Issue #9 - February 2017
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CONTENTS - #9 FEBRUARY 2017 FEATURES
EVENT REPORTS
20 PEUGEOT 205 T16
WE REMEMBER ONE OF THE FASTEST GROUP B RALLY CARS
10 MONTE CARLO RALLY
THE 2017 MONTE WAS A CLASSIC IN ANYONE’S LANGUAGE
05 LATEST RALLY NEWS
19 HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN
TASSIE’S ADRIAN MORRISBY IS A POPULAR FIGURE IN RALLYING
THE ‘17 SEASON DIDN’T START THE WAY THE FLYING KIWI PLANNED
28 STEPHANE PREVOT
48 FIVE MINUTES WITH ...
WE INTERVIEW THE FORMER CODRIVER OF CHRIS ATKINSON
34 STATE CHAMPIONS
04 EDITORIAL NEWS FROM AROUND THE SPORT
25 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? FOLLOW US ON:
REGULARS
MARK PEDDER TALKS ABOUT HIS TROUBLESOME 2016 SEASON
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54 PHOTO OF THE MONTH
THE 2016 STATE CHAMPS ARE ALL DESERVING WINNERS
THIS MONTH’S “TOP SHOT”
40 GEMINI MISSION
TOM SMITH LOOKS AT A CLASSIC RALLY CAR THAT’S DIFFERENT
44 ENGINEERING A WRC CAR
M-SPORT’S CHRIS WILLIAMS TALKS ABOUT THE FIESTA WRC
50 DMACK MOVES FORWARD
HOW DOES A PRIVATE TYRE BRAND SET FASTEST WRC TIMES?
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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
PUBLISHED BY:
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Peter Whitten RallySport Magazine peter@rallysportmag.com.au www.rallysportmag.com.au
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.
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 3
EDITORIAL
THE GOOD AND THE BAD ... By PETER WHITTEN
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here have been some positive signs for the Australian Rally Championship early in 2017, and with the first round of the championship only weeks away, it’s hoped they add to the success of this year’s series. A 50% reduction in the series registration fee (down to $1500) is a step in the right direction, but whether that’s enough to encourage more competitors to sign up to score points remains to be seen. Ryan Smart and Brendan Reeves both won ARC rounds in 2016 but weren’t eligible for points, preferring not to pay the series registration fee, while Nathan Quinn was another front-runner who clearly didn’t see the benefit when he only contested some of the rallies. It really is a conundrum for the series organisers, who need money to cover some of the administration costs associated with running a national series. On the other hand, they need to be careful to look after their customers (the competitors) and not bite the hand that feeds them. It’s hoped that the reduction in cost is enough to see registration numbers at least doubled on what they were in 2016. Only time will tell.
The Australian Rally Championship is making some big steps forward, but there’s still some way to go.
CLICK TO WATCH
(Above) The 2016 ARC videos on YouTube have had fewer views than you might expect, while (below) the new ARC season brochure is a move in the right direction.
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he announcement that MRF Tyres will provide the control tyre for the next three years of the championship is also good news, but comes just eight weeks before the first round. A deal with MRF’s Vivek Ponnusamy has been in the wings for many, many months, but the final signature on the contract wasn’t signed until only recently. After several seasons running Kumho tyres, competitors now have very limited time to purchase their 2017 tyres, and to test them prior to the first round, a situation that is hardly ideal. However, MRF’s enthusiasm and their emergence as a major player in the Australian motorsport tyre market is great news, and should help to benefit the sport for many years to come.
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he Australian Rally Championship still has a way to go in other areas though. Last year saw a move away from traditional media coverage to a service
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that only produced short video clips that appeared on the event website, via YouTube, or on Facebook.
While the ARC will tell you they were a resounding success, the punters out there desperate for rally news and event reports weren’t as convinced. Adding to this was a huge gap in the coverage, whereby the ARC didn’t produce any press releases during the season, relying on the sporadic efforts of teams to provide their own reports. It was clearly a process that didn’t work in getting the sport to those outside the close-knit rallying community. Expecting newspapers and radio stations to produce their own stories and reports from events is never a guarantee for success, and can be littered with errors that could possibly do the sport more harm than good. In my view, the ARC has a responsibility to its supporters to produce factual, quality reports from each day of each event. Let’s hope a return to this is not far away.
New appointments Sarah Bell has been appointed as the Competitor Relations Officer for the 2017 Australian Rally Championship. Meanwhile, regular ARC competitor, Adrian Coppin, has been appointed by Rally Australia as their Sporting and
Business Development Manager. Coppin’s role will include sponsorship sales, and support and liaison with prospective competitors. He will also assist Clerk Of Course, Wayne Kenny, on sporting matters and liaison with CAMS.
NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU The four new 2017 World Rally Cars from Citroen, Hyundai, Ford and Toyota debuted at Monte Carlo Rally.
TYRE DEAL GOES TO MRF MRF Tyres will be the official tyre supplier of the Australian Rally Championship for the next three years. Mentor Tyres, the importer of MRF Motorsport Tyres for Australia and New Zealand, has been negotiating with CAMS for many months to sign a contract, after the previous supplier, Kumho, decided not to renew their contract. Mentor Tyres’ Vivek Ponnusamy is looking forward to the opportunity in 2017 and beyond. “MRF Tyres has a strong passion in motor sport and cannot wait to become a part of the Australian Rally Championship for the next three years,” he said. The controlled MRF tyre has won championships around the world, including the prestigious FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship eight times. “We have the enthusiasm and commitment to support all forms of motorsport in Australia, right from club level to national and international level, and we are here for long term. “We have great reputation in all forms of motor sport, where our
championship-winning tyres are used in rallying, open-wheel racing, motocross and international-level karting,” Ponnusamy added. This year’s Australian Rally Championship will begin with the Eureka Rally in March, and will then head to Western Australia for the Quit Forest Rally in April.
ARC REDUCE FEES FOR 2017
After much lobbying and complaints from competitors, CAMS have announced a 50% reduction in the series registration fee for this year’s Australian Rally Championship, to $1500. At the same time the governing body released the Sporting and Technical Regulations. CAMS General Manager of Motor Sport Michael Smith said he’s looking forward to a great season of Australia’s premier rally championship. “This marks the first of many changes on the horizon for the championship, with it now coming under the CAMS banner,” Smith said. “More news regarding the championship will be announced shortly, with the championship already shaping up to be one of the biggest seasons yet.” Entries have also opened for the first round of the championship, with competitors heading to Ballarat for the Eureka Rally on March 17. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 5
NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
NZ news
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By BLAIR BARTELS
ans waiting to see Marcus van Klink’s new Mazda RX8 in action will have to wait until round two of the NZRC, with the Christchurch plumber confirming he will continue to use his RX7 in search of a second Otago Classic Rally title.
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he open two-wheel drive class looks to be highly competitive this year, with confirmation that Wayne Pittams will join the class in a Millingtonpowered Escort recently purchased from the U.K. Other cars expected include a similar Escort for Anthony Jones, and van Klink’s RX8.
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ew Zealand Motorsport supply agents Palmside NZ Ltd have expanded their range of top quality performance brands by adding MRF competition tyres to their line-up. Palmside’s Deane Buist, himself a highly-accomplished driver, is excited to team up with Mentor Tyres to deliver MRF tyres to the New Zealand market. Palmside will have a large and competitively priced range of 13, 14 and 15 inch tyres arriving late in February.
EVANS TO OTAGO
Simon Evans is the latest big-name entry into this year’s International Classic Rally of Otago. He will drive a Datsun Stanza owned by multiple Otago Rally competitor, Darryn Snooks. Evans’ entry into the Otago Rally is a real coup for the event. This will be his first entry into the Otago Rally. Entries for the April 7 to 9 event continue to flood in. Irishman Frank Kelly has already confirmed his entry. See the current list of entries HERE.
MOLLY’S ARC WINNING SUBARU FINDS NEW HOME By PETER WHITTEN Tasmanian driver, Craig Brooks, has purchased the Subaru WRX STI that Molly Taylor drove to victory in the 2016 Australian Rally Championship. The three-time Tasmanian champion will debut the car in March’s opening round of the ARC, the Eureka Rally in Victoria, with the experienced Steve Glenney calling the pacenotes. Brooks had a disastrous ARC campaign in 2016, in which he rolled his Subaru in the shakedown at the National Capital Rally, and then crashed the car on the first day, after which it burnt to the ground. But the Tasmanian businessman is determined that 2017 will be more successful, and he will run the Les Walkden Rallying-built Subaru in PRC trim. “At the end of 2015 we went to Begonia Rally to do only my third event on pacenotes, with Steve as co-driver, which we won,” Brooks told RallySport Magazine. “That whet our appetite to try an ARC program, which ended abruptly in Canberra after a crew pacenoting error. I take full responsibility for that inexperience error, and really look forward to putting that demon behind me and getting the full feel for pacenotes. “I am a seasoned competitor on blind events, but pacenote experience is limited to two gravel and two tarmac events, plus the three stages in Canberra.” Brooks will fund the program himself through his own Contel Communications business, and after contesting the Eureka Rally, is hopeful of committing to the remaining rounds of the championship, including the Forest Rally in WA.
“I’m not sure how we will fare in a big, heavy PRC Subaru against the AP4 cars, but we will use the pedigree of the ARC-winning car to see how we can grow through the season,” Brooks said. “LWR have a great reputation and have built a very nice car that is clearly competitive, but we have no expectation of results, but are really looking forward to getting out into the forest again. “Les Walkden and his team have been very supportive of our endeavours, and we look forward to continuing to work with them,” he added. Interestingly, Brooks also owns another ex-factory Subaru rally car – the 2005 Impreza WRX STI that Cody Crocker used to win the 2005 Australian Championship. Brooks has won two Tassie titles in that car and managed a fifth and a third in ARC heats in 2007 and 2008. That car is likely to be sold to help fund his 2017 campaign.
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FIA FINALISE R4 KIT FORMULA By MARTIN HOLMES French company Oreca has been name as the official supplier of equipment for the FIA’s new R4 Kit rally car formula. The new R4 Kit formula is for use in regional and national championship rallying, and ends a long period of waiting for the formula to be finalised. The formula, first announced by the FIA in September 2015, allows specified equipment to be installed in “a large number of road cars currently available on the market”. The permitted equipment includes conversion to four wheel drive and the use of a 1.6 litre turbocharged engine. In terms of cost and performance, these cars will sit between the current R3 and R5 cars. “Our intention was to create another low cost option within the rally pyramid, and to offer competitors a car with a high level of safety,” FIA Technical Director, Bernard Niclot, said. “The important thing is that the running costs are low, and for a competitor there are no development
The R4 formula will be similar to the regional AP4 rules. (Photo: Peter Whitten)
costs. At the same time, competitors will know that all R4 specification cars are identical, providing a level playing field within this new category.” This formula is intended to unify the wide-ranging opportunities currently offered, for example, by the regional
AP4 rules in Asia Pacific and individual national rules. This has no connection with the R4 Kit regulations announced in 2001, which were intended to increase the performance of existing Group N Mitsubishis and Subarus.
