RallySport Magazine July 2016 by RallySport Magazine

Dedicated coverage of rallying in Australia and New Zealand

Issue #3 - July 2016

EVENT REPORT

Holder takes first NZRC title INTERVIEWS WRC POLAND

HEARTACHE FOR TANAK

Harry Bates David Waldon FEATURED

South African rallying

5 MINUTES WITH

Jack Monkhouse FAMOUS STAGES

Canberra’s Mineshaft

PLUS: RALLY QLD l JIM RICHARDS l HYUNDAI’S RALLYING HISTORY

rallysportmag.com.au

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 1

6 1 0 2 L A I OFFIC R U O T R O T SPECTA BROUGHT TO YOU BY

EXCLUSIVE VIEWING LOCATIONS

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Official Rally Australia Tour hosted by RallySport Magazine 2 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

CONTENTS - #3 JULY 2016 FEATURES

EVENT REPORTS

12 DAVID WALDON INTERVIEW

THE ARC CHAIRMAN SAYS THE 2016 SERIES IS MAKING PROGRESS

19 THE MINESHAFT FOLLOW US ON:

AN INFAMOUS ROAD JUST OUT OF THE NATION’S CAPITAL

29 GENTLEMAN JIM

JIM RICHARDS HAS A SUCCESSFUL RALLYING BACKGROUND

42 HYUNDAI IN RALLYING

REGULARS

24 RALLY OF QUEENSLAND

04 EDITORIAL

ROUND 3 OF THE 2016 ARC

GIRL POWER IS EMPOWERING IN LOCAL RALLYING AT PRESENT

34 WRC ITALY

HYUNDAI’S THEIRRY NEUVILLE FINALLY RETURNED TO FORM

05 RALLY ROUND-UP

38 RALLY OF GISBORNE

64 BOOK REVIEWS

NEWS FROM AROUND THE SPORT

DAVID HOLDER CLINCHED HIS FIRST NZRC TITLE

TITLES TO ADD TO YOUR LIBRARY

56 HEARTBREAK FOR TANAK

EVENTS WORTH CHECKING OUT

72 RALLY CLASSIFIEDS

WET AND WILD IN THE WEST

IT ALL STARTED IN AUSTRALIA

50 SOUTH AFRICAN RALLYING

CLASSIC CREWS HAD A BALL IN AUSTRALIA’S OUTBACK

68 HYUNDAI I20 R5

63 YPRES RALLY

70 HARRY BATES INTERVIEW

77 EVANS DOES IT AGAIN

A CLOSE LOOK AT A THE NEW I20 WE CHAT TO THE SURPRISE ARC LEADER

WHAT’S FOR SALE THIS MONTH?

60 CLASSIC OUTBACK TRIAL

A UNIQUE RALLYING HISTORY

66 COMING EVENTS

74 HOLMES COLUMN

MARTIN HOLMES AND HIS MONTHLY RALLY COLUMN

BELGIUM’S ERC ROUND

3 OUT OF 5 FOR YOUNG STAR, BUT NOT ALL SURVIVED (BELOW)

SEE THIS? Click the link and watch the video

LISTEN TO THE

PODCAST HERE

MANAGING EDITOR

SENIOR WRITER

PETER WHITTEN TOM SMITH peter@rallysportmag.com.au tom@rallysportmag.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

Martin Holmes, Luke Whitten, Blair Bartels, Jeff Whitten, Dallas Dogger, Matthew Whitten, Geoff Ridder, John Doutch, Craig O’Brien

PUBLISHED BY:

ADVERTISING

Dominic Corkeron, 0499 981 188 dominic@rallysportmag.com.au

Peter Whitten RallySport Magazine peter@rallysportmag.com.au www.rallysportmag.com.au

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.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 3

EDITORIAL

Rallying in its purest form By PETER WHITTEN

’ll be the first to admit that there’s no sight in rallying more exciting than watching a World Rally Car being thrown through the forest by one of the world’s greatest rally drivers. But for sheer pleasure, I’m not sure anything beats standing in a dark forest listening to the sound of an approaching rally car, then watching it trail off into the distance. Night rallying is, perhaps, rallying in its most pure form. As a road closure official, waiting in the forest on your own, it simply doesn’t get much better. Picture this …. We’ve been set up for three hours, ensuring that the roads are closed and that nobody can enter the forest and cause any unplanned incidents. It was 4pm when we were dropped off at our “private spectator point”, and in the ensuing three hours we’ve gathered enough fire wood to keep ourselves warm on a chilly winter’s night, cooked ourselves some sausages on the gas barbecue, and kicked the footy around to pass the time. Once it’s completely dark, we wait some more as the start time for the stage draws nearer. It’s a clear night, there’s not a cloud in the sky, or a breath of wind, and right on schedule at 7.10pm we hear the first car leave the start control, some 5km away. Having driven into our location via the rally route, we listen to the approaching Commodore and visualise the pieces of road he’s attacking as the engine revs rise and fall, and it makes its way towards us. A couple of kilometres from us, we hear the big Holden brake hard and turn right off the main road, before heading in our direction via a tight and undulating forest track. Moments later we see the flicker of headlights in the distance, and watch as the car ducks and weaves its way in and out of the trees, before finally sliding around our private corner and powering its way towards the stage finish in an everdiminishing glare of tail lights. Even before the Commodore has reached us, however, we also hear the far off grumble of a Subaru WRX as it leaves the start and also heads in our direction. Pretty soon there

4 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

“Moments later we see the flicker of headlights as the car ducks and weaves in and out of the trees” are finely tuned engine notes echoing all through the forest as our senses are alive with the sounds of rallying. The pièce de résistance, however, is the performance of eventual rally winner Luke Sytema and his Ford Escort. The sound of the Escort powering through the forest is like a Bach symphony for petrol heads, and the few minutes listening to that car alone makes the three-hour wait worthwhile. In a nutshell, we came, we saw, we conquered. Surely it doesn’t get any better than that? But try explaining that experience to a non-rally person, and you’d probably be looked at strangely as though you have two heads. Similarly, a circuit racing fan used to a track environment and the blare of commentators on the loud speakers would also struggle to

really connect with what you’re trying to explain. Even those fans of daylight-only state or national championship rallies wouldn’t know of the sheer thrill of watching a club rally at night. If you’ve never experienced it, do yourself a favour and contact your local car club. Find out when their next night event is, and volunteer to man a road closure and experience the real ‘sounds of rallying’. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

ou’ll notice in this third issue of RallySport Magazine that there is an increased advertising presence, and to those businesses I am extremely grateful. I urge you all to patrionise our advertisers, for without their support of RSM, there will be no magazine in the future. I’d forgotten just how much work goes into producing a monthly magazine, but I hope that you, the readers, are enjoying the new era of the magazine as much as we are enjoying bringing it to you each month. My continued thanks go to Tom Smith and Martin Holmes for their tireless efforts in helping to produce the content each month. Their support, research and skills are invaluable. See you next month!

Listen and watch Luke Sytema in action in the Nissan Nightmoves Rally.

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU

TASSIE TARGETS ARC RETURN

A group of key rally people in Tasmania are well down the track in attempting to bring a round of the Australian Rally Championship back to the island state. While still some way from coming to fruition, the event would be based on the state’s north west coast, using roads not used in the ARC since the early 1990s.

ARC Chairman, David Waldon, himself a Tasmanian, told RallySport Magazine that the plans were well advanced. “There’s a group who are very, very keen and they’ve been talking about it for some 18 months. They’ve done a lot of the groundwork so far,” Waldon said. However, he stressed

that it wasn’t simply a case of Tasmania applying for a round and being given one. “From the championship’s perspective, we have to a fine line between a series that’s sustainable with a certain number of events. There’s no good just putting a heap of events forward to have nobody turn up. “I think there’s a number of hurdles for Tassie at the

moment, and for any other event that wants to hop into the fray, for that matter.” The ARC will return to Victoria in 2017 with an event based in Ballarat. That event was originally to be held in November this year, but a last-minute date change for Rally Australia saw the new Victorian event postponed until the following year.

ARC FOCUSED ON MODERN CARS

The future of the Australian Rally Championship will continue to involve four-wheel drive cars, but the age of the machinery eligible to win the championship will be restricted. Australian Rally Championship Chairman, David Waldon, says that while there is virtually no age limit on cars this year, that will change in the next couple of years, meaning that cars like Simon Evans’ 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX won’t be eligible to score points. “ The simplest way to manage the process is exactly the same way we manage all the other classes, with a rolling timeframe,” Waldon said. “At the moment we’ve taken that away and we have something like a 20 year time period, but I think the reality is that in a couple of years time it will be

COFFS COAST NSW 17-20 NOVEMBER 2016

The ARC will focus on modern cars in the coming years. (Photo: Geoff Ridder)

a five and 10 year process.” Cars such as Evans’ Subaru would run in a second tier championship. “But we’ll certainly keep the national

series open for those kinds of cars,” Waldon said. Read the full interview on page 12. - Peter Whitten

FOLLOW THE ACTION AS IT HAPPENS SEE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR FANTASTIC PRIZES AND OFFERS #YOUHAVETOBETHERE JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 5

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ubaru Australia Managing Director, Nick Senior, has explained the reasons behind running Molly Taylor’s WRX STi as a standard Group N car in the wake of another stirring drive from the 27-year-old in Canberra. Many have questioned Subaru’s reasoning for entering a car that is an incredible 280kg heavier than Harry Bates’ Super 2000 Corolla, and up to 180 horsepower down on some of its other rivals. However, Senior believes that Subaru is heading down the right path, and that Taylor’s stock standard WRX is showing just how competitive Group N cars can still be.

FLYING VISIT

Brendan Reeves’ Kiwi Mazda AP4 Test likely to be a one-off

ational Capital Rally winner, Brendan Reeves, made a rushed trip to New Zealand late in June to test drive Andrew Hawkeswood’s AP4-spec Mazda. While Reeves currently has no plans to compete in a car of that specification, it was a good opportunity for him to sample a specification of car that has not yet reached Australian shores. “There is a lot of talk and hype about the new AP4 rules. We have seen Maxi and Proto cars in the ARC, but haven’t seen the new versions built by Force Motorsport in New Zealand,” Reeves told RallySport Magazine. “I’d been talking to Andrew Hawkeswood all year about testing one to get a first hand impression, and maybe helping the development and awareness. “Along with actually driving the car on the day, we made some set-up changes throughout the day. Andrew’s

Mazda 2 runs MCA suspension built by Murray Coote in Queensland. “The cars have been built fast to a high demand, so Andrew hadn’t had much development time, so we were able to help him with that.” As expected, the differences between Reeves’ PRC Subaru and the AP4 Mazda are vast. “There are quite a lot of freedoms in PRC, but my car is close to Group N,” he explained. “The most notable thing is the mass. The AP4 is nearly 200kg lighter, making the performance and drivability better. It feels like a race car to drive with its 6-speed sequential gearbox, pedal box and huge suspension travel. “The Mazda had a 1.8-litre turbo motor, but Force Motorsport tell me they have plans to develop a 1.6-litre turbo in the future to comply with the new rules.” Although the test drive was, at this Brendan Reeves tests the NZ-built Mazda 2 AP4 recently (above). Photos: Ian Moss, Geoff Ridder

6 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

stage, a one-off, Reeves believes that the AP4 car would be well suited to Australian conditions. “I’d love to try one out in competition, for sure. Australia is a tough battleground for a rally championship. We have a huge landmass, with the most diverse roads of any national championship in the world. I think a car of that quality would do really well here.” In Europe, the R5 class has been a tremendous success, with many manufacturers involved in the sport at the highest level. The introduction of the AP4 class in Australia and New Zealand has been a joint process between the countries in order to get manufacturers involved in the sport, and to offer a stable set of rules in the region. “The AP4 rules are certainly a cheaper option than an R5 car, with similar performance, but a PRC car is where most teams can afford to be in Australia,” Reeves says. “AP4 is a way of getting different models of cars out on the stages and will hopefully help the sport grow.” Australia has seen a Peugeot Maxi Car running in the hands of Mark Pedder, and a Hyundai i20 Proto with Justin Dowel at the wheel, but Reeves says regardless of what cars are being used at a national level, stability in the rules is imperative. “Each car has their own differences, but aim to give the same result. The biggest thing is that the rules need to be sorted and set until at least 2020, so teams can get on with building new cars and enjoying the competition,” he said.

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RALLY ROUND-UP Macneall joins Makinen

Rallycross at Raleigh

Australian co-driver, Glenn Macneall, has landed a lucrative deal with Tommi Makinen Racing (TMR) for the remainder of 2016, co-driving for up-and-coming Japanese driver Hiroki Arai. Macneall recently completed a four-day test with TMR, and also attended one of Toyota’s tests for their new 2017 World Rally Car. “Straight after Canberra I went to Finland where we did a four-day test in R5 Fiestas. Markko Martin Motorsport is running the R5 cars for us this year, with the

Raleigh International Raceway, near Coffs Harbour, will host a fourround rallycross series in 2016. The track is the first to receive CAMS approval since the mid 1980s, and come and try days have already been successfully held. The 1.1 kilometre circuit consists of 50% dirt and 50% tarmac, and includes a 132-metre “Joker Lap” section.

whole programme managed by TMR,” Macneall told RallySport Magazine. “Hiroki did a brilliant job in his first rally in an R5 car and set fastest time overall on the first stage of the Finnish Championship rally last weekend.” The next step in the program is to enter the European Rally Championship Rally Estonia, and then WRC Rally Finland. “It is a seriously impressive program,” Macneall adds. “Toyota are really committed to the whole project.”

According to Raleigh Motorsports Association Inc. marketing manager, Helen Haworth, they are now in the process of extending the track to a length of 1.5km, with the ultimate goal of hosting a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. The Raleigh International Raceway has previously hosted rounds of the International Championships for GoKarting.

Proudly announcing the

Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally November 8 to 19, 2016

Re-trace the 1966 route through Victoria and then via Canberra to Sydney to enjoy the classic roads of the later Southern Cross Rallies around Port Macquarie.

The rally finishes in Coffs Harbour where you’ll join the field of WRC cars competing in the final round of the 2016 World Rally Championship and compete on some of the WRC route..

Another Classic HRA re-run www.hra.org.au

Daily competitive sections including: • • •

Closed road stages Hillclimbs

Timed track sections

Each day finishes in time to enjoy a meal and lots of socialising!

Head to the website for more information

www.southerncrossanniversaryrally.com.au Albury Mansfield Sale Jindabyne Canberra Parramatta Taree Port Macquarie Coffs Harbour 8 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

The new rallycross looks challenging and exciting.

Sordo injured in test shunt Dani Sordo crashed his latest spec Hyundai NG i20 WRC in pre-Neste Rally testing in Finland when a suspension arm failed. The impact sent the car off the road in sixth gear into a massive track side rock, which shot the car high into the air before landing on the driver’s side of the car. Sordo suffered a fractured vertebrae in the accident. This is a remarkable replay of the accident for Sordo during the 2006 rally,

which again ended when he impacted a very big rock. As a result to the accident, the test session was cancelled, as was his entry in this weekend’s Autoglym Rally. It is reported that the crash happened on the Pihlajakoski stage, 400 metres from where Pekka Mällinen crashed his Escort RS2000 during the Thousand Lakes in 1983, which cost the life of codriver Reijo Nygren. - Martin Holmes

Emma Gilmour will compete in the Italian Baja. JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 9

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU

AUSTRALIA’S LOSS IS NZ’S GAIN

Irishman’s all-new Fiesta Proto will compete in NZRC in 2017 By PETER WHITTEN

ydney-based Irishman, Richie Dalton, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his brand new Ford Fiesta Proto that is on its way to Australia from Poland. The Fiesta will run with Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 running gear, and after a debut in Australia later this year, Dalton and co-driver John Allen will contest the 2017 New Zealand Rally Championship in the purposeful looking car. When he ordered the building of the car, Dalton had originally planned to contest the Australian Rally Championship, but a change in the regulations now means that the car’s double-fin rear wing is not eligible in the ARC. An application by Dalton and his Shamrock Motorsport team to alternatively run a single fin wing from a Fiesta rallycross car was subsequently rejected by the Australian Rally Commission, meaning New Zealanders will now get the enjoyment of watching the new Fiesta in action. (Read ARC Chairman David Waldon’s thoughts on the issue HERE) “The car is running six months late and still hasn’t arrived, so we may look to debut it in the NSW Rally Championship round that runs alongside Rally Australia in November,” Dalton told RallySport Magazine. “I decided to build a car to the G4 regulations rather than the new AP4 rules, because the big wings that the G4 cars can run really look the part. “However, as the car is no longer eligible in Australia, we’ll be heading to

10 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

New Zealand next year.” Dalton says by the time the car is finished it will have cost a similar price to an AP4 car, and after a recent visit to the Rally of Canterbury in NZ (where he was a guest of the NZRC), he can’t wait to compete over there. “I’m not interested in all the politics, I just want to drive the car and have fun,” he says. “The way the New Zealand Rally Championship is run is very appealing to me, with less time away from work and less restrictions. “The Otago and Whangarei events have been on my ‘Bucket List’ for a while now, and with smoother roads and events that are cheaper to run in, I can’t wait.” The Fiesta Proto is the first righthand drive car built in Poland, a decision Dalton made to help with the re-sale of the car in a couple of years time. He also ordered a spare WRC body kit, which he will use to make spare bumpers and other parts from. Other than a debut run in November, it looks like Australian rally fans will miss out on seeing the Fiesta in action – something that is certainly New Zealand’s gain.

Richie Dalton’s Fiesta Proto is an impressive looking machine.

Tasmania targets ARC return - page 5

Who the heck is “Stonie”? Adelaide’s John Stoneham, a.k.a. ‘Stonie’, is a motoring and motorsport cartoonistillustrator who has been producing his uniquely Australian cartoons for over 40 years. ‘Stonie’ is no stranger to rallying, having been a successful navigator in his day. He co-drove twice for Team Toyota in the media car, finishing eighth in the 1990 SA Forest Rally and sixth outright in the first ever Targa Tasmania, with Tim Lynas in a Ford Laser TX3. In his 70th year, he has been a regular contributor to the national Auto Action weekly magazine and the monthly Unique Cars magazine. RallySport Magazine is proud to be able to continue to publish some of Stonie’s favourites.

YOUNG LAPS UP JAPAN DEBUT Michael Young has delivered his promise of securing a finish at Rally Toya, a round of the Japanese Rally Championship (JRC), where he was invited to compete with his Cusco team. Piloting a Cuscoprepared Subaru Impreza, Young and local co-driver Takahiro Yasui overcame multiple challenges throughout the two day event to finish in sixth place after holding third for most of the rally. At the rally finish, Young said: “It was a tough rally, that’s for sure, though I’m really happy to finish. Yasui-san and I worked well together all weekend and we showed some good speed over the

weekend, and even won a stage. “Cusco has asked me if I’d like to come back and obviously, I would love to!” Young said. “They [Cusco] looked after me and I really enjoy rallying with them. Plus rallying in Japan is simply awesome and I love it.”

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 11

INTERVIEW: DAVID WALDON

FORWARD PLANNING ON TRACK FOR ARC By PETER WHITTEN

RSM: Three events into 2016, has this year’s ARC been a success so far

DW: It’s the start of a success, and certainly some of the goals we set out to achieve at the beginning of the year have been achieved. But I very much treat it as a work in progress, as it’s a transitional year, and a year of review in how the championship needs to build, and in what directions. Certainly the promotional side of things has been a success, but there are more tricks in the bag to play with yet, and we need to make sure we achieve what we set out to achieve in the first instance.

Are the changes in vehicle regulations working?

Yes they are, and again it’s only in the transitional period, but the future direction is what we’re really focussing on at the moment. The change in regulations to allow four-wheel drive cars, and effectively four-wheel drives of all ages, was a methodology to entice people to compete again and making sure there were no roadblocks for state competitors to move up into the ARC. Clearly that’s not something that is sustainable in the long term - the championship needs to eventually regain its point of being the modern championship, rather than one for all comers – but having said that, that 12 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

doesn’t mean we need to lock the door for those cars either. It’s been a mistake in the past to formulate a championship that didn’t allow everybody the opportunity to compete. So I think yes, overall it’s going to plan.

Subaru’s Nick Senior made some interesting comments regarding a one-make ARC in the June issue of RallySport Magazine. What are your thoughts on that?

I love the idea of a one-make series, and that’s always been successful in the past when it’s been well supported, but I don’t like the V8 Supercar model for rallying. I don’t see that there’s any life in having a one-make series as the outright championship, and that would be a pretty poor world to be in, I think. There are the fundamentals of rallying that is a bit of a ‘run what you brung’ kind of thing that’s gone on over 50 years or so, and that’s part of the attraction.

What about a control tyre? In the same way that a one-make car restricts opportunities, does a one-make tyre do the same?

