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ARC review Ralliart shake up
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FEBRUARY 2004 Vol. 15 No. 6 $6.00 inc. GST
Recreating Sweet 16
Rally
Datsun 1600 special issue
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he Dakar Rally, which was entering its final stages as we went to press, again featured a wide range of conditions to challenge competitors. From the snowy conditions of the prologue to the desert sands, it remains the toughest motorsport event in the world. Photos: Willy Weyens.
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Your rally merchandise specialists Pirelli World Rallying 2003
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Internationally recognised as the bestresearched and most informative rally annual in the world. Covers all World Championship rounds, Asia-Pacific series and local championships. Stories, loads of color photos, results and technical information. 200 pages
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1/43 die cast models. IXO Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5. Makinen 2002 Monte Carlo. $65 1/43 die cast models. IXO Peugeot 206 WRCar Gronholm 2002 Cyprus Rally silver/red. $65 1/43 die cast models. IXO Peugeot 206 WRCar Gronholm 2003 Swedish Rally. Red/white. $65 1/43 die cast models. IXO Citroen Xsara WRCar Loeb 2003 Monte Carlo Rally. Red/white/blue/. $65
RALLY CALENDARS
Each year the McKlein trio of photographers produce without doubt the world’s best rally calendar. The 2004 calendar measure 670 x 480mm and features 2 fabulous photos per month. Suitable for your office, den, home etc., these calendars become collectors’ items. Very limited stock so get in early. $99 including postage.
1/43 die cast models. Trofeau Audi Quattro Michelle Mouton 1981 Portugal Rally. Black/grey.red. $65 1/43 die cast models. Trofeau Audi Quattro Hannu Mikkola 1981 Monte Carlo Rally. White/grey/red. $65 1/43 die cast models. Trofeau Audi Quattro Walter Rohrl 1984 Monte Carlo Rally. Yellow/white HB livery. $65 1/43 die cast models. Trofeau Toyota Celica GT4 Kankkunen 1000 Lakes. White/red/blue. $65
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Ralliart shake-up TERMINATED: Bob Riley’s company, Bradsport, will no longer prepare the works Mitsubishi Lancers, while Spencer Lowndes (right) has been left without a factory drive for 2004.
REUNITED: Ed Ordynski and Les Walkden competed successfully during the 1990’s. The pair will join forces again in 2004, under the official Ralliart banner.
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eam Mitsubishi Ralliart Australia will undergo major changes for the 2004 Australian Rally Championship, with Tasmanian Les Walkden expected to take over the running of the team from his Launceston base. And in a further shock, Juha Kangas will join Ed Ordynski as a factory-backed driver, leaving 2003 member Spencer Lowndes on the sidelines. Ralliart Australia’s ARC program has previously been run from Sydney under the guidance of Doug Stewart, and then Bob Riley’s company Bradsport, but according to reports, none of Bradsport’s Sydney staff members will be required as part of the new works outfit. Ralliart Australia was purchased by Mitsubishi Motors Australia at the start of 2003. Some disappointing mechanical performances from the works Lancer could explain one of the reasons for the change in the running of the team for next season. Both Ordynski and Lowndes suffered
repeated problems throughout the season, sometimes prior to the event start. The decision has come as a shock to everyone, including Spencer Lowndes. “I didn’t find out until two days before Christmas - there was really no warning,” Lowndes told ARN. Neither Les Walkden, nor Mitsubishi’s Manager of Special Vehicles, Kevin Taylor, could shed much light on the situation when contacted. “We put in a budget to run a two car team, but nothing has been confirmed,” Walkden said. “All I know is that we have support to run Juha Kangas in a Mitsubishi in 2004.” “All I can tell you is that Bradsport’s contract to run the factory Mitsubishi’s in the ARC has been terminated,” Kevin Taylor told ARN. “Mitsubishi have decided that they will take a different strategic direction in 2004.” A meeting was scheduled for January 14th (the day ARN went to press) to finalise plans for this year, but it seems likely that Ordynski and Kangas will be the factory drivers.
Lancer super team as Ordynski and Kangas team up for season 2004 By Peter Whitten “I have a contract to drive the official Mitsubishi Motors Australia cars in the ARC and in any other competitive motorsport events,” Ordynski said. “At the moment it looks Les Walkden will be Mitsubishi’s supplier of services for the ARC team in in 2004, but it’s still to be confirmed.”
The factory Ralliart operation will run Lancer Evolution 7’s in the 2004 national championship, and Ordynski was also hopeful that a run in the World Championship qualifying Rally of New Zealand would be a possibility. Former V8 Supercar team boss, Alan Heaphy, is having some involvement in the restructured team. When contacted by ARN Heaphy said he had a one month contract with Mitsubishi to carry out some planning and evaluation to see what opportunities there were for the team. “But it’s only for a month,” he stressed. Scott Pedder was expected to run with Mitsubishi support in 2004, driving the ex-Spencer Lowndes Evo 7 that was crashed in Tasmania in November, but the team’s plans are currently on hold.
“There’s an Evo 7 out there painted in Pedders colours, but whether it’s coming our way or not we’re still not sure,” Pedder said. “Our plans were to run myself, Mark Pedder and Will Orders in the ARC, but at the moment we don’t know what’s happening.” Pedder is also believed to have looked closely at driving a Subaru in 2004, but will stay loyal to Mitsubishi nevertheless. The changes to the Ralliart operation will, if nothing else, provide Mitsubishi with a formidable line-up in the 2004 ARC. Ordynski and Kangas could well start the series as favourites, given their mix of experience and speed. There’s no doubt, their opposition - Crocker and Herridge at Subaru, and Bates and Evans at Toyota - are in for a tough season.
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OFFICE HOURS 8.00am - 4.30pm Mon - Fri MANAGING EDITOR Jeff Whitten jeff@rallysportnews.com.au EDITOR Peter Whitten peter@rallysportnews.com.au ACCOUNTS MANAGER Carolyn Schonafinger subscriptions@rallysportnews.com.au PHOTOGRAPHERS Martin Holmes, Maurice Selden, Neil Blackbourn, Troy Amos, Andy Kerr, Forest Fotos, Robyn Feaver, Paul Kane, CMW Photographic, Golly Photographix. CONTRIBUTORS Martin Holmes, Michael Cains (VIC), Adrian Morrisby (TAS), Neil Blackbourn (NSW), Tom Smith (QLD), Paul van der Mey (WA), Ray Baker (ACT) PROOF READING Leon Huon PUBLISHED BY: Australian Rallysport News, ACN 060 196 572, P.O. Box 784, Wangaratta 3676. Printed by The Border Mail, 1 McKoy St, Wodonga, Victoria 3990. COPYRIGHT: No material, artwork or photos may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. Australian Rallysport News takes care in compiling specifications, prices and details but cannot accept responsibility for any errors. The opinions expressed by columnists and contributors to this newspaper are not necessarily those of Australian Rallysport News.
The deadline for the next issue of ARN is Monday, February 2nd.
Cover photos: Peter Whitten / Mitsubishi
M
acca’s umblings
The voice of rallying!
Our new columnist gives his views on the WRC and the ARC. new Lancer onto the podium – at least not for the first six months, anyway. But you never know, the car’s radical, they’ve got some good engineers and when Gilles is on a mission he looks like he could eat a clutch plate for breakfast. Maybe they’ll surprise me. Back on our shores things are looking okay. At least our rule makers have decided that you don’t fix what ain’t broken and we look like having a spanking championship again in 2004. Finally they’ve attracted a major sponsor (it only took ‘em 12 years!), and that’s bound to increase the coverage and the popularity. The best news has gotta be Simon ‘The Stuntman’ Evans’ drive with Toyota. Good on Batesy for recognising that the fastest concreter in the south is the most talented driver out there and has given him a shot in the Corolla. I don’t reckon the car’s capable of outright wins, but with Simon behind the wheel you never can be too sure. It reminds me of a Rally of Melbourne a few years back. Downhill, rocky and dusty in to a 90 left, young Evans was in his V8 Commodore back then and he appears over the crest going full noise – even the top guys weren’t as committed. He sets the beast up into this magic Scando flick and powers through the corner – all the while with the right arm out the window waving to the crowd. Awesome stuff! Twenty or so cars later some clown in a Charade came past, going that slow I boasted to me mates that I could drive the 180B around the corner quicker – in reverse! After the sweep car passed and the road was open again I gave it a whirl. Okay, so the Charade was go-
ing quicker – but not by much! Anyway, back to next season’s ARC. The season gets underway once again with the long haul event in Perth, or Busselton to be precise. Great event they reckon, but with a new series sponsor and all the hype leading up to the first event, why hide it in the WA back blocks? Surely an east coast event first up would be the way to go. Me mate Wazza reckons it’s all political and that somebody within CAMS is trying to prove a point, but I reckon that’s rubbish. Who knows? Subaru are gonna be strong again, and you can never write off Mitsubishi, provided they get their team into gear. Fair dinkum, if I were Ed Ordynski I’d be throwing spanners all round the service area if I was given a car like he had for some events. I mean, how hard can it be to fix a brake knock-off problem? As for the rest, guys like Scotty Pedder and young Thommo will be quick and they reckon both guys will have new cars too. Maybe there’ll be some more works butt-kicking going on! Surprisingly it’s turned out okay. I was dead against this Group N rubbish when they banned World Rally Cars, but I s’pose you get used to it. But there’ll never be anything like King Poss or Batesy in their WRC cars coming down Don Road in the Rally of Melbourne – off the bitumen, onto the gravel and around a hairpin. Now that’s commitment. Still, we’ve got what we’ve got and that’s Group N. And as they say, a bad day’s rallying is still better than a good day’s work! See ya soon, Macca.