RHI JOINS MILLEN FOR AMA Australian co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino has signed a deal to sit beside Ryan Millen in the 2017 American Rally Association series. Millen and USA-based Gelsomino will drive a Toyota RAV4 this year, with their first event being the Rally Perce Neige in Canada. “I am really looking forward to working with Ryan and Toyota USA this season,” Gelsomino said. “Ryan and I competed together last season in a one-off test event in NASA, which I am happy to say we won. The RAV4, as in previous years, will continue to take on the brutal rally world with a stock engine and automatic transmission. Fans were continually shocked and impressed at the potency of the Rally RAV4, which spins only the front wheels through a conventional six-speed automatic gear box.
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MINI COOPER AP4
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vans Motorsport has been keeping rally fans updated via social media with progress on the build of their new Mini AP4 rally car, scheduled to be ready in time for the opening round of the 2017 Australian Rally Championship. RallySport Magazine’s Tom Smith caught up with Glen Weston, long-time co-driver to Eli Evans, and got the inside running on the team’s decision to ‘go Mini’, and the plans for a successful 2017 season.
When did the team decide to come back for the 2017 series? Was this a recent decision? Evans Motorsport was disappointed not to have won the 2016 championship after having come so close, so the decision was made soon after Rally Australia to contest the 2017 ARC.
EVANS TEAM AIM FOR #1 advance coverage of who will be running the series (other than Molly Taylor)?
What was the reason to go with the Mini, as opposed to any other car built to AP4 regs? And what are the technical attributes of the Mini that make it stand out? The Mini is, in our opinion, the perfect car for the AP4 regulations. The Prince engine is the joker engine for the class, and this engine is a standard fitment in the Mini. From a dimensional aspect, everything seems to fit nicely. The balance of the car should be very good, as the crew are sitting about 200mm behind the centre line of the car, and this should help to offset the weight of the engine and transmission. We also really like the appearance of the Mini. It’s an iconic shape with a great motorsport history, so we’re
hoping that it will become a fan favourite.
Did Eli drive a road-going Mini in anger to test his ‘fit’ in the car? No. We chose the Mini based upon its dimensions and specifications.
Was the plan always to build this as a left-hand drive car? Eli prefers LHD. He feels that he has better co-ordination in his left hand for gear shifting and using the handbrake, and since 2009 he has only driven one event in a righthand drive car, as all of the other cars we used were LHD.
Is this a serious tilt at the 2017 ARC crown, and what are the team’s expectations? Absolutely. We aren’t building this car to come to second.
Who do you see as your main competition this year, given little 8 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
The last event that Eli drove in a 4WD was Rally Australia in 2009, so I would have to say that any driver who was in a 4WD in 2016 will be our Evans and Weston main competition. (below right) hope Eli is super quick the AP4 Mini can deliver them in a front-wheel another ARC title. drive car, so we are expecting that this should translate across to the Mini Cooper AP4, however, there will obviously be a learning curve for us.
Who are the major sponsors for 2017? Our major sponsor once again will be Tankformers. We are very grateful for their ongoing support.
Finally, how much longer will Glen Weston continue at the top end of the sport? Everyone in the team tells me that codriving is easy because it’s basically just sitting there and reading a book. With that in mind, I think I’m all good to keep going as a co-driver for at least another 30 years or so!
WRC STATS
REFLECTIONS ON WRC POWER STAGE POINTS
Story: GARY BOYD @KiwiWRCfan on Twitter
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he Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 podium finishers did not score any Power Stage points, a rare occurrence that has only occurred six times since Power Stage points became a regular part of WRC in 2011. The other occasions were Poland 2016, Acropolis 2013, Portugal 2012, France (Alsace) 2012 and Sardegna 2012. During 1999 the FIA experimented at Rally Corsica and Rally Finland by awarding bonus points to the top three drivers on a televised Stage. Didier Auriol won both of the 1999 experimental “Power Stages”, with Tommi Makinen second on both occasions. Carlos Sainz was third on the Power Stage, as well as third overall in Corsica, making him the first ever driver to score regular and Power Stage points at the same event. Toni Gardemeister claimed the final Power Stage point at Finland 1999, which meant the overall podium of Kankkunen, Burns and Sainz did not get any Power Stage points. From 2011 to 2016 the maximum points a driver could score on a rally was 28, being 25 for a rally victory, plus three for the Power Stage win. Only four drivers ever accomplished this feat: they are Sebastien Ogier, Sebastien Loeb, Andreas Mikkelsen and Hayden Paddon. Ogier’s first 28 pointer was driving a Citroën DS3 at Rally Jordan in March 2011. He would take another 16
maximum point hauls in the following years, including three consecutive events, Sweden, Mexico and Portugal 2013. Sebastien Loeb claimed three maximum pointers in 2012, while Ogier was taking a gap year driving Skodas and developing the VW Polo. Andreas Mikkelsen’s only 28 pointer occurred in Catalunya 2015, when Ogier crashed 4km before the end of the Power Stage. The four-time World Champion had a comfortable 50 second overall lead at the time of his rare mistake. The final driver to get a 28 point maximum was Hayden Paddon,
winning the 2016 Argentinian Power Stage. Paddon is the only driver to ever earn a 28 point maximum in a direct competition with Ogier, and the Hyundai i20 NG is the only car to take a 28 pointer that did not win the manufacturer’s title of that year. With five points now on offer for Power Stage victory, a driver can earn a maximum of 30 points per rally in 2017. Who will be first to claim a 30 pointer, and will it happen on the snow and ice in Sweden? I predict it will be Seb Ogier, who scored Swedish 28 pointers in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
MONTE CARLO’S MULTIPLE WINNERS Sebastien Ogier’s season opening win got many people wondering how common it is to win the Monte in different makes of car. Germany’s Walter Rohrl won Monte Carlo four times in four different cars – 1980: Fiat 131 Abarth, 1982: Opel Ascona 400, 1983: Lancia Rallye 037, and 1984: Audi Quattro. Sébastien Loeb has the most Monte wins, nine, all with Citroën. Sébastien Ogier has five wins – three with Volkswagen from 2014 to 2016, this year in an M-Sport built Ford Fiesta. Often overlooked is Ogier’s first Monte victory in 2009, driving a Peugeot 207. It happened as part of the Intercontinental Rally
Championship, when Monte Carlo was not part of the WRC for three years from 2009. Tommi Makinen had three victories with Mitsubishi and one with Subaru. Italian driver Sandro Munari had four wins, all with Lancia. Other winners in different makes of car are Carlos Sainz, who has two wins with Toyota and one in a Subaru. Didier Auriol took two wins with Lancia, then one win with Toyota. - Gary Boyd FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 9
REPORT: RALLYE MONTE CARLO - WRC 1
OGIER TRIUMPHS I CLASSIC MONTE C
World Champ’s fifth Monte win gives M-Sport its first WRC victory By MARTIN HOLMES
Luck was with Ogier, but he was nevertheless impressive on his M-Sport debut. 10 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
IN CARLO
y since 2012
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 11
REPORT: RALLYE MONTE CARLO - WRC 1
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ebastien Ogier scored his fourth successive, and fifth overall, Monte Carlo Rally victory, this time in style, in a new team, in a car which he only first drove a month ago. It was the first WRC win for Ford for over four years and their eighth win on this highly prestigious event. Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport Team Principal commented: “I can’t put into words the feeling for the whole team. Obviously to get Sebastien on board was an incredible feeling for me Jari-Matti Latvala took second for Toyota on debut.
The WRC’s class of 2017.
personally, and I think you’ve seen the reaction from the staff. It’s the boost we needed as a company.” The ten 2017 specification cars at the start presented a spectacular sight, but teams suffered technical or driver related problems, though six of these finished in the top 10, with three different makes in the top four. There were many important indicators. Neuville’s Hyundai led for 12 of the 16 stages, Tanak impressed by supporting Ogier and lying in the top
three for three days, then showing a special fighting spirit on the final stage when engine trouble threatened a podium result. Elfyn Evans scored three fastest times in conditions that favoured DMack tyres, while Jari-Matti Latvala presented Toyota with second place. Disappointments came to Hyundai, first when Hayden Paddon was involved in a fatal spectator accident on the first stage, and then Neuville made a slight but expensive error. Troubles also for Citroen, for whom Meeke had a troubled event and after a long delay his rally ended in a traffic accident. Craig Breen was Citroen’s highest finisher in a non-scoring 2016 World Rally Car. urely there had never been so much pre-event excitement in the WRC. All four registered teams produced their new designs of car, and like icing on a cake, for two days there were clear skies and snow all around in the mountains around the service park at Gap. When would we know which team had the best car? We had to wait. The short pre-event Shakedown test was run over a course with a mixture of conditions, and teams took the chance instead to test various tyre options. The first two stages were held the next day, in the dark in typical Monte Carlo conditions, and there was tragedy
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when Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai slid on ice, bounced off a rock and blocked the road. Sadly a spectator was involved, and Paddon withdrew. When the rally continued there was a clear leader, Paddon’s teammate Thierry Neuville, who for nearly two days led the rally until a slight misjudgement led to suspension damage. From then on it was Ogier in the Ford all the way, leading comfortably. t is hard to over estimate the effect of the M-Sport team’s success, especially while Ogier’s teammate, Ott Tanak was also holding second place. This proved that Ott’s impressive performances in the DMack team car in 2016 was not only the consequence of superior tyres. Third team member, Elfyn Evans, this year driving the DMack sponsored car, provided three fastest times when the conditions suited, when these tyres were unbeatable. With three stages to go Tanak had
Kris Meeke started the event as favourite but had a disappointing rally for Citroen.
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REPORT: RALLYE MONTE CARLO - WRC 1 suspension. Teammate, Stephane Lefebvre, went off the road momentarily on the second stage, but this damaged his clutch. He finally climbed back to ninth place, while the team’s third entry, Craig Breen in an old DS3 WRC, which was not eligible for Manufacturers’ points, finished fifth after being embroiled in a battle with Sordo’s new Hyundai. By the end of the event the stage victories stood at eight for Hyundai (seven for Neuville, plus one for Sordo), seven for M-Sport (three each for Ogier and Evans, plus one for Tanak), with one for Citroen (Lefebvre). Note: none for Toyota. fter the excitement of 2016, the WRC2 category started off at a lower level, with Andreas Mikkelsen back in the formula where he really cemented his international mark,
Craig Breen was Citroen’s best finisher in a 2016 car.