The tyre supply is a very difficult part of this whole process, and it’s the one thing we can do that maintains a sense of parity and tries to keep a cap on costs for the competitors. If you wind back 10 years or more when we had an open slather, we had some very special tyres being flown in from Europe overnight for competitors, and that made it unreachable for most. We go back to that same conversation about what the regulation changes meant, and without the control tyre it takes away any chance of a state competitor stepping up and taking on the big guns. Having said that, competition in the market place, if we contained it well, is something that’s in the future, but at

Photo: Geoff Ridder

asmanian David Waldon took over the role as Chairman of the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) in December 2015, and has so far been working flat out to regenerate the championship and to attract more entries to the once fledgling series. With a change in rules this year, and with a kit bag full of ideas and plans for the future, Waldon’s efforts (and those of the ARC committee) are already bearing the fruits of his labour. Increased competitor numbers and a spike in public interest are just two of the most notable positives to come out of the season so far. RallySport Magazine’s Peter Whitten chatted to Waldon to check on the progress the ARC has made in 2016.

the moment tyre supply is something that helps the championship pay its way and gives exposure to the competitors. They (the competitors) have to realise that the money basically bounces over to promoting the championship and to them individually, and it has a net effect to the bottom line. Certainly, from a parity point of view, it has achieved that role pretty well, and I don’t get much grief from the competitors about the one-make tyre supply. A couple of the pseudo manufacturer teams would like to go off in a different direction, but mostly it’s well received.

Playing Devil’s advocate, it seems disappointing that two of the three events have been won by drivers who aren’t registered for points. Is this how you see it?

No, I have to say that I spin it the other way. Going back to the plan of knocking down the fences and making it easier for people to compete, I think it’s great that guys can drop in and out of the championship. It bolsters numbers from a financial and economical point of view, it bolsters championship numbers by having more competitors drop in and compete, and it has an effect on the outright results at each event. I think that’s a great thing. Yes, it would be great if they could find the dollars and sign up for the championship as a whole, but maybe

this year is a bit of a toe in the water for some of those guys as well. I like the idea that people know that they can drop in and out of the championship when they like, and I think that makes a big difference for individual events. Canberra was probably a classic case – in 2015 they had 8 or 10 ARC entries, this year it had 28 – so for me that’s building the profile, building the show and making sure we actually have something to sell to the big wide world, and also to make sure there’s enough motivation to compete. I’d like to see numbers of 60 to 80 at every round, and the only way you’re going to achieve that is by having no hindrance to guys dropping in and doing selected events. I’d want to get back to where we see guys actually wanting to do their own ARC round as their one big event of the year, rather than foregoing it to do all the other state rounds instead. In years gone by that was the case, but it isn’t happening as much these days.

The ARC registration fee to score points is $3300, yet in NZ the fee is only $750. NZ have a dedicated PR team and TV programs after each event. How can there be such a discrepancy, and where is the money going?

I can’t comment on what New Zealand does, as I don’t know how they fund their process and their championship, but in Australia the bulk of our registration fee goes into the basic back-end of management of the sport. There’s a portion that goes straight to CAMS, that then utilises that to pay for airfares, car hire and other costs for the key personnel that is required for a

“The championship needs to eventually regain its point of being the modern championship, rather than one for all comers.” championship, such as the Sporting and Technical Director, the series scrutineer and the series steward. Also bear in mind that the cost to fly these guys around to the various rounds in Australia is considerably more expensive than flying them up and down through New Zealand. The rest of that (money) just goes into the staffing of the administration in the back-end, so it’s not an ad-hoc cost that we throw towards everything else. In reality, none of that money goes towards the promotion. The work that we do with individual sponsors and the tyre deals, that’s what pays for the promotion.

Has the idea of charging a smaller registration fee and getting more competitors to register been considered as a better way of building the championship? Absolutely, and it totally comes down to busting up that overall cost in the year across the entry base. I have no doubt there’s a review process to take place on all of the fundamentals to make the cost process better – the way the events have to pay their permit fees, the way the insurance is covered off, even the costs

of the things we bring to the events can probably be managed in a slightly different manner to push them across the entry base better. More entries are the obvious answer, and even another 20 entries in one single event can make a massive difference to the bottom line.

Richie Dalton has declared that he’ll run his new Fiesta Proto in NZ because the twinfin rear wing doesn’t comply with Australian rules. Surely this is a non-issue in terms of the car’s overall performance?

I don’t know the exact reasons, but Richie is certainly passionate about running a car and having it as wild looking and as spectacular as possible, which is a great thing. He, along with others, bought cars that currently sit outside the vast rulings that were put together between Australia and New Zealand. There’s an agreement to what AP4 cars look like, what G4 looks like, and by all means we can look at change, but there’s no way in the world we can change half way through the year. That’s not fair and reasonable on anyone, and to me that’s a key indicator that one of the issues with rallysport over the last 10 years is that there’s been too many changes mid-season. Bear in mind that those changes are made by the Australian Rally Commission, not the championship. We have a point of view, and make it fairly forcibly I have to say, but at the end of the day the Australian and New Zealand rally commissions are working pretty hard to come up with a solution for the next three to five years. This involes AP4, and what they categorise as AP4 Plus (cars running Australia and New Zealand are working hard to ensure that the new AP4 category has a strong future..

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 13

INTERVIEW: DAVID WALDON engines with more capacity than what the AP4 rules allow), which I think is a good thing. We’re pretty close to getting that put to bed. I’m unaware that Richie put in an application as I haven’t seen it, and certainly popping through information and saying this is where he wants to go is probably not considered an application for change. Having said that, if we run with AP4 Plus in this country, which may be on the cards for a transitional period, the twin plane wing probably doesn’t have any issue with running in Australia. I can’t guarantee that, and I don’t know yet, but that’s certainly the direction we’re heading. There are all kinds of issues with the FIA on what they like and don’t like. The twin rear wings make the cars look like a WRC car and take away what the AP4 platform was sold to them on, which is a more cost-effective Asia-Pacific version of the R5 car. If we march out and say we’re going to put a WRC rear wing on the cars, and who knows what else, that goes well away from what they were trying to do in the first place with R5. There’s a fine line to tread, and it seems such an innocuous little thing to just put a wing on a car, but from a global perspective – and certainly from the story that was sold from Australia and New Zealand to the FIA – we’re

definitely trying to contain costs, but still have a car that can move off into the future and be compatible with the desires of the manufacturers long term, and meeting their requirements for smaller engines. The transition period has allowed for the 1800 and 2000cc engines to be used in the AP4 cars initially, but long term the goal is to have 1.6 litre engines, which is what the rest of the world are doing.

On a more positive note, the return of Subaru has been tremendous for the ARC. Are there other manufacturers interested in joining the championship, and if so, what is attracting them to the ARC? Interestingly enough, yes there are, although obviously I can’t name names. One thing that is attracting them is the move to AP4, and most of those manufacturers don’t have a car that they can roll off the showroom floor as a production style car. That’s been most off-putting for them in the past, and they also don’t want to have to build a million dollar car, they need to be able to cost effectively produce something. Subaru is in a world of its own because they can roll something off the floor, but that’s probably not something that will go on forever. AP4 is a fairly simplistic and

well-managed category whereby manufacturers can still run a car that still looks like their shopping trolley, they can put some ‘GT’ stickers on, and is a car that they can advertise on the Monday.

Holden’s commitment to a two-car AP4 program in New Zealand in 2017 is obviously a case in point. That’s exactly right, and most of the manufacturers that I have spoken to are very, very keen to see it well regulated. They don’t want the rules to chop and change, which is why we’re working so hard with New Zealand to make sure that what we put in place works for both sides of the water, so that there’s no discrepancies. I suppose the biggest thing to lock down is timeframes, so perhaps a timeframe for outright eligibility for 2019 would be cars built within a five year period – and I’m only thinking out loud here because none of this is put to bed – but certainly there will be a timeframe rolling forward that would eventually see most of the cars running today fitting into a second tier series.

So older cars such as Simon Evans’ Subaru WRX would be eligible to compete and win, but wouldn’t be eligible to score championship points?

That’s how I see it. The simplest way to manage the process is exactly the

“If we run with AP4 Plus in this country ... the twin plane wing probably doesn’t have any issue with running in Australia.”

Cars like Simon Evans’ 1990s Impreza WRX will be part of a second tier ARC, Waldon says. (Photo: Peter Whitten) 14 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

The factory Mitsubishi of Juha Kangas in the Tasmanian ARC round in 2004. (Photo: Peter Whitten)

same way we manage all the other classes, with a rolling timeframe. At the moment we’ve taken that away and we have something like a 20 year time period, but I think the reality is that in a couple of years time it will be a five and 10 year process. Eventually those cars will slot into a second tier, and certainly they can still go and win the event outright, but in terms of scoring points for the championship, I think that will eventually die a natural death. But we’ll certainly keep the national series open for those kinds of cars.

Many years ago there was a Trans Tasman Cup conducted between Australia and New Zealand. Is that something that’s on the cards again? Yeah, we’ve had quite a few discussions about this, and somebody jokingly named it ‘the grudge match’, which I quite like. Look, a series of many events is probably the ultimate goal, but short term, maybe a singular event either side of the water, with an away game advantage for each one, has probably got a lot of legs in the short term. If we can get the rules put to bed, and we’re working on the same set of rules, then I see no reason why we can’t nominate an event on either side. I think that would be pretty good, to be honest.

There’s been talk of an ARC return to Tasmania, with a gravel event based on the north west coast. Is that a distinct possibility

“Eventually those cars will slot into a second tier championship.” in the coming seasons?

There’s a group in Tasmania who are very, very keen and they’ve been talking about it for some 18 months. They’ve done a lot of the groundwork so far. From the championship’s perspective, we have to have a fine line between a series that’s sustainable with a certain number of events. There’s no good just putting a heap of events forward to have nobody turn up. I think there’s a number of hurdles for Tassie at the moment, and for any other event that wants to hop into the fray, for that matter. I did put everybody on notice that we’ll be reviewing all events over the course of the year. Everything is on the table and nothing is sacred. Certainly, we have some difficulties because we’re restricted by the FIA calendar with Rally Australia and the Rally of Queensland, so we’ve got some hurdles to work our way over there. I wouldn’t like to see the three week gap between Canberra and Queensland again, that was madness, so we’ll be pushing very had to make sure we get as much notice on, at least, the AsiaPacific calendar as possible.

Is Victoria still scheduled to return to the championship in 2017?

Yes, and that’s working very well at the moment, we’re progressing towards that and it will be lovely to have Victoria back on board. There’s a very strong rally community in Victoria. We’re right in the middle of calendar works at the moment, so I can’t commit as to when the date will be, however.

What’s your vision for the ARC for the next 5 years, and how will it look in 2020 or 2021?

I’m committed to rolling out a fixed vision for the championship, maybe in the next three or four weeks. Coming off our discussions with New Zealand, once they’re put to bed we’ll roll out this vision, but certainly a return to the modern championship in the next couple of years is a focus. I’d like to see that we have a strong championship, with good manufacturer support, within the next two to three years. But not at the sacrifice of what we’re building at the moment, with the current attractiveness to come and compete in the ARC for all of our state based competitors. I think we have a very good and very strong representation out of each state, and it doesn’t require much to enable them to step up into ARC. I do have a few ideas as well, which I will roll out, in terms of making it a little bit easier for the state competitors to slot into the ARC without having to be registered competitors and having to do any more rounds, and just making the task of them stepping up a little bit more feasible. I think the future for the ARC is looking very good. JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 15

FIVE MINUTES WITH ....

Jack Monkhouse only competes occasionally these days. We caught up with him to find out why.

minutes with ... JACK MONKHOUSE

Age: 35 Marital status: Married Children: 1x Datsun Occupation: Professional Driver Place of birth: Adelaide, SA. Where do you live: Sydney, New South Wales and lots of different motels around Australia (52 so far in 2016, but who’s counting?) Does your spouse / partner like rallying? Yes, but she doesn’t really have a choice ;)

Favourites

Food: Custard tart Drink: Two months ago I would have said ginger beer, but now I’m hooked on the serious stuff, water!

Sports person: Toby Price. The guy is an absolute machine and a great guy to boot! Film star: Shane Jacobson. Champion of a guy! Holiday destination: What’s a holiday? Actually, I have been to the snow in Park City, Utah USA, and Jasper in Canada, and loved it!

THE BURNING QUESTIONS How did you start out?

Going to watch my dad compete in Off Road racing as an eight-year old and then navigated for him when I turned 15. He would always bring home Australian Rallysport News and I slowly got converted from off road racing to rallying! I had a great friendship with the late Mike and Mark Armitage, from automotive company Autosport through dad’s off roading, and bought my first rally car from them. They supported me from day one and still to this day, my car runs the Autosport signage on it! The car I bought off them was a Datsun 1200 Coupe! It was a prepped car, but hadn’t been maintained in a long time and needed some TLC! It had been parked in their front yard for years and had grass around it higher than the windows!

First driver / co-driver you sat with:

A good mate from high school (still in year 12 at the time), Adam Greg, sat with me for the first year. Then he moved to Kalgoolie for work in mines, but still was my service crew during selected events with VR4, Evo7, S15 and at last year’s Alpine Rally.

First event: Waikerie Rally 1999 First car: First official car was a

540cc Suzuki Alto that I built with dad out of a wreck when I turned 14 and used at an off road hire park on the weekends, and the odd khanacross here and there. When it came time to compete, we first built a Datsun 180B for off road and weekends at the 16 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Pt Gawler hire park. Then, when it was time to start rallying, the Datsun 1200 Coupe mentioned above was purchased with my savings.

Which car club do you belong to?

Walkerville All Cars Club and the Historic Rally Association.

Do you ever officiate on events? I did road closures and a start control at Alpine 2013 when I had a back injury, and have been a course car driver/official at state rally rounds and the well-known Classic Adelaide Rally four times. Have you competed overseas? Nope. But I have a tested a Global Rallycross Lites car in the USA!! Where and when? March 2014. Favourite rally car:

Neal Bates’s RA40 Celica. A ride in that car on a good gravel road will blow your mind!

Favourite rally driver: I’ve always looked up to and admired Simon Evans. His driving style and never give up attitude is what inspires me time after time. He was a struggling privateer who then made it with a factory team and went on to win the national championship a few times! Even today, he still drives with the same spectacular flair and on the edge style! Favourite forest or event: Rally South Australia prior to 2012 when it was 80 per cent amazing shire roads and 20 per cent forest. Things you dislike about rallying? The cost and how easily your world can be turned upside down with just the smallest misjudgment. Best result:

Alpine Rally in 2015! To win such a famous event that’s historically such a huge part of Australian rallying in a very basic, outdated car, with only two service crew, run on an absolute shoe string budget against a huge field of world class machinery and teams was just unimaginable :)

The exciting Jack Monkhouse in a Galant VR4, jumping his Nissan Siliva, and on his way to winning the Alpine Rally in a Datsun 180B. (Photos: Peter Whitten, John Thomas, John Doutch.

Best rally memory: The rally family coming together after my huge accident at Rally SA and starting #bringjackback to help raise some dollars after losing absolutely everything in the fire. To know that all these people will get behind you and do anything to help you get back out into the forest is the most amazing feeling ever! Strangest incident on a rally: Running

wide on a tightening corner on the famous Mt Slide stage at Rally of Melbourne in 2004, and rolling the Galant VR4 off the cliff, amongst the trees, and for it to then somehow land on its wheels was crazy! Then I restarted it and drove up the near sheer vertical cliff face back up onto the stage, only losing 12 seconds, with minimal damage! It was just unheard of. People have destroyed cars on that same corner just by spinning and backing into the trees!

Biggest accident: Rally SA 2014. Clipping a small rock hidden on the apex of a flat out 180km/h+ 6th gear left-hander, on a brow, with the left front tyre. It then sent us flying 40 metres down the road and, terrifyingly, rolling roof first into the trees. We somehow, miraculously, escaped unharmed, but to then have no option but to watch your pride and joy burn to the ground is something that’s incredibly hard to take onboard and accept. It was such a huge punishment for a tiny error. But yes, so eternally grateful we both walked away with basically no injuries!

Give the old Datto a real good freshen up and take it to NZ for Otago, Silver Fern and events around Australia.

When are we next going to see you competing?

2016 was always going to be a quiet year. Had plans to do the Bega Rally that was unfortunately postponed due to the crazy weather, but the Datto is 100 per cent prepped and ready to go, so maybe a small event close to Sydney could be on the cards.

In what car will that be in?

In the Alpine wining Datsun 180B!

Do you have plans for a regular return to rallying, either in the SARC or the ARC?

The one major negative of my job is the weekend commitment requirement. That means chasing a championship or series is pretty much impossible. I’d love to do Rally SA, but it clashed with work last year and then this year it’s on the same weekend as Adelaide Show! So there are a few of us that will be missing that event due to the clash. Maybe a NSW or SA state round here

and there, or even WRC in November if the cash can be raised. If not, I’ll save my pennies for one or two events next year, before the mighty Alpine!

Other than money, what decision or rule change would make you ‘have’ to make a comeback?

Allow more freedoms for cars such as the RWD Silvias to be more reliable and competitive, as I believe they are the best bang for buck car and by far the most enjoyable to watch and drive! We need more exciting, cost effective cars in the championship, not necessarily faster cars. Photos: John Doutch, Peter Whitten

Achievements gained from rallying: Lots of absolutely amazing friends who are basically family that you can really rely on all over Australia - including Tassie ;) Also I’d have to thank rallying for giving me the skills that helped me get my current job of eight years with the Precision Driving Team. Being paid to slide, jump and drive cars on two wheels all around the country is a dream come true. If you had $100,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do? JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 17

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THE MINESHAFT

THE MINESHAFT It’s Australian rallying’s most famous piece of road, and stirs emotions from both spectators and competitors alike. But what makes it so daunting?

Main: Ed Ordynski charges down the Mineshaft in his LWR Lancer, and (inset) Bob Watson’s Renault A110 in the Don Capasco Rally in the 1970s JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 19

FAMOUS STAGES: THE MINESHAFT

MEMORIES ALL THAT’S LEFT C

anberra’s most famous piece of rally road, the Mineshaft, hasn’t been used in an event run by the Brindabella Motor Sport Club for six or seven years, and isn’t likely to be in the near future. The short piece of road in the Brindabella Ranges is now badly rutted as a result of rogue four-wheel drivers trying to claw their way up the incline in the wet, but according to current National Capital Rally clerk of course, Adrian Dudok, that’s not the reason it is no longer used. “I refuse to use it, as I fear someone will get badly injured there one day, and that’s not going to happen on my watch,” Dudok told RallySport Magazine. “I never felt comfortable going down it as a competitor, and that didn’t change when I started directing events. “Unfortunately there are competitors out there who see it as a challenge to see how far you can jump down it, but that could easily end in disaster,” he says. Over the years the Mineshaft has changed a lot in its characteristics. In the 1970s it was a lot narrower when it was used by events like the Don Capasco and Castrol International rallies, and often had ruts all the way down it from running water. That meant it was nowhere near as fast as it became in later years. More recently the road was widened, the bump at the bottom was taken out and it became a lot faster to drive down. “It was always a great spectator point, but as I said, I’m worried that someone will get seriously injured, or worse, if we use it now,” Dudok added. With the introduction of digital cameras and smart phones, frame-by-frame footage of a Mineshaft disaster would be on social media in minutes, potentially doing irreversible damage to the sport. While many of us remember the exciting action and the huge spectator numbers who flocked to the famous location every year, it seems that those memories may now be all we have. As much as we’d like to see the Mineshaft return, you can’t knock Adrian Dudok’s logic. - Peter Whitten

20 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Above: Greg Carr charges down the Mineshaft in the 1980 Castrol International Rally, while (below) members of the Subaru WRX Club pack the spectator area during the 2004 Subaru Rally of Canberra.