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During rallying’s silly season, we’ve taken the opportunity to go a little “ retro” with this issue, and have featured some rally cars that some of us grew up with and fondly remember. If you’re a Holden fan then you shouldn’t miss our pictorial on George Shepheard’s magnificent Monaro which is being built for this year’s London – Sydney rerun. Then there’s a really sweet Datsun 1600 whose owner couldn’t resist recreating it in 1960’s style. If that’s not enough, Escort fans will like our piece on the RS2000 which turns 25 years old this year. Incidentally, if you’ve got a current or historic rally car whose build-up would look good in the pages of ARN, please give us a call. Speaking of silly seasons, the major shake-up in the Ralliart Australia driver line-up has left a number of competitors without a definite drive in 2004. With Toyota still to officially announce the worstkept secret of the year, Simon Evans’ signing, the Australian Rally Championship is still creating plenty of discussion. You can read all about what’s happening on page three of this issue. Finally, we know you can’t have failed to notice the change of cover format in this issue. Along with all the other changes we’ve made to your favourite rallying monthly (full colour throughout, more pictures, improved layout), we’ve changed the cover so that we’re easier to find on the newsagent’s shelves. Magazine publishing is all about selling copies and we need to keep doing that so that we can survive – after all, what would rallying be like without ARN? Incidentally, if you’ve got any suggestions on further ways of improving ARN, we’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, enjoy this issue and encourage your friends to buy a copy as well. Happy rallying. Jeff Whitten
Hannu Mikkkola interview Rally of Argentina Possum Bourne tribute Targa Tasmania V8 HillmanAvenger Emma Gilmour profile State columns Classifieds And much more
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he World Rally Champi onship’s stuffed. There you go, I’ve said it. And you know who’s to blame? The F.I. bloody A. Look what a cracker the 2003 championship was – right down to the wire between Solby, Seb Lob and Sainzy, and if Dick Burns hadn’t been crook it would’ve been a four-way fight. Throw in Macca, Gronny and Markko the good looking Estonian (not!!) and the final event could’ve been won by any number of drivers. But were the FIA happy? Not on your life. Surely in a bid to up the ratings and the self esteem of that fledgling procession known as Formula 1, they go and white ant the sport by changing the rules and making it harder to follow than American football. And if that wasn’t enough, they go and make it even more like F1 by forcing the manufacturers to run only two cars, meaning that a legend of the sport – Colin McRae MBE, no less – can’t get a drive. Struth, Macca’s given rallying so much promotion through his computer game over the last few years that he’s probably just as well known as that Shoe Maker bloke – and you could imagine the uproar if he couldn’t get a drive. True, The Mac drove like he had his petticoat on the handbrake for much of the 2003 season, but I reckon part of that was because the lad who was brought up in a simple Scottish town couldn’t (or wouldn’t) understand the French way of life. Rumour has it that every time the French said “Wee Wee”, Macca rushed off to the dunny – but that’s another story! A bloke can’t help feeling sorry for Mr Consistency either. Ricky Burnup led the title for most of the year, and despite not winning a rally since he left Subaru, he was always there. If truth be known, he probably suffered with the French way of life like McRae did. Old Dicky Boy’s not that well liked in WRC circles – or so they reckon – but you wouldn’t wish a brain tumor on anyone. Give me a box full of neutrals anyday! Next year will be an interesting one, no doubt. You can’t see anyone beating the Frogs, but the Scooby Doos and the Blue Ovals are sure to be snapping at their heels. As for the others, well, what can you say about Hyundai and Skoda? Good on ‘em for building WRC cars, but really, did anyone ever expect the Accent, the Octavia or the Fabia to be on the pace? Surely not. As for Mitsubishi, who knows where that’s going to end up. Panizzi’s a gun on tarmac, but it’s hard to see the little Frenchman being able to steer the
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Australian
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Feb ‘04
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Entries strong for Subaru Challenge
The Subaru Rally Challenge looks set for an outstanding debut in 2004 with at least 15 cars expected to compete in the new one-make series. Already eight Impreza RSs have been ordered by prospective purchasers and a large number of expressions of interest, currently totalling over 80, have been received and are still coming in. Drivers confirmed for the series come from most states of Australia. Darren Windus, aged 32, lives in WA, Matt Van Tuinen, 23, is from Queensland, Mark Beard, 41, and Gavin Mosher, 26, are from NSW, Steve Glenney, 27, and Trent Brand, 28, are both South Australians and the youngest two, Benni Tirant, 19, and Eli Evans, 20, are both Victorians. The series is Australia’s richest rally competition carrying $100,000 in prize money. The inaugural Subaru Rally Challenge winner will be declared at the NGK Rally of Melbourne in October, with the top eight drivers sharing $80,000 in prize money and the winner pocketing $20,600. The six-event Subaru Rally Challenge starts with the Subaru Rally of Canberra in May. Event organisers have reduced entry fees for the Series competitors to $1,000 and have arranged for the one-make series competitors to have their own designated service area. Pirelli Australia, supplier of tyres to Subaru Rally Team Australia, will supply the control tyre - the KM I 95/7ORl 5 - priced at $250 per tyre. The control wheel will be Compomotive TH3 Gold rally wheel, priced at $330 per wheel, supplied by Stuckey Tyre Services. Impreza RS drivers already confirmed represent a range of youth and experience. West Australian-based Victorian Darren Windus has been rallying since 1989 and has rallied in Subarus for the last eight years. His best result at an ARC level was eighth outright in the 2000 Rally of Melbourne. Matt Van Tuinen, the 23 year-old from Eight Mile Plains, began rallying in 2000 and showed immediate promise by winning the Queensland Championship for P1 Class in 2001. In the past two years he has competed in most ARC rounds in a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, showing form that saw him selected to attend “CAMS Rally Academy’ representing his state at the Australian Institute of Sport. South Australian Trent Brand has been out of rallying for the last two years but was attracted to the Subaru Rally Challenge as a means of getting back into the sport which has involved his family, including cousin Sam Brand, for many years. In the past Trent has competed in local rounds of the South East Automobile Club and South Australian state rounds as well as motorkhanas and autocrosses. The other SA entrant, Steve Glenney, has had plenty of experience in events such as Targa Tasmania, the Clipsal 500 Rally and the Dutton Rally. He has produced some impressive results on tarmac, finishing second outright in the 2003
TESTING TIMES: New Peugeot recruit, Freddy Loix, has been putting in the testing miles in Peugeot’s brand new 307 World Rally Car. The unusual looking car will make its debut at this month’s Monte Carlo Rally. Targa, just one minute ten seconds behind Jim Richards, and was second outright in the 2002 Dutton Rally in a stock standard Subaru WRX STi on street rubber, up against a field of highly modified Porsches, GTR’s, Evo’s and Steven Richards’ Monaro 41 year-old Mark Beard is the oldest entrant accepted and has been rallying since 1988. His achievements include winning the P1 class in the NSW Rally Championship for the past two years in a 1973 Datsun 1200 Coupe, after winning the state Novice Championship outright in 2001. Gavin Mosher, from Murrumbateman, has been competing in state rounds in a two-wheel drive Datsun 280Z, which he built himself, and after experiencing considerable success in that class, has decided that it is time to move to an AWD car. He knows the ARC well, having been part of Neal Bates’ service crew in 2003. Eli Evans, younger brother of leading rally driver, Simon Evans, has been competing in the Victorian Autocross series since he was 14 years old. In 2000 he was the Victorian Autocross Series Champion (Junior Class) and in 2002 started pursuing his interest in rallying. In 2003 he competed in both an Impreza RX and an Impreza WRX, the highlight being taking part in his first ARC round, the NGK Rally of Melbourne. The youngest entrant in the series to date is Benni Tirant. The Melbourne driver will turn 20 in the week leading up to the Subaru Rally of Canberra, the opening round of the Challenge. Benni comes from a family heavily involved in motorsport (his father was a two-time Victorian co-driving champion) and has impressed observers with his performances in state and national events since 2001. Subaru Australia hopes to finalise further sales of the Impreza RS series cars in the coming weeks, ensuring competitors have plenty of time to prepare for the opening round in Canberra on May 7.
ARN’s Possum Bourne Collection PLEASE NOTE: The Possum Bourne 1/18th scale model cars have totally sold out in Australia and New Zealand. We are unable to get any more stock. A FANTASTIC READ!
The official Possum Bourne autobiography “Bourne to Rally.” It’s an enthralling story on the life of one of the world’s most well-known rally drivers. 260 pages, 20 pages of photos. A great read that you won’t want to put down. $39.95 plus $7 post & packing.
“THE DOMINATOR” Wall Plaque
A magnificent reminder of Possum, these glass-covered teak-framed wall plaques measure 465 x 385mm and feature Possum’s signature over a superb photo of his Subaru Impreza over a blue background. They list all his Australian Rally Championship victories up to 2002 and come with a certificate of authenticity (only 500 produced) to maximise its value. Great for hanging anywhere and the ideal gift for that Subaru fan. $129 plus $10 postage and insurance.
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POSSUM POSTER
Celebrating the achievements of
Possum Bourne 13 April 1956 — 30 April 2003
Setting his sights on the WRC
Championship titles:
Event titles in Australia:
New Zealand Rally Champion – 1991 Australian Rally Champion – 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 ARC Class Champion – 1992 Group A Asia Pacific Champion – 1993, 1994, 2000
Forest Rally – 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (equal), 2002 Coffs Harbour Rally – 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Rally of Queensland – 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999 (equal), 2000 (equal), 2001, 2002 Rally of Melbourne – 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002 Subaru Safari Tasmania – 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 (equal), 2000, 2001, 2002 SA Rally – 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2002 Subaru Rally of Canberra – 1992, 1996, 2000, 2001
A reprint of our famous poster which we printed in our June 2003 edition. Measuring 600 x 400mm and printed on glossy paper, these single-sided, unfolded posters are ideal for framing under glass, on board backing or just to hang on a wall. Order yours today in time for Christmas giving. $15 each posted in a strong mailing tube or two for $20.
Use the order form on page 2 of this issue.
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Monaro takes on the world A t well known rally car preparers, GSA, situated in Brisbane, it’s full steam ahead preparing an HX Monaro for the 2004 London to Sydney Rally which will be conducted later this year. Many people think it’s unique that today’s rally stars are just starting to go overseas to compete in events, but they don’t realise that in the past many Australians have been there and done that. One of those people is George Shepheard of GSA Wholesale Suspension, who has been actively involved in motorsport for many years, competing in his first event in 1959. Shepheard senior is one of Australia’s most prolific competitors, car builders and team managers as well as a driver and navigator, having won his last event, round six of the 2003 Queensland Rally Championship just a few weeks ago. In a distinguished career, George has competed in events like the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon, the East African Safari, the New Zealand Heatway Rally, the PNG Safari, the New Caledonian Safari, the Dulux International Rally and both the 1964 and 1970 Round Australia Trials. An icon in his own right, George Shepheard has competed against drivers like Timo Makinen, Rauno Aaltonen, Roger Clark, Stig Blomqvist, Andrew Cowan and others. His results as a competitor and builder are certainly worth a mention and include: * 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the1979 Round Australia Rally, * 1st in the Australian Touring Car Championship, * 1st in the 1995 Round Australia Rally, multiple first places in Australian Rally Championship, multiple firsts in Australian State Championship rallies as a driver and co-driver. Not content with that, he has also built cars that finished first in the Macau Grand Prix and the Bathurst 1000.
V8 GRUNT: Monaro engine department would not be disgraced in V8 Supercar garage. Attention to detail is unbelievable.
FIT UP: The Monaro undergoes final fitting in GSA workshop. Car leaves next month for boat trip to London.
Even after all this competition, the urge to do new and different events still persists, the challenge this time around being a Holden Monaro which will be entered in this year’s LSM re-run. Here’s how the car is progressing. The Monaro arrived at GSA as a standard road car, something that was very hard to find. Unbelievably, it did not have one aftermarket part on it and no rust. It was stripped to a bare shell before the car was even paid for as they were not going to let this one get away. GSA started building the Monaro in July 2003 and the car is nearing completion The car will be crewed by Gordon Smith and George Shepheard. Gordon has never competed in this event previously and talked George into coming along for a fun time. Although they are going to have a “go”, the main objective will be to have fun and finish. And if that finishing position happens to be first place, so be it. The Monaro has had no expenses spared with items like a Harrop V8 Supercar rear end, a Rob Clark-built 308 motor, Proflex Suspension – the list just keeps going on. According to GSA, there isn’t one part of the car that has not been replaced with a new item and if not replaced, it has been taken apart and rebuilt. Steve Day at GSA, a key member of the TWR Volvo Super Touring Team win of the Bathurst 1000 event some years ago, has been working week in and week out getting the car ready, while George Shepheard has spent many nights designing the car and its fittings. Over Christmas and the January break, the car has undergone rigorous test sessions before being loaded onto the boat in February for the trip to England and the start of the event. The event starts in London then moves onto France, into Italy, then through Greece, Turkey and India and to the finish through the northern part of Australia.
YELLOW SUBMARINE: Monaro has been made totally rust-free and strengthened. Almost looks too good to rally, doen’t it?
WORK OF ART: Clinically-clean boot area houses big tank, pumps, filters and braided hoses. No suitcases, though.
BIG IMPRESSION: Huge differential and brakes compliment the rear suspension which shoukd be more than adequate for the Marathon.
HOLD ON! GMH never made them like this. Monaro designed to withstand rigours of London – Sydney Marathon.
www.rallyscene.com - 7
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Victorian Rally Champions
Congratulations to Mike Reeves, Robin Smalley and the Narva Rally Team on winning the 2003 Victorian Rally Championship. Using Yokohama’s A035 rally tyre available now! � Thank you to the following clubs, who conducted rounds of the 2003 VRC: CCRMIT, CCC, MUCC, DSCC and NECC.
For professional service and expert advice contact: 65 Kellets Road, Rowville, Victoria 3178 Phone: (03) 9764 2311 Fax: (03) 9764 8740 Email: sales@tractiontyres.com.au
8 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
2003 SEASON REVIEW In part 2 of our ARC review, Jeff Whitten looks at the final three rounds of the championship South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
N
obody really expected to beat Ed Ordynski on his home turf, the hills north of Adelaide, in the Coopers Pale Ale Rally of SA on August 9 & 10. Even the event’s traditional mid-winter date held no fears for the Mitsubishi driver, regardless of what the weather would turn on. As it turned out, rain wasn’t a problem during the rally but getting enough heat into tyres on a weekend when the temperature fell to a low of 3 degrees, was. Ordynski, the master of the Adelaide hills, controlled the event from the start, leading Cody Crocker at the end of Day One by more than 44 seconds. Second and third places were the property of the blue team, Herridge stepping up the pace to be just 5 seconds behind Crocker as night fell. Mark and Rita Thompson recorded one of their best results so far in the season, claiming fourth, just 2 seconds ahead of a tentative Kangas. Simon Evans was an uncharacteristic seventh, just behind Neal Bates who was showing some of the new Corolla’s potential. Spencer Lowndes had an engine problem on the day’s first stage and retired, the Rick Bates Corolla had fuel problems and Mark Pedder, upholding the company name while brother Scott waited on the birth of his first child, retired after hitting an emu. Sam Yamaguchi was a welcome visitor from Japan but was out of the points on the opening day. Sam Brand managed a creditable eighth on home soil but Jack Monkhouse joined Steven Shepheard as retirees on stage one of the day with blown motors. Ed Ordynski opened his account early and was not headed all day in the second heat. At the head of a three-car Subaru contingent snapping at his heels, Ordynski won as he pleased, finally happy with the Lancer’s recalcitrant handling. Herridge had one of his best results of the season to be second, with Evans and Crocker rounding out the top four. The Bates boys were fifth and sixth (although Rick Bates shared his position with Sam Yamaguchi). Will Orders, in the Pedders Group A Mitsubishi, delivered a professional result for 8th, just ahead of local Steve Winwood who drove his Mitsubishi in ninth and retirement from rallying. Constant ARC campaigner Michael Thompson brought his Impreza home in tenth, his best result to date. Andrew Pannam and John Goasdue rolled out of the second heat, Brand had driveshaft failure
IN MEMORY: Fans found it hard to forget the legendary Subaru star.