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serious misfiring trouble and lost his second place, but on the final stage he drove magnificently downhill in increasingly wintry conditions on the Turini stage to safeguard third place. So finishing first, third and also sixth meant M-Sport went home with a handy 16 point championship lead, but it was an embarrassment when Ford personnel confirmed the new Fiesta was based on a production model that was still not on the market! ari-Matti Latvala’s second place was a delightful encouragement for Toyota Gazoo Racing, repre- senting Toyota’s first official WRC entry for 18 years. It had been a surprise when it became apparent that Toyota had carried out twice the amount of test work of other teams, with M-Sport probably the least. Juho Hanninen was initially lying third overall before he went off the road on stage 5, on only his second rally in over two years. Despite minor troubles, Latvala held fourth place for half the event before benefiting from the problems of Neuville and Tanak. M-Sport and Toyota were the success stories of the new formula. Less happy were Hyundai, who in Neuville’s hands had been impressive, but whose top finisher was Dani Sordo. There was considerable fan support for Citroen’s veteran driver Kris Meeke, but he had a disastrous event, going off the road and breaking his suspension on stage 4, then stopping with an ignition fault on stage 10. He finally suffered a traffic accident on the Saturday evening en route to Monte Carlo which wrecked his rear
The pace of Toyota’s Juho Hanninen surprised many.
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Best Hyundai at the finish was Dani Sordo in fourth place.
and he was in a class of his own. He led all the way ahead of his Skoda teammate Jan Kopecky, while Bryan Bouffier’s Fiesta was ahead of Eric Camilli and Quentin Gilbert. Driving out of the championship points was the Skoda of Pontus Tidemand who finished the event between Bouffier and Camilli in the RC2 class. Kevin Abbring drove the Hyundai N Motorsport NG i20 R5, missing stages after a suspension part broke, but scored two fastest times in his class. In WRC3 the domination was even more pronounced with Raphael Astier’s Peugeot 208 R2 winning 11 of the stages ahead of the Renault Clio Turbos of Luca Panzani, Charles Martin and Surhayen Pernia.
Real winter conditions greeted crews at Monte Carlo.
Rallye Monte-Carlo (2017 FIA WRC, round 1): 1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 4:00:03.6 2. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +2:15.0 3. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Ford Fiesta WRC +2:57.8 4. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti Hyundai 120 Coupe WRC +3:35.8 5. Craig Breen / Scott Martin Citroen DS3 WRC +3:47.8 6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC +6:45.0 7. Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger Škoda Fabia R5 +9:32.7 8. Jan Kopecky / Pavel Dresler Škoda Fabia R5 +12:58.1 9. Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau Citroen C3 WRC +14:43.8 10. Bryan Bouffier / Denis Giraudet Ford Fiesta R5 +16:09.4 Leading retirements: (4) Hayden Paddon / John Kennard Hyundai i20 Coupe (M) accident (7) Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle Citroen C3 (M) road accident Rally leaders: Neuville stages 2-12, Ogier 13-17. Weather: Days 1 and 2 clear and cool, Day 3 cloudy and began to snow. Winner’s average speed over stages: 88.95km/h. FIA WRC Drivers’ Championship (after round 1): 1. S. Ogier 25, 2. J-M Latvala 18, 3. O. Tanak 15, 4. D. Sordo 13, 5. C. Breen 10, 6. E. Evans 10, 7. A. Mikkelsen 6, 8. S. Lefebvre 6, 9. T. Neuville 5, 10. J. Kopecky 4 FIA WRC Manufacturers’ Championship (after round 1): 1. M-Sport World Rally Team 40, 2. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC 24, 3. Hyundai Motorsport 20, 4. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 10 FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 15
REPORT: RALLYE MONTE CARLO - WRC 1
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A mature drive from Estonian Ott Tanak had him on track for second place, until a final day engine drama relegated him to third.
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 17
REPORT: RALLYE MONTE CARLO - WRC 1
THE KEY MOMENT ...
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he Key Moment had to be stage 13, the final stage of Saturday. Thierry Neuville had been leading the rally by 51 seconds from Sebastien Ogier, who on his debut appearance with the M-Sport team had been trailing the Hyundai, with no realistic chance of challenging for victory. Neuville was planning his event carefully. “I have the snow tyres this afternoon (for stage 13). This morning (for stages 9-12) we were on slicks. It was the safe choice. We have a good lead, but we have to be clever.”
Watch the moment Thierry lost his Monte Carlo victory HERE.
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Then it all went wrong. “It happened in quite a slow left hand corner. In the exit the rear went wide and I hit something, I don’t know what!” He spent over a half hour repairing the damage and he dropped to 15th place. Fifteenth place was where he finished the rally three stages later, gaining championship points for the team - but nothing like as many as the team would have liked! - Martin Holmes
COLUMN: HAYDEN PADDON
Hyundai driver Hayden Paddon issued the following statement after the opening day accident that resulted in a spectator passing away at Rallye Monte Carlo. Hi everyone, Upon reflection, I wanted to issue a small statement about yesterday events. Firstly, our thoughts are with the family and friends of the spectator involved. No matter the circumstances, this is never something we want to see. Secondly, John and I are humbled by all the messages of support at this time. Obviously, my thoughts are with the family and that is my only concern at the moment. Not being able to return home to New Zealand does make it a little tougher but it is important we stay strong. I do want to take this chance to ask people not to speculate. Irrespective of how and why the accident happened, finger pointing will not change anything.
HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN
The most important is that we learn from this and I am committed to work with the FIA and rally organisers
relentlessly to ensure this does not happen again. I will take this chance to ask spectators at rallies to please be considerate where you stand and to respect the instructions of the marshals. We all want to enjoy a good show and go home to the family afterwards. I also ask each and every rally fan at the events, if you see someone in a dangerous position to request they move for everyone’s best interest. As a community, we can collectively work together to prevent this from happening again. Lastly, I please ask the respect from the media in these times, especially for the family and friends of the spectator. I will not issue any further statements or conduct interviews at this stage. We made the decision to not continue this weekend out of respect, but will be back in Sweden where we will pay tribute. Thank you again for everyone’s support and for the support of the team – it really does mean a lot. Until Rally Sweden, Hayden.
It was an unfortunate start to the 2017 season for Kiwis Hayden Paddon and John Kennard. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 19
RETROSPECTIVE: PEUGEOT 205 T16
N O I L E H T
By PETER WHITTEN Photos: HOLMES / PEUGEOT 20 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
G N I K N tall, It became a familiar sight - the g blonde Finn, Ari Vatanen, standin g atop his Peugeot 205 T16 toastin ilk. another victory with a glass of m
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 21
RETROSPECTIVE: PEUGEOT 205 T16 overhauled at the finish by a Rover 3500. It suffered from serious turbo lag and the intricacies of the 4WD handling, most of which was rectified by its World Championship debut in Corsica in May 1984.
T
he 205 T16 had a steel chassis that was part space frame and part monocoque and used Kevlar and plastic panels. It was the only Group B car to use a transverse engine. The mid-mounted 1775cc engine initially produced around 340bhp through a five-speed gearbox and a 33:66 front to rear torque split, and weighing only 940kg, it got off the mark quickly. Peugeot went for double wishbone
A
nd had it not been for a change in road conditions between reconnaissance and the rally that resulted in an almost fatal accident in the 1986 Rally of Argentina, Ari Vatanen would almost certainly have become World Champion in the little French rocketship. PETER WHITTEN looks back at one of France’s finest.
F
ollowing on from the pioneering Audi Quattro, Peugeot’s foray into Group B rallying brought almost immediate success. Ari Vatanen went on a five event winning streak that was only broken by team-mate Timo Salonen, such was the little car’s dominance. But it hadn’t been a good start for the Pug. On its debut event in 1983, a one-day rally held in muddy conditions, the 205 T16 was embarrassingly beaten by a Citroen Visa 1000, and was almost
This crash nearly claimed Ari Vatanen’s life in Argentina in 1985.
Ari Vatanen emerges from his 205 on the 1984 RAC Rally. The rear of the car could be removed to allow easy servicing access.
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suspension and coil springs, rather than MacPherson struts, although the car had a tendency to dip its nose on jumps, and both the brakes and the shock absorbers were prone to overheating. Despite the fact that the 205 was recognised as the best all-round Group B car, work on the 205 T16 E2 began before the original car had won its first rally - such was Peugeot’s attention to detail and their will to win. When the E2 did finally arrive, it sported better cylinder head porting and a new turbo that had the car developing over 500bhp, and the monocoque rear chassis had been replaced with a lighter and stiffer tubular construction. Power was now transferred through a six-speed gearbox and new front and rear spoilers had been added to
1985 Acropolis Rally: Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne.
improve the stability at high speed. In fact Peugeot had wanted to use an even bigger rear wing on the car, but that was subsequently knocked on the head by the FIA.
T
he original 205 T16 won nine World Championship events in 1984 and 1985 and gave Peugeot both the Drivers’ (Timo Salonen) and Manufacturers’ championships in 1985, while the 205 Turbo 16 E2 won seven WRC rounds, again taking the Drivers’ (Juha Kankkunen) and Manufacturers crowns in 1986.
I saw the 205 Turbo 16 E2 in action at the 1986 Rally of New Zealand - an event won by Juha Kankkunen. While the car was an awesome sight on the stages, my lasting memory is of following Kankkunen on liaision sections through the New Zealand countryside, passing other cars like they were standing still, and with that raucous 500 horsepower motor echoing through the hills. But perhaps the best description of the car comes from Kankkunen himself: “In 1986 we tested a 205 with a bigger
turbo giving 550 horsepower. This engine was so powerful that the first time we tried it the headsets nearly blew off when I lifted the clutch! “It was wet tarmac and we had wheelspin on all four wheels, even in third gear, just using the throttle alone. “There was nothing before 6000rpm and then, ‘BANG!’, all the power came, up to 10,000rpm. “You cannot compare this kind of car to a World Rally Car. It would be like comparing an old Volkswagen Beetle to a new Turbo Porsche.”