THE DRIVER: CODY CROCKER

t’s amazing how the mineshaft has changed over the years. My first experience of the mineshaft was in 1994 when we competed in the the Australian Rallysport News Junior Challenge in Canberra as the final of the challenge. We spent a bit of time doing recce prior to the rally and used our Mazda 323 as the recce car. It was a rally car itself and was probably the only time in history that a recce car was significantly faster than our rally car - the old Mazda RX5. We were fairly new to this pacenote stuff so we took an experienced rally expert by the name of Malcolm Hoborough with us to show us the ropes. Mal doesn’t think that the mineshaft is much of a challenge because he fell asleep in the back seat while we were doing recce - including a run over the mineshaft! I’m sure he’s the only person in history to do that. Over the next 15 years I got to see many changes in the mineshaft. Early on there were plenty of trees at the top to guide you because it’s not a straight approach, there’s a slight left turn at the top. After the bushfires and logging in the early 2000s it became a lot harder to sight the exact line needed on approach. This caused plenty of drama for my team mates while competing with MotorImage in the APRC rounds from 2006. First was Eli Evans who nearly landed

at the bottom on his first attempt. Then came Rifat Sungkar, my Indonesian team mate in 07-08. He wanted to know what speed to go over it at. I told him I’ve never been able to look at the speedo in a rally so I don’t know. I remember once in recce I was doing around 80kmh and just lifted a wheel off the ground so I told him that 90k’s is about the max speed. Rifat thought this was a good idea and decided to add a few k’s to that. His jump was one of the biggest ever and he also landed near the bottom - and the car survived. When he finally came clean he declared that he might have added around 30kmh to my speed and hence jumped a bit further than planned. It’s definitely one of the most thrilling pieces of road anywhere in the world and will always be one of the most challenging jumps to attack. I rate it as 10 out of 10 for excitement for both driver and spectator. - Cody Crocker

Click to see how not to tackle the Mineshaft

This Datsun 180B driver’s attack on the Mineshaft is not to be recommended.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 21

FAMOUS STAGES: THE MINESHAFT

ICONIC SPECTATING N

o self respecting rally fan would ever admit to visiting Canberra for a rally without visiting the iconic Mineshaft. Of all the special spectator points used in Canberra rallies, the Mineshaft is far and away the most visited and the most iconic spot for exciting rally action. A visit to the Mineshaft will not only strike a chord with rally fans during an event, but also a feeling of dread amongst rally crews. It’s that kind of road. The Mineshaft, a particularly awesome piece of forest track reached from Paddy’s River Road in Pierces Creek forest, south west of Canberra, was used in the “good old days” of Castrol International rallies back in the 1970s and possibly even earlier. It’s a favourite stretch of road for event directors, too, who almost invariably use it to challenge rally crews and to add a little spice to spectator viewing. But there are those of you who have heard of the spot, but have never been there and are asking what the attraction is. The Mineshaft features surely the steepest descent of any trafficable roads in the Canberra area or even further afield, the slope (or descent) something like 1 in 3 – in other words, too steep to drive up and only able to be walked up with a great deal of difficulty. Not that rally route instructions ever require competitors to drive up this unique geographic feature, for that would be tempting disaster. And where other forest roads in the area are relatively feature-less, the Mineshaft is the Bathurst “Dipper” of scary terrain. Route instructions usually include dire warnings about the severity of the descent and anyone foolish enough to ignore the advice given usually pays the price for their bit of bravado. All within 100 metres or so, competitors plunge off the forest track, the road beneath them falling away like a Big Dipper at an amusement park. One hundred metres or so later the valley floor levels out and the road continues into a rising left hand corner. If you’re brave, it’s all over in a matter of seconds, if you’re fatalistic it could see you momentarily flying into the void, before executing a serious crash landing, as has been done on multiple occasions. No words, I’m told, could truly describe what it feels like to go over the top of the Mineshaft at anything more than a fast canter. Many have tried and paid the price, caught out by a heavy landing or from not tackling it in a circumspect manner, much to the delight of the presence of (usually) hundreds of fans waiting in anticipation below. New Zealand has its Motu, Bathurst has its Dipper, but there’s only one Mineshaft, and as a competitor you’re not likely to find this type of an adrenalin rush anywhere else in the world. - Jeff Whitten

The approach is fast and straight.

The view from the top of the Mineshaft is daunting. 4WDs have made a mess of the Mineshaft’s surface.

Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz 22 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Call us o

THE CO-DRIVER: GLENN MACNEALL

he mineshaft is a pretty intimidating piece of road and clearly very iconic throughout Australia. I have also had several rally friends from around the world comment on that ‘crazy steep piece of road’. I was lucky enough to work in Canberra helping to put together the Rally of Canberra for several years, so I have driven over the Mineshaft several times, mind you it was never very fast. I am pretty sure that the only times I have gone over the Mineshaft in competition were with Dean Herridge in the Rally of Canberra around 2003 and 2004. Dean is a very calculated and intelligent driver and there was never any rush of blood heading over the Mineshaft. I am not sure what speed we hit it at, but certainly I think we only flew for a short distance. Approaching the Mineshaft is a pretty intimidating feeling and it’s a bit of a sense of relief once you round the left hand corner at the bottom. I remember helping with a Subaru vehicle launch in Canberra and venturing out to the Mineshaft with a group of engineers from Japan. We were four-up in a standard Forester, we were showing them the drive course for the following day’s launch that included driving up the Mineshaft. To say that they were a little stunned when we came around the corner at the bottom to be greeted by a near vertical climb would have been an understatement. None of them thought it was possible to drive up the MIneshaft. With white knuckles clenching the door handles we headed up and they were pleasantly surprised and relieved that the Forester made light work of the climb. Several photos and big smiles later and we were on our way. The Mineshaft certainly leaves an impression on people. - Glenn Macneall

Juha Kangas launches off the top of the Mineshaft in his Lancer in 2004, as does Greg Carr in the factory Escort RS1800 in 1980.

HJC MOTORSPORTS

on: AU 1800 CHICANE or NZ 0800 CHICANE JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 23

RALLY OF QUEENSLAND - ARC 3 Ryan Smart and John Allen took an unexpected win on their home event.

COMEBACK A SMART MOVE

18 months out of the seat proved no deterrent for local hero Ryan Smart Report: PETER WHITTEN Photos: GEOFF RIDDER, PETE JOHNSON

ocal hot shot, Ryan Smart, and co-driver, John Allen, took a surprising win in round three of the Australian Rally Championship, the International Rally of Queensland, leading for all but three stages in a dominant performance. Despite not having rallied for 18 months, and not being eligible for championship points, Smart drove his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 brilliantly to win both heats of the rain-shortened event. A consistent drive from Harry Bates and John McCarthy now sees them with a 27 point lead in the championship, after Simon Evans and Ben Searcy crashed out of the event in wet and slippery conditions on day two. Molly Taylor and Tom Wilde are separated by just one point to lie third and fourth in the title race.

PRE-EVENT

All the talk in the lead-up to the Sunshine Coast-based event was on the weather, with “monsoonal” type 24 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

rain forecast during the rally. Although Saturday’s stages were held in dry conditions, the rain arrived overnight and by the time crews headed out for Sunday’s stages, the road surfaces had deteriorated significantly. The rally was also a round of the AsiaPacific Rally Championship, meaning the ARC cars would start behind the APRC field. Evans started the rally as favourite in his Subaru WRX, but there were plenty of drivers more than capable of keeping him honest. Smart’s return was welcomed, although no one knew exactly how quick he’d be in his extarmac Lancer, although his record as a former ARC event winner held him in good stead.

HEAT 1 Evans led from the start, but his rally started to come apart at the seams from stage four onwards. He had to overcome broken suspension, a flat tyre and a time penalty earned as a result of forgetting his helmet was on the roof of his car as he drove off on a liaison stage. To make up for the lost time, Evans drove like a man possessed during the afternoon’s stage, twice going faster in his 1999-model Impreza than Gaurav Gill in the latest specification Skoda Fabia R5. But it wasn’t enough, and sixth place was the best he could achieve, nearly three minutes behind Smart.

Consistency has been the Local knowledge no doubt had key so far for WA’s Tom a bit to do with Smart’s speed, but Wilde and his Subaru. ARC heats aren’t easy to win, and the Nambour local did a sterling job to finish with a 21.7 second lead over Harry Bates’ Toyota Corolla S2000. Running in the APRC field, Nathan Quinn was third in another Lancer Evo 9, but more than a minute behind Bates. Fourth place went the way of Tom Wilde and Sam Hill in their Impreza WRX, nearly a minute clear of the consistent Molly Taylor and Bill Hayes in fifth. Taylor suffered damage to a rear lower suspension control arm late in the day, but that was replaced by the Les Walkden Rallying team at the end of day Keough’s Audi Quattro S1 replica in service. third place. Brad Markovic’s miserable season The exciting Thomas Dermody continued and ninth (and last place) rolled the ex-Alister McRae Ford Escort was the best he and Scott Beckwith RS1800 on stage five and wouldn’t recould manage in their Subaru. Gearbox appear on day two. and clutch problems hampered their day after an off-road excursion on just HEAT 2 the first stage. The rain arrived for Sunday’s stages Both Mark Pedder and Justin Dowel and conditions were treacherous for all are also having seasons they’d rather crews. forget. Pedder’s Peugeot 208 Maxi Simon Evans started day two like a suffered engine problems on the man possessed, setting the fastest time second stage and retired, while Dowel by 23.1 seconds on the first stage of the had suspension failure on his Hyundai day as he strove to take a much-needed i20 Proto on stage three. heat win. He won the second stage as Only nine cars in the ARC field made well, but the tricky conditions caught it to the finish on Saturday afternoon. out the four-time champion on the Cutters Reverse test. Evans’ Subaru slid Neal Bates once again proved too off the road at speed and ended up on good in the Classics, driving his Celica its roof. to a three-minute victory over the similar car of Clay Badenoch, with Mal The car was badly damaged, but the

Evans Motorsport team repaired the car in order for Evans to arrive at the final control of the day, and secure one championship point – something that may be valuable later in the year. Tom Wilde was putting in one of his best drives of the year, winning stages 11 and 12, but by the time crews arrived back in Imbil for servicing after the opening four stages, the weather was getting worse. Smart still led comfortably from Bates and Wilde, but all the talk was on the weather, and the quickly deteriorating road conditions. With the final four stages all repeats of the morning’s tests, organisers made the wise decision to cancel all the remaining forest stages, except for a super short 1.20km blast on the Kandanga stage used on the first day. That gave Bates his first stage victory

Harry Bates finds himself leading the championship after 3 of the 5 rounds.

2016 National Capital Rally - Heat 1 1. Evans/Searcy 2. Reeves/Gelsomino 3. Quinn/Calder 4. Wilde/Hill 5. Taylor/Hayes 6. Patton/Webb 7. Harding/Thornburn 8. Hatton/Allen 9. Markovic/Macneall 10. Clarke/Preston

Subaru Impreza WRX, Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Subaru Impreza WRX STI Subaru WRX STI Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Subaru Impreza WRX Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Subaru Impreza WRX Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

1h07m35.2s +1:18.7 +2:07.0 +2:58.8 +3:53.1 +4.00.9s +5.21.1 +6.04.7 +6.52.1 +7.29.3

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 25

RALLY OF QUEENSLAND - ARC 3 of the weekend, but Nathan Quinn took his it meant little in the second good result in overall scheme of consecutive events, but is things, and Smart and not registered for points. Allen took a popular home town victory. “To be honest I didn’t expect to be on the pace. I haven’t done a rally in 18 months, and I had only done a quick shakedown of the car just before I started the rally,” Smart said. “I wanted to come out and have some fun and see if I still had some pace. “We’re really stoked to get the result we did and it’s a big thank you to everyone that has helped us this weekend. “I’ve actually been overwhelmed with the help we have received - people have offered their time, support, spare parts, vehicles for service and expertise for Heat 1 nothing. We wouldn’t have been able to be here without them.” 1. Ryan Smart / John Allen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1:15:21.7 With Smart not registered for 2. Harry Bates / John McCarthy Toyota Corolla S2000 +00:21.7 championship points, second placed Harry Bates was given an added bonus 3. Nathan Quinn / David Calder Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +01:26.2 after a consistent and measured drive 4. Tom Wilde / Sam Hill Subaru Impreza WRX STI +01:54.3 in the worst conditions he had ever driven in. 5. Molly Taylor / Bill Hayes Subaru WRX STI +02:50.1 “This rally is a big challenge, with lots Heat 2 of tightening bends, fast corners and 1. Ryan Smart / John Allen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 1:47:00.9 sharp crests,” Bates said. “We drove a front-wheel drive Corolla 2. Harry Bates / John McCarthy Toyota Corolla S2000 +00:59.6 in this event last year so I got a feel for 3. Tom Wilde / Sam Hill Subaru Impreza WRX STI +02:06.6 the surface, and the all-wheel drive Corolla S2000 was a blast to steer here. 4. Molly Taylor / Bill Hayes Subaru WRX STI +03:55.4 “Day two was diabolically wet; some 5. Nathan Quinn / David Calder Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +05:31.4 sections were as slippery as ice. But we were able to maintain our dry stage Pointscore: 1. Harry Bates 211, 2. Simon Evans 184, 3. Molly Taylor 176, 4. Tom Wilde 175. times, which was amazing,” he added.

RALLY HIGHLIGHTS

2016 Rally of Queensland - ARC round 3 of 5

Chris Higgs and his Subaru Impreza lie fifth in the ARC.

26 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Third place on day two was a fine reward for Tom Wilde, while Molly Taylor and Nathan Quinn rounded out the top five. “It was extremely slippery. With our car being lower on horsepower, it allowed us to drive through it and keep the forward momentum,” Wilde said. “We had a sixth gear moment on SS4 and I thought we were going to end up in the trees. “The plan for the weekend was always to keep the car on the road, but that was actually pretty hard.” For the third event in a row, Taylor was a model of consistency, and is still well in the running for the championship, just 35 points from the lead with two events still

to come. The Subaru pairing of Chris Higgs and Kirra Penny had a consistent run in their Subaru Impreza and now lie an impressive fifth in the championship, ahead of the more fancied Dowel, Pedder, Markovic and Coppin. The championship now goes into a two month break, reactivating in South Australia in September.

Queensland quickies... ▲ The promotional start at Mooloolaba foreshore reportedly attracted about 5000 people. ▲ Local media reported heavily on the event in the lead-up to the weekend about the dangerous weather expected for the weekend - especially Sunday.

BORDER RANGES RALLY ‘the best on the best’

26th & 27th August 2016 Kyogle NSW Round 4 of the 2016 MRF Tyres Queensland Rally Championship / Clubman Series Additional Categories > FORZA Rally Challenge for automobiles fitted with FORZA Brake Pads best cars best drivers > Zupp Property Group Classic Rally Challenge for Classic Rally Cars best roads > Border Ranges Escort Challenge for Classic Ford Escorts > Invitational for vehicles meeting Schedule R Where to find all the important information Multiple Otago > Event documents at www.borderrangesrally.com.au Winner Derek Ayson > On Facebook and at gctmc.org.au MKII Escort 2015 Alpine Winner > Supp-Regs available July 18 Jack Monkhouse V8 Manta

Classics start at the front of the field

▲ Ross and Lisa Dunkerton ran a Nissan Silvia commandeered from their son, who had bought it for a drift car. They had fuel filter problems and retired on Saturday. ▲ Mike Bailey/Steve Andrews ran their Pulsar GTI-R as Classic C4+ (now eligible) but their gearbox lost most gears on the Sunday morning stages. ▲ The presentation back at Imbil was brought forward to 2.30pm, due to the early finish and shortened distance. Rain fell through the whole presentation, with officials and crews all getting wet!! ▲ Despite the weather (particularly on Sunday) the event ran to schedule – there were no serious delays in the running schedule. - Tom Smith

Stage sponsorship packages available

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Limited to 55 entries Rallysafe for all crews Compact format and central servicing Reserve your own Nine world class (WRC) Shire Road Stages ‘spectator point’ by All competitors do all the stages contacting ‘JT’ our Optional Recce on Friday for all stages Officials Co-ordinator Full Road Book Supplied jptruskinger@gmail.com One fantastic night spectator stage 0407 656 044 Two passes of the ‘Super Special’ as the finale Media Stage on Friday for invited crews Rally Forum Friday night in Kyogle Promotional start in Kyogle Saturday morning Service Park with camping & local catering at the Kyogle Showgrounds Affordable accommodation in Kyogle, Lismore, Casino & throughout the region

www.facebook.com/BorderRangesRally/

www.borderrangesrally.com.au

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 27

RALLY OF QUEENSLAND - APRC 2

SKODA DOMINATES

India’s fastest rally driver was in a class of his own, while Mike Young (below) took a strong third. (Photos: Geoff Ridder)

aurav Gill has emerged victorious after a dramatic end to the second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), held at the International Rally of Queensland in Australia’s Sunshine Coast. With heavy overnight rain, which continued during the late-morning, rally organisers had to cancel the final four stages due to safety concerns, although it didn’t affect Gill’s position as he had already built up a substantial lead of 1 minutes 59 seconds over team-mate Fabian Kreim on day one of the event. Gill, of India, won all 13 stages in his Team MRF Skoda Fabia R5 at the event and said: “It was quite a challenging rally, quite difficult with the conditions changing all the time. But yeah, we got a good setup in the morning on Saturday, and pushed a little bit [to build up the lead]. “The MRF team did exceptionally well. It was really difficult for everyone as the conditions were so harsh but we were lucky to have no dramas.” Team-mate Fabian Kreim of Germany, who finished in second, was ecstatic over another podium finish in his first season of gravel rallying and during his first visit to Australia. On his return to the service park on Saturday, Kreim said: “It was another really good experience for us… we are always learning. The speed we had was good, especially in the first stage [SS9] because there was no mud.” Rounding out the podium in third was New Zealander Michael Young in his Cusco EZY Racing Subaru Impreza. “It is a really good result for us.

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We made the wrong tyre choice on Saturday morning but it all worked out in the end,” said Young. “It’s always hard going against the [Skoda] R5 cars but I think we showed what we’ve got.” Local driver Nathan Quinn finished fourth, after suffering a boost issue on day one, followed by a blown driveshaft during the first stage of Sunday, ending his chances of a podium place. “We only just made it! It was a pretty embarrassing rally for us but we’re glad to make it.” The two Japanese crews, Atsushi Masumura (Mitsubishi Evolution) and Fuyuhiko Takahashi (Subaru Impreza) finished in fifth and sixth respectively after a trouble free run. Mark Beard, the only other Australian competitor in the international field, finished in seventh overall behind the wheel of his naturally aspirated Subaru Impreza RS. Rounding out the top APRC cars was Sanjay Takale of India, in a Cusco-

prepared Subaru Impreza. After taking a short break from the APRC last year, Takale was just happy to finish this tricky round. “We finally finished! We had some problems but I think that’s the character of the event. It’s dry, wet, slippy and very difficult terrain and you have to always be on the ball, as it can catch you off guard easily. I’m just very happy to be here because finishing this rally is a big challenge,” said Takale. Gaurav Gill and co-driver Glenn Macneall still lead the overall APRC Championship with four rounds to go, ahead of Fabian Kreim/Frank Christian and Michael Young/Malcolm Read. The Pacific Cup, contested over the New Zealand and Australian rounds, was also awarded at the podium ceremony in Australia and was won by Fabian Kreim and co-driver Frank Christian. The next round of the APRC is a new venue for 2016 at the China Rally, held in Zhangye, near the Mongolian border.

RETROSPECTIVE: JIM RICHARDS

Setting a blistering pace in the early stages of the ‘73 Heatway. It’s a different Jim at the wheel, complete with moustache!

GENTLEMAN JIM RICHARDS In 2005 we talked rallying with Kiwi legend Jim Richards, a man whose proudest achievement behind the wheel came in a Mk 1 Escort, way back in 1973.

e’s won the Bathurst 1000 race seven times, taken victory in Targa Tasmania on eight occasions and won countless other races and championships, but Jim Richards’ proudest motorsport achievement is something that very few rally fans would know. And it’s not surprising, given that result was achieved back in his home country of New Zealand, and way back in the year 1973. Richards was always going to be a circuit racer, but rallying played an important part in his career and saw him drive cars as diverse as Datsuns, Triumphs, Marinas and Escorts. RallySport Magazine’s Peter Whitten caught up with Richards in between Porsche Carerra Cup meetings, and chatted about his rallying days in New Zealand, unearthing some amazing stories.

Story: PETER WHITTEN

ike a fair majority of successful motorsport drivers, Jim Richards started in go-karts at the age of 11 or 12, and then progressed to something a little bigger when he turned 15 and was able to get his drivers’ licence in New Zealand. His first event was a standing and flying quarter mile in a Mini, but soon after that he sold the ‘brick’ and purchased a Ford Anglia 105E and went circuit racing. Back in the late 1960s there were a lot of trials-type events going on in New Zealand, but when the Silver Fern Rally was first run in 1969, the idea of “thrashing around the back roads” appealed to Richards, and he entered the event in a Datsun 1600, finishing second. JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 29

RETROSPECTIVE: JIM RICHARDS The ‘72 Heatway Rally was “great fun”, but suspension problems hampered the works Morris Marinas.

Richards was having some success in 1300cc Escorts, and then the Twin Cam variety in cars owned by friend Jim Carney. With Carney paying the bills and Richards doing the driving, he won a championship along the way, before eventually moving to Australia to further his career in 1975.

“It was great fun, but my focus back then was on circuit racing because I really couldn’t afford to have two competition cars,” he remembers. However, rallying was still a carrot dangling in front of his face, and he entered one of the first Heatway rallies (the precursor to the current Rally of New Zealand) in a Triumph 2.5 PI. Running in the top three, Richards then dropped out of contention, firstly with a gearbox problem, and then when he rolled the car. “It was on a stage where we caught a slower car and the roads were pretty Below: Richards punts the Marina around the Hopu Hopu rallycross track during the 1972 Heatway Rally.