FLYING FINN: Juha Kangas quickly became a crowd favourite.
YOUNG GUN: South Australian Sam Brand set some impressive stage times in his privately-entered Impreza.
and Monkhouse had yet more mechanical dramas. The overall championship lead had now narrowed, Ordynski’s two heat wins giving him vital extra points and putting him in contention for the 2003 title. Or so it seemed.
D
espite predictions that the NGK Rally of Melbourne would suffer because of the death of Clerk of Course, Glenn Cutbert, the family joined forces and put on a brilliant event under the direction of Glenn’s brother, Neil. It was one of the most eagerly-awaited events on the ARC calendar and one which the Victorian crews, in particular, were expected to do well. Many of the top drivers
– Crocker, Lowndes, Evans and Pedder – regularly test on the ROM roads so it was expected that Victorians would feature on the podium. All the regular crews had entered as well as several New Zealanders, Emma Gilmour and Richard Mason, making it a relatively small but classy field. Toyota Team Racing had gained a few seconds per kilometre since the last event and a tighter diff was employed – team boss Neal Bates confident that this would be the Corolla’s best chance in the calendar for a win. There were 18 stages over the two days, using old familiar stages such as Ben Cairn, Acheron Way, Kalatha and Blowhard, and Simon Evans opened up on SS1 by being fastest, followed it up on SS2 with another
fastest time and amazed the opposition by being a second a kilometre quicker than Crocker, Ordynski and Pedder. The pattern continued through the first day but tyre choice on the hard, rocky roads was playing a part in some teams’ performances – Kangas and Scott Pedder having punctures and Neal Bates not happy with his choice either. All this played into Evans’ hands and he finished the first day over 10 seconds in front of the pack. Crocker and Ordynski were next best, then Scott Pedder (who had overcome puncture problems), Kangas, Lowndes, Neal Bates and Dean Herridge who was again unhappy with his choice of tyres. Two privateers slipped into the top ten – Sam Brand and Will Orders – who had both had a very successful day. Having days they’d rather forget were Mark Thompson (off road excursion), Mark Pedder (misfire), Yamaguchi (gearbox), and Stewart Reid (radiator). If Heat One was any indication, Heat Two, over many of the same roads, was going to be a cliff hanger. Right from the outset, Scott Pedder, Evans and Kangas shot out of the blocks, opening up a handy lead over Ordynski, Crocker and Lowndes, but Evans hit back on his favourite stage, Blowhard, to be in front by 2.6 seconds at the first break. Ordynski was unhappy, his Lancer’s brakes again giving trouble but he was still playing cat and mouse with Championship leader Cody Crocker. As the day wore on, it became obvious that Evans’ engine was down on power and a second heat win slowly slipped away on the final stage at De Bortoli’s vineyard. The order was Scott Pedder, 2.6 seconds ahead of Evans, with Kangas and Ordynski bringing their Mitsubishis home in third and fourth places respectively. Crocker was content to hold station and maintain his
FRUSTRATION: Ed Ordynski won two ARC rounds, but his season finished as it started - disappointingly.
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Goldsbrough, had his reward with sixth on Saturday and eighth on Sunday. Crocker and Foletta’s championship win bodes well for 2004 and, if the pace is this hot next season, Australian rally fans are in for some exciting action from the forests. It looks like being another Subaru, Mitsubishi and Toyota fight, and may the best team win.
Series lead but was 17 seconds off the pace. With Lowndes, Neal Bates and Herridge bringing up the rear, Crocker’s championship lead had gone to 160, just 19 ahead of Ordynski. Could Subaru pull off the championship with just one round to go? Retirements on the day included Sam Brand with suspension problems, Will Orders (gearbox), Jack Monkhouse (driveshaft), and Andrew Pannam, who blew an engine.
Busy year ahead for Atkinson
The final round of the 2003 ARC, the Subaru Safari Tasmania, attracted a poor field of just 31 cars, proving somewhat of an anti-climax for what had been an exciting championship. All the factory teams were there, however, and Toyota, in particular, with some extra freedoms which had been granted for them, were confident of a good result. The equation was in Crocker’s favour. All he needed to do was to finish both heats in a good position but for Ordynski to take the title, the South Australian needed to win both heats and have Crocker finish third or worse. The odds were stacked against Ordynski and when he started having brake problems on the opening stages, his chances dropped. Spencer Lowndes put his
ON THE LIMIT: Cody Crocker put in a brilliant season, winning the title in style.
ROCKY ROAD: The Rally of Melbourne were forced to repair (?) stages affected by the wet weather before the event start.
Mitsubishi on its roof early on the Saturday and retired with a broken car. Next to go was Evans with what looked like a blown motor and Mark Pedder blew a gearbox. Kangas was expected to do well in Tasmania, particularly on the second run over some of the stages, proving he was coming to grips with Australian conditions. By stage three, the Finn held an 8 second lead over Dean Herridge with Crocker and Scott Pedder tagging along behind.
Ordynski was in trouble with brakes that gave him no confidence and lots of “moments.” As the day progressed, Crocker eased into second place and by the time the final two stages were run at Baskerville Raceway, Crocker and Foletta had scored enough points to give them the 2003 title. The jubilation was infectious and there were smiles all round from the team who had suffered such a devastating early-
season blow after the loss of team leader, Possum Bourne. Day two was a repeat of the previous day but thoughts of a slackening of the pace were cast aside from the opening stage. Kangas, now familiar with the Tasmanian roads, bolted out of the blocks and won the first two tests by as much as 10 seconds each, and was clearly the man to beat. Scott Pedder was up to second, ahead of an unhappy Evans who had restarted but was content to simply finish after the previous day’s disaster. Then followed Lowndes, Herridge and Ordynski while the new champion, Crocker, languished in seventh. When the final stage at the Derwent Entertainment Centre was run, it was Kangas who had amassed enough points to win the round, just ahead of a rejuvenated Lowndes and Scott Pedder. Crocker finished in seventh after two punctures and was content to take few risks now that the championship was won. Neal Bates had retired with a blown engine, Mark Thompson had a car fire and an unlucky and cash-strapped Jack Monkhouse had gearbox problems. The star privateer of the rally, Brad
Queenslander Chris Atkinson will head Suzuki’s Asia Pacific Rally Championship campaign again in 2004, after taking out last year’s Super 1600 title. Despite the disappointment of missing out on one of the four driving positions in Suzuki’s Junior World Championship program, Atkinson is looking forward to his second season with the Japanese team. Along with contesting all rounds of the Asia Pacific Championship in the Super 1600 Ignis, Atkinson and co-driving brother Ben also hope to contest the New Zealand and Australian rounds of the World Rally Championship in a Group N car, as well as entering a couple of Australian Rally Championship events. “The Asia Pacific series doesn’t get underway until the Rally of Canberra in May, so the early part of the year is reasonably quiet. We’re hoping to get a Group N car and get some more experience in other events,” Atkinson said. However he stressed that one of priorities was to get a current specification Group N car, as well as one that was left hand drive. “We need to be able to see how we go against the current crop of Group N specialists,” he added. 24-year old Atkinson flew out to the Monte Carlo Rally on January 14th where he will complete the reconnaissance, and is also likely to enter a couple of overseas WRC rounds as well – most likely the Rally Finland and one other event. Those WRC outings would be in a Suzuki prepared car, but run outside the factory operation. GOING FOR GOLD: Brad Goldsbrough showed his talent with some impressive results.
MISERABLE SEASON: Rick Bates suffered plenty of bad luck in his prototype Corolla in 2003.
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Kenyan crew wins Safari Photos: McKlein
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he all-Kenyan crew of Rob Collinge and Anton Levitan won the Kenya Airways East African Safari Rally in December, the 50th anniversary of the world’s toughest rally. The Datsun 240Z crew (pictured above) cruised to the finish on the beautiful Diani Beach, claiming victory by 47 minutes and 55 seconds. Frederic Dor maintained second position in the closing day of competition, with Porsche teammate Stuart Rolt in a fine third overall. In total, 41 crews finished the marathon rally that covered 1553.65 competitive kilometres in a total distance of nearly 5000 kilometres through Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The final day of the 2003 Kenya Airways East African Safari Rally took the crews from Tanga in Tanzania back to Kenya across the Lunga Lunga border post. The route encompassed 119.78 competitive kilometres over three sections, before arriving at the Indian Ocean for the finish on the beach. Rob Collinge and Anton Levitan cruised through the final day of the event, their Datsun 240Z never missing a beat. “This win is very important to me,” commented Rob at the finish. “I’ve always known I can win the Safari but it was tough as a privateer up against
the factory drivers in recent years. This was a more level playing field; one rally car, one service crew, no helicopters or pace notes – back to what rallying is all about. “The event was tough, but that was mainly dictated by the route Mike (Kirkland) wanted to run; he took us back to really classic sections. It was rougher than I expected, but we set the car up to deal with these specific conditions and it paid dividends. We must be the only crew to have simply changed shock absorbers as a precaution; we never broke one.” Frederic Dor and co-driver Didier Breton put in a fine performance, arriving at Diani Beach in second position after problems in the closing days of the event. The French duo battled against a succession of broken shock absorbers and nursed their Porsche 911 to the finish of this gruelling event, despite breaking another two units in the first section the morning. “I’m pleased, this event has been a real pleasure,” said Frederic. “The organisation has been incredible and it’s an amazing achievement for everyone and for all these old cars. Without our suspension problems I think we could have pushed Rob, but it was impossible and this is the best result I could have achieved. The car is perfect, we’ve not made one repair and I’ve not made
MUD BATH: Queenslander Lofty Drews is a former Safari winner, but had less success this time with Tanzania’s Jayant Shah.
Congratulations to Rob Collinge and Anton Levitan on winning the East African Safari Rally by a massive 48 minutes, using
LEADING LADY: Michele Mouton suffered a myriad of problems, but was the event’s major drawcard.
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
any mistakes, spins or punctures. It’s been fantastic.” Team-mates Stuart Rolt and Francis Tuthill maintained their third position and claimed a highly impressive result for Francis Tuthill’s team. In total, the squad had five Porsche 911s finish in the top 10. “Both Richard and I are thrilled; it’s a great result,” said Stuart. “We came here thinking a top 10 finish would be great, third is fantastic! Aside from the really quick guys, we were on the pace every day and the car has been fabulous; I can’t believe what it’s done! “The whole experience has been awesome, a terrific event and harder on the car than we ever thought. And for the team to have five cars in the top 10 is a real credit to Francis, Richard and all the guys in the team.” Fourth position was claimed by Andrew Barnes and David Lewis, a mammoth result for the pair in only their fifth rally. They led the Ford challenge and ultimately finished one hour, 53 minutes and 8 seconds behind Collinge. “This is a phenomenal achievement for us,” said Andrew. “The last section we were so nervous it was ridiculous! We cruised through it, but it was tense. We’ve now started five events and finished all of them, which is fantastic. It was physically and mentally harder than I’d imagined, and tougher on the car. It’s been a really emotional experience; the people have been incredible all the way along the route; quite humbling really.” Fifth position was claimed by Bruce Field and Jan Thoenes in another Porsche 911, with Britain’s Iain Freestone rounding off the top six. The only casualty of the final day was John Lloyd and Paul Amandini in the Historic Motorsport Escort, both of whom escaped injury after crashing. “We barrel-rolled the car in the first section of the day and it then caught fire,” said John. “It’s completely destroyed, along with all our passports, licenses and paperwork. It’s obviously disappointing after such a long event, but the important thing is that Paul and I are okay.” Commenting on the success of the rally, Mike
TOUGH CONDITIONS: Germany’s Gunther Kronseder battles on in his pretty Opel Manta.
Kirkland, Event Director of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Rally said: “It exceeded all my expectations. We seem to have everyone loving it; I didn’t find one person who didn’t love it and that’s exceptional in itself. “It’s a controversial sort of rally, different, and you would expect 10-15% wouldn’t like it because it’s so different to anything else, but there was no one. The numbers of finishers also ex-
ceeded my expectations by a long way; I’ve really got to praise the service crews for how hard they worked to keep the cars going.“ “It was also a very friendly rally; people made lots of new friends and eyes were opened not only to the beauty of the region and its great variety of scenery, but also to the friendliness of the people. It’s been tremendous.” Over the 10 days of the event, the Kenya Airways East African Safari Rally also embraced a humanitarian side by pledging charitable dona-
tions along the route. “We donated some money to the centre for street girls with no homes and probably no parents, those who are adopted and live in a centre in Mombasa,” added Kirkland. The Kenya Airways East African Safari Rally has been acclaimed by all as a huge success and a legendary event filled with special emotion. Most competitors said if they were told it was running again, they would enter on the spot!
