrons scored more fastest stage times than the winners. Mike Batten/Steuart Snooks (Datsun 1600) and Ian and Val Swan in the much rallied Volvo 242 kept them all honest, and Andrew White’s beautifully restored Volvo 122S (an original Southern Cross Rally car) was jaw droppingly quick and sounded magnificent. The finale was another outstanding dinner at the Sawtell Golf Club where trophies were presented, tall tales told and another brilliant live TV cross, this time to George Fury’s navigator Monty Suffern in Texas, was again organised by communications guru Mike Ward. The SCGAR was a fitting commemoration of the first Southern Cross Rally. The format of touring, mixed with short, sharp speed tests and plenty of socialising time is popular with competitors and officials. We look forward to the concept, originated by Australia’s best road finder and road director, Graham Wallis, leading to more of such events. DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 59
RETROSPECTIVE: AUGUST 2005
History noted We take them for granted now, but pace notes have a unique history that may surprise you. By JEFF WHITTEN
I
t would be easy to assume that pace notes were a relatively new invention, particularly from the Australian point of view. It wasn’t all that many years ago that pace notes were introduced after years of using tulip instructions and route charts and, even earlier, map-based navigation. However, it may come as some surprise to realise that pace notes were first used not by a rally driver but by a racing
The ‘Supreme Rat Traps’ Vanguard stuck in a bog in the 1955 Redex Trial.
, but s were very basic The original note for e en sc e and set th they did the job . re tu rallying of the fu
60 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
driver, as far back as 1955 in the annual Mille Miglia race in Sicily. The first use of pace notes is credited to Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson, who used the system to win this high speed annual event that was held on the mountainous roads of southern Italy. First, a bit of background. Stirling Moss was a well-known driver in the Formula 1 grands prix of the 50s and had heard about the famous Mille Miglia (which literally means 1000 miles in Italian) race, which had been running since 1903. The event was more often than not won by Italian drivers, simply because of their intimate knowledge of the route, which they were able to drive whenever they chose. Moss was friendly with Denis Jenkinson, a small, bearded, gnome-like man who was editor of the English Motor Sport magazine. Jenkinson was no stranger to motorsport either – he was a former motorcycle sidecar World Champion passenger. The pair had been discussing the event and Jenkinson mentioned to Moss that he would like the chance to compete in the event and beat the locals at their own game. Jenkinson (or ‘Jenks’ as he was commonly known) also mentioned his desire to an American driver, John Fitch, a former fighter pilot who had driven a Nash-Healey in the 1953 Mille Miglia. Fitch claimed that the only way that a non-Italian could be beaten was by applying science to make up for the lack of local knowledge. Jenkinson went away and thought about what Fitch had said. He already had knowledge of
much of the route through his many trips through the country chasing motorcycle events, while Moss had competed in the event itself four times in a Jaguar, without success. lthough Moss had accumulated a great deal of knowledge about the hazards on the route – the bumps, the blind corners, the railway level crossings – there was still no substitute for local knowledge. Between them they believed that they had a reasonable amount of knowledge of about a quarter of the Mille Miglia course. Early in 1955, Moss secured a drive in a Mercedes 300SLR for the forthcoming event, so the pair soon got serious about their preparation for the big event. They decided that route notes that described every straight, every bend, every geographical feature or landmark, should be prepared. But covering a 1000 mile route was no mean task, so over a period of time the pair drove the course at speed, while Jenks took notes. Eventually, Jenkinson had recorded around 17 pages of detailed notes and Moss was confident that he could take many blind brows at 100mph, still well below the speed that the locals drove. With his comprehensive hand written notes massaged into some sort of order, the next problem was how he was going to be able to deliver them to Moss in an open-top sports car at speeds of up to 170mp/h. After much thought, Moss came up with the idea of building a small aluminium box to hold a continuous roll of pace notes. The box contained two shafts around which the pace notes were rolled, and there was a clear Perspex window on the top through which the appropriate notes could be read. The box was sealed with adhesive
A
Moss and Jenkinson on their way to victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia.