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narrow. The car in front virtually came to a stop and we were only going about two miles an hour, but because I had no first gear I had to pass the car on the outside, but the two outside wheels fell down on the side part of the road and the car went ‘plop’, over on to its roof and back on to its wheels. “We were only there about five minutes and I drove the car back out, but that was a bit of a disaster because the car was buggered!” Meanwhile, circuit racing still played the major part in his career. Racing firstly Anglias and then Escorts,

ut rallying was still playing a part, although only through invitational drives when someone offered him a car for a particular event. One of these was a works drive for British Leyland in the 1972 Heatway Rally, driving a Morris Marina. BL had entered four cars in the event – two Marinas and two Mini Clubmans – with Scotsman Andrew Cowan driving one of the Minis. Cowan had originally been penciled in to drive one of the Marinas, but changed his mind and elected to drive the Mini when it became apparent that the Clubman would be much more competitive. It was a decision that proved important, with the Minis finishing first (Cowan) and fifth (Angus Hyslop), and the Marinas a lowly 52nd and 63rd. The Marinas suffered badly from suspension woes, which Richards remembers vividly. “Basically the suspension was miles too soft, and every time you hit a serious pothole it would develop a couple of inches of toe-out.” He had the Marina in the top four early on, but the suspension problems, and then gearbox trouble, put paid to his chances. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable experience. “We had an absolute ball. On some of the stages we were as quick as the Twin Cam Escorts, so the little car wasn’t that bad. I remember we had a tremendous battle with Mike Marshall (in an 1600cc Twin Cam Escort) who you could say was the gun rally driver in New Zealand at that time. “The one that springs to mind,” he chuckles, “was a reasonably long stage where we started in front of Mike. We had an overshoot and as we were backing up we saw lights coming and Mike got in front of us. We could then see where he was going, so we caught him up and he obviously didn’t know it was us – because he wouldn’t

Jim’s Escorts were often airborne, and were always quick. Rallying’s loss was circuit racing’s gain!

“To be honest, my car was probably a bit of a floor sweeper against the two other works cars.”

have pulled up for a Morris Marina – but we passed him, despite getting all our lights broken, and we then pulled away from him!” Marshall won 20 stages for the event to Richards’ two, but the Escort driver left the road and eventually finished 48th.

he following year’s Heatway Rally, in 1973, was a real marathon that ran over eight days in the South and North islands of New Zealand, and covered over 5000km, 2810km of which was competitive. Richards drove a Dulux-sponsored BDA Escort that year, and despite the 1000 Lakes winner Hannu Mikkola heading the entry list, Ford chose Richards as one of their three points-scoring drivers for Manufacturers points, rather than the Finnish star. Mikkola and Marshall drove 2-litre alloy block BDAs with five-speed ZF gearboxes, while Richards drove an 1800cc steel block BDA with a four-speed gearbox. Paddon’s officemy hascar already “To be honest, was probably a bit of a floor proved a successful testing sweeper against the two other works-spec cars, so the ground for WRC success. focus was really on the other two cars.”

Man-handling the big Triumph 2.5 PI in the 1971 Heatway Rally. He led after Leg 1, but then the rear suspension failed. Check out the huge steering wheel! JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 31

RETROSPECTIVE: JIM RICHARDS in the morning. When the sun eventually came up and we looked down, the car was perched on a little outcrop of rocks, and when we’d pushed the car onto its wheels we damn near pushed it right over and it would have gone forever – we couldn’t see the bottom. So if the car hadn’t stopped there, we probably wouldn’t be doing this story!”

Richards in typical Escort pose in the Maramarua Forest, south of Auckland.

But all that soon changed, at least from the media’s point of view, when he led the event after stage two. Despite then going off the road, Richards stormed back and in the second half of the event set more fastest stage times than Mikkola in a performance he still rates as his best in motorsport. He takes up the story: “We put it off the road on, I think, day one on a stage down in the Southland/ Otago area when we were in second place behind Mikkola. It was about two o’clock in the morning on a stage called Dansey’s Pass and we’d been told there could be some ice around. I’d never driven on ice before so I didn’t know what to expect. “Coming down the other side of the pass we hit the ice and I had no

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steering, no brakes, no nothing, and we slid to the outside of the road and nearly went off. But I still didn’t realise what it was because there was no snow and no evidence of ice on the road. “On the next corner we went straight off and over the bank. It was pitch black, we were rolling and rolling, and I wondered when it was all going to stop. Richard Halls, who was my navigator, and I leapt out of the car and the first thing we thought to do was push the thing back on its wheels, because there was no thought of not continuing, and we didn’t want all the oil to run out of the engine and transmission. “So we pushed it back onto its wheels and scrambled up the bank and ended up sitting on the side of the road in the snow and the ice until about six o’clock

etting the car back on the road involved a huge four-wheel drive tractor and a big winch. The car was badly damaged: one of the doors was ripped off it, both the windscreens were out of it, the wheels were pointing in pretty much the right direction, but the steering rack was bent. “When we got it up the first thing I did was turn the key. It went ‘brrp’ and started up. I thought ‘sh—‘ and threw the door and all the broken bits and pieces in through the back window and drove it about 200km to the next service park.” Richards thought his rally was over, but sponsors Dulux were keen for them to continue and with the help of the local Ford dealer the car was put back into some semblance of shape and they rejoined the rally – a day later – at the back of the field. “From there on we set more fastest stage times than Mikkola, but it was hard work because every day we had to start last and on some stages we’d pass 20 cars on little narrow roads.” But despite being rank amateurs, prior to the event Richards and co-driver Halls had borrowed an automatic HR Holden station wagon and driven over the South Island stages, making basic notes of the stages, getting an idea of what each stage was like. “Funnily enough,” he says, “we made the notes using the same system that Barry (Oliver) and I now use to pacenote the Targas, using fast, medium and slow.” Beating MIkkola on so many stages still ranks highly. “On a personal note, I still think now that it was one of the best things that I ever did, because we were absolute nobodies, that was only the third or fourth rally that I’d ever been in and I’d never driven the car before. And here we were setting faster times than this World Champion.” Richards also had a great duel with Australian rallying legend Colin Bond, who was in a works Holden

Torana XU1. “Bondy had gone off the road early in the event as well and was starting stages a couple of places in front of us, and we had some fantastic battles and would check each others’ times at the end of each stage.” At the end of that ’73 event Mikkkola had won 23 stages, Richards 16 and Bond 9, but it’s worth remembering that Richards had missed a day and a half of the rally!

Long before Possum Bourne, Jim Richards and Richard Halls were Kiwi rallying’s quickest team.

nfortuntately, despite that success, it never really led on to anything. Although he loved his rallying, Richards says he was definitely going down the tar seal path and circuit racing dominated his motorsport life. He still did the odd rally, but only when someone was kind enough to lend him a car. So there ended, temporarily at least, one of the greatest stories in New Zealand rallying. Richards’ rallying career came to a premature close, but many Kiwis believe that had he achieved those results three or four years later, when rallying in that country really started to evolve, the world could literally have been Jim Richards’ oyster. “I’m sure that if I had decided to go rallying full time, and not circuit racing, I could have done alright,” he adds. “After those results a guy by the name of Gus Staunton, who was the PR manager for British Leyland in Australia, wrote to me and asked if I’d go across and go rallying in Australia. But at that stage I was pretty well ensconced in the tar seal circuit racing and I couldn’t do both, which was unfortunate.” Apart from a couple of rallies in a 2-litre Mk 1 Escort and a couple in a

Torana XU1, that was all the rallying he did until he arrived in Australia, and then his rallying was only in a couple of invitational rallysprints in the 1980s in Canberra. “It got back to the fact that if you wanted to be good at something you had to specialise in it, and circuit racing was where my career had headed, plus the fact that I didn’t have a car,” he says. Between then and the much-reported Targa Tasmania successes, Richards continued to rack up victories on the circuit, winning an incredible seven Bathurst 1000s along the way. His teaming with Barry Oliver has since given him the reputation as Australia’s greatest all-round driver, and rightly so. His decision, all those years ago, has certainly been circuit racing’s gain, but Richards freely admits that, these days, the tarmac rallies are by far the most enjoyable events he does. With that in mind, it appears we haven’t seen the last of the great man yet!

The Marina was quick, but couldn’t match the team’s Mini Clubmans, in which Andrew Cowan took victory in 1972. (All photos courtesy of Jim Richards’ personal collection)

Briefly ....

he term “Gentleman Jim” is probably one that Richards has loved and loathed over the years, but it’s one that couldn’t be closer to the truth. Sitting in his office and chatting about motorsport shows that Richards has forgotten little of his past, although some of the finer details have become a little sketchy, as can be expected over a career that has so far lasted over 35 years. Richards’ office is surprisingly small for someone with his successful background, but with the absence of a computer, you get the feeling he’d much rather be out in the workshop tinkering with one of the Porsches than cooped up in the office. There’s plenty of pictures and posters of his racing machines in the factory, and the walls are lined with dozens of trophies that represent his many years in motorsport. “They were all just sitting in boxes, so I thought I might as well put them on display,” he says. The day after our interview, he was off to Oran Park for the next round of the Carrera Cup series. “Will you drive the truck up or fly to Sydney,” I asked. “Try to keep him out of the driver’s seat,” his mechanic calls from a corner of the office! Interestingly, Richards had an offer to compete in the Otago Classic Rally in New Zealand earlier this year, driving an Escort RS1800, but declined the offer, mainly due to a lack of gravel driving in the past 30 years. ”I’d like to be competitive, and without plenty of practice beforehand that wasn’t going to be the case. Perhaps in a few years I can go over there and compete when there isn’t as much expected of me – that’s sounds like it will be great fun.” - October 2005 JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 33

RALLY OF ITALY - WRC 6 Story: MARTIN HOLMES

Thierry Neuville made a welcome return to form for Hyundai. 34 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

THE COMEBACK Another rally, another winner. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville was the fifth different driver to win a WRC event this year, and one of seven drivers to score a fastest time on this event.

xactly like when back-runner Kris Meeke won in Portugal, Neuville benefitted from his late running order, showing remarkable improvement in his personal career fortunes. There was also a spectacular improvement in M-Sport’s speed, with both the team’s drivers scoring fastest stage times. Jari-Matti Latvala upheld Volkswagen honour by challenging Neuville throughout the event, finishing second, but was unable to match Neuville’s pace in the latter stages. Volkswagen was again not the dominant team, with Sebastien Ogier involuntarily suffering from the conditions, but also when Andreas Mikkelsen stopped when he hit a rock which broke the suspension. The world champion team has now not won a WRC rally since Mexico, and their leading driver Ogier since Sweden, although its lead in the series had increased to 70 points. Latvala lost touch with Neuville when he went off on stage 13, Monti di Ala, where he has a history of misfortunes in previous years. The attention therefore was on Hyundai, who came to Sardinia after a disappointing rally in Portugal. Once again they were running four cars, replacing Hayden Paddon’s new car which was burned out in

Portugal with another brand new car, with Neuville again relegated to their second level support team, and test driver Kevin Abbring in a 2015 car. Neuville was his usual enigmatic self. He was in disgrace before the rally with the organisers, three times breaking speed limits in recce – but then honourably proving his speed on the rally by winning nine special stages. Paddon was gradually gaining his

pace when he strangely went off the road on the Friday, rolling off the road and damaging his car too much to be allowed to carry on. Dani Sordo, once again, proved his usual reliable self, finishing fourth overall for the fourth successive time this year. With Citroen absent from this event, M-Sport fielded their usual drivers, benefitting from a good pre-event test session in which

Jari-Matti Latvala was another driver thankful for a podium finish after a torrid run.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 35

RALLY OF ITALY - WRC 6 their celebrated downshift problem was apparently solved. Finally there were smiles again on the face of Mads Ostberg, who was now much faster, notably when he adopted his own tyre selection strategy and won the first run over Monte Lerno stage, the longest stage of the rally.

Teammate Eric Camilli continued to impress after his misfortunes earlier in the year, but he lost time with transmission trouble on the first full day. Ostberg was lying fourth, at one moment only 0.3 seconds behind Ogier, but on the last stage on Saturday he hit a rock, which wrecked a driveshaft and then damaged the engine. Disappointment also came to the DMack team driver Ott Tanak, who suffered tyre problems on the long, hot, abrasive stages.

wo major topics of debate emerged during the rally, firstly concerning the way that tyre management issues were critical. These were brought about by the strict availability rules, introduced when Michelin took over the championship supply work from Pirelli. These rules were designed to cater for unexpected and potentially dangerous changes in weather, but have led over the years unexpectedly to the current cross matching of tyres and other tactics. And if anyone questions the wisdom of the FIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current running order rules, they have contributed spectacularly to the excitement of the championship, with the unhappy World Champion, Sebastien Ogier, still struggling in bad stage conditions (winning only two orthodox stages all event), but yet enhancing his championship lead yet again!

Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz 36 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Call us o

Conditions in Sardinia were even more favourable for the later running drivers, as the stages were unusually still in uncleaned state even for the second passage. Neuville’s poor form earlier in the season suited him perfectly on days 1 and 2, running eighth and then seventh on the

rooted emotions were released, positively from the Neuville family – this being the first WRC victory which Thierry had deservedly won. Here were two negative reactions,

however. Mikkelsen said he deliberately did not try for a good time on the Power Stage because he did not want extra championship points, as he did not want to start the next rally, Poland, in an unnecessarily high starting position. That was not what the rule makers had thought of. Then the highly popular World Rally Car sportsman Martin Prokop, who had stoically driven a rally which was always a favourite event of his, demoralised by a five minute pre-rally penalty for a preparation error, of the punitive level as if he had been a sporting criminal. He has long felt that the sport was not geared up for privateers. This was proof. He said he did not want to take part in the WRC anymore. Very sad! Footnote: Prokop’s penalty was later overtuned by the FIA.

- Martin Holmes

road. Despite very degraded conditions on the power stage, the final stage went ahead, and despite being thrown off line by the ruts, the now tenth running Ogier made best time ahead of Kevin Abbring and Latvala. At the end of the stage some deep

HJC MOTORSPORTS

on: AU 1800 CHICANE or NZ 0800 CHICANE JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 37

RALLY OF GISBORNE - NZRC 4 Story: BLAIR BARTELS

TITLE HOLDER A

s crews headed to Rally Gisborne for round four of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, 26 teams were still in with a mathematical chance of taking the NZRC title, with the championship more open than in recent memory. However, Mount Maunganuiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s David Holder put in a masterful drive, not only taking maximum points and leading from the very first stage, but with his rivals faltering, also claimed his maiden NZRC title with a round to spare. Despite plenty of heavy rain in the lead up to the event, a fine but cold

It was a miserable event for round three winner Emma Gilmour.

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day greeted the 44 starters, with clear conditions and negative temperatures making for a couple of tricky stages first up. Several cars had made changes prior to the event in a search for more speed, most notably Andrew Hawkeswood, being the first of the AP4 cars to add a restrictor, which not only gave the Mazda 2 a more usable power band, but a healthy increase in torque as well. Although the team kept the change quiet in the build up to the event, those in the know were picking a strong improvement in overall speed. First into the stages, Holder and co-

driver Jason Farmer set the pace on the opening test despite struggling with a faulty intercom. Hawkeswood was next quickest through, having recorded a faster split by five seconds midway through the stage, despite stalling on the start line, but he was one of many teams to cook their brakes on a tricky downhill section towards the end of the stage and stopped the clocks 8.5 seconds slower. A return to form saw Graham Featherstone third fastest a further two seconds back, while Dylan Turner returned to the series with a fifth fastest time, edging out outgoing

New champs David Holder (right) and Jason Farmer.

national champion, Ben Hunt, who completed the top five. The opening stage results were a bonus for the top five, with organisers running the Power Stage on the opener, giving them potentially crucial bonus points. Of note was Emma Gilmour, previous round winner and Holderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closest championship rival, only eighth fastest as she struggled for grip in the tricky conditions. The second stage was more of the same for Holder, who once again had intercom dramas but set the pace, this time 20 seconds clear of the chasing pack. Hawkeswood was once again lighting up the split times, 11 seconds up on Holder at the half way point, before a missed gear change led to a broken input shaft, ending his rally and the chance to really show the potential of the new and improved Mazda. That left Turner to go second fastest, despite an overshoot, also taking that place overall, while Gilmour upped her speed for the third fastest time, lifting her to fifth overall.Â A standout drive was coming from

Lance Williams was a strong third in his Subaru Impreza WRX.

Grant Blackberry, setting the fourth fastest time in his older Evo 6, ahead of Lance Williams, running MRF Tyres for the first time. As crews headed back to service, there were plenty of tales of woe and

already talk of big shakeups in the leaderboard. Holder, however, was surprised with the lead having been struck with his intercom issues. For the likes of Sloan Cox, one who had been tipped as a contender prior

Photos: Geoff Ridder JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 39

RALLY OF GISBORNE - NZRC 4 Another roll ended 2015 champ Ben Hunt’s rally prematurely.

to the event, major brake issues left him with stopping power on just three wheels and he checked in to service in seventh, but checked out with a further three minutes of penalties, dropping him to 21st place and out of contention. Some contenders were having an even worse time of it, with Clint Cunningham’s car dying thanks to a crank angle sensor failure on the tour to stage one, while Marcus van Klink hardly got much further when he beached his Mazda RX-7 on a fence 1.5km into stage one. Glenn Inkster was another to get caught out, walloping a rock in stage two. The class battles were intense also, with Lee Robson taking the lead in the Gull Rally Challenge on stage one, but spent the latter part of the stage stuck in third gear, a problem that would eventually end his rally. That ailment allowed Grant Blackberry to claim the lead with a storming drive, something he may have done in stage one if it weren’t for a spin on a narrow section of road. A great start for Jono Shapley saw him second ahead of Kingsley Jones, while Jeff Torkington led the two-wheel drive Rally Challenge. The open twowheel drive class saw Dave Strong take the

lead, while Anthony Jones struggled with gearbox problems that would eventually lead to retirement on stage three. Dylan Thompson was set to inherit second, only to have an electrical failure in his Fiesta. That left Andy Martin to claim second spot, despite spending five minutes off the road in his Suzuki Swift after the similar car of Jack Williamson failed between scrutineering and the rally start. John Silcock (Mazda RX7) held an unchallenged lead in the Historic category after van Klink’s off. Stage three would be one of the most critical in the championship. With two of the top five already having retired,

HIGHLIGHTS 1 HIGHLIGHTS 2 HIGHLIGHTS 3

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Holder was pushing on and took the stage win, but what happened behind him would effectively wrap up the championship for him. Not only did Hunt stop with a fuel pump failure, but crucially, an engine failure for Gilmour left Holder in a position to claim the title, although with three gruelling stages remaining. The first of these was the longest of the event at 38 kilometres, Wharekopae, and given the morning’s drama, no-one was expecting the full field to come out unscathed. With a lead of more than a minute, Holder took less risks but still set the third fastest time, while Turner created a stranglehold on the runner-up spot with the fastest time, just quicker than Cox, Dylan Turner returned who was charging to the NZRC and back through the field. grabbed second place. Amazingly, only Ben Hunt, who had rejoined the event,

2016 Rally of Gisborne - N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

David Holder/Jason Farmer Dylan Turner/Rob Scott Lance Williams/Raymond Be Graham Featherstone/D. Dev Grant Blackberry/Ric Chalme Sloan Cox/Malcolm Read Shannon Chambers/Warwick Kingsley Jones/Waverly Jones Phil Campbell/Venita Fabrro Dave Strong/Bruce McKenzie

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fell victim to the stage when he rolled his Subaru, although Phil Campbell fell from fifth place with a misfire. Fourth fastest was enough to move Lance Williams into third, finally having some luck go his way after a tough start to the season. While Turner and Cox would take a stage win apiece in the final two stages, there was little movement inside the top 10 in the closing stages, outside of Carl Davies going off the road. There was certainly no change at the top, where a convincing victory of just under one and a half minutes handed David Holder and Jason Farmer the NZRC title, quite incredible considering the series was described as the most open in years heading in to the penultimate round. A superb return to the series netted Turner a comfortable second place, a career best result, while Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; return to form came via a third place. Outside of a big spin, a solid day netted Featherstone fourth, while Gull Rally Challenge winner Blackberry came home fifth outright, a superb result that netted him both the Gull Rally Scholarship and Dunlop Drive of the Rally. A recovering Cox, Shannon Chambers, Kingsley Jones, Campbell and two-wheel drive winner Strong rounded out the top 10. Blackberry took Gull Rally Challenge honours ahead of Jones and Warwick Redfern, while Jeff Torkington took the twowheel drive challenge. Silcock was pleased to take the Historic class win in his RX-7, and Strong led home Andy Martin in open two-wheel drive. Teams now turn their attention to the series finale, Mahindra Goldrush Rally Coromandel on August 20, where eight cars are separated by 12 points in the fight for second place.

Grant Blackberry was fifth and won the Gulf Rally Challenge event.

NZRC round 4 of 5

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 ennett Subaru Impreza WRX vonport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 ers Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 k Searle Volkswagen Polo R s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 e Honda Civic Type R

1:44:03.6 +1:25.5 +2:05.3 +2:13.9 +2:57.7 +4:01.9 +5:03.2 +7:05.9 +7:09.5 +8:37.5

Ninth place went to Phil Campbell in what has been a challenging season.

all Dominic on 0499 981 188 ic@rallysportmag.com.au JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 41

FEATURE: HYUNDAI IN RALLYING

THE RISE AND RISE OF HYUNDAI

Wayne Bell (right) and multiple Australian Rally Champion, Greg Carr, at Rally Australia in 1991.