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 23
RETROSPECTIVE: PEUGEOT 205 T16
PEUGEOT BY THE NUMBERS .... PEUGEOT 205 T16 1984 1000 Lakes Rally 1984 Sanremo Rally 1984 RAC Rally 1985 Monte Carlo Rally 1985 Swedish Rally 1985 Portugal Rally 1985 Acropolis Rally 1985 Rally of New Zealand 1985 Rally of Argentina 1985 World Rally Champion 1985 World Rally Champion
1. Vatanen/Harryman 1. Vatanen/Harryman 1. Vatanen/Harryman 1. Vatanen/Harryman 1. Vatanen/Harryman 1. Salonen/Harjanne 1. Salonen/Harjanne 1. Salonen/Harjanne 1. Salonen/Harjanne Peugeot Timo Salonen
PEUGEOT 205 TURBO 16 E2 1985 1000 Lakes Rally 1986 Swedish Rally 1986 Tour de Corse 1986 Acropolis Rally 1986 Rally of New Zealand 1986 1000 Lakes Rally 1986 RAC Rally 1986 World Rally Champion 1986 World Rally Championship
1. Salonen/Harjanne 1. Kankkunen/Piironen 1. Saby/Fauchille 1. Kankkunen/Piironen 1. Kankkunen/Piironen 1. Salonen/Harjanne 1. Salonen/Harjanne Peugeot Juha Kankkunen The Evolution 2 version of the 205 T16 was a purposeful looking rally car.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Adrian Morrisby (right) with good mates ‘Hooch’ and actor Shane Jacobson.
?
WHERE
are they now
ADRIAN MORRISBY
A
drian Morrisby is a larger-thanlife character who has long been one of the stalwarts and most-respected people in Tasmanian rallying. A former Tassie correspondent for RallySport Magazine and Australian RallySport News, “Mozza” is a long-time competitor, commentator and all round good guy. But in recent years he’s drifted out of the rallying spotlight as other interests have taken his time and focus. We caught up with him to see what’s been happening.
Back in the 2000s you were our Tasmanian correspondent and were heavily involved in the sport. How did your interest in rallying come about? Growing up racing karts in the 80s there was always an expectation to go to the next step. Good mate and all round top bloke, Jason White, was the first to jump and got an RX2 and campaigned it on the gravel on his L’s. My first experience was in the navigator’s seat for him in a Datsun 1000 Coupe in a rally out the back of Latrobe. The next step was that I built a Gemini and raced a few hillclimbs and
club days while navigating for Jason and others in Targa and state rallies. Meanwhile, the Gemini developed from a 1600 to an injected 1600 (made myself using JD Camira injection), then 2.6 (1994 Rodeo engine), then eventually a 2.6 Turbo and competed in Tasmanian Classic Rally, hillclimbs and, eventually, Rally Tasmania. It eventually got “banned” for beating Porsches and we went back to a 100kw at the wheels 1600 block engine on Webers, eventually re-shelling to the 2-door. While this was all going down Jason, Jon (mechanic) Frenchy (navigator) built a 4-door, 4-link 2.6 “club car” Gemini (white) for the Tassie gravel series and this is what I made my gravel rally debut in. Luckily I won my first ever event I competed in on the gravel, the Exeter Rally.
You have been involved at all levels, but firstly as a competitor. What rally cars have been in your garage? To be truthful I have never had a garage to put one in! I would say my work is my garage. Along with my constantly evolving Gemini, we built three or four Geminis for customers, as well as a rather sporty Ford KB Laser. With Jason always building cars I had many cars through the “garages” out the back, and got to know every nut and bolt on them.
Probably your most famous car was the FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 25
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? MHDT lookalike Gemini you built for gravel and tarmac events. Why a Gemini?
Geminis have been Mozza’s rallying machines of choice, as well as, more recently, a Subaru Forester.
Aaaah good question! I often asked myself the same question! The main reason was that we had started with a Gemini, had HEAPS of parts for it, and developed some cool bespoke parts we could use. I did also like the handling of a Gemini, with the torque tube pulling from halfway up the car, it made it sit well under braking and enabled the car to be driven with a lot of rear bias and handled not unlike a go-kart.
How easy was it to convert the car from gravel to tarmac spec, and which events did you prefer? Easy, it was just a matter of removing some spring packers, take off the underbody and flaps and she was ready to attack the tarmac. Gravel is where the “enjoyment factor” is high, on and off the stages. Tarmac was good, but lacked the true mateship that gravel rallying has, BUT at least the car was easy to clean after some black tack work.
When and why did you stop competing? I did have a steer in a hillclimb last year in the good wife’s not-so-standard XT Forester and took the W (win) too, which was my first competitive drive in three years. The last time I competed in a gravel rally I got “pinged” because my engine was 9mm too far back in the engine bay. I thought it was a load of crap and never really went back. I then went on to compete in tarmac events, but budget restriction and the major tarmac rally (Targa Tasmania) heading in a direction I didn’t agree with put an end to that. On top of that, five or six years
“The after parties, the camaraderie, the all nighters in the shed with mates building cars, even just the trips to get to an event were all so much fun, turning your idols and heroes into friends.” ago my good wife (and best friend) was pregnant with our son, and she asked ever so kindly if I could do a bit less motorsport and a bit more fishing, citing the fact I was away most weekends either commentating on
motorsport or competing. Little did she know that the level of “going fishing” was going to outweigh the motorsport 10 fold as far as levels of commitment. Oops!
Tell us what it is about rallying that inspires you and makes it such a great sport. Well, from being involved from 18 years of age, nearly all my friends have come from rallying. They are my family, all over Australia, and you won’t find a better bunch of people. The after parties, the camaraderie, the all nighters in the shed with mates building cars, even just the trips to get to an event were all so much fun, turning your idols and heroes into friends.
You’ve also been heavily involved in commentating at various rallies around the country as well, and it is something that seems to come naturally to you. Is this the case? I am a great believer in the putting things back into life (especially when you take so much out of it, like I do). So I wanted to put something back into the sport that had given me so much. There was no way in the world I wanted to be an official, and I had done a million road closures, course setting and other jobs, but the microphone just seems to come to me.
In recent years we haven’t seen or heard as much of you in rallying. Why is that? The fishing scene has really embraced myself and co-fisherman, Hooch. We quickly gained a big following through social media with our antics and humour, and that then brought us many big name sponsors, making DVDs and doing promotional work throughout Australia. This is basically my first half of 26 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
the year with a competition most weekends, and other times filming or spending time fishing with my son and mates. The second half of the year is taken up with commentating duties around the country covering power boats, drifting, World Time Attack and more.
Fishing is now a big part of your life. Has it taken over from rallying, and is there any chance you’ll return to four wheels in the future? Oh yes, indeed. I still walk past my car 10 times a day or more and it hollers to me “don’t forget about me, man!” I am also in the middle of trying to promote a series/category in Tasmania for normally aspirated 4WD cars and we are currently building a normally aspirated 2005 RS Impreza. Along with 6 others I know, we should see a field of about 10 cars next season. The Gemini needs a gearbox and she is good to go too. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again. I’d probably look like a one handed man in a face slapping competition though, but I will have the biggest smile.
You’re still involved in the automotive industry through your business and with some sponsorship. Is it important to keep that link to the sport? Yes indeed. As mentioned before, motorsport made me the person I am today. I owe it everything, and I encourage everyone to get their kids into it. I have forgotten how many people I have supported in motorsport this year, but its in the 20s or 30s easy. It does bring some business our way, but its more for passion I do it. Like the ol’ saying goes: “Do you know how to make a million out of motorsport … start with two million”.
In your view, what state is rallying in, and what would you do to make the sport even more successful?
Well, she’s “can o worms o’clock” right there! Tasmanian state rallying is on the grow again which is great, BUT it had to have a change of direction. It was no longer viable to race Geminis, Escorts or Datsuns due to availability of parts and the “bespoke parts” needed to make them fast and reliable. The new rookie rally people were coming into the sport, buying old cars, breaking/crashing them, and they were out of the sport. I have been involved with trying to find a better option (hence the normally aspirated 4WD option). This should allow younger drivers to enter the sport, have a car that will do a full season on two sets of tyres, one set of brakes and an engine/box/diff that lasts a season or two. I mean, let’s face it, the youth has so much going on now they aren’t just going to a mate’s workshop after work and building cars. A lot are paying people to build them and maintain their cars, which can cost a fortune. They do one season and “poof”, they’re gone like last week’s pay. We must also have heroes and idols for this new generation to aspire to, somewhere to aim to be. Like the Subaru and Mitsubishi programs of the early 2000s, everyone wanted the seat that Cody Crocker or Dean Herridge and co. had. Most of all, I think the sport needs to tighten up a bit. There’s far too much BS in-fighting in the social and notso-social-media making the ship look unstable. There are too many changes, too many “rumours” making the ship look unstable to not just spectators, but to investors and governments as well. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 27
INTERVIEW: STEPHANE PREVOT
Belgian Stéphane Prévot is one of the nicest guys you will meet on the rally circuit. It’s clearly one of the reasons he’s been so successful over a co-driving career that has seen him contest over 400 rallies, with more than 60 different drivers.
MR NICE GUY
Story: PETER WHITTEN Photos: HOLMES, RSM 28 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
Prevot co-driving for Aussie Chris Atkinson in the 2008 Acropolis Rally. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 29
INTERVIEW: STEPHANE PREVOT
A
mong his long list of famous drivers is Australian Chris Atkinson. They shared two seasons with the Subaru World Rally Team in the WRC (2007 and 2008), and he guided Atko to five podium placings in the 2008 championship. More recently, Stéphane has contested events in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, and last year won the Otago Classic Rally with Markko Märtin. RallySport Magazine caught up with Stéphane and asked him about his long and varied rally career.
You are one of the most experienced co-drivers in the world. How many drivers have you sat with, and who are they? I keep a record of all my races since the beginning (event, result, driver, car, start number). It’s 404 rallies (175 WRC) with 64 different drivers. The most famous are (in chronological order): Yves Matton, Guy Colsoul, Bruno Thiry, François Duval, Stéphane Sarrazin, Philippe Gache, Chris Atkinson, Evgeny Novikov, Henning Solberg, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Stéphane Lefebvre, Alister McRae, Markko Märtin and Gaurav Gill, as well as a few historic events with Markku Alén, Björn Waldegård and Stig Blomqvist.
Is it difficult to jump from driver to driver so often? If you understand pacenotes and work with a professional driver, it’s okay. Bad notes are very difficult to read, especially wrong distances. Then you never know where you are. So it depends very much on the driver level and experience! But to build a 100 per cent relationship with a top driver you would need a few rallies to understand the way he lives, works, drives and reacts – and much more time with an inexperienced or young driver who has to learn.