STEWART WILKINS MOTORSPORT Historic Nissan / Datsun Specialist Parts & Accessories for your Datsun
East African Safari Rally
DO YOU SMELL SMOKE? John Lloyd’s Escort perished in this scorching fire on the final day.
Overall Results 1. Rob Collinge 2. Frederic Dor 3. Stuart Rolt 4. Andrew Barnes 5. Bruce Field 6. Iain Freestone 7. Ray Bellm 8. Wolfgang Pfeiffer 9. Anthony Ward 10. Paul-Eric Jarry
Datsun 240Z Porsche 911 Porsche 911 Ford Escort Porsche 911 Ford Mexico Ford Escort Porsche 911 Ford Escort Porsche 911
17hr 42min 42sec 18hr 30min 37sec 19hr 08min 31sec 19hr 35min 50sec 19hr 40min 33sec 19hr 46min 57sec 21hr 00min 33sec 21hr 12min 56sec 21hr 22min 44sec 21hr 49min 24sec
Aussie input in Safari success Sydney’s Stewart Wilkins not only built and prepared the car that took Rob Collinge to victory in the East African Safari Rally, but he serviced it as well. The car was originally built as a sister car to the one used by Ross Dunkerton and Harry Mansson in the London to Mexico Rally in
the mid-1990’s. It was later used in the London to Sydney Marathon by Mike Burleigh. After purchasing the car, Collinge had Wilkins prepare it for the event, then had the Australian head the service team which looked after the car in the gruelling event.
DATSUN 240Z Historic Rally Car One of a family of five we have built and sister of the recent East African Safari Rally winner. Reg. WNC 764 ● Built from the ground up for the 2000 London – Sydney Marathon. The car has not been used since. It features a rust-free body shell that was sand blasted, repaired and lightened then seam welded and reinforced where necessary. It is fitted with a comprehensive steel roll cage. The suspension struts are Proflex with adjustable bump and rebound. The wheel alignment is adjustable front and rear. Brakes have 11” vented discs and 4-piston alloy calipers front and rear with brake balance bar mechanism. ● Engine – 2.4 litre, 1.5mm oversize with forged pistons, 3 Webers and major head work. The engine meets Historic rules. The drive train features a direct fifth Option 4 rally ratio gearbox and all gears were new for the LSM. The diff is an R200 with 4.375 ratio and a Cusco LSD. There are ten 15 x 6 Nissan magnesium works wheels included. ● The car has a custom-made 120 litre bladder tank. Every part of the car was either new or rebuilt for the LSM.
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12 - www.rallyscene.com
T
’was the night before Christmas and Santa had gathered all his elves around him for a final debriefing before they all set off from the North Pole on their annual present pilgrimage for all the world’s girls and boys. It was snowing at the North Pole as they gathered around a big fire in Santa’s workshop, just as they had gathered on many Christmases before. The reindeer were champing at the bit outside, waiting for the sacks of toys to be placed on their sleds. It wouldn’t be long before they were off on their global jaunt but this year. As they waited, they sensed that there was something different in the air. Santa’s face looked strained and Mrs Claus kept mopping his brow with a cold cloth. Soon the silence was broken by the deep, gruff voice of Santa as he addressed his elves one by one. “My faithful elves,” he started out. “There are so many deserving children out there this year that I’m finding it very difficult to work out what toys to give to the children. There are some boys and girls who deserve special consideration this Christmas – those who’ve lost their mums and dads, those caught in wars and earthquakes and civil uprising and natural disasters, but even these pale into insignificance compared to other children who have been doing it really tough since I last did my rounds.” Santa paused, wiping a tear from his eyes before continuing on as the clock on the wall ticked steadily towards midnight. “This Christmas, my faithful elves, I want you to pay special attention to all the rally girls and boys throughout Australia who have had a particularly bad year,” he said. “They’re really doing it tough Down Under so treat them especially kindly tonight. Now elves, what can you do to brighten up their Christmas tree this year?” The assembled elves were silent for a while but at last one spoke, wiping the crumbs of a mince pie from his face. “I think I might be able to help,” said the CAMS elf. “We all know that CAMS have kept putting their fees up, to the point where many rally girls and boys can’t afford a CAMS Manual, let alone a rally licence. So this year I’m going to waive all CAMS fees for the next two years. That should put a smile on their faces.” Santa smiled, too. “Well done, CAMS elf. I can see you’ve got my drift. The spirit of Christmas is alive and well.” “How about you, Technical Committee elf? How do you propose to help the poor unfortunate boys and girls in Australia?” TCE thought for a moment before replying. “I know”, he said, “that Neal and Coral have had a hard time recently, fighting openly with the big Subaru and Mitsubishi bullies. No matter how hard they try, they can’t catch the blue or
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Santa and the Elves
By Will Carter red cars. So I propose to give them a big box of Unlimited Corolla Freedoms in their stockings. All they need to do is to suck one a day during the Yuletide season and they’ll be sure to be on the pace for the rest of the year.” “Wonderful, wonderful,” Santa replied. “That’s real Christmas spirit.” Turning to the next elf in the circle around the fire, ELF elf, the whitebearded old gent, his eyes now twinkling, sought the opinion of the third of his helpers. “I know you’ve had a tough year yourself, ELF elf, continually defending yourself from criticism, so I expect you can come up with some very welcome toys,“ Santa added. ELF elf nodded. “Surely the group of girls and boys that I’ll be visiting deserve special attention so that they
can keep rallying until next Christmas. So what I’ve done is filled their stockings – privateer children’s and manufacturer’s children’s stockings alike – with as much ELF fuel at a dollar a litre as they can use. In this way I’ll treat every child equally so that not one of them gets an advantage over another, no matter what their station in life. I think they’ll like that.” There was silence for a moment, finally broken by Mrs Santa bursting into tears. “Oh, you’re so thoughtful, ELF elf. Why didn’t ARCom think of that?”.
O
utside Santa’s workshop the snow was falling even faster than before. “Must remember to have the sleigh fitted with a set of those WRC Pirellis that Cody uses,”
he mused as he wondered how the reindeers would get traction with such a heavy load. “Oh, by the way, Tyre elf, make sure that you give Dean Herridge an extra big stocking full of these too.” As faithfull as ever, Tyre elf started to fill his sack with the latest and greatest WRC Pirellis, enough, even, not just for Deano, but for the whole rally community. “There, that should do it,” he said as he stuffed the last of the shipping containers of WRC Pirellis into his sack. “Lots of happy girls and boys in Australia this Christmas.” Further around the circle stood the Evans elf (no, it wasn’t Sue!), his face beaming with glee. Santa looked at him kindly, aware that the Evans elf had something special to say. “Santa, Santa, I’ve got the perfect gift for the Evans
children and I know they’re going to love it,” he spluttered. “Go on, my son,” Santa replied. Stretching himself to his full height and with chest ballooned out, the Evans elf oozed excitement: “For a long while it looked like there would be no presents for the Evans children and no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find a stocking filler for them. Then, just as I thought that they’d have to wait for another Christmas for me to bring them some cheer, Toyota came along and dropped something in my bag of gifts. I eagerly peeped inside the sack and lo and behold, there was a works drive, gift wrapped for Simon and Sue in there. Not only will that gift make the Evans children happy but all the other rally children watching in Australia.” “Well done, well done, Evans elf,” said a delighted Santa and, from the other end of the room Mrs Santa clapped her hands in glee. Now the festive spirit was starting to permeate the room and the assembled elves were really getting that infectious Christmas spirit. Then it was the Sponsorship elf’s turn to announce what he was going to deliver to the Aussie girls and boys. He had a gift which he knew would be sorely needed by lots of male rally children because he knew that their stockings would be very empty. “I believe I have the perfect gifts for Christmas,” he said, pulling a handful of cheque books from his bag, “and I want you to deliver them personally, Santa.” There’s one here for Steve Thompson, one for Frank Neale, one for Jim Brand, one each for Brad Goldsbrough and Ian Swan and another for Jack Monkhouse. And because they’ve been especially good boys this year, I’ve put 100 cheques in each book, not just 50. That should help.” Fumbling in his sack, deeper and deeper, the Sponsorship elf started to retrieve more cheque books from the depths of the sack but Santa started to rebuke him. “Not too many more,” he said. “If we give out too many there will be lots of needy children missing out. That’ll do for now.”
T
he big hand on Santa’s clock was slowly creeping nearer and nearer to midnight and it was plain to see that Santa was getting edgy. “Quickly, Quickly,” he urged the remaining elves. “Not long to go before we have to leave.” Nevertheless, he continued around the circle until he came to the smallest elf, struggling under a huge bag, a bag too big for even the roomfull of elves to carry, but it was plain to see that this particular elf had carried a bag this big before and he was obviously distressed. “Look Santa,” he said. “I’m still trying to unload all those toys from last year that were considered too dangerContinued page 13
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Santa and the Elves From page 12
ous to be used by motorsport children and were given back after Christmas. I haven’t had time to start packing toys for this Christmas.” Santa was a kindly man, so he offered to help the FIA elf unpack last year’s sack. So, with the help of all the other elves in the room (and even Mrs. Santa!), Santa upended the huge bag of reject toys onto the workshop floor. Out tumbled a score or more of alloy rollcages, thousands of yellow BCF fire extinguishers, and a squillion perfectly good but outdated seat belts and harnesses. The pile was so big it cascaded out the door into the snow. But there was more. Right down deep, at the bottom of the sack, was another smaller bag that was filled with page after page of stupid FIA regulations that no child wanted – Mille Piste rules, single service park requirements, Two Works Drivers rules, roll on – roll off proposals and, right at the bottom, a pile of 16-round calendars. The FIA elf looked relieved that he finally got the weight of this particular sack off his back. “Now I can see why you’ve been slow in getting this year’s sack filled. Yours is the worst job of the lot, FIA elf. Take this Christmas off.” Finally, the circle was almost completed and there was only one elf left to answer Santa’s questions. It was the ARCom elf, looking sheepishlyembarrassed. He’d thought long and hard all year about what he could give to cheer up all the rally girls and boys this Christmas, but had come up with nothing. Oh yes, he’d been generous during the year by giving all the children some pre-Christmas teasers – an ARC sponsor, some freedoms for the Corollas, a reduction in the price of fuel, the Subaru One Make Series and a few other sweeteners but nothing that excited the children overly much. Of all the elves, the ARCom elf had the most difficult job of all – trying to please every girl and
boy right around Australia. Santa knew this and was careful not to hurt ARCom elf’s feelings, but he needed to quickly get on his way to the southern hemisphere before dawn. Santa turned and looked into his own sack, bulging at the seams in the middle of the circle. Dipping inside it, he pulled out an envelope and proceeded to give it to ARCom elf. “I’ve got a few gifts left over for cases just like yours” he told ARCom elf. “They’re not much but they’ll put a smile on some boys’ and girls’ faces.” Opening the envelope, ARCom elf found a list of promises that could be hung on the Christmas tree – promises to promote the Aussie Car class, to allow Classic cars to run AHEAD of the ARC cars, to do more to promote grass roots rallying, to be more open with rally girls and boys, and a promise to make sure that privateer children got more coverage on TV than in the past. The ARCom elf wasn’t convinced, grudgingly accepting Santa’s offerings. “Now I know why I only got dry biscuits and water last time I called on Australian girls and boys,” Santa’s little helper moaned. “Won’t be much beer and fruit cake for me this year, either.”
T
he circle complete, Santa and his elves bid goodbye to Mrs. Santa and boarded the sleigh, zooming off in the direction of Australia to complete their distribution of toys. And right around Australia, thousands of Aussie children awoke on Christmas morning only to find that it had all been a bad dream – there wasn’t a present in sight! All except for one lucky boy and girl whose wish finally came true. Only they weren’t there on Christmas day to open their gifts – they were already out pouring more concrete slabs to pay for last year’s rallying. Did they still believe in Santa? Only time, and a Toyota works drive in 2004, would tell.