Story: TOM SMITH Photos: MARTIN HOLMES, RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE

The Hyundai i20 World Rally Car is now respected as a regular outright contender in the World Rally Championship in the hands of Haydon Paddon, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo. However, the success of recent years was not without its humble beginnings. Tom Smith looks back on the Korean manufacturer’s rally beginnings.

yundai’s decision to enter the world of rallying can be traced back to the early 1990s, with the tough and sturdy (but underpowered) Lantra, followed by the pretty Hyundai Coupe which saw the company debut in the WRC, and the effective Accent WRCar of the early 2000s. While the factory took a break for nearly 10 years from 2003 to 2012, the current team is proving to be incredibly successful. There is no doubt that Australia played an integral role in Hyundai’s venture into the world of motorsport, and in fact local legend, Wayne Bell, is recognised as having been a major influence in the early success of the Korean manufacturer. As part of the launch of the then-new model, Hyundai Australia was looking at running two Lantras in a rally near Alice Springs. Bell was put in touch with Hyundai Marketing’s Kevin Wall, and the story begins there. “I built two (standard) Group N Lantra cars,” says Bell. “One was for Barry Ferguson and one for me. Everything was set to go ... and the rally was cancelled. “Hyundai was committed to launching the car in Alice Springs, so we took the

42 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Wayne Bell: Hyundai pioneer.

Alister McRae: WRC star.

“It wasn’t long before the parent company in Korea sat up and took notice.”

however, their incredible success in F2 was attributed to great handling and the ability to be driven on the limit, all day. An F2 class win in the APRC was complemented by a win in the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally, and Bell and Greg Carr finished the Australian round of the WRC in first and second places in F2 (1600cc). The order was given to build a Group A version of the car with a prototype J1, developed before the J2 was released. With strength and reliability (only one DNF in 24 events), the team finished second in the APRC, behind ‘Monster’ Tajima in a factory Suzuki. Bell continues the story: “Hyundai Korea was a company that could achieve anything if they wanted. Although they knew very little of

cars out there and did demonstration runs.” After that, Hyundai agreed to run a car in the Australian Rally Championship under the Formula 2 category, and the Lantra won F2 on debut in Bell’s hands. It wasn’t long before the parent company in Korea sat up and took notice and an approach was made for Bell to run cars in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). The cars were still relatively standard J1 Lantras,

rallying, they could see the potential to be gained in marketing their product through motorsport.” The company then decided that a Kit Car based on the Coupe model should be developed, but Bell unsuccessfully lobbied for a 2.0 Accent (200 needed for homologation). The wheelbase of the J2 and Coupe were identical - being the same as a Lancer Evolution of the day – but potentially too long for a front-wheel drive car. The cylinder head only flow-tested at 240bhp, when the competition was making around 260-280 bhp. Bell confesses to having a test car already built (including sequential FFD 6-speed gearbox) before the ‘go-ahead’ was given by HMC Korea. Twenty kits were required for inspection by CAMS and the FIA, including throttle bodies and manifolds, extractors, spoilers and induction systems. The Coupe was competitive in the APRC, proving to be stable under all conditions and well suited to rough or fast-flowing roads, although it only had 240bhp at 8000rpm. Unfortunately, it proved too big, and not powerful enough for the European F2 competition. While the Aussie-Korean relationship was sound, Bell was taken off guard

Wayne Bell puts the original Hyundai Lantra through its paces at the Rally of Wagga.

when Korea decided to run a World Championship program out of the UK. Motor Sport Developments (MSD) put Swede Kenneth Eriksson into the lead car, with Wayne Bell to be joined by Iain Stewart for five events, while MSD chased Scotsman Alister McRae to join the team. Unfortunately, reliability was a problem for the high-spec Coupe while the team developed the Accent

WRC car. Bell, in particular, had recurring gearbox problems that really constrained the potential of the car. n September 1999, Hyundai unveiled the Accent WRC, and a debut followed at the 2000 Swedish Rally. Later that year the team achieved its first top 10 result when Alister McRae and Kenneth Eriksson finished seventh and eighth respectively at the Rally Argentina.

It wasn’t the fastest car, but the Lantra was strong and reliable, and could be driven hard.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 43

FEATURE: HYUNDAI IN RALLYING The Hyundai Coupe ran in the Formula 2 category, and is seen here at the Rally of Queensland.

McRae takes up the story: “Having competed in a number of WRC events with VW, the opportunity came up for me to run an extra two WRC events alongside with Hyundai in 1998. “This gave me an insight into the team and obviously we started discussing the possibility of joining in ’99 for a year in F2, whilst developing the Accent WRC for 2000.” It was David Whitehead, owner of MSD, who had enjoyed a previous working relationship with Alister’s father, the legendary Jimmy McRae. The two worked together in the Vauxhall Opel days and with the company’s experience in rallying, German touring cars and British touring cars, the package was right for Alister. “The team definitely had the resources and ability to succeed, but at the time other manufacturers were spending massive budgets, so it was always going to be difficult. Personally, my job was to drive and help develop the cars,” McRae told RallySport Magazine. The obvious attraction for McRae was the introduction of a new manufacturer into the World Rally Championship, the all-new WRC car and the chance to compete on a full WRC program, with he and Kenneth Eriksson carrying out all the testing of the new vehicle. “The Accent’s handling and balance was very good from the start, but as always there was room for improvement,” Alister recalls. “The engine was the weaker part of the car.” By mid to late 2001, the car was really starting to work very well, and a brilliant fourth outright on Rally GB 44 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Then and now. Wayne Bell (above) driving the Lantra to 18th place and fourth in two-wheel drive in the 1996 Rally of New Zealand, while (below) Tim Dillon still competes in the exfactory Lantra, and regularly wins his class in QRC and Clubman events. (Photo: Sam Tickell)

in 2001 was the team’s high point. By that time the car was definitely getting closer to the front-runners. For McRae, Rally GB was the last event with the team after three years, and it was a great way to finish the season. “I had a good relationship with the team and knew that development for the next season would bring the car closer again. But the opportunity to drive for Mitsubishi - the team that had taken Tommi Makinen to four world titles – was something not to miss.” n September 2003, after a season hampered by budget constraints, Hyundai announced their withdrawal from the WRC and advised their plans to return in 2006, which unfortunately did not eventuate. Then, during the Paris Motor Show in September 2012, Hyundai announced an intention to return to the WRC with a completely new four‑wheel‑drive, turbocharged car and a completely new team based at Hyundai Motorsport in Frankfurt, Germany. It was 21 years to the week after the remarkable first appearance on the world championship scene, back at the 1991 Rally Australia, using the Lantra two‑wheel drive normally‑aspirated cars. As it transpired, the decision to re-enter the world championship was made at the last possible moment if they were to be able to fit into the FIA’s new time frame system of when they

Hyundai driver Kenneth Eriksson and MSD boss David Whitehead, Rally of Portugal 1998.

would be able to homologate new rally cars. This was a tricky situation, made even more complex by the commercial need to introduce a new rally car at a time that matched the schedule of the manufacturer’s production car model on which the rally car could be based. In the end, the decision was taken to undertake a two-phase project. In this way an initial World Rally Car would be homologated in time for use in the 2014 rally season, then a second model would be introduced, based on a new production model, during the 2015

season. he Hyundai WRC project was a very hurried exercise. It was not only the time taken to establish a headquarters and related engineering and administration facilities, to appoint and train an effective workforce and to master completely new technologies required for developing present-day rally cars – it was just as vital to select who should be the drivers to represent them. Being present on the start line at Monte Carlo Rally 2014 was critical to everything, and finally this was

Alister McRae pushes the Hyundai Accent World Rally Car hard during the 2001 Acropolis Rally in Greece.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 45

FEATURE: HYUNDAI IN RALLYING Bull Global Rally Cross Series under the Rhys Millen Racing banner. Kiwi Emma Gilmour, one of the fastest woman rally drivers in the world, was the number two driver in the team in 2014, achieving excellent results throughout the challenging series.

Wayne Bell (right) and Hyundai’s Mr Choi.

achieved. Their star driver, Thierry Neuville, crashed on the first stage (nothing significant there, Monte Carlo has always proved a special challenge for the Belgian driver!) but guest second driver, Dani Sordo, achieved a secondbest stage time before a very minor electrical failure caused his retirement. Sweden saw both cars suffering suspension damage, but Neuville achieved two second fastest stage times, while guest driver, Juho Hanninen, made times in the top six on nine occasions. The inclusion of young New Zealander, Hayden Paddon, into the Hyundai World Rally Team, initially on a limited program, was nothing short of genius. The Kiwi, with the support of a whole country behind him, showed genuine early pace in the i20

and brought the team stage wins and a podium in Rally Italia 2015, before being elevated to a full time program and rewarding that trust with his first WRC win in Argentina in 2016. With the support of the parent company, Paddon and regular codriver, John Kennard, have also been seen competing in the New Zealand Rally Championship in their own local version of the i20, built to AP4 regulations, with minor variations. Looking for all intents and purposes like a full WRC car, the AP4 car sports an almost-standard 1.8litre turbocharged Hyundai engine (AP4 rules actually only allow engines of 1.6 litres in capacity), and took a stunning nine minute victory on debut at the Otago Rally in April. Hyundai’s name in the United States is also highly recognisable with the Veloster Coupe competing in the Red

here is little doubt that Hyundai is a company committed to longterm rally success, with recent announcements of the company’s development of an R5 version of the i20, and potentially at R2 entry to follow. It is also abundantly clear that the Hyundai World Rally Team is the equal of their WRC opponents in terms of performance, with promises of further success in the hands of drivers of the calibre of Paddon, who is not only shaping up to the European established drivers, but is a marketing delight. Nevertheless, Hyundai’s rally origins in suburban Australia cannot be ignored, nor forgotten, and the ‘Godfather’ of Hyundai’s rally effort, Wayne Bell, is remembered fondly by the company. “I was invited to Portugal by Hyundai Motor Sport to see the new WRC factory team,” Bell explains. “Mr Choi wanted my opinion on the cars and team. I was given full access to the cars and was impressed with the standard of workmanship and engineering that had gone into the cars, although I thought some of the suspension was too light and suited more for racing that a rough rally. “The current cars are much stronger and can take a good knock without breaking things, and will win more events and, I suspect, eventually the championship. I just wish I was 30 years younger,” Bell says.

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1977 RALLY OF NEW ZEALAND

VATANEN SHOWS BLINDING SPEED Story: MARTIN HOLMES

ri Vatanen came from a small Finnish village close to the border with Russia. His rallying took off spectacularly when Ford offered to help develop his career in 1975, only one year after he had first appeared on the international scene. He emerged from Finland at a sensitive time when the motor industry in Britain was recovering from a severe recession. Ford’s apparent willingness to supply one bodyshell after another for the young driver was therefore a shock! A combination of fearlessness and self assurance hallmarked his whole life and gave a glamour which the sport had not been witnessed before. One of Vatanen’s greatest fans was always Colin McRae, and the parallels in career patterns were striking. Vatanen stands alone among rally drivers for the emotion he attracts. Statistically he was the winner of 10 world championship rallies and the only world driver champion who gained his title with a privately funded team. He was the first rally driver to possess a devil-may-care approach to the sport. The New Zealand Rally in 1977 was his eighth world rally and the first such event he ever finished - nearly all the previous events ended off the road. His championship aspirations ended with a near-fatal crash in Argentina in 1985

which then led to another successful aspect to his career - cross country marathons. He made sporadic appearances in the World series after that - his 100th WRC start was at Network Q Rally of GB in 1998, and made his final appearance in 2003 on Neste Rally Finland at the age of 51. Initial successes were in Fords, later he drove for Peugeot, Mitsubishi and Subaru, with various events also with Opel and Citroen. “1977 had been a particularly hard year. I had been away from home continuously for two and a half months. “I remember exactly what we did.

Ari Vatanen and Jim Scott put in a sensational performance on the 1977 Rally of New Zealand.

It started off with East African Safari, which for me had always been a dream, but demanded a lot of time for recce beforehand. Then I went to do the recce for Acropolis, in the middle of which I went back to Britain to take part on the Welsh Rally. Then I returned for the Acropolis, and finally I was off to New Zealand. “The only time away from rallying was a short break in the Seychelles. On the journey down to New Zealand I was so tired I think I slept all the way. We went via Hong Kong and I could not resist the chance to go for a few hours into town. I was still so tired I even left a bag in my taxi with a whole lot of new digital watches that I had bought for friends back home. “My co-driver for New Zealand was not my then regular partner, Atso Aho, this time. It seemed to be something about the Ford system that things had to be done a special way, which in this case meant having a local co-driver, who turned out to be Jim Scott. “Our Escort BDA was really good, however, but it was very difficult to prepare for the rally even though I had arrived in good time. The rally itself was about 2000 kilometres long, so you can imagine that if everything went well it was going to take a very great amount of work beforehand! “Things did not work out well at all. Despite the fact we had so much recceing to do, this was the time of year that Jim Scott could not afford to spend much time away from home. It was his peak time for selling lawnmowers! “I had come all the way from the other side of the world, I was itching to JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 47

1977 RALLY OF NEW ZEALAND

get going and I found the rally clashed with peak lawnmower sales time. I was waiting in my motel for Jim to sell his stock. With just one week left to go we started the recce. “We drove from four o’clock in the morning till ten in the evening every day. It wasn’t just driving the stages - we still had to drive the long road sections in between. As it was we had to make our notes for 300-400km a day. We hardly slept, and of course there was no way we had a chance to check the notes. “In those days I did not have much pacenote experience, Jim - from a country where the other rallies were secret - even less. As for me - being a young fast impatient driver was a potential recipe for disaster! “It wasn’t long before the dramas started. I will never forget a long right hand downhill corner on tarmac and the first pacenote arrived late. “We went off the road, straight through some trees, a long way down the hill. The only way back was to use a winch, which thankfully we had in the car, but to get back we had to stretch the wire across the actual road of the

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“As for me - being a young fast impatient driver was a potential recipe for disaster!” stage, so for every passing car we had to slacken the line. “We lost something like 25 minutes in the process. We started off again and did some great times. For these stages we had Dunlop A2 tyres that were splendid on mixed surfaces - when they did not puncture - and we had a fantastic engine. “The dramas, however, continued. More offs were to come, small and bigger ones, sometimes (like when a big boulder had fallen down a hill after rain) unlucky ones. “The car was getting progressively more battered as the rally went on, although the wheels were still pointing in the right direction and the engine never missed a beat. But what a hard time the car had. “I remember one time the car was sliding down a tarmac stretch of road on its side so that the guttering above

the door was completely flattened. I drove off after that incident and discovered the handling was odd. The right hand front McPherson strut had popped outside the wing. “It took me some while to realise what the strange object was that I saw through the windscreen. I can still remember the look on the face of our chief mechanic, Robin Vokins, when he saw that. “The highlight of the rally for me was a 102km long stage on the east coast of the North Island, near Gisborne. What a stage! At this time I was running fourth car on the road and the notes had not been checked: the stage was very fast indeed and it was in the middle of the night. “The first three cars on the road were our main rivals, the three works Fiat Abarth 131s, driven by Fulvio Bacchelli, Simo Lampinen and Markku Alen. I think the first Fiat I caught was Simo’s, then another 30km or so later I caught Markku, and after another 20km Bacchelli. “Bacchelli thought it was Alen who was behind him. He didn’t want to be beaten by his teammate and let me

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suffer in his flying stones. It had never occurred to him that the fourth car on the road would now be right behind him! “Otherwise everything was working so well - me, engine, co-driver, tyres, it was truly a beautiful experience. We had even finished our formalities with the time keepers at the end of the stage, and driven away from the control still without any of the Fiats in sight. I had made fastest time by nearly three minutes on that stage! “At that time the Fiat team manager was Daniele Audetto. He could not believe what was happening when we saw our times. “He invited me into his motorhome and he told everyone else to go outside while we spoke. He asked me to drive for Fiat next year and offered me US$100,000. “I was on my second year with Ford. My first year (1976) I earned £5000, this year £16,000, so Audetto’s offer was at least three times what I had received in two years. The money he mentioned seemed like an offer to win a lottery! “I told him even if Ford did not pay one penny more next year I could not accept his offer. I didn’t ever play cat-and-mouse games with the people I worked for. Ford had been loyal to me and I would be loyal to them. Fiat’s offer, however gratifying, did not feel right morally.

The three works Fiat Abarth 131s of Bacchelli, Alen and Lampinen.

“Finally we finished the rally in second place. After all that distance we were only 94 seconds behind Bacchelli, and eventually I learned that Bacchelli’s engine was so badly damaged they doubted if he could have done another stage at all. “It also turned out to be the longest ever world championship special stage event, the only time even the winner took longer than one day on the stages. What a memory, and how I must have

caused poor Jim to age prematurely. He started the rally looking like my father, and ended with him looking like my grandfather. “But I will also never forget how well that car went, with its A2 tyres. The old rear-drive Escorts really suited my style of driving. “I will never really know if I would have been so well known if I had driven any other type of car in my early days.” - Martin Holmes

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FEATURE: SOUTH AFRICAN RALLYING Peter Baragwanath and Charles Reeler in their potent Nissan.

OUT OF AFRICA Story: TOM SMITH

ost Aussies and Kiwis who are passionate about rallying acknowledge obvious links to the UK and Europe, certainly know that rallying is alive and well in Japan and south-east Asia, and might also admit to having watched some of the Chinese Rally Championship on YouTube. Most recently the Argentinean round of the World Rally Championship probably also put the spotlight on parts of South America, particularly because of the efforts of Hayden Paddon and

John Kennard in their Hyundai i20 WRCar. And yes, rallying exists in North America, but most Antipodeans will probably hone in on Ken Block’s brilliant series of Gymkhana videos as typical of the sport in the US of A. Africa is something of a mystery, but later generations of rallyists will recall that the East African Safari was part of the World Championship for many years. However, most of us know little about the sport in South Africa, other than the fact that over many years, the best drivers and the rally machinery Glyn Hall and Martin Botha, Ford Laser, in the NGK Rally.

50 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

coming out of SA were a match for anything in the rest of the world. In recent years, under the G2 ARC regulations, a number of South Africansourced 2.0-litre VW Polos made their way to Australia for local competitors. Neal Bates also sought advice from his Toyota counterparts when building his own S2000 Corolla. Various well-known African rallyists have made Australia their home over past decades, including experienced codriver Lofty Drews, and Marius Swart, who has been a Brisbane ‘local’ for some years now in his Polo S2000, to name just two. Thanks to the evolution of Facebook, information from South Africa posted by fellow enthusiasts is much more readily available, and regular photos and memories of past eras of rallying can be enjoyed by everyone. RallySport Magazine set out to reveal some of the glory of South African rallying and has established contact with former South African rallying journalists, Loen Joubert and Roger Houghton, both of whom have contributed to this profile, along with respected rally scribe Martin Holmes. In past years, the sport of rallying in South Africa enjoyed tremendously popular manufacturer and spectator

support. Most Japanese manufacturers have been involved, including Toyota, Nissan and Mazda, while European marques have included Peugeot, Ford, Fiat, Audi and Volkswagen. In earlier days when a lot of the cars on the roads in South Africa did not match models seen elsewhere in the world, manufacturers decided amongst themselves what sort of cars they wanted to run in rallying. When the latest European cars became available, this situation led to a competition imbalance in the sport, but never so much as the turbo domination scenario in which Audi Quattros were untouchable. his was a major disincentive for other manufacturers, but Nissan built a “monster” Skyline and Toyota fabricated a four-wheel drive Conquest (Corolla hatch) powered by a 2.2-litre, twin-spark Toyota turbo engine from Toyota Team Europe. The Nissan had a solitary win and the Toyota won five times, but it remained an era when the Audi Quattro was king. Monster cars were spectacular, but not helping the sport. Locals had either to buy such cars from Europe or build their own, but in either case, it was costly. Having clearly defined rules applicable to everyone was essential. The first serious formula aimed at making a fair challenge for everyone came when the 2-litre, normally aspirated four-wheel drive formula was introduced in 1989. Immediately this attracted entries from Ford, Nissan, Toyota and VW. The formula selected involved the use of production cars into which normally-aspirated two-litre engines were installed, together with four-wheel drive transmission. Visitors to South Africa had always noticed the curious mixture of cars on the roads of South Africa and which abounded in the sport. Some were familiar makes under different names (Opels and Vauxhalls were run as Chevrolets, the official Nissan rally team ran Fiats, Ford, for a while, rallied a car that began life as a Mazda 323, Datsun ran cars called 160Js or Stanzas, and so on), while manufacturers who were not regular competitors in Europe, such as Alfa Romeo, took rallying seriously in this country. The entry lists were always an amalgam of locally built and internationally homologated cars. The Ford Escort RS1800s were the first FIA homologated cars that were used regularly on South African events, and were run by the Ford importers’ team. The arrival of the Audi Quattro with its four-wheel drive brought a further trend towards FIA homologated

Hannes Grobbelaar’s Nissan ‘Monster’ Skyline.

The Nissan Sentra of Winston Sentra and Lyle Marais.

More recently, the top cars in South Africa have looked more like those from Europe.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 51

FEATURE: SOUTH AFRICAN RALLYING

Jan Hettema’s home-built car “Autokami”, which had a midengined Mazda Rotary engine with Audi transmission.