What do you think are your greatest successes in the WRC, and perhaps in other championships? I’ve never won a WRC event, and have only climbed on a podium 17 times. But over the years I worked with nearly every factory team involved (Ford, Subaru, Toyota, Citroën, Peugeot, Škoda, Seat, Mini, Hyundai) and had three different careers in WRC with three different drivers (Thiry, Duval and Atkinson). It’s quite unusual! I’ve also had great experiences in so many other championships and rallies with lots of fantastic drivers and teams. Probably my biggest success is the variety of my rally career – I’m lucky to still live from my passion after 30 years. From the results I remember Corsica 30 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
“Chris is the best driver I know who can write notes with that precision. He trusts them 100 per cent and that’s why he’s got so much speed in the narrow, fast roads. It’s very impressive.” WRC in 1995. I was with Bruno Thiry in the second factory Ford Escort Cosworth and we led the rally from stage one. After four days and 500km of competitive sections we had to retire after a stupid wheel bearing failed – with just one stage to go! Since that day there’s not one week in my life when someone doesn’t talk to me about that race... In 2008 I finished third in Finland with Chris Atkinson and Subaru. I’m quite proud of that podium. Finland is something really special for co-drivers! Monte-Carlo 2008 is also a great memory when we beat Duval by 1.1 seconds to finish third. That year we broke the record on the famous Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid stage at the average of 123km/h on ice! I’m happy the record is still there today, as I don’t think I’d feel too comfortable to try it again! Winning the 2012 APRC title with Chris and Race Torque was also something special.
What is one thing you’d say about Aussie, Chris Atkinson, that sets him apart from other drivers you’ve sat with over the years? Chris is the best driver I know who can write notes with that precision. He then trusts them 100 per cent and that’s why he’s got so much speed in the narrow, fast roads. It’s very impressive. He was a bit mad when I started with him in 2007! His target was more to try to win every stage, but he started 2008 with a more mature approach and realised that to finish first, you first have to finish. We were in a fight for third place in the Drivers’ championship that year with a total of five podiums and Chris was at his best, and very, very close to a win. Unfortunately it all came to an end when Subaru pulled out from the championship in December 2008.
How difficult was it for you to start reading English pacenotes, as it is not your first language?
I’m not perfect bilingual. I understand English better than I speak it, but this is more to have a normal conversation. With pacenotes it’s always the same 50 or so words to read. Atko was my first driver in English, and before I teamed up with him I thought it shouldn’t be too difficult. But I did not expect Chris’ pacenotes to be that difficult! They are the most accurate and precise I’ve had, but very busy with lots of instructions. After Chris I found it easier in English than French, as the words are shorter to read. But honestly, it’s just a question of concentration and I’m okay with that. Even in a big action moment or crash I’ve never called sh** or f*** in French!
You have competed in numerous rounds of the APRC. Do you think that championship is heading in the right direction, and would you like to compete in it again? I’d really love to do APRC again. It’s a great championship with the biggest variety of events. It’s very well organised and open to the right type
With Francois Duval in the 2004 Rally of Germany.
of cars. I have all fantastic memories from my three years in the APRC. The years 2010 and 2011 were so much fun
with Alister McRae and Bill Hayes in the Proton team. The only thing now is probably the lack of competition, with only the two Škoda MRF cars. Race Torque is a fantastic team and sure they are ready to fight anyone in the championship. With more manufacturers involved that could be more fun than WRC.
Last year you did the Otago Rally for the first time. What are your greatest memories of the event? The Escort is so much fun! And still fast with a driver like Markko Märtin at the wheel. It is definitely the most enjoyable thing I’ve done for a long time. I remember well the famous Kuri Bush stage, but most of the stages are simply the best in the world. Dunedin has great atmosphere too. The organisers were so helpful. They allowed us to overtake everyone to be first car for the recce convoy. Brent Rawstron and the Rossendale Rally Team are so enthusiastic, and it’s a rally I really hope we can do again.
Many circuit racers have tried their hand at being rally drivers… Sarrazin, Raikkonen and Kubica for example. From your time with Stephane Sarrazin, why do you think it’s so difficult to make the transition?
Bruno Thiry and Stephane Prevot in the works Skoda on the 2001 Safari Rally.
The main thing is pacenotes. They are able to write a good set of notes, but it’s very difficult for them to rely on someone in the car who says what to do. They are more selfish. Surface changes are also a problem. A racing circuit is nothing like improvisation – and of course they have no experience on loose surfaces. But on the other hand, racing drivers are maybe more sensitive and able to set up cars a better way. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 31
INTERVIEW: STEPHANE PREVOT
“NZ WRC, Whangarei APRC or Otago are the greatest rallies I’ve done over the last 20 years.”
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Their driving style is sharper and smoother because they can find good lines. And they’re used to driving much more powerful cars, so braking is better too. Sarrazin was very impressive on tarmac with the Subaru.
Who is the next up and coming Belgian rally star? Maybe Guillaume De Mévius (Grégoire’s son). But I’m not sure; rallying’s not big at the moment. Belgian racing drivers have more future, I think. Car importers have gone since tobacco advertising was banned, and together they were a big help for drivers like Thiry, Loix, Duval and, more recently, Neuville. Now the Belgium Federation is trying to help, but they are not big. But honestly, it’s unbelievable that such a small country with no car manufacturer and no WRC rounds brings drivers to the top of the sport since the early 90s.
What is your favourite rally? Definitely New Zealand. By far the best roads in the world. WRC, Whangarei APRC or Otago are the greatest rallies I’ve done over the last 20 years. I really like Sweden WRC on the snow, but it depends too much on the conditions. You are never sure to find good snow and ice, and it’s a disaster when it’s not frozen and gravel appears.
What are your plans for 2017?
Since 2016 I’m freelance and work on a rally-by-rally basis, but I’m still very busy. I’m also trying to get a foot in the door in cross-country and I did five races for the World Cup last year, contracted to QMMF with Khalifa Al-Attiyah (Nasser’s brother). Unfortunately, there is more future there for professional co-drivers. I think WRC is not going the right way. 2017 should be the same for me with about 15 rallies, plus a few cross-country events. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 33
2016 STATE RALLY CHAMPIONS SOUTH AUSTRALIA Driver: Andrew Gleeson
Co-Driver: Fred Brewer and Mike Dale Car: Datsun Stanza Class: Club Rally Car Engine: Nissan SR20DE Gearbox: 6 speed Nissan Silvia Suspension: Bilstein
service, with two stages to go in my favourite environment, the forest. We managed to gain 30 seconds and take third position.
What was the key moment of the season for you? 2016 results: Third outright at every
round and heat of the season. This car also won the State Championship in 1981 in the hands of Barry Burns (Datsport), although I don’t think it had an SR20DE in it. Sponsors: SA Motorsport Tyres, Braid Wheels Australia, Hankook Tyres, Exhaust Technology Best results prior to 2016: 1st outright Wirrabara Forest Rally (SARC) 2001, and many more podiums and class wins in the SARC. Third outright Rally of South Australia (SARC) 2015, 1st outright SA Clubman Series 2001, 2013, 1st Outright SA Rallysprint Series 2014
What was your best performance of 2016 and why? I had already sealed the championship on the Saturday at Rally of South Australia. On the Sunday, I was having too much fun ripping skids and we were sixth outright at the last
I realised mid-season that I was in the hunt for the championship. In the past I had been in a similar position and my championship was let down by reliability problems. I put a lot of time and effort into the car at this point, which I could not have done without the support of my wife Rebekah and kids, Matilda and Cody, allowing me to spend many nights and weekends in the shed. The car was bulletproof at the end of the season.
What makes the state championship so competitive, and such a prestigious title to win? All of the events in 2016 were pacenoted. South Australia is known for its pacenoted events. There have been many interstaters coming over to contest the championship in the past as it is a great stepping stone to national and even international events. It is an honour to be included in the list of state rally champions. Many of the
past South Australian Rally champions have gone on to win the Australian Championship.
How long has your co-driver been with you, and what does he bring to the combination? Fred Brewer has co-driven for me many times over the last few years and he has experience in much faster cars than mine and as a bonus, knows how to fix them. Mike Dale first co-drove for me in 2016 and we did two of the SARC events. He has been rallying almost longer than I have been alive, with a wealth of experience both driving and co-driving.
What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same car, co-driver and driver combination? I am planning to contest the SARC yet again in the same car. Fred Brewer will be co-driving for the season.
Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds outside your home state? If so, which ones? At this point, due to cost, I do not have the budget to contest other ARC rounds. If a sponsorship opportunity came up, I would be there in a heartbeat.
TAILOR-MADE PACKAGES TO 34 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Driver: Dylan King
Co-Driver: Abbey Hayes Car: 2006 Subaru STI Spec C
2016 results: WA Rally Championship
winners
Sponsors: DK Earthworx (Dylan’s business), Lee’s Transport, Trade Hire, Aslab, TJ Signs, RallySchool, King Earthmoving Best results prior to 2016: WA 2WD Championship in 2012 What was your best performance of 2016 and why? Going into the last round (Safari Rally in Chidlow) we were only leading by two points so the pressure was high! The event didn’t come without its usual problems, with the car misfiring on stage two and a puncture on the second run of the longer stage - which meant we really had to be on our game to finish on top. We were stressed that our puncture would have cost us quite a bit of time, but when we got to the end of the stage we were surprised to see it hadn’t cost us much! It was definitely a stressful, intense last round to the season for us with everything on the line, but we worked well as a team and took home the event win, and with it the championship; so it really was our best performance in the car and as a team.
What was the key moment of the season for you? I think this answer is pretty simple - winning the WA Rally Championship was certainly the highlight of the season. It didn’t come easy and not without faults, so it was a good battle all year. We were very lucky to have a committed service crew who have
O SUIT YOU
ensured we get to every round and we can’t thank them enough - this win is just as much theirs as it is ours. We couldn’t be happier!
What makes the state championship so competitive, and such a prestigious title to win? This one is a tough one. I guess winning any championship, whether it be state or national or even international, is quite special and doesn’t come easy. There are many big names on the championship trophy from previous years, so we feel very honoured to now be on there too. You have to be in it to win it and with the nature of this sport that can be very difficult at times! A lot of hard work, determination and commitment goes in, in order to achieve something this big, so we are very proud of it.
How long has your co-driver been with you, and what does she bring to the combination? Abbey and I first hopped in the car together at Safari Rally in 2015, before committing to the 2016 season together. We have worked really well in the car all year. Abbey brings a sense of calmness to the car in her note reading, which helps me concentrate and focus on my own job. Her organisation and professionalism is something that has certainly helped us too!
What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same car, co-driver and driver combination? Abbey and I have a trip to Europe planned for the middle of 2017, so we will do our best to make every other
round of the WA championship again, but things may change as the year progresses. Work on the car is well underway, with a few improvements, so we are excited to get back out there.
Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds outside your home state? If so, which ones? We both really love the vibe and atmosphere of the Forest Rally, which is obviously an ARC event, so with that in mind we would love to try and compete over east. No decisions have been made yet as we will have to look at the budget after Europe is factored in (!!!), but we have spoken about getting over to Coffs Harbour at the end of the year. I went over in 2016 to compete in Rally Australia and it was such a great experience, so I would love Abbey to get a feel for it too - it’s so different to competing over here in state rounds, that’s for sure!