Barltrop to stand trial
New Zealander Mike Barltrop is to face trial on a charge of dangerous driving causing the death of Possum Bourne after conceding there was a case to answer. A depositions hearing was to be held in midDecember but Barltrop waived the proceedings after earlier viewing the evidence. Police handed their evidence and written statements from 25 witnesses to the Queenstown District Court and Barltrop was asked if he wished to change his earlier not guilty plea. He declined. A pre-trial hearing is to be held in Dunedin District Court on January 23. Barltrop had been driving in a convoy undertaking a pre-race reconnaissance drive before the Race to the Sky event last year, while Bourne was driving in the opposite direction. Bourne, who was seriously injured in a collision between the two men’s vehicles, died in Dunedin Hospital on April 30. Barltrop’s codriver, Chris Ruane, claimed Barltrop was driving on the wrong side of the road for up to 200m before the crash. Ruane said he had no rally experience but was attending the Race to the Sky to supply temporary power for the event. The men were in the convoy in Barltrop’s Jeep Cherokee. After stopping when they were not supposed to on the first run because they were “lost” with the notes provided by organisers, he and Barltrop decided to prepare more simple notes during the second run. As they drove along a straight section Barltrop said he wanted to be driving on the right of the road so he could negotiate a sweeping left corner further up. “We were on the middle-right side of the road. We weren’t completely hard over to the right,” Ruane said. The report went on to say that they travelled in that position on the road for between 150m and 200m before seeing Bourne’s black Subaru come over a brow toward them. “It was braking and steering to its left towards the bank. The defendant braked and headed for the bank on his right. “Mr Bourne’s Subaru had run out of road and was as far up the bank as he could probably go,” Mr Ruane said. According to a crash investigator’s report the vehicles collided at the base of the bank. Barltrop’s Cherokee rode over the front of Bourne’s station wagon. The lower portion of Bourne’s dashboard was crushed over the driver’s seat squab, trapping his legs and the pillar supporting the side, front windscreen was crushed inward, causing his head in-
Swedish expert Janne Tuohino will be a points scoring driving on next month’s Swedish Rally. (Photo: Maurice Selden)
Ford nominate Tuohino
Ford has nominated Finland’s Janne Tuohino as the second points-scoring driver for next month’s Swedish International Rally (February 5 - 8) alongside team leader Markko Martin. Twenty-eight-year-old Tuohino, who will be codriven by Jukka Aho, will drive a privately-entered Focus RS World Rally Car 03 on the event, the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Tuohino will become the first non-works driver to compete in a 2003-specification Focus RS, joining the team’s lead pairing of Markko Martin and Michael Park. Belgians Franaois Duval and Stephane Prevot, the regular second pairing, will be entered for the rally by Ford BP Rallye Sport to enable them to maintain their quest for points in the drivers’ series. Tuohino has considerable experience of the Focus RS WRC on world championship rallies.
He finished seventh in Sweden in 2002 and matched that result in Finland last season at the wheel of privately-entered cars. He also won the non-championship Arctic Lapland Rally in Finland last year in a Focus RS and finished third in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship in 2002 in a Citroen Saxo. “Janne is a consistently good performer in Sweden and his nomination as second driver for this event strengthens our line-up for one of the championship’s most specialised rallies,” explained Ford BP team director Malcolm Wilson. “The snowy and icy conditions suit Scandinavian drivers who traditionally dominate the rally and Janne will not be out of place among the world’s top drivers. Franaois understands the tactical thinking behind this decision and will receive full support for the rally as a works driver who will compete with the aim of scoring drivers’ points.”
Driver allegedly on wrong side of road for 200m before colliding with Possum Bourne’s Subaru
juries. Barltrop’s Cherokee had moved clockwise and rolled on to its side. Barltrop suffered a broken thigh bone. After the impact Mr Ruane was the only person who could get out of either vehicle. He found Bourne unconscious but breathing with his legs pinned. He organised one of the first people on the scene to hold Bourne’s head up and keep his airway open. It was the only occasion that day Barltrop had deviated from the left-hand side of the road and into the race line. He was driving at 60kmh65kmh, Mr Ruane said. Several of the 25 witness statements presented to the court were from drivers in the convoy who said it was clear at the safety briefing that the road was open to the public and there had been twoway traffic during the first reconnaissance run. Many recorded seeing Bourne travelling up the road while they returned after the first run and seeing him driving down the road shortly before the accident. They said he was driving at 5060kmh. Dunedin police said that weather conditions, sunstrike and dust were not considered contributing factors to the crash. They found that Bourne took evasive action by moving to the left and had been braking for about 31 metres and that his Subaru Forester was further to the left than should have been required to avoid a vehicle. Barltrop had turned or moved his Jeep Cherokee to the right and there was no evidence on the road that he had braked. Race promoter Grant Aitken went to the scene shortly after the accident, he said in a statement. “Given the width of the road at that point, it seemed to me incomprehensible for vehicles travelling in opposite directions to have even come close to an impact without a large transgression by one of them.” Outside court Barltrop, 39, said he was confident he could successfully defend the charges.
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14 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
2004 WRC
CITROEN Registered entrant: Citroen Total Team Name: Citroen Sport Rally Car: Xsara WRC Debut of type: Lyon Charbonnieres 2000 (as Xsara T4), 2003 version New Zealand 2003. Team Driver Line-Up: Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti. Philippe Bugalski is the team’s test driver Top Management: Guy Frequelin Manager Citroen Sport, Jean-Claude Vaucard Technical Manager, Francois Chatriot Sport Manager Expectations for the 2004 Season: Because only two cars can be nominated for eligibility to score championship points for manufacturers, the team will only run two cars in 2004. The problem is to understand how the many changes in the rules will affect the tactics for the team. The only certain factor is that the reliability of the drivers and the cars will have to be even greater than in 2003, when Citroen had high levels in both and came close to winning two titles as a result. A late disappointment is the withdrawal of the sponsor Telefonica, whose arrival with the Citroen team 12 months ago made it possible for Sainz to join the team. This means that the colour scheme for the 2004 team cars was not available at the pre-season press conference at Versailles on December 4th. Technical developments for 2004: Expect nothing new technically on the first three rallies of the season. It is planned that the 2004 car will first appear (as the 2003 car did) in New Zealand. There will be some small external changes to the bodywork, including lightweight panels which are now allowed, but the main changes will be hard to see. Firstly there will be many significant changes in the engine, and the whole chassis will be re-thought. The team will comply with the new minimum weight for the bodywork by being able to use a greater amount of ballast. The Xsara is expected to remain the car run by Citroen in the world championship until the middle of 2005, when it is planned the C4 model will replace it.
PREVIEW
Drivers’ Comments: Sebastien Loeb is Citroen’s favourite child, whose career has been developed through the company’s promotional policies, at the wheel of Citroen cars, and particularly the Super 1600. “I cannot say I am unhappy with the results in 2003 even if it was disappointing not to win the drivers’ title, but the situation was obvious for me, because I had to be sure I did everything to make sure that the company had at least one world title this year.”
Carlos Sainz has apologised for telling people he was going to retire at the end of 2004! “I said these things when I had just retired from the Wales Rally GB and lost my chance of a third world title. Things always seem to go wrong for me when the RAC Rally is the end of the season. As it is not the final rally in 2004, I will really look forward to it next year! “I was disappointed at that time, it was a bad moment! I have now recovered my morale. I still have the passion to compete on rallies. I must have been asked 1000 times why I do not retire, it is clear I will have to take the decision soon. I am happy here, it is great to have been part of the team which brought Citroen their title. “I want to continue with Citroen, I do not have an ambition now to drive for anyone else. The moment when I feel I am no longer fast enough, that is when I will retire. Not before!”
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Registered entrant: Ford Motor Company Team Name: Not yet decided, but probably the same as 2003 (Ford BP Rallye Sport) Rally Car: Ford Focus WRC03 Debut of type: Focus was first used Monte Carlo 1999, WRC2003 version at New Zealand 2003. Team Driver Line-Up: Markko Martin/ Michael Park, Francois Duval/Stephane Prevot Top Management: Team Director and Team Manager Malcolm Wilson, Technical Director Christian Loriaux, Team co-ordinator John Millington Expectations for the 2004 Season: After serious financial losses on Ford’s world market there were grave worries whether the team would be able to continue at top level rally sport. Adding to this concern, there was a long delay before plans for the 2004 season were announced. Finally, two days before the registration deadline for the 2004 world championship it was confirmed that the program would continue, albeit under a reduced budget, with the same two top drivers. The budget shortfall was adjusted by handing over responsibility for promotional activities from the central Ford operation into the hands of M-Sport. Jost Capito, the director of Ford Team RS, said that the relationship between Ford and M-Sport had been “strengthened”, and that this had been achieved by “achieving a more cost-effective way of keeping Ford at the highest level of competitiveness”. At this time it is intended that the team shall only run two cars at each world championship rally. The team’s commercial arrangement with the BP Group, which began at Acropolis 2003, is to continue. Technical developments for 2004: There is no fixed date when a 2004 version Focus WRC will be launched, certainly not until well into the season, and currently no definite proposal what changes will be featured. Until then, the plan is
By Martin Holmes to continue the development of the existing car. Drivers’ Comments: Markko Martin said: “It was a pity that we did not win a tarmac rally in 2003, because the new car is now so good in every condition, and the team worked so hard to make this car good. It is a great relief that the program for 2004 has finally been settled and we know what is going to happen.” Francois Duval has a long term contract with Ford, in which he is being encouraged to gain experience gradually. Soon after the start of the 2003 season he changed co-drivers and immediately the results improved. Twice he has now gained a podium result (Turkey and Corsica) and the number of retirements have dramatically reduced.
MITSUBISHI
Registered entrant: Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports Team Name: not yet decided Rally Car: Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04 Debut of type: to be Monte Carlo 2004 Team Driver Line-Up: Regular crew Gilles and Herve Panizzi, occasional crews Kristian Sohlberg/Kai Lindstrom, Dani Sola/Alex Romani and Gianluigi Galli/Guido d’Amore. Top Management: Competition Director Sven Quandt, Technical Director Mario Fornaris, Team Manager Derek Dauncey. Expectations for the 2004 Season: The initial purpose is to start at a conservative level of operation, largely because of the short time for the development of this car (11 months to start of the 2004 program). The basic Lancer model has been evolved so that it will start competition in a very low level of technology, with a view to progressing as time permits. Whereas a three car team is envisaged when circumstances permit later in the year, for the initial events, and when many events follow closely together, only two cars will be entered. Gilles Panizzi is to contest all the events, while the other three drivers will be rotated in the second car from event to event, often competing instead with Group N cars for outside teams when not driving WRCars. The policy of Sven Quant has been to rely on the experience of a long time driver which has been fulfilled by Gilles Panizzi (winner of seven world championship rallies, albeit all on asphalt), which meant the end of the hopes for Francois Delecour and Alister McRae, and then to work with younger drivers. There were hopes that Jani Paasonen would number amongst them, but his crash in Germany signalled the end of his aspirations of a WRC drive. Happily Paasonen has a ’04 program with the OMV team in PCWRC. Technical developments for 2004: A newly homologated car will be seen at the beginning of the season, and systematic development of the car is to start straight away. It will start as the only car in the championship without controlled differentials, but various principles established with
www.rallyscene.com - 15
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Fornaris’ previous team Peugeot will be featured immediately, notably the use of a five-speed gearbox, albeit for the moment with manual, not semiautomatic gearshift systems. The plan is to introduce specific high-level technologies as and when time permits them to be fully developed. Drivers’ Comments: Gilles Panizzi: “The new regulations are sure to change the direction in which the engineering must go, and this means we are lucky to be starting the development of our car at point zero. Mario (Fornaris) has been responsible for some of the most innovative aspects of the design of the Peugeot 206WRC, so do not be deceived by the simplicity of the WRC04 when it first appears.” So far as the other three drivers are concerned, each was reluctant to make specific comments about the team, certainly not until the extent of their individual program becomes defined.
BETTER CHANCE: Ford used the 2002 version of the Focus in last year’s Monte Carlo, but should fare better in 2004.
PEUGEOT
Registered and Team Name: Marlboro Peugeot Total Rally Car: 307 WRC (It has not yet been defined that this model will be ready for Monte Carlo, if not, then the team will continue with the 206 WRC). Debut of type: planned to be Monte Carlo 2004 Team Driver Line-Up: Marcus Gronholm/ Timo Rautiainen, Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets Top Management: Sport Director: Corrado Provera, Technical Director: Michel Nandan, Team Manager: Nic Gullino Expectations for the 2004 Season: The 2003 season ended in a state of unsettlement. The loss of Richard Burns before the final round of the series, followed by the shock of ending the season without a title, hit the team hard. Then many of the team’s plans for 2004 were turned upside down when the FIA decided that teams could only nominate two, not three, drivers to be eligible for world manufacturers’ championship points. Previously they had intended to have a variety of drivers in the third car, including Harri Rovanpera and Daniel Carlsson. In the end Rovanpera was left without a drive at all, and Carlsson is to be given drives in a Bozian run car. Plans continued to be fluid on going to press and they have a destabilising effect on the team. As the full force of the change became apparent, there was concern at Peugeot Sport and the advisors at Marlboro as to the validity of the choices of the set-up of the team. There was also a worry that the change had been a political coup by Citroen! The driver program is not expected to be announced until the middle of December, the full technical information about the 307 WRC will not be released until January, the official launch of the team will be held at Monte Carlo on Monday, January 19, the day before the start of reconnaissance. Technical developments for 2004: Here there was more unsettlement! Originally it was hoped to start the new season with the new car, the 307 WRC, but delays with the supply of parts meant that in the weeks before Christmas this was becoming uncertain. The team issued warnings about the risk that suppliers could not deliver the full required quantity of parts in time for the start of the season. The 307 WRC continues to be expected to be homologated on 1st January 2004, however. The team maintained a high degree of secrecy regard-
I
ing the 307 work Drivers’ Comments: The two years in Peugeot in which Marcus Gronholm was forced to share the limelight with the perceived superstar and the more highly paid Richard Burns, during which Burns scored no victories or titles, and Gronholm scored eight wins and a world title, have forced the Finn into a policy of saying little and proving himself by deeds! “I can say I am really looking forward to 2004,” he admitted, but never said whether this was because he likes the 307, or whether there is now no specific or implied challenge to his authority as the team leader. After two hard and sometimes painful years with Hyundai, Loix jumped at the chance to progress, with the largesse of Marlboro, to Peugeot, and his Christmas came early when he had the chance to join the team for the final world rally in 2003. “Better in every way than the Hyundai, and the 307 WRC seems to be better in every way to the 206 WRC,” was his initial comment. His sixth place immediately equalled the best result he achieved with the Korean company.