“Cars which were never used as competition cars in Europe, such as the Ford Escort RS1700T and the Opel Kadett 400, found their way to South Africa!” cars, though the variety still existed. Cars which were never used as competition cars in Europe, such as the Ford Escort RS1700T and the Opel Kadett 400, found their way to South Africa and were used in competition there. Toyota never ran anything close to FIA rules, and Nissan built the four-wheel drive, turbocharged Skyline monster car. Ford also developed local six-cylinder Cortinas. Gradually the manufacturers’ involvement dwindled away so that, towards the end of the ‘90s, when only Toyota and VW were left, the national federation decided that the FIA’s 2-litre front-drive, normally aspirated “Kit Cars” should become the top national formula instead. After a final season in 1997, this formula took effect in 1998 and meant that even more of the top cars on national events were now full FIA cars and internationally available, though all of them had to be nationally, rather than internationally, homologated. In relation to the regulations and local rules regarding rallies, in past years there were not the “nanny restrictions” of the current era, and the country was still functioning well under a regime when roads were well maintained. It meant that there was a huge selection 52 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

of enticing public gravel roads (mainly mountain passes) in the outback that could be used as disguised special stages (mainly at night). In later years when special stage rallying became the norm, South Africa had huge forest reserves (also in adjoining Swaziland). One entire National Championship rally was run just in the Louw’s Creek forest reserve. That same reserve also had one infamous 80km special stage (in a forest) and it’s central service area became known as “Piccadilly Circus”. For the most part it appears that rallies are now generally all short distance “cloverleaf” events, mainly based around a single, central location. Professional rally drivers in the early years included Jan Hettema and Sarel van der Merwe, but even some part-

timers were often paid a small salary, were allocated a free company car, supplied with kit, and of course had all travel expenses paid for. “Supervan” Sarel van der Merwe was the dominant force in local rallying from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, with 11 drivers titles won in the 14 years between 1975 and 1988. During this period he only missed out in 1976 (Jan Hettema won the title), 1986 (Hannes Grobler) and 1987 (Geoff Mortimer). Van der Merwe won 66 rallies during his amazing career. Serge Damseaux, who retired at the end of 2007, was the dominant driver following van der Merwe’s retirement. He won 10 driver’s titles and a record 74 national championship rallies between 1985 and 2007.

The third most successful rally driver is double Springbok Jan Hettema, who was a champion cyclist before turning to motor sport. Hettema collected five national titles and won 36 rallies. He also set a record for the number of different co-drivers he used when he won those rallies – 11 co-drivers in all: Mike Hooper (7 wins), Raggy Schjolberg (6), Willem van Heerden (6), Tom Oerder (4), Franz Boshoff (4), Robbie Broekmeyer (2), Stuart Pegg

(2), Leon Joubert (2) and Hennie Steenkamp, Gus Menzies, Dave Higson-Smith (all one win each). Sadly, it has only been in recent weeks that 82 year Hettema died cruelly after being shot by robbers at his smallholding home near Pretoria (see separate story). Most recently, Mark Cronje has taken three national championships since 2012, driving a Ford Fiesta S2000, and in 2015 in a Toyota Yaris S2000. In 2014 and ’15 he was partnered by Elvene Coetze. The sport is alive and well in South Africa, and Rallysport Magazine will continue to inform readers on the state of play in future editions. Right: Hergen Fekken’s Toyota looks the goods during a 2014 round of the South African Rally Championship.

SOUTH AFRICA MOURNS THE TRAGIC DEATH OF JAN HETTEMA 82 year old South African rally driver, Jan Hettema, died cruelly after being shot by robbers at his smallholding home near Pretoria. Dutch born, he had escaped wth his family one week before the outbreak of WW2 and took up competitive cycling, gaining a Springbok title in that sport by representing his new country

at the 1960 Olympics. His cycling activities were then limited after being branded a professional, having won ¬£10 at a race earlier in his career! He then turned to motorsport, rallied for 40 years, was five times national champion and won more than 100 events, including being the first

winner of the celebrated Roof of Africa event. His record of national championship rally wins was only surpassed by Sarel van der Merwe and Serge Damsaux. He competed a half dozen times on Rallye Monte Carlo, becoming the first works rally driver for Toyota in 1968. - Martin Holmes

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RETROSPECTIVE - DATSUN 710

Ross Dunkerton, 1977 South

George Fury, 1976 Castrol International Rally.

Rauno Aaltonen, 1977 Southern Cross Rally.

Harry Kallstrom, 1977 Southern Cross Rally. 54 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

hern Cross Rally.

RALLYING HISTORY

The 710 SSS is perhaps the most beloved of all Datsun rally cars, and made an indelible mark on spectators at the Southern Cross Rally in the 1970s. These photos from Bruce Keys, Ken Cusack and Mike Harding show the factory cars in full flight.

Join the Australian Rally History group on Facebook Harry Kallstrom, 1977 Southern Cross Rally.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 55

RALLY POLAND - WRC 7

HEARTBREAK FOR TANAK

Story: MARTIN HOLMES

eartbreak came to Poland when the stifling hot summer weather conditions changed dramatically on the final day of Rally Poland and a puncture on the penultimate stage deprived Ott Tanak and the DMack tyre suppliers of a maiden WRC victory. It was the Fiesta driver Tanak’s second successive disappointment on this event. Andreas Mikkelsen gained a last minute victory for Volkswagen, which made him the sixth different WRC winner in six events, on the weekend that marked his 10th anniversary in the sport. WRC’s running order rules cost world champion Sebastien Ogier dearly, the championship leader gaining his worst result for nine months. Competitors were faced with atrocious stage conditions on the final day and Tanak, with countless other drivers, had their rally hearts broken. In the WRC2 category there was a similar story when the leader, Skoda driver Esapekka Lappi, dropped to third on the penultimate stage, while in the Drive DMack Fiesta series the leader, Osian Pryce, dropped behind Jon Armstrong three stages from the

Photos: RedMAGAZINE Bull Content Pool | RALLYSPORT 56 - JULY 2016

end – also because of punctures.

THE EVENT

No fewer than seven drivers scored stage scratch times on the first two days over the fast, sandy gravel tracks in northern Poland, and competition was close. The battle was immediately drawn between Mikkelsen, Hyundai driver Hayden Paddon and Tanak. After pushing hard during the morning Mikkelsen’s lead on Friday midday was 2.6 seconds, but as the stage conditions deteriorated on the second pass both he and Paddon had handling difficulties. Disadvantaged first runner Ogier, meanwhile, kept in touch impressively well and by Friday evening was only 16.3 seconds behind the leader, Tanak. Ogier’s hopes dwindled on the Saturday, however, when his disadvantage became very significant and after only three stages he was lying sixth overall. While Tanak was predictably enjoying the fruits of his eighth running position, third runner Mikkelsen was gradually slipping back, but Ogier was now almost a minute behind the leader. Fourth running Mads Ostberg (Fiesta) was just in the top 10, and second running

Dani Sordo (Hyundai) was not even in the top 10. By the Saturday evening Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai was fourth and Jari-Matti Latvala’s VW fifth. Then the rains arrived! There were only four stages on the Sunday, but everything was now very different. Tanak started the last morning 21.3 seconds ahead of Mikkelsen. A cool head should bring victory, but deep mud and dislodged rocks on the penultimate stage brought punctures galore. Survival was the name of the game, and it was here, cruelly, that Tanak had the puncture that cost him the win. Mikkelsen won the rally by 26 seconds. It had been a long time since the M-Sport cars had been considered challengers for an overall victory, but on DMack’s latest generation gravel tyres Tanak was suddenly in the frame. The official M-Sport team cars were not so impressive, though. Eric Camilli was impressively leading teammate Ostberg before he had an extraordinary incident on the final morning. He spun off the road at the end of a stage, through inadvertently selecting engine road mode. This

Ott Tanak was devastated after a puncture cost him his first victory, but was later consoled by World Champion Sebastien Ogier.

dropped him behind Mads, who finished eighth. Hyundai had a mixed story. Neuville led the rally overall on the opening super special, but was troubled by poor pacenotes on Day 1, and both he and Paddon had set-up problems. As the rally progressed with none of the top runners suffering delays, Sordo

was unable to challenge at all and at the finish their top driver was Paddon who finished third, 0.8 of a second in front of Neuville, but almost half minute behind Mikkelsen! Sordo retired on the final day with suspension damage. Volkswagen could only stand by and watch Ogier struggling, but Latvala was running inconsistently so everything

rested on Mikkelsen, who did not disappoint. What never really became evident was the superb efforts once again by Ogier, who hoped for a show of splendour on the final day, but his only happy moment was a traditional win in the Power Stage. One of the delights of the rally was JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 57

RALLY OF POLAND - WRC 7

the battle between the two Citroen cadet drivers Sebastien Lefebvre and Craig Breen, each sensing their prospects with the team could be judged by their performance here. They both put up an incredible fight for a long time, leading both M-Sport official team cars, but Lefebvre touched a tree two stages from the end and suspension damage dropped him to ninth. Breen finished a happy seventh. Volkswagen’s lead in the Manufacturers series’ slipped to 61 points ahead of Hyundai, while

Volkswagen 2 (the one car team) had closed to within a point of (the two car) M-Sport WRT. Mikkelsen had retaken second place in the Drivers’ series, behind Ogier, with Paddon third and Sordo and Latvala equal fourth. This was truly a rally of two parts, but the first two days has whetted the appetite for the next world championship event, the Neste Rally Finland, where the speeds are the highest in the championship and where DMack declared the stages also suited their new generation gravel tyres.

Above: Andreas Mikkelsen (right) and Anders Jaeger celebrate their win, while Hayden Paddon returned to form with a strong third place (below).

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Mikkelsen rounded off his 10 years in the sport in fine style and was effusive in his respect and sympathy for Tanak. “We needed a fast pace to keep the pressure on Ott. What happened to Ott had happened (last year) to me in Sweden…” Ott was ebullient: “It was hard to take, but there will be a pay-back time!” There was a remarkable 25car entry for WRC2 where four different drivers held the lead, Karl Kruuda (Ford) and the Skodas of Teemu Suninen and the two official team drivers Pontus Tidemand and Esapekka Lappi. The private Oreca team driver Suninen won, but chasing hard through the event was the Fiesta Evo of series leader Elfyn Evans who finished second. Evans retained his lead in the series ahead of Suninen, Fuchs and Tidemand. In WRC3, the Junior championship drivers were unchallenged with Simone Tempestini finishing over three minutes ahead of Sebastien Loeb’s protégé Terry Folb, after Ole Christian Veiby dropped back late on Saturday with a broken driveshaft. In the Drive DMack Fiesta Trophy category, the little cars suffered from running at the rear of the field and most of the drivers suffered punctures. In the end the win went to the Ulster driver, Jon Armstrong, who beat Osian Pryce, with Bernardo Sousa third.

cott Pedder’s excellent adventure continued at Rally Poland in June, based in Mikolajki, several hours north of Warsaw. He and co-driver Dale Moscatt faced a weekend of bad luck and misadventure in their Skoda Fabia R5, but after several high speed spins, a flat tyre, and even a light rollover – it was a broken control arm that stopped the Australian Pedders team within sight of the finish. Much had been written about the high speed nature of the Polish event, but the ill-handling Fabia on this event did not deliver the precision needed to attack the roads flat out. Pedder’s diagnosis was that the car had a diff-related issue, causing uncertainty under brakes and turning. Outside the WRC2 top 10 on Thursday night’s opening Super Special Stage, Pedder immediately began to claw back time against his red hot rivals on the first leg. Three spins and a stall frustrated the quick Aussie, but his confidence remained high, predicting a good result and even a possible podium due to the closeness of the competition. A brilliant effort in treacherous conditions on day two saw the team climb to fifth WRC2 by late in the afternoon, before a simple ‘off’ caused a 30 second time loss when the car went into a field and the team had troubles finding their way back to the road! A flat tyre followed, which relegated the Pedders crew to eighth, with a short final day in front of the field. Forecast rain hit overnight and on the second stage Pedder hit a massive

inc Postage

PEDDER IN POLAND

Pedder and Moscatt had another challenging event, but showed good speed. (Photos: Red Bull, Martin Holmes)

puddle, missing a chicane completely and on the next corner a concentration loss saw him run wide and lightly roll. Enthusiastically returned to its wheels by the Polish crowd, an unrelated broken control arm caused an early rally finish, and left them stranded in the next stage. While disappointing, the team continues to make progress in their Fabia R5 and looks forward to Rally Finland, where they finished fourth in WRC 2 last year. - Tom Smith

OWN A SLICE OF MOTOR SPORT HISTORY CAMS: The Official History, celebrates 60 years of CAMS, 1953-2013, a complete history of its formation and development. The 512 page hard cover book contains more than 1000 photographs – and just as importantly – an accurate and detailed documentation of our sport’s foundation. Written by some of Australia’s most proficient motorsport historians and journalists, CAMS: The Official History is a must have for every motor sport enthusiast. Be armed with more knowledge than has ever been documented before; purchase your numbered and signed copy of CAMS: The Official History.

C L I C K H E R E T O P U R C H A S E CAMSSHOP JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 59

CLASSIC OUTBACK TRIAL Andrew and David Travis won the event for the third time. (Photo: Ian Smith)

OUTBACK TAKES ITS TOLL Story: CRAIG O’BRIEN

athurst son and father combination, Andrew and David Travis, added an extraordinary third Classic Outback Trial (COT) win in four attempts when they took honours in the Classic category of the biennial endurance event in a Nissan Gazelle on June 24. The defending classic champions took a sensational victory by 26 minutes and 54 seconds, ahead of the Peugeot 504 of Andy Crane and Dave Anderson, with local driver Phil Kerr, paired with the experienced Jenny Cole, rounding out the podium in a Datsun 1600. Based out of Alice Springs, the rally was to compromised of six days of special stages covering more than 1000 competitive kilometres across some of the most varied terrain in the Northern Territory. A total of 52 crews, including two from the UK and one each from Argentina and Switzerland, and across four classes consisting of classic rally cars, modern rally cars, cross country and regularity, would tackle the outback challenge.

DAY ONE

A freak storm which lashed the area just 36 hours before the scheduled start caused the first day of competition to be cancelled on June 18, due to localised flooding and road damage to the stages down south. 60 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Nevertheless, the ceremonial start took place as planned outside the Convention Centre in a more relaxed atmosphere, with crews knowing it was another 24 hours until competition got underway.

DAY TWO

Under clear blue skies on a chilly morning at the foot of the sun-kissed MacDonnell Ranges, the COT finally got underway, but it was very much short lived for the Sawyer brothers’ Datsun 1600 of Michael and Andrew, which terminated an engine en route to the opening stage and their adventure was over before it started. The great unknown of the event would be how the internationals would fair against strong local competition, but Argentine pair Jorge Perez Companc and Jose Volta in the Viking Motorsports Escort RS1800 were blistering on the opening 52 kilometre stage, with a 29 second advantage over the Datsun 200B of Neil Cuthbert and Sue Evans, with Andrew and David Travis a further minute and a half behind. Meanwhile, there were dramas for the UK entered Corolla of John Midgley and John Pullan, with a head gasket being replaced at the first major service at Gem Tree after blowing a hose and losing all their water. The news wasn’t good for the Victorian crew of Joel Wald and Tracey

Dewhurst (Datsun Stanza) either, when they stopped on the second stage of the morning, rolling the car after hitting a waterway. Tony Jordan (Triumph) and Ted Perkins (Ford Cortina) also came unstuck in the morning, but managed to return to service, albeit with some panel damage to show for their efforts. By day’s end the challenge for classic competition honours would be between Cuthbert/Evans and Travis/Travis, with the Argentines keeping them within striking distance

DAY THREE

Day three was two time Australian navigator champion, Kate Officer’s birthday, but it was anything but a celebration if you were driving a Porsche 911 or a Datsun 200B. Gearbox dramas hit both the Swiss entered Porsche of Josef and Yves Huber, with the crew electing to change it at the first service, while James Calvert-Jones somehow managed competitive times throughout the day, despite only having first, second and fourth gear, but after the last stage the gearbox completely failed, and without a spare their event was over. The afternoon stages saw Cuthbert/ Evans lose 10 minutes and the lead due to navigational errors, while Andy Crane made his move with a string of consistently quick times to move up the order from 12th.

Kerr/Cole maintained their consistency to stay in the hunt in a car that had previously won in the hands of Travis. Despite a scare and a trip through the scenery after a big moment through a water splash, the Travis’ survived, to lead the classic competition heading into day four.

DAY FOUR

The rally was thrown into turmoil when up to 15 cars got bogged on a sandy section approximately 30km into the day’s third stage, with some crews losing in excess of two hours. Amongst the chaos of the sandy section that beached so many, stories of camaraderie and sportsmanship shone. Stephen Riley, in his outrageous Holden Ute, was just one example of someone who elected to stop to help recover many of the stranded Classic and Modern competitors. A stage was later cancelled to avoid crews running into the darkness due to the excessive late running as a result. Cuthbert/Evans faced another setback when a fuel pressure problem cost them more valuable time and their chances of victory faded further.

DAY FIVE

The penultimate day of the rally opened with the longest of the event, with a 121km test along some of the best roads the Northern Territory has to offer. Described by Andrew Travis as “one of the best stages I’ve done in my life”, and Michael Ward as “Rally Finland in the desert”, the stage consisted of a series of crests and cambers to test even the bravest of crews. Former Australian Rally Champions, David and Kate Officer, showed they had lost none of their speed over the years with an impressive third fastest time behind Crane and Travis.

Day five would also be a game changer, with the Cuthbert/Evans challenge coming to an end with mechanical failure, and the strong run of Ian Reddiex/Mike Mitchell in a Celica halted. Prior to the beginning of the final stage there were ominous signs for the second placed Argentine Escort, with coolant leaking from the front end. A few kilometres later their outstanding debut run ended with engine failure.

DAY SIX

The COT that had produced so much drama had one more twist on the final day when the Officers, who started the day with a relatively comfortable fourth place, were stuck in a hole on stage, damaging the front end and breaking the exhaust. They eventually resumed, but dropped 32 minutes. Their downfall was Penny Swan and Tony Robinson’s gain as they would finish the event in a brilliant fourth place in their Volvo, despite a spectacular roll on the final stage. When the fat lady sang on the final stage, it was fitting the Travis’ were fastest as they cemented back-to-back victories. In the Modern competition, for much of the event it looked like local Ben Kittle would be hard to beat in his VR Commodore, but a blown differential on day five dropped him out of contention, elevating Peter Neal and Craig Whyburn (Subaru) to first, almost 14 minutes clear of Bill Monkhouse and Andrew Booker (Suzuki Vitara), with Evan and Caroline Vale taking the final step of the podium in the ex-MRT Subaru Forester. In Cross Country, Stephen Riley and John Doble (Holden VF Utility) took the honours by almost an hour from Reg Owen and Russell Cairns (Isuzu MU-

Above: Andy Crane’s Peugeot 504 and (below) Steve Riley’s Commodore Ute. (Photos: Ian Smith, Craig O’Brien)

X), and Murray Young/Paul McBean (Mitsubishi Pajero). The only all-female entry of locals Debra McCormack and Leonie Kerr, in a Mitsubishi Magna, won in regularity, ahead of the well-travelled Phil and Laurette Macwhirter in the most unlikely of vehicles to tackle the outback challenge, a British Morgan Plus 8 sports car.

Third placed Phil Kerr and Jenny Cole, Datsun 1600. (Photo: Craig O’Brien)

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RALLY OF QUEENSLAND - QRC 3

SMART LEADS THE WAY IN QRC

Story & Photos: SAM TICKELL

he third round of the MRF Tyres Queensland Rally Championship (QRC) took place as part of the International Rally of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast in June. Competing on the same stages as the Australian Rally Championship (ARC), the QRC competitors were taking part in an endurance round - the first that had been held in the championship for many years. The endurance element resulted in a short service at the end of day one, with both days counting towards the round and the championship, rather than two single day rounds that had taken place in the past. This contributed to a lower than usual entry list for the QRC, with 23 starters lining up on the start line. As with previous years, this round does bring in a number of one-off drives, including Ryan Smart/John Allen in their Lancer Evo IX, Tim and Debbie Dillon in their Hyundai Lantra, and rally legend Ross Dunkerton/Lisa Dunkerton in a Nissan Silvia. The rally would run over 12 stages eight on day one and four on day two. Saturday saw dry conditions, but rain that had fallen previously ensured that there would be slippery patches through the stages. Come the end of the first stage, the 14.48km Kandanga, it was immediately clear that the Smart/Allen duo would take some beating. The pair was cross entered in the ARC and it was also clear that they would be challenging at the front of that field. Smart and Allen arrived in 9 minutes 27 seconds, almost one minute faster than anybody else. This continued throughout the day and at the end of the day, they would be more than five minutes ahead of Ian Menzies and Robert McGowen. Fortunately for the QRC competitors, Smart isn’t registered for points, meaning Menzies, Kent Lawrence/ James Wilson, Robert Bishop/Neill Woolley and Marius Swart/Peta Davies would be fighting for the overall QRC prize.