Things have changed a lot. This is a page of Neal Bates and Coral Taylor’s pacenotes.
tape so that rain could not get in and obscure the penciled notes. Jenks spent hours in his hotel rooms over a period of weeks transcribing the notes he had taken on the recce run onto the continuous roll that would be used in the event. Finally, race day arrived and Moss and Jenkinson rolled the big Mercedes out in readiness for the race start at 6am. The race attracted tens of thousands of people as it raced through towns and villages, up and down mountains and through straw-baled corners. As Moss drove his Mercedes absolutely flat out, Jenkinson called out instructions to his driver as he inched the rolled notes slowly through that famous aluminium box as each feature along the route came and went. Using a mixture of yelled instructions and hand signals, they were able to avoid crashing and keep all the other
competitors at bay. By the time they reached the finish later that day, the pair had beaten all the local drivers to win the prestigious event. Amidst all the popping champagne corks and wild celebrations, Moss and Jenkinson emerged as champions, thanks not only to Moss’ superb driving, but to Jenkinson’s painstaking preparation of his route notes. On Sunday, May 1, 1955, pace notes were officially born, thanks not to a rally crew, but to an F1 driver and a motorcycle sidecar champion. Truth is often stranger than fiction.
NEWS
Hayden Paddon’s new 2017 helmet design features a striking green and gold look.
Lucky escape for Ross Kaikoura driver, Regan Ross, had a lucky escape during the recent earthquakes that have devastated his home region. His high-revving Ford Escort RS1800 was sitting underneath the hoist supporting brother Nigel’s Fiesta ST, which thankfully stayed in place. A large collapsing tool box narrowly missed the back of the car, thanks to the fact the car had been wriggled forward by a couple of feet. - BLAIR BARTELS DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 61
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Matthew Robinson and Sam Collins tackle Dansey’s Pass in their Fiat Abarth 131 during the Silver Fern Rally. Photo: John Crouch
62 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 63
FEATURE: TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
TOYOTA’S 5-YEAR PLAN FOR WRC SUCCESS
T
oyota Gazoo Racing Sporting Manager, Jarmo Lehtinen, took time at the official team launch of the Yaris WRC team to explain the background behind the work of bringing Toyota back to the world championship rally scene. The concept of a World Rally Championship team based in central Finland, close to a town not known for convenient international connections, raised eyebrows. The task of finding skilled and experienced rally staff prepared to relocate to the north of Europe was predictably difficult, but nobody had the expectation that the whole operation could actually happen in the timeframe of 18 months. And when finally the driver line up was announced, one month before the start of the 2017 season, nobody could expect that all the current WRC Finnish drivers would flock to the team, and that the team would comprise only Finnish drivers. Jari-Matti Latvala was recently confirmed as the leading driver, while Juho Hanninen, who has carried out the majority of the development testing work, will be the regular second driver, carrying on his testing work as it translates into actual competition experience. Tommi Makinen has said all his driver contracts are only for one year, but are
64 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
By MARTIN HOLMES “flexible” beyond that. The line-up is well balanced. Latvala is currently the world’s most experienced WRC driver, Hanninen is an FIA Super 2000 WRC Champion, while Esapekka Lappi is the reigning FIA WRC2 Champion. It was only on the technical front where foreign experience becomes essential. For example, the production of engines in Germany, and the Engineering Manager and his assistant are both British, ex M-Sport personnel. We asked Jarmo what had been the biggest worry in bringing the team to the start of the season.
Is there something he never really thought would be a problem but was? JL: Not really. We started from
scratch so the first big challenge has been to find the personnel. For sure, it was a massive time consuming job, but luckily we have managed pretty well. Of course it was a massive task to create the car, but when you have the right designers, it is their job, and they did it. Then the challenge was building up the infrastructure. We are going to start the 2017 season with two cars. Choosing the driver of the third car and deciding when the third car can start will be done nearer
Toyota WRC Sporting Manager, Jarmo Lehtinen.
the time. It will depend on physically having a ready car, spare parts and sufficient personnel. We don’t want to push ourselves in a corner to go in too early with the three cars.
Was your plan for choosing your lead driver disturbed when Volkswagen cancelled their programme? JL: Not disturbed. We were, of course, sad about their withdrawal. I would have liked to see them still on the championship, but then again it has happened. You need to take the positive out of it. It just opened the driver market, and the market on the technical personnel as well.
Toyota has had different programmes training drivers with the hope of eventually driving for the Toyota World Championship Team, but we haven’t seen any of those people at this presentation. JL: We still have the young driver
programme for Japanese drivers. They have now done one and a half seasons with us. That is a central Toyota programme. There are two young drivers, Arai and Katsuta. Even though it is a Toyota funded project, it is still separate from the WRC. Of course the ultimate aim is to have a Japanese driver one day in the WRC, but time will tell. They will continue
using R5 cars next year. Teemu Suninen also had a Toyota funded programme of WRC rallies and has been doing some WRC tests for us.
What will Lappi’s responsibility be? JL: He will help and support us on
the test programme on the start of the season. We are a new team, we have a lot of things like endurance tests and things like that still to do, so there is plenty of driving for all the three crews on the testing side.