SKODA
Registered name: Skoda is not registered for the FIA world rally championship in 2004 Rally Car: Fabia WRC Debut of type: Deutschland 2003 Team Driver Line-Up: not yet announced Top Management: Director of Motorsport Petr Kohoutek, Team Principal Pavel Janeba, Technical Manager Dietmar Metrich Expectations for the 2004 Season: The team has not registered for the FIA championship, and has delayed announcing its exact plans. Initially it was said that they would concentrate on entering the ten European rounds of the world series and spend the time and money saved avoiding
the longhaul events in developing the Fabia WRC, which a full program would prevent them doing. Technical developments for 2004: nothing specific has been planned. Although the rules say that manufacturers cannot homologate World Rally Cars unless they are entered in the championship, the FIA has allowed Skoda to homologate relatively minor changes to the specification during the course of the 2004 season. But because they are not registered in the championship, they are not allowed to homologate parts which the rules only accept each 12 months.
SUBARU
Registered and Team Name: 555 Subaru World Rally Team Rally Car: Impreza WRC03 Debut of type: Monte Carlo 2003 Team Driver Line-Up: Petter Solberg/Phil Mills, second crew to be decided Top Management: Team Principal and Technical Director David Lapworth, Sporting Director Luis Moya, Operations Director Paul Howarth. Expectations for the 2004 Season: The plan to run Richard Burns as number two driver alongside the World Champion, Petter Solberg, failed because of Burns’ illness. This left the team in a difficult position, because alternative choice drivers already had meanwhile been engaged by rival teams, or in the case of Colin McRae, had declared a wish to rest from full time championship rallying. So far as the team’s aspirations are concerned, it is difficult to form a judgement on the likelihood of winning the makes’ title until the identity of the second driver is known, so the team’s declared objective was to try to retain the drivers’ title - and assess other objectives when the circumstances are made more clear. The consequence of the promotion of Toshiya
Azuma into greater influence in competition planning as general manager is not known. This follows the decision that the STI President, Masaru Katsurada, should take more general responsibilities within STI. It is presumed that the number two driver will contest all 16 rounds. The deadline for decision is December 15, which is not only the date when registered entries for Monte Carlo must be declared with the FIA, but also the date of closing of entries for the event. On that date the team will hold a press conference in Japan. Technical developments for 2004: So far as the car is concerned, the 2003 version Impreza took a lot longer to come to a reliable and fully competitive state and for this reason was still not felt to be ready for replacements even by the end of 2003. There is no announced decision as to when the 2004 version will appear, though Mexico is suggested as a possible date. Furthermore, there is no decision yet of the main features of the new design. It is presumed there will be no change in the colour scheme on the 2004 car. Drivers’ Comments: World Champion Petter Solberg said after winning the world championship title at the Wales Rally GB: “I know that I am not a complete driver at all. There are so many areas of my driving that have to be improved, so many events where I have never done very well. “If I have any ambitions for 2004 beyond retaining my title, it is to become a driver who is consistently good on every kind of event. I am also well aware that winning one world title does not make a driver the best in the world. My title in 2003 was just the beginning of my hopes. “If and when I have won a fourth title, like Juha Kankkunen, and especially my ’03 teammate Tommi Makinen who did it in four straight years, then I may begin to feel I could be a famous driver.”
n 23 years Willy Weyens has covered no less than 249 World Championship events and 14 Paris-Dakars, visiting 51 countries around the world. In Rallyworld 2004 he takes you to the World Championship, Paris-Dakar and to the New Zealand, Australian and Asia Pacific championships, not only treating readers to spectacular pictures of cars, but also offering an extensive look behind the scenes. Meanwhile, the stars of the World Championship give their view on the past season in exclusive interviews. World Champion Petter Solberg wrote the preface and tells you all about his ups and downs of the season. For those who like figures and statistics, Rallyworld 2004 lists all the results of the championships covered. With 160 pages and over 400 pictures, Rallyworld 2004 takes the reader to the most interesting places in the world. But most of all, this book proves for the 19th time that Willy Weyens is one of the best photographers on the world rally scene.
AVAILABLE EARLY FEBRUARY
Expected cost $64.95. Pre-order by phoning ARN on (03) 5722 1250
16 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
DATSUN 1600 The complete guide to Australia’s favourite rally car
Sweet 16 T
hirty four years is a long time to own the one car. Most of us usually only keep a vehicle for less than 10 years but on occasions there are those who get so attached or emotionally involved with a particular vehicle that they can’t face parting with it. Domestic situations, financial constraints and the wave of mechanical and technical improvements all contribute to the length of time that we keep our cars. So it was with Bill Aggenbach and his Datsun 1600, although we must stress at the outset that despite its outward appearance this is not the same car that he bought way back in 1969. Let’s explain. About to be married and wanting to get into a car that was not only comfortable, reliable and affordable, Bill looked long and hard for something that was going to be all that we just mentioned but that had reasonable performance as well. Then, as today, the respected clubman’s rally car was a Datsun 1600, certainly the match of the other vehicles that were available at the time – Cortinas, Escorts, Hillmans, Peugeots, Volkswagens and so on. In fact, as history now confirms, the humble Datsun 1600 was head and shoulders over its counterparts in many areas. The particular Datsun 1600 that Bill bought was relatively inconspicuous. About the only things that dressed up the Safari Beige-coloured car were a set of Globe “Bathurst” mags, a sports exhaust and a leather steering wheel. Oh, and a rear window venetian blind.
By Jeff Whitten In other words, it was the sort of car that didn’t stand out in the crowd any more than any other car of the time. Over the years this particular 1600 served as a multi purpose vehicle – when the inevitable kids arrived, the back seat was used to hold a car seat and the boot used to carry a pram around. During the week it was a commuter and at weekends it was a competition car, being driven with plenty of verve by its owner in motorkhanas, khanacrosses and the odd car rally. In this capacity it served its owner well for many years. Later down the track, after the original 1600cc motor became a little tired, it was replaced (as so many 1600s are) with a 200B motor, affording a bit more grunt for those occasional motorsport events it was increasingly being used for as the size of the family increased which necessitated a larger vehicle joining the 1600 under the carport. So while the original car became the second car rather than the family’s main vehicle, it remained in Bill’s hands for another 20 years. You probably know the feeling – so many happy memories of a particular car that it’s impossible to part with it. Just like an extension of yourself, a particular car is part of you and you can’t imagine what life would be like without it. In this case, though, Bill eventually got to the stage where business and family commitments meant that he was driv-
YES, T’ANKS: 90 litre alloy ex-Round Australia tank is foam filled but filler will need modifying as it makes filling from the bowser a slow process. Pump and filter (below) securely mounted.
RECREATED: And they don’t get much prettier than this. Unusual Safari Beige keeps this car understated.
SAFETY CONCIOUS: Note how the seat mounts are integrated into the roll cage and cross braces. Door bars add strength and safety.
ing it less and less. And on the occasions that he did find time to drive it, it only exaggerated the strides that technology had made in ride, comfort, handling and driveability since the 1970s.
S
o, in a bold (and ulti mately regretted) move in the late 1990s, the Safari Beige Datsun 1600 (with rear venetian), was sold. Although he didn’t admit it at the time, that parting was to leave a void in his life that he eventually had to fill with another 1600. One shouldn’t get sentimental about a motorcar, but humans do, and Bill was no exception. With the 1600 now long gone but the memory still uppermost in his mind, Bill decided to recreate his original car. The original, in Bill’s mind, no longer existed, so he planned to recreate it as though it had never left his care. Only this time, he wanted to make this 1600 the one that he always lusted for but never had the time, the money or the inclination, to build. Convinced that this was what he was going to do, the search for a good rust-free body began. Now, 1600s can be anything up to 35 years old and the dreaded tin worm can invade even the best-kept Datsun in that time. Acquiring several rolling shells, Bill selected the one that was better in all respects than the others. It still had sections of rust in some of the outer pan-
els but these were cut out and new metal welded in or new replacement sections fitted. The car was then totally sandblasted, primed and made ready for the next stage of the reincarnation – the roll cage installation. “I look back now and see how much time I’ve spent in restoring this car. But I know it’s the standard and the specification that I wanted so I quickly forget the cost and concentrate on how well it goes and how good it looks,” Bill admits. A point in case is the roll cage and strengthening of the body. A full roll cage with intrusion bars, extensions to the front and rear turrets, cross braces and multi-tagged brackets make for one of the strongest structures you could hope for. One interesting inclusion in the cage construction is the way that the driver’s and passenger’s seat mounts have been incorporated into the roll cage. Working on the theory that the standard floor-mounted seat brackets would be less than safe in the event of a serious crash, the seat brackets form part of the lower sections of the roll cage itself, the theory being that the seats are likely to remain in place better than if they were mounted on a flimsy floor rather than a structually-superior roll cage. In the boot area, the spare wheel well has been removed and a new flat section of floor welded in so that the exhaust system and rear muffler can be
BARRED UP: Another view of the extensive cage and seat mounts, plus the specially-made spare wheel mount.
STRONG: The roll cage mounts are beautifully done.
accommodated well up out of the way. The rear roll cage stays mount to this new, flat section of floor with suitable strengthening. The entire body has been seam welded and strengthened in all the known Datsun 1600 weak
spots (of which there are none too many).
W
ith the bodywork and roll cage now completed, the car was trailered off to the spray painter for a fresh new coat of,
www.rallyscene.com - 17
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
DATSUN 1600 The complete guide to Australia’s favourite rally car
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT: Worked engine promises to deliver top horsepower. Much time an energy went into obtaining good driveability.
ROOM FOR TWO: Body-hugging rally buckets match the paintwork – not–much good for the Drive In, though!
THICK SHAFT: Huge Skyline HR31 diff and driveshafts look the part.
yes, you guessed it, Safari Beige, just like his original car. We’ve all heard tales of paint jobs going wrong, and in this case Bill’s car was no exception. Despite the spray painter coming highly reccommended and with Bill even going so far as to inspect some of the painter’s previous work, the job was a disaster. Extensive orange peeling and runs were the end result but the painter was unrepentant. Despite almost coming to blows with the painter who refused to release the car until the whole job was paid for, Bill eventually coughed up and took it elsewhere to get the car stripped and repainted again. It was an expensive lesson that had cost the owner thousands, adding dramatically to the overall cost through no fault of Bill’s. Now back in his home garage, freshly painted in 2-pack Safari Beige (not the colour that you or I would choose to paint our cars, we would suggest, but eminently suitable for this recreation), Bill began the mechanical installation in earnest. Planning well in advance, Bill had acquired all the parts he needed to finish the project off. Although it proved to be expen-
sive in the long run, the owner used the best of everything, reckoning on making it perform as well as it looked. The car’s original 200B engine with all the good bits had been removed from the car and in the interim Bill had fitted a Z18 turbo engine but found that the car had lost a lot of its low speed driveability and he hated it. So in went a 180B engine bored to 1998cc, a steel billet crankshaft, new pistons and rings, all topped off with a Datrally head, 74 degree cam, a pair of 45mm Weber sidedraughts on a Datrally manifold and a set of tuned length extractors. Reckoning on some serious horsepower from this set-up, and the likelihood of breakages if the clutch was dumped on hard surfaces, a Datsun 5-speed gearbox with an SR20 gear set and a 6-cylinder strength button clutch were added. With power transmitted through the new gearbox, a Skyline HR31 R200 diff with a 4-pinion ramp and LSD took care of the rear end. Extra precautions were taken at the rear with Skyline HR31 axles and CV joints fitted in place of the smaller, standard ones.
DASH IT: Rebuilt dash puts instruments where they need to be.