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Menzeis/McGowen would be the best of the rest in the QRC field and the P5 field. Bishop/Woolley would be next and lead the P5 field. In the other categories, Jay Davison/ Timmy Bryant (Ford Escort) led Classic; Clay Weston/Brendon Wigley (Ford Fiesta) led P2; Matthew Linning/Craig Morrison (Ford Escort) P3; and Ross and Lisa Dunkerton P3. The only retirement during the day would be the Escort of Thomas Dermody and Eoin Moynihan after they rolled on SS5. However, there would be more retirements overnight with Swart/ Davies’ Volkswagen retiring with a problem that wasn’t diagnosed in the service park. Ross Dunkerton would also pull out overnight. Come day two, there was no doubt that it was wet. Heavy overnight rain

had drenched the stages, with driving rain throughout the day ensuring that many crews backed off to make sure they made the end of the rally. It also resulted in some of the stages being shortened. But the order of the day was the same as Saturday - Smart/Allen would dominate from Bishop/Woolley and Menzies/McGowen. After the morning refuel, Mike Bailey/ Stephen Andrews in their Nissan Pulsar withdrew, as did Rod Reid/Belinda Reid’s Mitsubishi Mirage, and Melinda Bergman/Larisa Biggar’s Subaru. The final two stages were waterlogged and the competitors were in ‘get it home’ mode, driving to the conditions, mercifully with no one throwing it off the road. Sixteen of the 23 that started made the finish, with Smart/Allen taking the win by a massive 6m33s over Bishop/ Wolley - the winning championship QRC team. Davidson/Bryant won the Classic division, Weston/Wriggley took P2; and Linning/Morrison P3. In a side note, the Far Keen Rally crew had a difficult rally. Their Subaru Impreza was the ‘0’ car and on the Saturday stages came into contact with livestock and was sidelined. As such, one of their road cars was used for the rest of the rally. To add insult to injury, in the Sunday night storms, some of their equipment was damaged, proving the toughness of this event. The next round of the championship takes place at the Border Ranges Rally on August 27. Full results are available HERE.

YPRES RALLY

11 WINS FOR FAST FREDDY

orty-five year old Belgian Skoda driver, Freddy Loix, won the European Rally Championship Ypres Rally for the 11th time, an event in which Belgian drivers took five of the six top places. Leader through day 1 was French Citroen driver, Brian Bouffier, but he retired when lying second with gear selection problems with six stages to go. Star of the rally was French Citroen driver, Stephane Lefebvre, who had a disadvantageous running position after missing the Qualifying stage because of an engine change, then losing time with overheating gearbox trouble on Day 1, falling to 16th place overall. He recovered until he was only 5.3 seconds behind the leader Loix with four stages to run, when he had to retire with more gearbox trouble. Loix finally won with a margin of just under a minute from Peugeot driver, Kris Princen, with Fiesta driver Bernd Casier third. The only other top retirement was for Alexey Lukyanuk who crashed his Fiesta R5 on the opening stage. A surprise non-starter was DMack driver Ott Tanak. Opel Adam R2 cars took the top three places in the Junior category with

Marijan Griebel finishing a half minute in front of teammates Chris Ingram and Julius Tannert. Another Adam driver, Lukasz Pieniazek, was lying fourth until he retired two stages from the end. A special feature of the event was the appearance of Kevin Abbring in a prototype Hyundai i20 R5, who ran the stages ahead of the field as a special

Bryan Bouffier

zero car, but whose special stage times were not announced. The next ERC event is Rally Estonia in mid July. This rally had no effect on the race for the ERC title. None of the top 14 drivers in the standings before the event started, and Kajetan Kajetanowicz still leads the series. - Martin Holmes

Marijan Griebel

Alexey Lukyanuk JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 63

LATEST BOOK REVIEWS - BY JEFF WHITTEN

CAMS - The Official History

ou could be excused for thinking that a book on the first 60 years of CAMS would be a pretty boring read, full of “CAMS is great” and “CAMS can do no wrong” chapters. Strangely, nothing could be further from the truth and this huge 512 page history is surprisingly readable and one that has been extremely well researched. Over the years, many of us (yes, this reviewer too) have been very critical of the direction that our national body has taken. But it has learnt a lot during its first 60 years, corrected many bad policy decisions and sometimes charted an unpopular path. Yet by going public with this huge permanent record, commencing with CAMS’ inception, the publishers have taken the bold step of exposing the good, the bad and the ugly. Formed in 1953, CAMS’ charter to control motorsport in Australia has been a rocky one and, in fact, has led to litigation, death threats, office bugging, and even the determination of the outcome of the World Touring Car Championship on the evidence of a CAMS official. These topics and incidents are covered in chapters entitled CAMS Wars 1, 2 and 3, just

three of the 20 chapters in the book. Whoever was responsible for researching and recording these and many other “warts and all” chapters has encapsulated all that the national body stands for and has aimed to achieve. Fortunately, much of this history has been gathered from many of the sport’s leading figures, while the facts were able to be recorded, ie: while these pioneers were still alive. But the book is not just all about facts and figures, for it covers a much broader base – the early beginnings, the leading figures, the presidents, the administrators, the Australian Grand Prix, the events, circuits and rally stages, our champions past and present, the varying categories, and lots more. Lavishly illustrated with a plethora of contemporary photos, “CAMS – The official history” is a treasure trove of motorsport history and CAMS are to be congratulated for instigating what must have been a mammoth task to

put it together. A brief review of the book doesn’t do justice to this new publication, however, it fills a muchneeded void in the history of Australia’s motorsport governing body. It will sit proudly on our bookshelf. Proceeds from the book’s sales in their entirety are going to the CAMS Foundation to help young motorsport participants pursue their international careers. Limited to 1100 copies, the book can be ordered from CAMS on page 59 of this issue of RallySport Mag. It sells for $99 per copy, money well spent.

1968 London to Sydney Marathon

t’s now 48 years since the first London – Sydney Marathon took place in November 1968, so you’d assume that everything that could be written about that original (and some say best) cross-continent event, has been written. Nevertheless, an American by the name of Robert Connor has gone all out with a 280 page soft-cover offering that concentrates not so much on the dozen or so leading crews, but the “also-rans” who made up the balance of the field. Connor has managed to track down 60 or so of the competitors in that first iconic event and drawn on their personal recollections, despite many of them being well into their senior years. Unfortunately many of the stories are of similar content where the experiences from competitor to competitor are similar in their detail. That’s not to say that they’re not interesting, as much of the material emphasises the difficulty and the individual dramas that many of them had. Other books on the subject have been written by competitors and participants

64 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

over the years, including Nick Brittan, John Smailes, Paddy Hopkirk, Andrew Cowan and others, but Connor’s version “The 1968 London to Sydney Marathon” will appeal to many readers who were there at the time and can remember the excitement that the event generated. Well written and supported by lots of period black and white photos, the fact that Connor is an American and uses a range of “Americanisms” tends to suggest that the book was written for Americans. A “for instance”? – bonnet becomes “trunk”, fuel or petrol becomes “gas”, mudguard becomes “fender”, and so on. Despite these little idiosyncrasies, the book is an interesting read that this reviewer had trouble putting down. As well as the comprehensive text, there are the usual list of entrants, finishers and so on, a bibliography and more. Recommended reading if you were around in ’68 or simply want to soak up some LSM magic. Our copy from the Eurospan group. - Jeff Whitten

GET OUT THERE AND DO IT

GOOD TIMES ARE NOW! Story: DALLAS DOGGER

hey were iconic times – the late 70s early 80s. We had the Castrol, the Southern Cross, Alpine, and later, the 2GO and the Esanda. All epic events, and many of us were lucky enough to compete in them. For those who did, there are plenty of tales of adventure, perseverance, challenge and even fun. Importantly, there was sacrifice. Many of us forgave relationships, put work and family on hold and scrimped, but found the money to compete. Plenty will argue that it costs more now to compete than in those years. I paid $6000 for my Escort (JHV-260 featured in the May issue). I spent a whole lot more than that on it, that’s for sure. The late Mike Bell paid $15,000 for his ex-works BDA from Colin Bond. I was there the day he picked it up. He, along with a few others, were the privileged who could afford a top national level car. I was earning $14,000 at the time. My car was close to six months of wages to buy. Mike’s BDA, over a year’s wages, and out of the question for anyone other than a fairly well off business owner. Commonly, most good rally cars of the time were in the $5000 to $8000 range. An SP52 Dunlop rally tyre was $54. I asked Justin Dowel at the start of Rally Queensland a few weeks back how much you could build a Proto car for, and he indicated around $150,000. It sounds expensive, but in today’s cash, is it? In times past, to win an ARC or international local rally you needed three things. Money, the car and the backup. In the early 80s you needed a top Stanza or Escort BDA. Nothing else could match them for sheer speed and handling, and you needed plenty of spares and tyres – hundreds of them. The comparison is clear to now. Only those with the financial resources to support a top flight Stanza or BDA could win then, and in 2016 Justin’s car, Molly’s Subaru (at circa 100k) are the equivalent of our yesteryear cars. Times are comparative.

I believe it’s because they have not seen the spectacle our sport can be, nor have many of their parents. Our youth are the ones who will replace us in car clubs and in the forests watching rallies, but only if we show them the way. Rallying is one of the most family friendly activities, with something for everyone, from helping out to competing and servicing. You just have to be there. Moreover, it’s an adventure. Driving back from a meeting at Coffs Harbour for Rally Australia recently, I drove from Coramba to Dorrigo – 56km of the best road you will ever drive on. Part tarmac, part gravel. Then I remembered it. It was used in the 1980 Southern Cross Rally. Part of my rallying history. There are so many roads you drive past and just remember back.

“I can’t believe it, I really didn’t think I stood a chance before the last stage after t’s up to all of us to share our memories, our good times at events, losing time to Ogier our fun times competing, servicing and spectating. For us elders, we have this morning.” vivid memories of heroes in classic cars

Alarmingly, our youth do not share our enthusiasm for all things sideways.

- Vatanen, Waldegaard, Aaltonen, Carr, Dunkerton, Fury and many, many more. I really hope that the next generation are adding to their memories the likes of Bates, Bourne, Pedder, Dowel, Smart, Monkhouse and the others that compete at the top level locally, and equally, our new crop of WRC stars. Our older heroes were great. These new WRC guys are the best our sport will ever be. Period. Some will argue that rallying is not the same. They are right to some extent, but I contend that rallying has evolved. We lived in a simpler world back then with less regulation and less to contend with. We saved, worked two jobs, and wrangled money off sponsors so we could go rallying. We never questioned

Bjorn Waldegaard and a young fan at the start of the 1979 Southern Cross Rally. Photo: Dallas Dogger.

the event, nor the costs to go. The event was everything to us. We had to be there. To compete in the same event with your heroes was something to be treasured. Very few get to compete in sports with the best, and rallying affords us that luxury. And if you were not competing you were helping out, and even spectating. So the question is, are you going to scrimp and save and work two jobs to go to Rally Australia? How could you not want to be there if you love rallying? Can’t get time off, costs too much to enter, car’s not ready, tyres are too dear, engine needs a rebuild, it could be hot, it could be cold, it could be rough….. When the big events are on, forget trying to line up ducks to compete. You just have to be there. Regardless. Find a way to be there, because in 40 years’ time you are going to need to find stories to tell your grandkids of the time you competed in Australia’s (and one of the world’s) best rallies and got your backside handed well and truly on a plate by Ogier, Latvala and co. If you can’t compete, then be there anyway to witness a true spectacle. The pace of WRC cars today make Group B look like Group A. In our day it was a privilege to be in the same rally as the world’s best, and nothing has changed. Start today on your memories for the future. Thank me later at the bar at Coffs. JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 65

COMING EVENTS

AYSON, JACK FOR BORDER RANGES

he Brakes Direct Border Ranges Rally is set to sweep through shire roads among the ranges bordering Queensland and New South Wales again this August. The event, based in the northern New South Wales town of Kyogle, is focussing on the best drivers in the best cars on the best roads which will form Round 4 of the MRF Tyres Queensland Rally Championship and Clubman Series. After three rounds, the MRF Tyres Queensland Rally Championship has become a tight contest with Rob Bishop leading the way only 8 points ahead of nearest rival Kent Lawrence with Ian Menzies a further 17 points behind in third. Shaun Dragona leads the Clubman Series comfortably but like those in the State Championship, he is not able to relax and cruise. The big story at this year’s Brakes Direct Border Ranges Rally is the confirmation of two of the hottest and most exciting drivers from Australia and New Zealand. First to confirm is the spectacular crowd favourite and Alpine Rally winner Jack Monkhouse. He will be driving an Opel Manta powered by a 3.5L V8. Built in England, the car is a great example of the historic rear

drive format and Jack is no stranger to hanging it all out while winning at the same time. Recently re-built, the bellowing Manta is expected to be at the head of the time sheets and the car to watch. Pitted against him will be New Zealand’s Derek Ayson piloting the Ed Mulligan Group 4 Ford Escort. No stranger to Escorts, Derek is a champion driver and sure to push Monkhouse and the rest of the field all the way to the finish the only way he knows how. Within the normal CAMS classes at this year’s Brakes Direct Border Ranges Rally, there are events within the event. Monkhouse and Ayson will both be entered in the Zupp Property Group Classic Rally Challenge for Classic Rally Cars which will run at the head of the field. The FORZA Rally Challenge is also new for this year’s event. Entrants fitted with FORZA brake pads will compete for prizes of $250 for first, $100 for second and $50 for third. Additionally, each of these receives a new set of Forza brake pads. Other special categories are the Border Ranges Escort Rally Challenge and an invitational class for any rally

car meeting the CAMS Schedule R regulations. The rally will comprise eleven world class stages, nine of which have been used by the WRC in previous years. Starting at 9:45am, they promise to be smooth and challenging with the tight schedule finishing with a couple of fast blasts in and around the Kyogle Showgrounds under lights in the early evening. Continuing the growing trend to cater for all types, the rally is allowing entrants to run as a blind event with full road book or use pace notes with the stages open to recce on the Friday. Spectators have not been left out with the popular Hillyards position returning featuring commentary, catering and amenities. Other spectating opportunities will be available at the Toonumbar stage and the Kyogle Showgrounds. The Brakes Direct Border Ranges Rally has a limited entry of only 55 and places are expected to fill fast. Supplementary Regulations are available from July 18. For further information, updates and entry forms for the Brakes Direct Border Ranges Rally, visit their website. - Dominic Corkeron

New Zealand star, Derek Ayson, will contest the Border Ranges Rally in a Ford Escort.

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS 66 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR IRONBARK TOUR The Historic Rally Association will conduct the Magical Ironbark Tour, a classic Touring Road Event on August 6, that will remind competitors of the simple events of more than 20 years ago It’s an event that will need minimal car preparation and is truly suitable for sensible road cars. Based around Heathcote, it will feature daytime and evening closed road sections, a motorkhana and touring sections. Crews will enjoy nearly 300km of competition for an entry fee of $230. Crews will need just a CAMS 2S licence. The organisers expect to attract a huge variety of cars and crew experience levels. They are opening up the classes to road cars on road tyres, cars from the club’s Standard Car Series (which allows minor modifications for point penalties), right up to Historic and PRC rally cars that have more performance freedoms.

The closed road stages will require crews to wear helmets, but the touring sections, which are not a test of speed, will be driven without helmets. Indeed, on the touring sections, all road rules

and speed limits will be observed and crews that work best as a team will be first home. Details are on the club’s website at www.hra.org.au

RALLYSAFE INTRODUCTORY RALLY KILLAWARRA T RUSH - SEPT. 24 he forests will be alive to the sound of newcomers to rallying this September, when the RallySafe Introductory Rally takes to the stages of Lightforce Rally SA. The RallySafe Introductory Rally provides newcomers to the sport a unique opportunity to compete on the same stages as the Kumho Tyre Australian Rally Championship competitors. People with an interest in rallying can ‘come and try’ in a controlled environment away from public roads. Run on Sunday, September 11 during the final leg of the 2016 Lightforce Rally SA, competitors will get four hours of competition, and as part of the RallySafe partnership get access to the same advanced safety equipment as leading competitors. New competitors can try rallying for minimum cost, with entry open to road cars without roll cages, and competitors timed to the minute in a relatively relaxed introduction to the sport. 2016 marks the second year of the Introductory Rally, continuing under

the naming rights sponsorship of Australian motorsport safety company RallySafe. RallySafe Managing Director, Stephen Sims, was enthusiastic about the partnership. “RallySafe is all about making the sport of rallying safer with our innovative technology. We are pleased to support Lightforce Rally SA competitors trying the sport out as newcomers, or returnees, by providing our proven tracking units free of charge.” Lightforce Rally SA Clerk of Course, Ivar Stanelis, was encouraged by the 2015 event. “We had a great turnout for the first RallySafe Introductory Rally last year, and we’re excited that RallySafe have chosen to support this concept again. We look forward to welcoming a range of competitors, new and old, back to the RallySafe Introductory Rally this September.” The 2015 event was warmly welcomed by the South Australian rallying community. It saw a range of competitors new to the sport, as well as those returning after several years.

n all-new multi-club special stage rally will be conducted by the North Eastern Car Club in Victoria on Saturday, September 24. The 2016 Killawarra Rush will be an all-daylight rally run in the Killawarra Forest, near Wangaratta, and will offer competitors a compact four-stage event. Two stages will be run in the morning, with a further two stages in the afternoon, with a competitive distance of 70km. Planning for the event is well underway, and Supp Regs will be available in the coming weeks. The event was previously calendared for November, but the NECC has moved the date forward to a September slot to ensure cooler weather for competitors. Further details on the Killawarra Rush will be made available in the coming weeks, and those interested in competing should keep an eye on the NECC website.

For more details call Dominic on 0499 981 188 or email dominic@rallysportmag.com.au JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 67

HYUNDAI NG I20 R5 Story: MARTIN HOLMES

NEW R5 CHALLENGER

68 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

cheduled for FIA homologation in September, Hyundai’s new NG i20 R5 car is the second prototype to make its first public appearance in pre-homologation form as zero car on the ERC Ypres Rally. The model is the figurehead of Hyundai’s new Customer Racing division, a major secondary activity for the German-based WRC team. Details of the project were officially released at a pre-event test session in Belgium in the hands of team test driver Kevin Abbring. Customer Racing chief, Andrea Adamo, was cleared to give a run down on the latest plans for this car, which is based on the “New Generation” four-

door model used on the 2016 version World Rally Car. “The plan is for the car to be inspected by FIA people after Rally Poland in July. We will still have a gravel test beforehand and then we will start to deliver cars that have already been ordered,” Adamo said. “For now the development process continues to carry out some fine refinement work, but the most important milestone has already been done. “The basic road car chassis is the same, so we have used experience taken from WRC design to make the chassis, with just slight modification, such as changing materials because we also have to face the R5 target cost. The engine is based on a 2-litre turbo engine that is already in the Hyundai production car range, used a lot in Korea and in the USA for a Genesis model. It is already a well advanced engine with good power, with good reliability already in the road car, and is an engine

already used to manage high power. “We reduced its capacity to adapt to FIA rules, reducing the bore and stroke down to 1600cc (not the class maximum limit of 1620cc), with special things such as the turbo. It is a very robust engine with lots of torque and we have never had a problem till now! In final specification the i20 R5 has the widest bore and shortest stroke of all the R5s.” As for suppliers, the transmission is by Ricardo, suspension has been very well developed with close links to the WRC, but adapted to R5. The dampers are made in-house at Hyundai. With the suspension the R5 team engineers started with a very good base, as much has been done by the WRC teams, and then adapted to the R5 car. Brembo brakes are used. As predicted by Hyundai Motorsport Director, Michel Nandan, when the R5 project was first announced in December the main challenge to be overcome is cost limitation. Adamo: “That has been a huge challenge. Then the cooling is the biggest technical headache, in my opinion.” Coupled with the design of the car is working out the best form of the technical support for the teams running the cars. “We are planning to support them as long as we have customer requests. The cars will be used in various championships,

European or WRC2, national championships for sure, and we will find some way to support them some how, providing engineering support as well as on the electronic, engine or chassis side. “It is something we are discussing with many customers in order to let them be as competitive as possible in their own targets. I think that in their market the most important thing is not the car itself, but the way they can have a proper relationship with the customers department of every manufacturer. “I think that if you have the nicest car, but you not be able to manage it properly, you are putting money into something from which you cannot get your value back. So speaking about a car like the R5 is not giving you a proper picture of the situation, you have to see the whole picture.” The whole project started off nine months ago, and already 12-14 cars have been ordered and are in course of basic construction. “If you look at the amount of money we have spent building up stocks of parts to both building cars and also to sell as spares, it’s an amazingly high amount of money. We have to acquire everything first, because we cannot sell cars without spare bumpers and things like that. “We need to have available spares for customers. If we don’t, for example, have spare bumpers, people will start to copy them and I don’t want to be in that position.” Physically this is the biggest R5 car so far. It has the longest overall length and the longest wheelbase. “I am not worried about that. You must know that this is a customer car, which will not be driven by professional, but by semi pro-drivers, or some who are still very young or, let me say, pro-am drivers that would run it in the Sunday or Saturday rallies. “The longer a car in terms of wheelbase the more stable it will be, and as long as you can manage the weight distribution it will not affect the handling of the car. We have made many miles in narrow mountain roads, and we found a good compromise. “In my opinion the car is very stable. Also, with the WRC car you can see that our longer dimension is not affecting it at all.” And finally, is there any particular part of the project that makes this car really special? “Yes, the enthusiasm that we are bringing to it,” Adamo concluded. Photos: Martin Holmes, Hyundai JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 69

INTERVIEW: HARRY BATES

HEIR APPARENT

arry Bates’ rise from nowhere to be one of Australia’s fastest rally drivers has been as fast as it has been unexpected. Although the son of four-time Australian Rally Champion, Neal Bates, had the genes to become a fast rally driver, his interest in competing came very late. Now, he leads the national championship after three of 2016’s five rounds, and Luke Whitten asked Harry how he’s seen his season so far, and what he expects for the remainder of the year, and into the future.