Is Gazoo Rallying planning projects outside the WRC, like different formula of cars? JL: We have been just focusing
on WRC project at the moment and once that is up and running, of course the R5 market is quite interesting. But we haven’t really put any thoughts on that. It has been mentioned that R5 might be interesting in the future, but in the same sentence it has been emphasised that first we need to focus on the WRC and make that running and working. After one year or two years then we might start to think about something else as well. My understanding is that the WRC is a five-year project at the moment.
There was talk earlier of a section of the company working from Estonia. What happened to that? JL: We have a section of the company in Estonia operating like a storage facility, a logistic hub. It is a little bit closer to Europe than Jyvaskyla, but rally operations involving rally cars and spare parts which are going directly to rallies are all happening from Finland. The recce team is a dedicated team run by ourselves, using Subaru Imprezas out of Finland.
Latvala, Hanninen, Lappi and Makinen at Toyota’s WRC launch.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Personnel
Team Chairman: Akio Toyoda Team Principal: Tommi Makinen Team Vice Principal: Koei Saga Marketing Director, Shikegi Tomoyama Head of Marketing and Public Relations: Tiina Lehmonen
Team Drivers: Jari-Matti Latvala, Juho Hanninen Team test driver: Esapekka Lappi Sporting Manager: Jarmo Lehtinen Manager Engineering: Tom Fowler Press Officer: Terhi Heloaho
DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 65
FEATURE: TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
YARIS WRC DEVELOPMENT EX By MARTIN HOLMES
Tom Fowler is the Engineering Manager for Toyota Gazoo Racing and their WRC project.
A
fter first presenting the Toyota Yaris WRC car with the new team sponsor, Microsoft, at the Paris Motor Show in October 2016, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) personnel were present at the team’s official launch in Helsinki on December 13. It was the first time the car was available for outsiders to learn more about the project. The background behind the project has been very confusing, because the German based Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) company had produced their own unofficial concept car in 2014, well before details of the 2017 regulations had been finalised, and even earlier produced a World Rally Car engine. The WRC project was then moved from TMG in 2015 and awarded by TGR to the small Subaru Impreza competition car operation run by Tommi Makinen Racing (TMR) at a farm at Puupplola, a small village 10km north of Jyvaskyla in Central Finland. From that moment the TMR operation expanded as the WRC work began. Tom Fowler had been a leading member of M-Sport’s WRC operation
at Dovenby, becoming the chief onevent engineer for Mikko Hirvonen. He became one of the small original group of personnel to be recruited by Makinen. He had been living in the tiny Puuppola community for around 18 months at the time of the TGR launch. That was right at the start of the design work, and later he rose to
become Engineering Manager for the team and the head of the Yaris WRC project.
O
ur first question to Fowler was how difficult was it to take over the Yaris WRC project from TMG, when Japan dictated that Makinen should be in charge of the work.
How white was the sheet of paper he had in the development of this car? TF: It was completely white, there
was nothing left over from the TMG work. We started exactly from where as a team we wanted to be. The engine supplier for Gazoo Racing is TMG, so the team works with TMG on the engine and the engines are made in Germany. The details of the construction and background of the Global rules engine remain secret, beyond saying the engine in the Yaris WRC was designed by TMG for the current Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris WRC car.
The front and rear spoilers on the Yaris WRC are like something out of the Group B days. 66 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
Like the other manufacturers, TGR has been working closely with the FIA as the details of the 2017 WRC regulations were being evolved. Details of the permitted aero work were some of the final details to be defined. TGR is reluctant to explain the facilities used for the aero work. Of the various facilities with the 2017 cars, you’ve got aero
XPLAINED opportunities, the more powerful engine, and the central differential. TF: The power has increased but the
torque hasn’t very much. As a new team we didn’t have an engine running to the previous regulations, so this is our engine and with the restrictor size from the new regulations already, so we don’t have a backwards comparison to make really. But for sure the power level in the 2017 car is above that of the previous rules. The torque remains basically the same, which was the aim of the regulations in the beginning. The FIA didn’t want to increase the torque by, for example, increasing the boost pressure because it would put more load on the transmissions. So I think that was the target in the increase in the restrictor size and that’s what’s happened.
Is having more top end power going to
make it more difficult for the drivers? TF: Running their peak power at a
higher rpm is more difficult and brings
challenges in terms of making sure that the throttle response is what the driver wants. It is certainly an area we’ve had to work very hard on, and it’s probably
Jari-Matti Latvala tests the Yaris on tarmac in Corsica recently. DECEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 67
FEATURE: TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
the same for everybody else. Each driver is different, but on the other hand once you have the system that’s variable you can then map it to each driver.