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f course it’s all very well to go fast, but Bill wanted the new 1600 to stop and handle as well. In this regard, HR31 Skyline rear brakes with vented discs were installed along with an adjustable pedal box. Handbrake legalities were taken care of with an inboard hydraulic drum system. At the front, huge Mazda RX7 discs and calipers have been grafted on to ensure ultimate retardation. AS far as suspension is concerned, no stone has been left unturned there, either. The well-known Koni brand has been utilised on both the front and the rear ends, the front struts having adjustable platforms, as do the rears. Having taken car of the motor, transmission and brakes, Bill turned his attention to other aspects of the car, including the fuel system. A custom 90 litre fuel tank with sight gauges and a high-pressure pump give the car long-range capacity, and are mounted behind the car’s rear seat. Inside there are custom-made kevlar racing seats, covered in material whose colour compliments the Safari Beige, the door
cards have been remade by the owner, there’s new carpet on the floor and Willans 6-point harnesses. Other driving and navigational aids include a Terratrip and Terraphone, a maplight, a Monster (yes it really is a “monster!”) plus VDO gauges and speedo. To accommodate all the new instruments, a new dash panel has been fabricated to put everything right in front of the driver. Completely rewired with a 200B wiring loom and with every electrical component on the car fused, reliability seems assured. New rubber was fitted all round – doors, boot, windows and so on and the bumpers rechromed. The result? A beautiful, competitive Datsun 1600 that goes as well as it looks, but more than that, it re-creates something that the owner grew up with all those years ago. It might not be the “original” car, but it’s as near as dammit to the original. Right down to the colour. Oh, yes, and the louvre in the back window which has been refitted for old time’s sake. Marvellous! While there’s still a bit of fine tuning to do before Bill’s totally
HANDBRAKE TURN: Special hydraulic handbrake useful for those proposed motorkhanas. Note seat mount brackets.
happy with it, the thought of using the car for the occasional motorkhana or khanacross or Touring Road event is foremost in his mind. So if you see a sweet looking
brown Datsun 1600 with lots of negative camber and lots of street cred, move right over! It might just be Bill out and about in his restored Datsun 1600.
1971 Datsun 1600 P510
Colour: Safari Beige 2-pack Engine: 180B 1998cc. Steel billet crank, Datrally head, 74 degree cam, twin 45mm Weber carburettors on Datrally manifold. Tuned length extractors. Transmission: Button clutch (6-cylinder size), Datsun 5 speed gearbox with SR20 gear set. Skyline HR31 R200 diff with 4 pinion ramp, LSD, Skyline HR31 “A” arms. Brakes: HR31 Skyline rear brakes with vented discs and inboard handbrake drum, Skyline HR31 axles with CV joints. Front brakes Mazda RX7 discs and calipers. Adjustable pedal box, hydraulic handbrake. Front suspension: Koni shock absorbers with adjustable platforms and adjustable strut tops. Rear suspension: Koni shock absorbers with coil-over springs and adjustable platforms. Fuel system: High pressure fuel pump and custom 90 litre fuel tank. Interior: Full cage, Kevlar racing seats, Terratrip, Terraphone, maplight, Monster tacho, VDO gauges and speedo. Willans 6-point harnesses.
For more great technical photos on this fantastic Datsun 1600, check out our website: www.rallyscene.com
REAR VIEW: Rear roll cage stays mount well back in boot. Note lightweight battery.
WHEEL GOOD: Genuine Datsun Enkei wheels set this 1600 off.
LOVE IS BLIND: The original equipment rear window louvre – so people can’t see what lurks inside.
18 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
DATSUN 1600 The complete guide to Australia’s favourite rally car
The original ‘Grunter’
Some months ago in this very magazine, we followed the build of Glenn Bakker’s Datsun 1600 “Grunter” replica that re-created Geoff Portman’s nationally-famous Datsun 1600, IFK 250. The new car was everything that Grunter was, and more, but our newer readers may be unaware of why anyone would want to re-do a Datsun 1600 or wonder what was so special about “Grunter” anyway. It got us thinking that we should explain how the car came into being. Geoff Portman, the car’s original owner and driver, explains. “I started my rally career in late 1974, not in a Datsun 1600, but in an FE Holden, of all things. I did a few events in the FE before moving across to my first Datsun 1600 which featured a 180B motor with a single side-draught Weber, standard gearbox and diff, heavy duty oil-filled struts at the front and gas shockers on the rear. It cost me $2000 in those days and was a pretty quick car, all things considered. I could have run it in the 1975 Alpine but decided to give the FE one more run. The Holden met its demise immediately after that Alpine Rally when it ran out of brakes and was demolished against a dormitory wall. Over a period of time Ross Runnalls (my navigator) and I,
racked up a number of good performances in the 1600, equalling or beating some of the better-known drivers in those days, including Roger Bonhomme, Bob Waterhouse and others. To our credit, to those who mattered our performances were starting to become noticed. The opposition, apparently, were becoming cheesedoff with our results in our rather standard car. Just prior to the 1978 Alpine, our sponsor and mentor, the late John Armitage, announced that the Datsun Rally Team boss, Howard Marsden, had agreed to lend us some new and some used parts for our Datsun. Naturally we accepted the offer and in ten days, we transformed our standard car into quite a monster by comparison. We had been loaned a new 2litre competition engine, 5speed Option One close ratio gearbox, a 5.1 LSD, works vented disc brakes with 4-spot calipers, full gas shocks all round, an aluminium radiator plus wheels and tyres – just about everything we could have asked for. (Hindsight now suggests that that was probably the birth of “Grunter.” Ed.) To cut a long story short, we detuned the engine to enable me to drive it, got ourselves a service crew and spent two nights out practicing before the big
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event. The early part of the event turned out to be a bit of a disaster – we spun twice on the first division, were frustrated by dust on seemingly endless stages, suffered severe fuel vaporisation in the heat, punctured and drove 8km in the night division on a flat, ripped the exhaust off on a rock, then emerged to be in second place to Colin Bond’s Escort RS2000 at the start of the final division. As you can imagine, it was then on for young and old. History now records that Colin Bond came second to us but it was by less than a minute in a terrific struggle. We were the unknown heroes from the bush but that’s how it happened. Ten years after they started being produced, the real success era of Datsun 1600s had begun in Australia. While the next few years were interrupted by major wins by Escorts and Stanzas, it was the 1600 (a discontinued model by then) that was the mainstay of Australian rallying, particularly at club level and state championship level. We won four of the five ARC events in 1982 plus a string of other open events that we used for practice and testing. I believe that this achievement stands as the only National Championship in the world for the 1600.
Above: PICTURE PERFECT: As well as the normal 4-door sedan, the Datsun 1600 also came in a station wagon version and this pretty 2-door bodyshell, though not in Australia. Above right: A CAST OF THOUSANDS: The P510 Datsun 1600 once made up more than half of the field in national, state and club rallies. Right: ON THE LIMIT: This is the way that most people drove their 1600s, just like legendary tuning guru Arthur Jackson shown here.
IN THE BEGINNING: “Grunter”, with Geoff Portman at the wheel, heads for victory in the Repco Alpine Rally.
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ell, we were wrong (as you would expect a couple of Escort nuts to be) by stating last month that a Datsun 1600 had never won an Australian Rally Championship. Of course they have. Geoff Portman and Ross Runnalls won the ARC in 1982 in their familiar “Grunter Mk.2” Datsun 1600, IFK 250. Under the Datrally banner, Portman and Runnalls won four rounds of that year’s ARC, the Sunday Times Safari in WA, the Dunlop 2GO
on the NSW central coast, the Commonwealth Motors Rally which was run around Broken Hill, and the Victorian Alpine Rally. The first round of the ARC, the Lutwyche Shopping Centre Rally, was won by Greg Carr and Fred Gocentas in the exworks Fiat Abarth 131 after Portman was disqualified after deciding to retire from the event with a broken differential carrier. However, after affecting repairs they got going again only to find that the stage that they had retired on was subsequently
deleted from the event. They pressed on to the finish to record first place, but a series of official enquiries after the event revealed that their notice of retirement should be upheld and they were excluded. It’s interesting to note that the American version of the Datsun 1600 that we mentioned last month was designated the PL510 (“L” for left hand drive) in the States and badged as a “510”. Thanks to Datsun 1600 guru Jeff Cameron for setting us right on these points.
www.rallyscene.com - 19
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Forest Rally to CTEK is top seller open 2004 ARC
This year’s Respect Yourself Forest Rally has upped the anti again, doubling the action and excitement for the first round of the 2004 Globalstar Australian Rally Championship. The event, to be held from Friday evening, March 26 until Sunday 28 , is the opening round of the Globalstar Australian Rally Championship. It is also the opening round of the WA Rally Championship and will have the popular Forest Rally Classic running as a piggyback event. The popular Busselton Toyota Super Stage at Barnard Park, now being held on both Friday and Saturday nights, will provide spectators with the opportunity to enjoy the Super Stage twice. In conjunction with the event, a ‘Wheels Expo’ will also be held on Saturday at Barnard Park and will feature exhibitions, demonstrations, street racing, speed events and a fully operational service park. The event, organised by the West Australian Car Club, is the first event to run with the new naming rights sponsor, Globalstar, on board. Clerk of Course Ross Tapper said “ It’s a new and exciting time in the Australian Rally Championship with IMG and the new naming rights sponsor, Globalstar, increasing the profile of the Championship and at the same time providing the events with much need improved safety with satellite phones. We will now be able to talk to our senior officials anywhere on the course with the privacy of the phones and they in turn will be able to contact emergency services from the field without having to use the radio network.” Rally stages around Nannup have been revamped to meet the new maximum distances for each heat and distances between Service Parks however the course is still run on the plantation roads around Nannup. As much as possible, the stages are the same as 2003 to make it easier for reconnaissance, but there have been changes to modify spectator and corporate viewing points. The Service Park will again be located in the main street of Nannup. A new initiative for 2004 will be that Heat 2 will start on Saturday night after the 2-hour Service Park in Nannup. Cars will return to the Busselton Toyota Super Stage for 2 runs before going to the overnight parc ferme. Crews who are unable to meet the cut off time for the Super Stage will be given an allocated time for the stages, but will still be able to re-start on Sunday. Last year’s Forest Rally winners and 2003 Australian Rally Champions, Cody Crocker and Greg Foletta, will head the anticipated strong field of
entries. Their main rivals will be the Subaru team mates of Dean Herridge and Glen Macneall, who are after their first win and would love to do it at their home event in front of their fans. With major changes anticipated to the make up of the Toyota and Mitsubishi teams, the rally world will be watching to see who the confirmed drivers will be and how they perform at the 2004 Forest Rally. With Simon Evans and Juha Kangas, the leading privateers in 2003, tipped to be moving up to manufacturer teams in 2004, a new world of opportunities has arisen for privateer competitors. They will all be on equal standing and a win in the 2004 Forest Rally for any of the teams will put the pressure on the rest. Ross Tapper says that the support of core sponsors had ensured a bigger and better event for 2004. “Healthway, through Respect Yourself, will be supporting the event for the tenth year, Busselton Toyota has doubled its support and Eventscorp is back again. In addition, the West Australian Newspaper group will be giving the rally huge promotional support. With the bonus of the national sponsors, Globalstar and Elf Fuels, the rally and the Championship are in a strong position.” “The support from these companies has ensured that we can extend the 2004 event to encompass a 48 hours Wheel Expo, which will appeal to all ages and be the first of its kind in the South West. “This will ensure that we attract a wider range of audience which will exceed our previous targets of 9000 spectators. With plenty of motorsport action, skateboard competition, food stalls, live music and a fireworks show, there will be plenty to do and see for everyone” In addition to the rally action on the Busselton Toyota Super Stage, the organisers will be running an event for street and race cars as part of the popular WA Speed Event Series. This event will take place on Saturday afternoon while the rally continues in Nannup. It is anticipated that 80 cars will enter the Speed Event. Event regulations and accommodation booking forms will available from February 1. Rally Headquarters will again be at The Geographe Bayview Resort. Teams and supporters are encouraged to make their bookings early to ensure they don’t miss out. Enquiries about the event can be directed to Ross Tapper on 0418 950 022 or Strategic Marketing & Research, the event promoters, on (08) 9754 6151.
The innovative CTEK has won the competitive race for the leading new generation battery charger. It is now Australia’s top selling new unit with success due to sophisticated performance, ease of operation and compact dimensions. The CTEK is now seen as the industry-leading charger. Endorsing this position is the release of an independent test which finds the CTEK to be the winning new generation battery charger when compared to its main opposition. “The success of the CTEK is due to its impressive easy-to-operate technology,” says ProQuip International’s Martin Haines. “Batteries can now operate to 100% efficiency for extended life spans.” The Swedish-designed unit’s method of charging uses an electrical pulse which also senses battery condition and level of charge. It is safe to use when connected to batteries in cars with sensitive electronics. This new pulse system’s pulse technology is the only way batteries can be completely charged for maximum performance and operating life. (Con-
ventional linear methods can only be charged to 80% of potential before gassing commences which can cause sulphation on the plates and reduce durability.) The CTEK Multi SX3600 is a 12 volt/45 watt charger and needs no more than merely connecting to electrical power and selecting the most suitable mode for the battery condition. Its performance range includes the same charging as a huge commercial device to a small domestic trickle charger. “This means hard working batteries which have been designed for a three year life but begin to lose performance after only two years can now ensure a full three years top performance. It is perfect for seasonal vehicles as it revives as well as charges,” Haines said. “The system is totally bullet-proof. It has spark and reverse polarity guards and IP65 rating allows its use in the rain. And when not in use, being compact with very light weight means storage and handling is never a problem. Even though there is no fan fitted there are no heat problems,” he added. CTEK – the top selling newgeneration battery charger.