RSM: You’ve risen to the top of the sport in this country quite quickly. Have you been surprised at how fast things have moved?

HB: Yes and no. When you sit back and look at where I was less than two years ago, competing in my first rally in a standard front-wheel drive Corolla, and where I am now, competing in the ARC in an S2000 car, it is probably surprising to most people that things have moved this quickly. For me, each step up, be it in machinery or event status, has been something I have wanted, so it has just been a case of trying to make decisions along the way that will be best for my learning and improvement. The one thing that does surprise me is that when I was a 16-17 year old, I only had an interest in motorsport as a spectator, and I had no real desire to compete in rallying myself. Now, motorsport has pretty much become my life and I spend every spare second I have thinking about the next time I’ll be driving a rally car!

Three rounds into the season, you are leading the championship. What would your reaction have been if someone had old you that at the start of the season?

I probably would have suggested that they lower their expectations a little! I was being very realistic at the start of the year - I knew I was up against former Australian champions and plenty of others who have done all of the rallies lots of times. It was hard for us to have any real idea where we were going to fit in to 70 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

the championship on pace.

What do you think has been the key to your successes so far this season? I actually don’t know. I’m very critical of my own performances, so after each event, John (McCarthy) and I try to analyse onboard videos and have a chat about where my driving can improve, or what didn’t work so well in the pacenotes. That has definitely been helpful, particularly given how much I still have to learn. Having said that, if I nail a corner or do a really cool jump, I’m pretty quick to point them out to John at the end of the stage, or sometimes during the stage!

and I keep having to remind myself to not worry about the car when it is rough, because nothing seems to affect it! The biggest struggle this year has been top speed, as we are 30km/h down on other competitors, and that is not ideal heading in to Rally South Australia. We are just going to have to do the best we can where

The S2000 Corolla is obviously a very strong and quick car. What are its biggest strengths? It’s an amazing car. To think that it was built in

2007 and it is still competitive against cars that were built this year is a testament to the guys at Neal Bates Motorsport and what they created. Any S2000 car is definitely better suited to flowing roads, thanks mainly to its weight of 1200kg, so I think our strength this year has been in the fourth and fifth gear corners. It’s also very strong in the rough stuff

it suits the car, and take a beating on some of the silly stages with multiple 1-2km straights between junctions!

What are your plans in the time between now, and the next round in South Australia in September? I’m competing in the Narooma Forest Rally on July 23. I’ve done this rally twice before and enjoyed some

Story: LUKE WHITTEN

I guess I still want to take that approach regardless, because I want to keep pushing as we have been. I don’t think I would gain much by driving around at 80 per cent, and the aim for this year was always to learn as much as possible.

Moving into the future, do you plan on taking your rallying abroad and competing overseas in the future?

I definitely want to compete overseas sometime soon. Before this season, I would have said that I wasn’t ready, but I think with another year of rallying under my belt, I’ll be better equipped for rallies overseas.

at this point. I’ll use this break in the season to start to work on our 2017 plans as well.

success there, but this time I’m actually co-driving, so it’s a bit different. My younger brother, Lewis, is doing his first ever rally, so I’ve agreed to co-drive for him. I don’t ever really get nervous before a rally, but I’ve been dealing with nerves for weeks now for this one! Hopefully I can keep my cool, because I want to try my best to do a good job on the notes! Other than that, no seat time planned

You’ve said before that this year is as much about gaining experience than anything else. Has the success you’ve had this season changed the way you’ve approached things? Surely it must be all about the championship now?

For sure that is one way of looking at it. But I think if I was sitting in seventh in the championship, I would be looking at an all out attack for the remaining rallies, the same way we started the year.

It would obviously be a huge step up and a bit of an uphill battle, but this is what I want to do. My goals are centred around the WRC, so being over there and competing against other young drivers is the only way to know where I have to improve. I’m lucky that we have had lots of Australians show the way in recent times (Chris Atkinson, Molly Taylor, Brendan Reeves and currently, Scott Pedder), so I can’t sit here and say it’s impossible.

Continuted page72 JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 71

INTERVIEW: HARRY BATES We still have many conversations about pacenotes during rallies, which is easy because we use the same system and all of the same words to describe the same things!

You’ve done some laps and had some involvement in the new Toyota 86 series. Is tarmac rallying or circuit racing something that interests you into the future?

I was able to take part in some of the early development and testing of the Toyota 86 Racing Series car, which was lots of fun and really interesting. Circuit racing is definitely something that interests me. Dad and Rick (Uncle) have always been incredibly versatile in motorsport, arguably the most versatile drivers in the country, and I certainly don’t want to fail at living up to that! Every kilometre in a car is a good thing, and I enjoy it when I can get out on to a racetrack. Tarmac rallying is moving up my list of priorities, because you can’t compete overseas without tarmac experience. A lot of the European guys started on tarmac and actually have limited experience on gravel by comparison! Like gravel rallying, tarmac rallying is incredibly technical, so I need to practice writing pacenotes and learn how to set up a car well for that surface.

She is also incredibly hard working and disciplined, probably more than anyone I know, so it has been really helpful to see what sort of work goes in to making things happen in this sport.

I competed in Targa Tasmania as a co-driver this year, which was lots of fun. Now all I can think about is what car to do that event in next year!

What impact has your friendship with Molly Taylor had on your rallying? What kind of things have you been able to gain from her vast experience from rallying overseas?

Where do I even start? I did my first ever recce with Molly co-driving, and I also did my first ever rally with Molly co-driving. Molly is very good at writing pacenotes and describing the road, so she was able to help me out a lot in that area, and I have adapted (or stolen) her pacenote system almost word for word.

Molly is very knowledgeable and experienced in the commercial/sponsorship arena too, so when I’ve had meetings with potential sponsors, I’ve picked her brain about that as well! It has definitely been helpful being friends with someone who has competed in the WRC and has so much experience dealing with everything our sport can throw at you. For sure, if I had to pick someone other than Dad who has had a big influence on how I do things, Molly would be that person.

What is your ultimate rally goal?

To reach the WRC and become World Champion. - Luke Whitten

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HOLMES COLUMN HOLMES

INSIDE LINE

POLAND PONDERED

orget about Ott Tanak and his sad last morning puncture in Poland, what about the poor journos and their almost-finished and now-wasted stories? Ott was not the only highly frustrated person on the final morning of Rally Poland - think about the last minute re-writing panics for the occupants of the Media Centre who were also about to congratulate DMack on their most important debut victory at the event. Tanak’s victory at Rally Poland using DMack tyres would have marked the end of a remarkable duopoly of tyre manufacturers for Michelin/BFG and Pirelli in the World Rally Championship. Every world championship rally since Ivory Coast in 1992 had been won by either of these tyre suppliers, since Kenjiro Shinozuka’s winning Mitsubishi ran on Yokohama tyres. That event was a round of the subsidiary Drivers’ world championship. The last time a full Manufacturers’ world championship rally was won exclusively using tyres from another supplier was when Michele Mouton’s Audi Quattro won Brazil Rally in 1982, using Kleber tyres. This was not Kleber’s final win, because in the course of Hannu Mikkola’s win in Finland that year, his Quattro used Kleber, Michelin and Pirelli on the same event! Note that during 2006 and 2007, Michelin rebranded their rally tyres under the name of their associated company BF Goodrich, for marketing reasons. Sorry, Ott, no disrespect intended, we won’t ever forget that Sunday morning. ast minute disappointments can always happen in rallying, and the Ford team twice had broken hearts in a major way. There is often a happy ending, however. Francois Delecour was leading Monte Carlo on the last stage in 1991 before his Sierra had transmission trouble and he finished third. Three years later he won Monte in an Escort. Bjorn Waldegard was leading Monte in 1979 in an Escort, before he was beaten on the final stage by Bernard Darniche. Bjorn ended up World Champion that year. It is all part of the sport and for the drivers concerned, one of the toughest parts. M-Sport could really have done

Story: MARTIN HOLMES with a win. The last time a Ford driver had been standing on the top step of the podium was Rally GB in 2012, with Jari-Matti Latvala, a few months after Mads Ostberg had won Rally of Portugal. Another last minute disappointment in Poland befell the Fiesta R5 of the Brazilian driver Ilo Diehl dos Santos. He prepared himself in his hotel for the final day of action ready to drive to the Service Park, but found that his hotel was completely landlocked by the closed roads. He was imprisoned for doing nothing wrong. ne cannot fail to be impressed by the tireless diligence of the FIA officials in checking the honesty of WRC competitors, from issues like controlling that the seals on components are maintained (that was at the centre of the row over Martin Prokop’s car before Sardinia), the correctness of the quality of fuel, the tracking of the cars (as much a safety activity as anti-cheating), and their elaborate process of continual weight controls. There has been no serious case of cars running under-weight since Tommi Makinen’s Subaru was excluded in Australia in 2002. One of the curiosities of the rules is that there is not only a minimum weight limit for the car alone, but another for the combined weight of car with crew inside. The FIA allow a crew to account for 150kg. If the crew check in at less, it

is possible that their car will have to run at greater than their permitted minimum, to balance. Interesting details emerge from these controls. The heaviest crew in Poland were the Hungarian Fiesta R5 crew, Frigyes Turan and Gabor Zsiros, who weighed in at 215kg (note: their car still has to comply with the minimum weight for the car on its own), and the lightest were Citroen DS3 R3T crew Vincent Dubert and Alexandre Coria, who weighed 133kg. he FIA’s June World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) came and went without issuing directions on several of the most pressing current discussions. The only statement of consequence concerned who could compete in 2017 World Rally Cars. The answer was only crews entered by official Manfacturer teams. This means that the drivers entered by second-level WRC teams could not. Within minutes, rally watchers worked out that it seemed that one of the three regular VW drivers would be banned from driving 2017 cars, but moments later it became evident that this statement could not be the final story, because nothing had been decided about the proposal that there should be not two, but three drivers in Manufacturers’ teams. We were assured that everything would be revealed at the September WMSC meeting. This was all very well, but now is the time when contracts are being

74 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Then and now: Denis Giraudet with Juha Kankkunen in 1993, and at Rally Poland in 2016.

Michele Mouton and Fabrizia Pons won the Brazil Rally in 1982 using Kleber tyres on their Audi Quattro. (Photo: Martin Holmes)

considered for the future, and these cannot be handled while this issue is in abeyance. Remember 2004 when drivers suddenly found their promised contracts nullified when the September 2003 WMSC meeting said that Manufacturers’ teams should only be for two drivers? Meanwhile, team managers have been heard suggesting they cannot wait for the FIA to make up their minds. Citroen has suggested they will only run two cars, Hyundai three, M-Sport have not even started running a 2017 specification car, and VW are still looking for someone to direct their team after Jost Capito finally moves over to Formula 1. The drivers stand and wait to know where their future will be. ow a moment to talk about someone who is never far away when a rally is going on. French co-driver, Denis Giraudet, always seems to spend a weekend in some rally car or another. Records suggest he has competed in 330 rallies, but it is believed the actual number is probably a lot more. In the first half of 2016 he has been active in world championship, French asphalt championship, French classic and French club events. This year he has been on three WRC events, always with Yoann Bonato.

Denis’ current total of WRC events is 182, making him the most experienced of current competitors, and not far short of the 196 events of drivers Carlos Sainz and the 188 of Petter Solberg. Denis is popular with everyone who knows him, and most of all with drivers. He proved himself inordinately brave, refusing to give in after suffering a serious back injury in Finland in 2012 that later kept him out of the sport for six months. He has won five WRC events, and his two first wins (Finland ‘93 and Corsica ‘96) proved him to be not only a highly

skilled co-driver, but with an attribute which drivers highly value. Being lucky, being in the right place at the right time. My favourite memory of Denis was at breakfast in the official rally hotel in New Zealand in 1993. I asked Juha Kankkunen to stand next to Denis and took their picture. Denis asked me why. I told him that he was going to be Toyota driver Kankkunen’s co-driver on the forthcoming rally in Finland. His face was a treat. Ove Andersson hadn’t at that time gotten around to asking him …

RAUNO RETURNS

ne of the original “Flying Finns”, Rauno Aaltonen, will be in Australia later this year to take part in the Southern Cross Rally Festival. Director, Dan White, has confirmed that Aaltonen will be guest driving a number of cars during the event. Aaltonen competed in the original Southern Cross Rallies in the 1970s, driving for the factory Datsun team. JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 75

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU

The passion for rallying – once you start, you can’t stop

Mitchel Clarke won the Clubman Cup component in his Datsun 1600.

s a 14-year old rally fan, a lot of my friends ask me: “What is so exciting about watching cars drive past you at 100km/h”. I tell them there is nothing like it. The thing that gets me going is the sound, the smell of the dust and burnt fuel. Sometimes they try to relate my interests to their own. Then they start talking about Lamborghinis and Ferraris, but their comments are far from relevant. Rallying isn’t just about fast cars, it is about fast drivers like Sebastien Ogier, Hayden Paddon, and whoever else you want to add to that list. I also find that if I mention rallying, most of them haven’t heard of Sebastien Loeb or Colin McRae (or any rally driver for that matter). Most of them wouldn’t know the difference between a roll cage and a pace note. I guarantee that if I (and probably most of you) took one of your friends, one that didn’t have any interest in motor sport, out to spectate at a rally, they would be very surprised at the excitement of rallying. Their excitement would be taken to another level if they were to sit beside a good driver, blasting through the forest. I am still trying to figure out why they haven’t heard much about rallying. Obviously, it is because their parents and friends don’t have an interest in the sport, but why? Is it because of the lack of rallying around? The lack of publicity it gets on radio and TV? Maybe they have heard of it, but the cost of running a car and competing is too expensive? I don’t know, but imagine if it was well publicised? Imagine if there were more events around for people to go and see? We could see lots more people spectating, volunteering and even competing. Either way, the promotion of rallying has seen some significant changes this year that have turbo boosted the popularity of the sport back up to somewhere near where we would like it. There’s still a long way to go, but at least that’s a step in the right direction. - Matthew Whitten 76 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

DREAM RUN FOR EXPERTS T he Quit Experts Cup in Collie turned out to be a dream run for all the Western Australian Rally Championship competitors, and a positive turning point in the season for many. Even the conditions were close to perfect, with the rain holding off on the Saturday to give competitors a dry event. The round was dominated by Dylan King and co-driver Abbey Hayes, navigating their Subaru WRX through the forest terrain to win all six stages. “It was a better weekend for us, that’s for sure!” said King. “We’re pretty happy with winning all six stages.” Competitors will now have an eight week break before the next round. King says he is looking forward to the time off. In second place, with less than a minute to the leaders, was Maximum Motorsport duo Brad Markovic and co-driver Glenn Macneall. The team took a break from the Australian Rally Championship to re-join their home

series for this round. It hasn’t been an ideal start to the rally season for Markovic, who has had difficulty with his confidence after his Subaru WRX caught fire at the Forest Rally. Markovic’s Maximum Motorsport stablemates John O’Dowd and Ben Searcy rounded out the top three with just under a minute and a half to the leaders.

2WD

Razvan Vlad and co-driver Daymon Nicoli continue to be seemingly untouchable in the 2WD category this year. Kody Reynolds and co-driver Anthony Staltari came in 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind the category leaders in their Subaru Impreza, with David Farnworth and co-driver Nick Clements third.

Clubman Cup Mitchel Clarke and Stuart Clarke finished top of the podium in the Clubman Cup. Dene Courtis and Carl Rattenbury were second and third. Photo: CMR Photographic

HAVE YOU HEARD? W

orld Champion, Sebastien Ogier, has thrown his support behind both Australia and New Zealand as rounds of the WRC, according to NZ website velocitynews.co.nz “Both are very beautiful rallies that’s for sure,” Ogier said. “But I guess all the drivers have the wish to come back to New Zealand one day. For me I would love to go to New Zealand, but also I don’t want to quit Australia as this is also a really nice rally. “So maybe something like an alternating event like we had few years ago would be a good idea.”

Did you know? Young factory Skoda driver, Pontus Tidemand, is the step-son of long-time WRC driver Henning Solberg?

NICKY GRIST STAGES

THREE FOR ELFYN

Final results: 1. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry, Ford Fiesta R5 2. Tom Cave/James Morgan, Ford Fiesta R5, +1m11.4s 3. Desi Henry /Liam Moynihan, Skoda Fabia R5, +2m01.8s 4. David Bogie/James Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Reilly, Skoda Fabia R5, +2m48.5s 5. Josh Moffett/John Rowan, Ford Fiesta R5, +3m05.9ss

ord Fiesta R5 Evo driver, Elfyn Evans, scored his third win out of five MSA British Rally Championship rounds at the two-day mixed surfaced Nicky Grist Stages Rally in Central Wales. Evans beat fellow Welsh Fiesta R5 driver, Tom Cave, and Ulster Skoda driver Desi Henry. His main challenger for victory was Fredrik Ahlin, but he slid off the road early on Day 1 while in third place behind Cave and David Bogie. Evans had spun on the opening stage and then had a problem with the pop-off valve, allowing Cave to take an early lead. By stage three, Evans was ahead and uncatchable. Bogie was slowed by turbo

problems and finished fourth. Robert Duggan led the BRC Junior category from start to finish ahead of fellow Opel Adam driver, Mattias Adielsson, while Sindre Furuseth was third in his Renault Twingo. The only finisher in the BRC 2 category for Group N based cars was the Lancer Evo 9 of Matt Edwards. Bad weather made for tricky conditions on the first day, then there were long delays on Day 2 due to the need to re-erect chicanes on the fast military asphalt roads on the Epynt Ranges. Finally the organisation was disrupted on the afternoon of Day 2 due to an accident, and the last three stages were not run.

Fredrik Ahlin crashed his Ford Fiesta on Day 1.

Matt Edwards slides his Lancer Evo 9 to victory in the BRC 2 category. Chris Mellorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Proton Satria Neo was 9th.

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 77

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

78 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016

Luke Sytema and Blaise McNamara on their way to winning the 2016 Nissan Nightmoves Rally in Victoria on June 18. Photo: John Doutch

JULY 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 79

15 YEARS AGO .... JULY 2001

JULY 2001

QLD BOUND

WORKS DRIVE FOR LOWNDES JULY 2001 Vol. 12 No. 10

rallysportnews.com.au

$5.50 including GST

HOT SCOT WINS TWO ON THE TROT!

27-year old Melbourne driver Spencer Lowndes has landed the plum drive of a second Mitsubishi Ralliart Lancer Evo 6 in the Falken Tyres Rally Queensland. After months of uncertainty, Lowndes was awarded the drive ahead of 9 other hopefuls.

PROTONS EXCLUDED IN ARC WRC aspirations

rise and fall in the Cyprus heat ....

SAINZ: another podium

● Lowndes lands second Ralliart drive for Rally Queensland

SOLBER G: fiery end

● Top OS results for Dunk, Murphy, Cremen & Parker

MACNEA LL: Aussie joy

● Titles hot up in Tassie, Victoria and Western Australia

Come with us on a fully escorted Rally NZ tour - details inside! 6/6/01, 2:32 PM

ARN Front Page

The three 1.3 litre Proton Satrias entered for the recent Subaru Rally of Canberra were unceremoniously dumped from the results at post-event scrutineering. The three cars, crewed by Dave King/Mark Blume, Peter Lockhart/Trevor King and Tod Reed/Brian Reed, were excluded from the results after irregularities were found in all three cars.

BIG FIELD FOR RALLY QUEENSLAND

Almost 70 crews have entered for this weekend’s Falken Tyres Rally Queensland. Heading the list will be the two World Rally Cars of Neal Bates and Possum Bourne, who are certain to be the pacesetters in this popular Caloundra-based event.

Recent reports indicate that Queensland driver Wayne Morton has taken delivery of a Toyota Corolla S2000 from Africa. The car is a full FIA homologation spec, and will be a change from the Daihatsu Charade, usually pedalled by Morton. He intends to run the car in the Queensland Rally Championship. The deal was brokered by African ex-pat - Brisbane driver Marius Swart. - Tom Smith

MCRAE WINS BATTLE OF THE BRITS

Colin McRae and Richard Burns once again fought a fierce battle to the chequered flag in the World Rally Championship. But, like in Argentina, it was McRae who won the battle of the Brits in Cyprus.

THE MIGHTY MOTU

NEXT MONTH

New Zealand’s most famous rally stage  David Holder interview  Rally Finland  Coromandel Rally  Build a Hyundai Excel rally car

AVAILABLE AUGUST 11

at www.rallysportmag.com.au or www.issuu.com 80 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - JULY 2016