To advertise in RallySport Magazine call Dominic on 0499 981 188 or email dominic@rallysportmag.com.au FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 35
2016 STATE RALLY CHAMPIONS QUEENSLAND Driver: Rob Bishop
Co-Driver: Neill Woolley Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6
Rob Bishop took two wins and two second places on his way to the title. (Photo: Sam Tickell)
2016 results: Rnd 1 - 2nd QRC, Rnd 2 2nd QRC, Rnd 3 - 1st QRC, Rnd 4 - 1st QRC, Rnd 5 - DNF Sponsors: Kinetic Resources Best results prior to 2016: 2010 and 2012
Queensland Rally Champion
What was your best performance of 2016 and why? Day 2 of International Rally of Queensland in the pouring rain was certainly a challenge I haven’t faced for a lot of years in rallying. Although, we managed to keep the car on the road (just) and set some top 3 times compared to the ARC field, only 4.5 seconds off the lead on the longest stage of the day.
What was the key moment of the season for you? There’s two moments that stand out. Firstly, the opening round of the season passed over the same section of road where two years prior we had a really bad accident which I was air lifted out from, making it past that point and completing the stage certainly helped in putting that incident behind me. Secondly, after traveling north to Wowan (Inland from Rockhampton) for the second round, whilst unloading the car off the trailer the throttle position sensor completely failed, not having one in the spares I had brought with us, and not being able to rev the car at all we would’ve been unable to start. We were flooded with offers of help from everyone around the service 36 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
park, although a correct replacement wasn’t able to be found. Luckily a mate working in Rockhampton dropped tools, shot round to a local wrecker, found a sensor and got it out to us in record time which allowed us to make the start line, although a bit late and receiving a time penalty. Without the points from our finish we wouldn’t have taken out the championship seeing we DNF’d the last round. It certainly was a humbling experience to have so many offers of help from the rally family and have someone put themself out so much for us.
What makes the state championship so competitive, and such a prestigious title to win? I think having the opportunity to drive alongside talented people that are truly passionate about the sport and fiercely competitive, yet everyone is always looking out for each other and willing to lend a hand to keep you in the game makes it for me. This coupled with competing at extremely well run events over an amazing selection of roads (which all the 2016 event organisers need to be commended for) was certainly the icing on the cake.
How long has your co-driver been with you, and what does he bring to the combination? Neill had only sat in with me for 2 events prior to the 2016 season, the first of which I had a bit of an off, so I was surprised he was game enough to
get back in with me again. Neill has been in with some great drivers, so is very capable and calm whilst calling the notes, which definitely gives the driver a boost in confidence. He did an excellent job all year and was super committed, often traveling a couple hours out to our place on the weekends to help prep the car. Neill has also got a great sense humour and keeps a light hearted atmosphere in the car. For Rally Queensland he made up novelty rally packs for us and a couple of the other teams we were competing with. I’m just glad we didn’t break down mid stage and have to use some of the rather questionable items it contained!
What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same car, co-driver and driver combination? Only plans for 2017 so far is to be back on the spanners at service park and maybe 1 event at the end of the year. The car and same co-driver will be running 2017 with the missus back behind the wheel which will be great to see.
Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds outside your home state? If so, which ones? No solid plans as yet, though I really would like to have a run at the WRC in Coffs and enter the ARC section. I grew up there and started rallying on a lot of those roads back in the early 90’s, so it would be nice to go back to the area and compete again.
TASMANIA
Driver: Keith Abblitt Co-Driver: Adrian Hodgetts, Nicole Bryan (Round 2) Car: Subaru WRX STI Spec C
Photo: Jarrod Leonard
2016 results: Rd1: 1st, Rd2: DNF, Rd3 :3rd, Rd4: 2nd Sponsors: Speedy Couriers, Midland Tractors, Dunlop, Motul Best results prior to 2016: Runner up 2013 What was your best performance of 2016 and why? Round 1 at Retreat. Dropped four seconds on stage one then won every stage after, without taking any risks. First event running first on the road also.
What was the key moment of the season for you?
what does he bring to the combination?
Bouncing back after crashing at round two to finish third behind Molly Taylor and Marcus Walkem.
Since my second rally, experience, a calming voice when it’s needed, and the comedy relief.
What makes the state championship so competitive, and such a prestigious title to win?
What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same car, co-driver and driver combination?
There are some top level competitors in Tasmania and to win a title against those crews, and put my name on the trophy, is pretty satisfying.
2017 is still in limbo, depending on time and budget.
How long has your co-driver been with you, and
Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds outside your home state? If so, which ones? No, maybe in the future.
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2016 STATE RALLY CHAMPIONS NEW SOUTH WALES Driver: Nathan Quinn
Co-Driver: Bruce Tyler / David Calder Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
Nathan Quinn again showed his considerable pace in 2016. Photos: Peter Whitten
2016 results: State Champion, 2nd outright Rally New England NSWRC, 2nd outright Rally of Canberra (ARC) and first NSWRC, 1st NSWRC Rally Australia Sponsors: Coffs Coast, Repco, Wurth, Century Batteries, Goodprice Pharmacy Wharehouse, Cowling’s R&R Carpets, Valvoline, MD3, Florrent & Mundey Real Estate, Steve Arthur Electrical Best results prior to 2016: 2015 NSWRC Champion. 2013 Rally Australia 8th outright (Mini JCW WRCar), 1st outright Rally Johor (Malaysia Rally Championship) What was your best performance of 2016 and why? Rally of Camberra. Prior to this result I think between myself and my old man we amounted six attempts and zero finishes. It was good to get the monkey off our back and secure a good return result to the ARC.
What was the key moment of the season for you? Difficult to pin point one moment. I think we had to work harder this year, as luck seemed to be against us from having a perfect run. Persistence was the key to the whole year!
What makes the state championship so competitive, and such a prestigious title to win? The NSWRC has been very active with the social media. The competition at the top has been great, with some long time regulars still setting competitive times in ever improving cars. For me, the tulip (non-pacenoted) aspect of the events really tightens 38 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
up the competition, like the ‘old days’ - I guess it sorts the men from the boys. I love that adventure side of the sport where you have no idea where you are or where you are going. For me, the state championship is something I was exposed to in the late 80s and has bred some very popular and strong ARC names!
How long has your co-driver been with you, and what does he bring to the combination? Fortunately I have a selection of codrivers that I manage to adapt to, and vice versa. It’s imperative that they can be trusted, as you really can not do it without them, let alone get to the start of the event.
What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same car, co-driver and driver combination? At this stage, I will see. My aspirations are national and international, which beckons for an updated car. If that falls through then I will spend time getting
my first rally car into fighting form again, and perhaps have a good crack at the Alpine Rally. I’m not sure of the last rotary to win the Alpine?
Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds outside your home state? If so, which ones? I am looking at ways/cars to be competitive for 2017’s ARC. However, I don’t have much pocket money left to do a full series, and we found that running ARC events on less than $10,000 can have adverse results. Deep down I would love to win an ARC round, as I know I can do it with the right resources. Furthermore, the championship is going to be stronger again in 2017!
2016 results: Sponsors: Western Victorian Crane
Trucks
Best results prior to 2016: Top 5 ARC for 12
years and 2015 Victorian Champion
What was your best performance of 2016 and why? Would have to be the Mitta Rally, where we won two stages by two minutes each. The car and roads just felt great.
What was the key moment of the season for you? Winning the Akademos Rally in a borrowed car and sealing the championship. We didn’t get to drive the car until stage one.
What makes the state championship so competitive, and such a prestigious title to win? The Victorian championship has always been a tough nut to crack – arguably we have the most talented drivers in the country in Victoria – and this is not to discount or knock the ability of drivers in the other states at all.
How long has your co-driver been with you, and what does he bring to the combination? I have had three co-drivers in Victoria
VICTORIA
Driver: Darren Windus Co-Driver: Joe Brick / Jamie Sargeant Car: 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI in the last three years and each have made their own contributions to the team success, and most importantly, had fun.
What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same car, co-driver and driver combination? 2017 is a bit uncertain. We are planning to do the first ARC / VRC as it’s local, but not sure post that.
Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds outside your home state? If so, which ones? I have no plans at this stage, but who knows?
Darren Windus was the class of the field in the Victorian Rally Championship. (Photos: John Doutch, Craig O’Brien)
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 39
FEATURE: GEMINI RS
GEMINI MISSION By TOM SMITH
R
allySport Magazine relishes the opportunity to showcase a special rally vehicle that is different to the mainstream, and which reveals a true passion associated with innovation and engineering excellence. Long time competitor and ex-NSW Rally Panel Chairman, Col Fletcher, unveiled his newly built Gemini RS in the NSW Championship division
40 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
of Kennards Hire Rally Australia in November. Fastidiously built in the garage at home, Col and son Scott debuted five years of blood, sweat and tears with a car that was simply the car that the Fletchers wanted to build. It is clear that this special car has taken many, many man hours. It was developed with 95% of the fabrication and design done by the Fletchers at home.
Col and Scott started with a Gemini as they had run one in the NSW Gemini Series and had plenty of parts. This car would be something unique, however, with a big horsepower Vauxhall engine, close-ratio Ford gearbox and a five-link rear end and Hilux diff! It’s certainly not your average Gemini package. “The Gemini is actually a very good base car as it has almost identical weight, weight balance, track and
wheelbase to a Mk2 Escort. However, the Gemini has a fantastic front end with a very low roll centre and nearly zero bump steer,” explained Col. Col wanted to experience the challenge of designing the car and every component from scratch.
S
tarting with a sound Gemini shell (hard enough to find in any case), old seam sealer and sound deadening was removed by hand and wheel arches were opened up to fit the preferred 15” wheels and tyres. Clearance at the front of the front wheel wells also had to be changed to achieve safe clearance needed to achieve full steering lock. With weak chassis tie rails across the front and being very low to start with, the team modified the chassis tie rail with something about four times stronger, and with an added 40mm of ground clearance at its lowest point. The link boxes for the 5-link rear were stitched in and have chassis rails extending the link boxes to the transverse box section, which the seats are mounted on. The roll cage ties the link boxes in, as well as transmitting all of the vertical suspension loads (both front and rear) through the entire structure. With flares firmly back in fashion, the flares for this car were made by making plugs from MDF wood hot glued onto the car, and then builder’s foam, and then body filler to get the final smooth finish. Fibreglass moulds were then taken off the plugs to make the flares from those moulds in 225 gram fibreglass. After the shell was painted, Kevlar underbody panels were made by simply turning the car on a spit, waxing and
“The Gemini is actually a very good base car as it has almost identical weight, weight balance, track and wheelbase to a Mk2 Escort”
in a Calibra being wrecked in Ballarat.