Your predecessors in TTE (Toyota Team Europe) knew a lot about central differential work, but I guess a lot of development has changed since those days. TF: Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Team
is a new team. The car that we’ve been working on is completely new and its been designed in accordance with the new regulations using all the technology that’s been allowed on top of the previous regulations. The transmission in the current Gazoo Racing WRC car was evolved with Xtrac Ltd in the UK. It was designed, bespoke, for the current car. We haven’t used anybody else’s base line or copied any other cars. It would be fair to say that the majority of our design work is based on fresh ideas and innovation, rather than looking at what anyone else has been up to.
How has the suspension work been developed? TF: We’ve been developing the
dampers with Bosch since the beginning of the testing programmes. We started in April (2016) with the gravel car and we’ve been through a lot of different specifications of the dampers on the gravel car in that time. We have something that’s very close to what we intend to use for the first 68 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2016
gravel rallies for next year (2017), but for sure that development will continue right up until the pre-event test for those events, that’s normal – the internals of the damper are free from homologation, so it’s one area where it’s wise for teams to push very hard because you can basically change it on a rally-by-rally basis.
The aero balance is very important, but the front splitter and the diffuser can very easily get knocked off halfway through a stage, so was it necessary to double the normal thickness of composites used in these items? TF: The previous composite
regulations were very tight about content, but that’s been opened up in these regulations as well. Even with the change in those regulations, making these components survive undamaged has not been easy. We’ve done a hell of a lot of work in that area, but I think everyone had choices from the beginning whether to use all the possible benefits that you can from the aerodynamics, which would result in some components that are liable to damage. But with the way that rally is going nowadays, it’s no longer an endurance event, it’s a sprint, it comes down to split seconds. So if you design the car saying we shouldn’t do that because it might fall off, you are not going to have the performance that you need. Our target from the beginning was to maximise what we could, then attempt to make it work. If we couldn’t make it work then we would back step until
we could, and that’s how we ended up here.
Have there turned out to be some unexpectedly difficult challenges working with the car? TF: I don’t think unexpectedly difficult. I’ve personally been involved with the development of rally cars before. I know the challenges, I know that its very, very difficult.
I think our biggest challenge as a team was the timeframe, just getting to where we needed to be in say a year and a half, but obviously in reality we had to set a lot of things up before we even had a car. It’s been a very short period.
In the development and testing of the car, have there been any sequences, like first on gravel or first on asphalt. What has been the order of priority in the development and testing of the car? TF: Well I think the first priority was
our gravel car, because the majority of the championship is run on gravel. I think our main aim at the beginning was to get a gravel car running as quickly as possible. We produced the first test car, which did not represent what you’ve seen at the launch today, though the underside is pretty similar, so we used those first TGR prototypes to run an extensive test programme on gravel. The tarmac car went into testing just this last October (2016), which in the
scheme of things is quite late in the year, but we were working really hard to make sure that the gravel car was where it needed to be. That demanded resources from everywhere, the test team, the design team, everything. In terms of priority we really had to make sure the gravel car was right before we got too deeply into the tarmac. You know what things are like, you can leave things until the last minute and you get them done because you have to, and we pushed very hard recently on the tarmac.
What’s the Yaris WRC production run going to be? How many cars are you expecting to build? TF: With the championship nowadays
your drivers each need two cars because you can’t come from event-toevent without a rotation. Obviously it’s rallying, things can happen, we might need to build an extra car if there’s an accident or whatever.
One of the other rule changes for 2017 is that the cars can be lighter. How is the weight going to be reduced compared with the 2016 car? TF: In the end it only went down by 10 kilos, the original intention was for 25 kilos. There was also a change in the
regulation regarding the safety systems as we now have much more advanced side impact protection, so they put the minimum back up again. Basically we’re running the regulations now at 1190kg minimum. As all the teams place big lumps of ballast around the car, that limit is not really a lot different. The new side impact regulation is much more complicated.
One of the most fascinating aspects about the Yaris WRC project is the sponsor, Microsoft. They have declared they want to get experience about autonomous cars. What is that all about?
TF: As a rally team, the same as any other motorsport team, we collect a huge amount of data. That data relates to how the mechanical components of the car are working, but also what the driver is inputting to the car. So by using the amount of data we gather during testing and rallying, it really gives a good idea as to what the driver’s input is to the car to get it to do what he wants it to do. That data will be shared using Microsoft systems, and I believe that is one of the projects that is involved in this partnership. Driverless rally cars? Now there is a thought! That might save future teams a lot of money!
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