T
he Fletcher motor now has 2mm oversized valves; head ported and matched by RAM Head Mods in Windsor; 55-48mm tapered throttle body fuel injection; modifications to the block and head for releasing steam build up, 12.77:1 static compression, and ARP main and head studs. The dry sump system scavenges not only the oil from the dry sump, but
preparing the painted under floor with PVA, and then laying down Vinyl Ester Resin and layers of Kevlar. Kevlar panels were also made for the sills. Col explains his engine choice: “The Vauxhall Red Top (C20XE) engine is legendary and is used in many Escort rally cars in Europe. They have massive advantages over the Ford options, including the fact that a C20XE built to a ‘BDG-type’ specification is good for around 200 hours!” Col chose a gravel spec package from SBD in Surrey, England, designed to operate on (English) 97 RON pump fuel and produce 292hp and 197 lb/ft of torque. (Following the extensive head work by RAMS Head Mods, the result has been better than the expected 292hp). These engines were first released in 1989 in Europe and have been used in many different Vauxhall and Opel road cars. Cosworth originally developed the C20XE and the Fletchers were lucky enough to buy one of these privately out of England, and then found another FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 41
FEATURE: GEMINI RS Col gave Craig the SBD specifications which required variances in lengths of no more than +-3mm, and 52 hours later the car had an awesome exhaust system. Ceramic coating keeps the temperature down in the engine bay and under the floor. The flywheel is a chrome moly onepiece unit weighing 3.2kg, with a Tilton 7.25” twin plate clutch with a centre push thrust race. The team is using a Ford T5 5-speed gearbox (used in many Escorts in NZ), with a Quaife close ratio kit and quick shift. They are a good strong gearbox happy to stand up to 500hp, however, a long term plan (dependent upon a Lotto win!) is to install a Samsonas 6-speed sequential. olding the rear end into the car is a heavy duty 5-link kit from GP4 Fabrications out of Ireland. Complementing the standard kit is a custom chrome moly panhard rod. The diff is a Hilux with a 5.714 (40/7) ratio and a KAAZ LSD, and the team
H all of the blow by gasses, which are separated in the sump tank in the boot. The extractors and exhaust were built by Craig Stallard at Quality Performance Exhausts.
“The flywheel is a chrome moly onepiece unit weighing 3.2kg, with a Tilton 7.25” twin plate clutch with a centre push thrust race.” plans to upgrade the rear by modifying the diff to an adjustable full floater to fine tune toe and camber. The heavy duty Escort quick rack fits straight onto a Gemini crossmember, and comes with just 2.2 turns lock to lock. Some modifications were made to overcome pivot centre issues, and a simple solution enabled adapters for each end of the rack to allow the standard Gemini inner tie rods to mount in the correct position and still provide full lock. To cope with the higher steering load, an electric power steer column was added. Col designed and fabricated an overhung pedal box with balance bar and modified the firewall. Front rotors are 296 x 28mm ventilated from the front of a VE Commodore. Rears are 289 x 23mm from the front of a VS Commodore. At 42 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
“Yes, we could have saved a heap on money and time by buying a used 4WD turbo, but that would be boring to us.” the moment Commodore callipers are used (VE on the front and VS front on the rear), but 4 pots are planned very soon. Suspension for the Gemini is provided by canister MCA units on each corner. Col designed a wiring harness from scratch, including all of the wiring to the ECU and sensors, and fabricated and installed it. The very small alternator is straight out of the Bosch catalogue, marked as a Bosch Racing alternator. They provide 90amps output and Bosch insist that the unit should not be modified in any way. Driver and co-driver’s seats are mounted down low and as far back as possible - essential for a crew averaging 188cms+ in height. The steering wheel is 7” further back than standard, as are the pedals. With polycarbonate windows installed, empty space was available in the door shells, and useful storage spaces exist in each door behind each of the carbon fibre door skins. A Stilo intercom was installed as the crew expected that it might be a touch noisy inside the car. After Rally Australia, Col confirms that it is indeed noisy inside the car! “We have the Stilo turned up to max and when the engine is on full song I often have difficulty hearing Scott’s notes,” he said. “What an awesome problem to have.”
T
he car’s debut at Rally Australia’s line-up in Coffs Harbour drew lots of attention for its radical, yet pure ‘rally’ presentation. While only running the NSW Championship stages on Saturday, Col and Scott were out to make an impression on competitors and spectators alike. The sound of the powerful Vauxhall engine and the obvious traction afforded by the highly developed car certainly impressed many. Some may ask what possesses a team to spend five years building and developing such a radical and unique car? “Yes, we could have saved a heap of money and time by buying a used 4WD turbo, but that would be boring to us,” explained Col. “This car is the most fun you can have with your pants on!”
Thanks go to Col Fletcher and team for their willingness to share detailed technical specifications of this unique rally car. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 43
DESIGNING A WORLD RALLY CAR
THE CHALLENGE OF DESIGN T
he 2017 rally car revolution has been like no other in the story of world championship rallying, explains Martin Holmes. When the WRC cars were restricted in 1973 to Groups 1-2-3-4, the cars of most teams already complied. When the Group B cars came along in the early ‘80s, each team introduced their new designs at different times and when they were banned for the start of the 1987 season, no new designs suddenly appeared. When World Rally Cars appeared in 1997, the only fully compliant car came from Subaru, then when the 1.6 litre format arrived in 2011 there was only Ford and Citroen, with Mini coming along a few months later. Now, in 2017, there were four teams present at Monte Carlo, all with brand new designs, all at once. These are days to remember! M-Sport’s chief engineer, Chris Williams, looked around the Service Park at Gap remembering how the hectic year leading up to the 2017 WRC season affected them and the other teams.
CW: Everybody has been working behind the scenes in secrecy and at the same time dealing with regulations that were quite fluid. Initially everybody was working on different
44 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
M-Sport engineer Chris Williams.
ideas. Then the rules changed round a little bit, details were clarified. What I do notice is that there are common themes among all the four teams’ cars. I don’t think there have been different philosophies between the teams. I have also noticed that some teams’ people have taken greater risks, specifically with aero, but basically the cars are what we expected them to be. We’ve looked at some things and gone in one direction and others have gone another. We’ve been quite introvert, looking internally, making sure that what we’ve got we’re happy
with, and that we hope we have a reliable and durable package.
What has been the biggest design challenge for each of the team?
CW: Keeping your aero together in one piece is fundamental. If you have more fragile parts and start knocking them off, then you’re going to lose performance fairly quickly. I think some people have taken more risks than others in this respect. You can’t change the aero design from event to event, so we have all had to balance our aero to be suitable for the whole season. On certain events you’ll have an advantage with fragile stuff, but on the rougher stuff you lose out. But everybody’s done their own analysis, everybody has their own philosophy and their own approach. We have to make sure the performance of the car isn’t severely limited if there is damage, so robustness of the aero is a fundamental factor. But on the other hand, we are here to race and not here just to finish rallies. At the end of the day you have to look for the performance and then look to make it durable. If you compromise too much you’ll always be behind. - MARTIN HOLMES
NING A WORLD RALLY CAR
Elfyn Evans was the third of three Ford Fiesta WRCs in the top six placings at Monte Carlo. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 45
COMMENT
STORIES WE’D LIKE TO READ
C
hristmas time – the time when we traditionally put our feet up, select a comfortable chair and a cool, shady spot, and settle in for some quiet time with a cold drink or two to help us while away the hours. We’ve all done it at one time or another – it seems to be a part of the Australian way of life. However, there’s just one thing missing – a good book to read, one that will keep you occupied for some considerable time. There are plenty of books available at this time of year, both fiction and non-fiction, so there’s no shortage of titles to choose from on the widest possible range of subjects. RallySport Magazine went looking to try and find something suitable to read over the Christmas break, something of interest and with a motorsport theme but, surprise, surprise, nothing seemed to be available. Oh, there was rack after rack of books on cricket, football, golf and rugby league. It seems everyone who’s ever had a career in a particular sport, both currently and in the past, needs to tell others of their achievements, whether that’s of public interest or not. Take cricket as a for-instance. There’s Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehman, Chris Rodgers, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath, Alan Border, Bill Lawry and hundreds more titles. Same goes for Australian Rules football – the list (and the code) goes on. But we weren’t interested in any ball sports or the like. We wanted to read about real sportsmen and women and their rallying and motorsport exploits, the funny stories and the tragic ones that will strike a chord with us, and the real personalities of the sport that we admire so much. Our search of the shelves turned up nothing – surely someone could publish a fictional tale about some aspect of motor sport or a factual story about a long distance event or whatever. Why, Evan Green did it years ago with “Dust and Glory” and “A Bootfull of Right Arms”. Even the legendary Ross Dunkerton put pen to paper to write “Dunko” some years back with Bob Watson, while ex-Holden Dealer Team guru mechanic and driver, Mat Philip, published his own ‘warts and all’ autobiography back in the late 90s. Seems it can be done. Just imagine these possible titles - “The Neal Bates Story”, “My Years
46 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017
Story: JEFF WHITTEN in Rallying, by Ed Ordynski”, “The story behind Rally Australia by Garry Connelly”, “Simon Evans’ Most Hilarious Rally Moments”, “Be My Guest” by Michael Guest, “The Harry Firth Story”, “Cody Crocker, Possum Bourne’s prodigy”, “Maximum Attack by Rob Herridge” and so on and so on. As is obvious by the suggestions above, there is a plethora of stories out there that need to be told before it’s too late. You may not think that your story is worth telling, but that’s probably what E.L. James thought when writing “Fifty
& TOYOTA THRU
THRU
The NEAL BATES Story
CODY CROCKER The rally career of Possum Bourne’s prodigy
FROM JUNIOR STAR TO NATIONAL CHAMPION Rally driver to fishing guru
BE MY GUEST Shades of Grey”, and look how that took off! But leave it too late (as was the case with the late Harry Firth) and all that untold history, the fabric of Australia’s rallying history, is lost forever.
Almost everyone in rallying has a story worth telling, despite their reluctance to sit down and record their individual history for others to read. Convincing them to do this is the difficult part. But can you imagine the interest there’d be in sitting down and reading the Neal Bates story, or the Coral Taylor history! Surely those would have to be highly entertaining. So, all you rally tragics out there, please make an effort to tell us of your rallying history and exploits, and publish them so that the rest of the rally world has something worthwhile to read next Christmas. You won’t make a fortune from sales, but it might just attract others to do the same.
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5 MINUTES WITH ....
5
. minutes with .. R MARK PEDDE
ARC front-runner Mark Pedder had a topsy turvy 2016 season, suffering plenty of mechanical problems in his Peugeot 208 Maxi. His year culminated in winning the final round at Rally Australia, only for a timing error see that victory taken away from him.
It was a bitter-sweet finish to the season at Rally Australia. Did you feel an equal amount of relief and disappointment at the same time?
There was a little relief and incredible disappointment on so many levels. Obviously personal disappointment at not getting my first ARC win, but more for my team who had put in an incredible amount of time and effort to get the car right. Probably the most disappointing aspect was the reaction from some people I have known for a long time. To think that we would purposely affect the result of a sport I have been Photos: RedMAGAZINE Bull Content Pool | RALLYSPORT 48 - FEBRUARY 2017
involved with my whole life certainly put a sour taste in my mouth. Funnily, the Evans Motorsport Team, who were the most affected, were also the most supportive, and for that I’ll always be grateful.
2016 had been a frustrating season in the Peugeot, so to have it run reliably for a full event must have been a very pleasing?
It was really pleasing! One of the things we always kept in our heads was this car was the first of its kind. Yes, the Maxi Cars were running in Europe, but not with this engine configuration. The speed was always, there we just needed the reliability.
Were the problems throughout the season all unexpected and ones that weren’t repeated again?
This was one of the problems. There was never an issue that raised its head twice. We would do quite a bit of testing and the car would run faultlessly, and then put the numbers on for an event and something would go wrong. A broken control arm in Perth, electrical issues in Canberra, massive oil leak in Queensland, and an engine in SA. There were other smaller issues as any rally car would have, but these are what stopped us.
How hard did this make it on not only you, but also on the team?
The hardest thing from a driver’s point of view is you are always testing to sort a problem, rather than testing to make the thing faster. It is twice as hard/frustrating for the team because they are spending weeks between events getting the car right, only to have another issue. There were a few times we were close to throwing in the towel, but when the thing was running well it was simply brilliant to drive. This is what kept us all coming back.
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Story: PETER WHITTEN
Looking ahead to season 2017, will we see you contesting the ARC again in the Peugeot, or perhaps in a different car - a Skoda R5 perhaps?
Almost definitely we will not be running the ARC. You may see us at Ballarat if plans come off, as would love to compete back on those roads. My first real event was in the Wombat State Forest co-driving in an Escort for my Dad. We rolled!
There’s also been some rumours that you may contest the APRC this season. Is that a possibility?
This is more of a possibility than the ARC. With our business growing in Asia, it makes the most sense to run the APRC from a marketing point of view.
MULTI-YEAR DEAL FOR FOREST RALLY
I’ve done the series once before, and although we don’t see much in Australia, they do leverage the events very well locally.
Finally, many in the sport would love to see a two-car Pedders team in the ARC again. Will we ever see that again?
Never say never! The only problem with a two-car Pedders team is I’d have to find a slower car for Scott, and we’d have to have a fight over who uses Dale (Moscatt)!
The 2017 Forest Rally will be renamed the Make Smoking History Forest Rally, following a new multiyear deal with event sponsor Healthway. The Make Smoking History Forest Rally will be held in Busselton and Nannup from the 21-23 April, and is the first round of the ARC and WARC. Healthway has sponsored the event since 1995. Announcing the renewed sponsorship agreement, Forest Rally Event Director, Ross Tapper said he was delighted that Healthway had continued their support of the event. “The support of Healthway – as well as our other great sponsors – allows us to expand the event year on year ensuring we are always providing new and exciting challenges for competitors,” Tapper said. “Healthway’s support over the past 22 years has been an integral part of the success of this event and the growth of rallying in our state.”
FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 49
INTERVIEW: FIORENZO BRIVIO
DMACK MOVES FORWARD Story: MARTIN HOLMES
I
n the middle of 2016, M-Sport’s DMack sponsored driver, Ott Tanak, started to produce some remarkable performances in the World Rally Championship that led to thoughts that maybe their WRC rivals, Michelin, had finally met their match. Was it only because Ott had enjoyed the conditions involved, as seen in Poland and then Wales Rally GB, or was there an underlying reason? During the course of the season, DMack had introduced new tyre designs, as the regulations permitted, but the new-found DMack speed had come at a time when the company had launched the first all new design from Fiorenzo Brivio, their recently engaged rally tyre engineer. Brivio was already well respected in the sport for his work with Pirelli, so it was good to catch up with him at the end of 2016 to find out what had been going on in the business since the earlier days in his career. FB: I’ve been working in rallying for more than 25 years. In that time I have been involved in a lot of innovations, starting from the asymmetric gravel tyre and the asymmetric tarmac tyre. Asymmetric tyres were all new things when I was in Pirelli. I had the chance to move to DMack in September 2015 and was able to Elfyn Evans set three fastest times at Monte Carlo on DMack tyres.
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put all this experience in every day work with them. DMack’s main job is rallying. Their competition department is already quite well experienced, so we have common ground to discuss the development, how to go in the right direction in all the different areas of the rally development. So we started quite well. The core business of DMack is making rally tyres, so they invest 100% of their money in rally work.
MH: What is the main difference in the tyre work now compared with 30 years ago?
FB: Basically the biggest difference is the electronics. The electronics on the car is what makes the big difference in the way the tyre works. When the differential is fully controlled by the electronics, you can obviously control and set-up the car better in order to make the tyre work and spin as little as possible. In conjunction with the tyre design change, that is the biggest difference. At the same time the format of the rallies has changed. Special stages are now in groups. Before you used to
change tyres nearly every stage so you could design a tyre for a specific stage. Now you have to design a tyre that is basically less extreme. There is also much more restriction now in the way you can design the tyre because you have to respect new rules. In the past there was much more freedom.
MH: Is rally tyre design nowadays a much bigger compromise than the old days?
FB: Yes. Basically you have the choice of only two tyre compounds each rally and always with the same pattern. In
the old days you could use different compounds and treads, so you could design a tyre for a specific condition. Now you have to design a tyre for a much wider operating range.
MH: You also have limits on how many tyres you can use during an event. FB: This limitation leads to the need to mix compounds left and right with hard and soft, which seems a strange technique. Even in this technique the differential of the car and the electronic of the car helps to compromise the grip on the two sides. Basically that’s the idea that is behind this combination when you have crossed tyres and things like that. You have to select which compound of tyres to use much earlier than the time when they are going to be fitted on the car. The final stage is often many hours later in the day than when the choice had to be made. So every tyre has to cover a very wide range of temperature and type of surface. And for that reason sometimes you are encouraged to mix and to cross between soft and hard tyres.
MH: How is life at DMack?
FB: DMack’s founder, Dick Cormack, raises new ideas and new projects every day. He doesn’t leave me alone except when he’s been away! He’s always coming to me with new motivation and new ideas to develop. They encourage us to do our best. Coming to Britain was a big change, a big, big challenge, but I repeat I am fully backed from the management to do the best, and the results are coming. Obviously we expect it will get tougher and tougher as long as we are getting closer to the best of the opposition.
MH: In 2016 DMack introduced two new tyre designs, the new gravel and the new asphalt. What has been the special characteristic of the new tyres?
Brivio and Toyota’s Carlos Sainz in 1991.
FB: Everything on the tarmac tyre, the external aspects, the tread pattern, the tyre profile, the inside is different, the compound is totally different. The gravel tyre we started in 2016 had the same tread pattern as the old one, but inside the tyre was completely different and the compound technology is totally different. I think the results on the gravel tyres have been encouraging. We did very well in quite a few rallies in medium to soft conditions. We still have to work in the tougher surfaces, but we took a good step in the second half of the year, even in that kind of surface. So for 2017 we will start with a good product on the rough surface. Already the 2017 season has started in a most exciting way for DMack, with Elfyn Evans scoring three fastest times at the Monte Carlo Rally on winter tyres on the Saturday, on stages that were largely clear of snow and ice.
MH: The surprise was how fast the tyres were in Poland and Finland in 2016, and the disappointment was that the asphalt tyres were not a lot better than the old ones. What was the reason for that? FB: It is difficult to compare exactly. We believe the asphalt tyre has also been much better than the old one, but still there is a gap to recover, which we quantify as half a second per kilometre, so we are getting in the final area where the steps are more and more difficult to gain.
But we have quite encouraging results. Our best area has been in softer conditions. We’ve been very good in UK, we won the BRC (British Rally Championship) because the soft tyre was working quite well. We still have to manage the longer stages and the hotter conditions better. We are working hard to bridge the gap. But we believe we have taken a good step forward also on the tarmac tyre, compared to the old one.
MH: Do you think you will see a situation where DMack will be able to be the official supplier for a big team?
FB: That’s our goal. We are working hard every day to win special stages, to win rallies, and then we want to win the championship. Obviously on the back of this project we need to sell the tyres, so on the side of this WRC project there is a big sales programme in every country, and that we will develop in 2017. And also, this new tyre will be produced in UK. So in every country we want to be the best. FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 51
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Monte Carlo Rally winner Sebastien Ogier slides his M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC through the snowy French Alps. Photo: Red Bull
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FEBRUARY 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 55
NEWS
FIESTA FOR ARI Rising New Zealand star, Ari Pettigrew, will drive a Stadium Finance supported Ford Fiesta in this year’s NZRC. Pettigrew will drive the 2-litre ST150 Ford Fiesta owned by Stadium Cars’ Tony Gosling. After several impressive drives in a BMW E36 last year, there is plenty of anticipation ahead of his first event in the car, the Otago Rally in April.
TARGA NORTH WEST ATTRACTS STRONG FIELD The new 2017 Targa North West will host a top field of competitors when the field gathers in Burnie on February 18, enticed by the opportunity to take on the famous Savage River stage, a compelling test of driver and car. The event has replaced Targa Hellyer Gorge on the annual Targa calendar and sees a 60% increase in entries over 2016 numbers, including teams who will use the event to prepare for the ultimate tarmac rally, Targa Tasmania, in April. As well as attracting some of the most experienced drivers, the event also provides a great way to start competing in Targa events with a number of rookies set to test their skills on the roads around Burnie. The format in 2017 will see cars tackle multiple stages, with competitive kilometres equal to any tough day at Targa Tasmania. Last year’s Targa Hellyer Gorge winners, Trevor McLeod and Scott Hunter, return looking for another win in their Subaru WRX. They will be hotly
Crichton Lewis will tackle Targa North West in his Subaru WRX.
pursued by Crichton Lewis and Adam Kudra, also in a Subaru, as well as Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler in their awesome Nissan GTR, who finished third in Targa Tasmania GT4. Other front-runners include Michael Pritchard and Jason White in the GT2
class. The event starts and finishes in Burnie. 2017 sees the new Targa North West run for the first time under its new fiveyear agreement that will see the event run each year until at least 2021.
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