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tuckey Tyre Service, Australian distribu tor for Compomotive Motorsport Wheels, have announced two new additions to their range. Compomotive 17" ML This 17" wheel is a major new development in the range of ‘ML’ wheels; following the famous ‘Minilite’ design (pictured right). This new wheel can be supplied in 4 and 5 stud fitments in a wide range of offsets. It is produced in the same competition alloy as the range of rally wheels, with the now famous massive caliper clearance for competition brake upgrades. TH3 rally wheel This is the latest evolution of the famous ‘TH’ range of rally wheels (right) produced by Compomotive Motorsport Wheels UK. This wheel was used to win the 2003 World Cup Rally, and by Cody Crocker To win the ARC. It has also been chosen as the control wheel for the new ‘Subaru Rally Challenge’. Both these wheels are available now from Stuckey Tyre Service or Dunlop Motorsport outlets in all states. Contact Stuckey on (03) 93865331 for your nearest dealer.
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20 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
NZ overhaul
Hirvonen takes the wheel
The Subaru team’s latest recruit, 23year-old Mikko Hirvonen (right), got behind the wheel of an Impreza WRC2003 for the first time prior to Christmas and quickly showed the sort of intuitive talent that has earned him a place in the team for 2004. After driving more than 300km up and down a 3.5km tarmac road near the French Alpine town of Gap, Mikko and the team’s Principal Engineer, Pierre Genon, were both pleasantly surprised at how quickly he’d adapted to the new car. By the end of the day Hirvonen was setting times not far behind those of his teammate and current World Champion Petter Solberg. “It was quite a surprise,” said Mikko. “I thought it would be much more difficult to get used to, but it seems the car is easy to drive, very stable and much smoother through the corners than I was expecting. I didn’t expect to develop this good feeling quite so soon, so I’m very happy.” As most of his WRC experience has been gained driving a Ford Focus, Mikko and the rest of the team were anxious to see how he’d get on in the same version of the Impreza he’ll be starting next year’s Monte Carlo and Sweden rallies with. The day before taking the wheel himself, Mikko had benefited from a few hints and tips on driving the car from Petter. With Hirvonen strapped into the co-drivers seat, Petter turned tutor for a dozen passes through the test road, sharing suggestions on how to get the best from the car along the way via the helmet intercom. “That was very useful, said Mikko. “He talked about the tyres and driving style, how he brakes, uses the diffs, that sort of thing. When we got to the end of the stage and had turned the car around we had a quick discussion about the trip, and away we went again. “The main thing that I knew I’d need to adapt was my braking style on approaching
The exit of Rally New Zealand and the inclusion of a new, all-tarmac, season finale are the most radical aspects of a major overhaul of the Kiwi national rally championships for 2004. The changes will see the 2004 national series compressed into a five-month time frame, opening with the well-established Otago Rally on May 22-23, and concluding with the new Auckland Tarmac Rally on September 17. In between, the series will take in four further rounds. Three – the June 5-6 Southland Rally, the July 9-10 Rotorua Rally, and the July 30-31 Hawkes’ Bay Rally – carry over from previous years. The fourth is the Nelson Rally, newly promoted from regional to national status to run as a single day event on August 29. The most controversial aspect of the new calendar is the absence of Rally New Zealand after 15 years as part of the national series. Its elimination from the championship was recommended by the country’s Rally Commission during 2003, hotly contested by Rally New Zealand itself, but finally confirmed by motor sport’s national governing body. Those advocating for the event’s elimination from the national series have argued that its cost, the high proportion of points awarded for the round (including leg-by-leg bonus points), and the fact that the national championship battle is invariably overshadowed by that for world championship honours make it an inappropriate national event. The other side of the coin is that that national status provides a compelling incentive for the country’s leading drivers to contest its leading event and – increasingly tenuously – offers an opportunity for top locals to showcase their talents against international opposition. A further point - that in recent years Rally NZ has been the only national event based in Auckland (the country’s largest population base) seems to have led to the surprise decision to add the new
corners. I’m used to braking very late and very hard, but the Impreza performs better with a more progressive and smooth approach to the corners. It was a very good experience, but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it too much - no matter who’s driving, I still find sitting in the co-drivers seat pretty scary.” Early on Mikko and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen set off on their first few solo runs. Pierre Genon said: “The day was mainly about familiarisation. We left the car with exactly the same set-up as Petter had used the day before and Mikko got in and did 100km just to get a feel for it. The conditions on the road were quite muddy and slippery but he got to a good pace very quickly. “In the afternoon we experimented with some very small set-up changes but concentrated mainly on evaluating some of the Pirelli tyres we’ll be using in Monte Carlo. All in all it was a very good day.” Mikko tested again on Saturday, when he concentrated on trying the various Pirelli tyre options available for Monte Carlo. “We were driving a tarmac stage on studded snow tyres,” said Mikko. “It’s a position you can often find yourself in on the Monte Carlo rally, so it’s a good idea to see just what’s possible in those conditions.”
By David Thomson
Auckland Tarmac Rally as the national season finale. The event will be run by Rally New Zealand, but where precisely remains uncertain. The smart money, though, is on roads north of Auckland. There is greater clarity over the other new round, based in the upper South Island city of Nelson. This event is already well–established as a successful part of the Mainland (South Island) Championship, and its bid for national status was signalled in the middle of 2003. As well as the addition of two new events and the elimination of one long-standing round, changes are afoot in at least two of the established events that remain. Consistent with changes to the Asia-Pacific Championship, of which it is also a part, the Rotorua Rally will shift from a three to two day format. Organisers are using the change to increase both the absolute quantity and proportion of special versus touring stage distance. A highlight will be the restoration of the famous Motu Road stage – once the longest gravel stage in world rallying - as a single 47km test. Acting under some pressure from national authorities, the organisers of the Otago Rally are likely to change the relationship between the national section of the event and the increasingly popular Otago Classic Rally. In recent years, the Classic Rally field has run in reverse order just ahead of the national field. The recipe has been hugely successful from a spectator point of view, but has not gone down so well with national authorities, who have seen the increasingly high-quality classic field overtake the national field as the ‘main event’. For 2004, it seems likely that the national field’– probably of around 25-30 cars – will run in advance of the classics.
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www.rallyscene.com - 21 IMH 895, and which made its debut in the 1978 North Eastern Rally. Although it was soon replaced by the more common 2-headlight model in the Bond team, “Snoopy” was a regular sight on the forest tracks around the country. Today, the Escort RS2000 is experiencing increased interest and good examples are getting harder to find. Consequently prices are going up but it’s still possible to purchase one in reasonable condition for $2,000 - $3,000. As always, make sure that the car you buy is a genuine RS2000 and not a look-alike. Obvious differences from the standard Escort include the composite plastic, 4-headlight nose cone and correspondingly shorter front guards and bonnet which were an RS2000-only fitting. If you find an original, it’s worth spending time and money to bring it up to original condition – it will certainly remain a classic.
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
“There is one word that sums up everything about Ford’s Escort RS2000 – fun. The RS2000 is a fun car to drive, a fun car to own and a fun car to have fun in. The RS2000 is probably the closest you’ll get to driving a rally car on the road. Its forest racer heritage, the kickback of years of Escort participation in rallying worldwide, is apparent from its sharpness on the road.”
So said Modern Motor in their article in November 1979. “It’s also a bargain car. The test car, a four door, retails at just $6513, plus $224 for the optional alloy wheels and $103 for a laminated windscreen – a total of just $6840 for one of the most enjoyable cars we’ve driven for a long time.” Modern Motor were obviously fairly taken by the new Escort and for good reason – in its day it was one of the quickest four cylinder cars around and was eagerly awaited by the legion of small Ford followers who had read so much about the English RS2000 in contemporary magazines. Despite being a reasonable seller for Ford in Australia, it was somewhat of a disappointment to Australian Escort fans, lacking the equipment that the British version had. Although neatly decked out with Scheel seats, quickshift gear change, sports instrumentation, sports suspension and uprated roll bars and a sports steering wheel, the local version missed out on the performance goodies that RS2000s in other markets included as standard. For instance, the English RS2000 was only available in 2-door form (the Aussie one available in 4-door and 2-door configuration) but included such niceties as what Ford called the Group 1 Pack – twin downdraught 44IDF Weber carburettors, cast twin-outlet exhaust manifold, hotter cam and a dash that featured a clock on the passenger’s side. Twenty five of these cars were brought to Australia sometime before the Australian RS2000’s release on July 4, 1979 (in 1976, in fact) and were quickly snapped up as road cars and competition cars. Nevertheless, Ford’s 2-litre Pinto motor and the Escort’s famed handling qualities made it a very desirable car for Australian sporting motorists. Production at Ford’s Cambellfield factory got under way 2 months later than planned, after the car was displayed at the Melbourne International Motor Show. The delay in releasing the car to the Australian market was apparently caused because it took
RS2000 turns 25
longer than expected to get ADR approval for the Scheel seats. An initial batch of 250 cars were produced and sent out to dealers, many of these having already been pre-sold. After that, production ran at something like 45 a month, a low-volume model in anyone’s language. The Australian RS2000 was certainly a standout good looker. While the current Rallye Pack Escort was distinctive, the new RS2000 with it’s RIM plastic, four headlight nose cone made it instantly recognisable from its more mundane brothers. There were also other features that identified it – optional Volante alloy wheels, halogen headlights, black-out panels, different front and rear bumpers and black belt-line stripes, plus RS2000 lettering on the rear quarter panels. Period road testers were full of praise for the new car but criticised it for being noisy – engine noise and road noise being suggested culprits, and for having too little legroom in the rear. Like all of Ford’s sporting models, the RS2000 soon developed cult status and Aussie RS2000s were no exception, helped along by some great performances on the race and rally tracks throughout the country. RS2000s were seen regularly at rounds of the
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ON SHOW: Ford fans will have a chance to see some Escorts in mint condition at the RS Owners day on February 1.
FOOTNOTE: The Ford RS Owners Club will have a large display of RS2000s as well as other 4 cylinder Fords at their annual Small Ford Day in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora on Sunday, February 1. There will be close to 100 cars on display and the public are invited to attend. The club’s display is in Bundoora Park, Plenty Road, Bundoora, commencing at 9am. More details on the day are available by emailing rsoc_vic@hotmail.com
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Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Contact Alan Stean ● NissanSport agent ● Silverstone High Performance tyres agent ● Supplier of classic Datsun 240Z for multiple champion Ross Dunkerton
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24 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
This month we are pleased to again be able to bring you some South Australian rally news, a feature that has been missing from our pages for several months. Thanks to Kristian McMahon for taking up the challenge – we hope that all you South Aussie competitors will keep feeding him with all your news, event reports and results. It’s up to you to help promote rallying in your state. Ed.
WIRRABARA RALLY The following are somewhat belated results from the final round of the SARC at Wirrabara: 1. Sam Brand/Tim Batten: Subaru WRX, 2. Declan Dwyer/ Simon Orme: Lancer EVO 3. Andrew Gleeson/Mandy Rudham: Datsun Stanza. Brand already had the championship stitched up by the end of round four, but there were no signs of complacency, especially as co-driver Tim Batten still needed a strong finish to earn his own title. Another consistent event for the Brand Rallysport team ensured both finished the year with a round win and a much deserved championship. Congratulations guys.
SA Snippets By Kristian McMahon
WELL DONE Congratulations also go to Jack Monkhouse for making the rally.com.au top ten drivers in Australia for 2003. His efforts have certainly not gone unnoticed and, reliability andmechanical problems aside, greater success can only be around the next corner. Sam Brand and Tim Batten won the Wirrabarra Rally late in 2003, driving their Subaru Impreza WRX. (Photos: Andrew Mills)
SARC CHALLENGE It was interesting to see Mark Povey issuing the challenge on the e-group for interstate teams to have a go at this year’s SARC. Whether this results in any greater competition remains to be seen, but it should make for an even more interesting season if it does. Group N winner and second outright (to an interstate competitor!) in 2002, team ‘REX-IT’ will be back this year after spending 2003 in development phase where they chose to run the WRX at numerous events as an official vehicle. Even in this role, Mark was always seen to be pushing extremely hard (getting as much air at Hannaford Hump as the ARC big boys springs to mind). 2004 promises an all out attack from Mark and team. Good Luck.
NEW TOWER An impressive new timing tower is near completion at the Southern Districts Car Club’s Lanac Park venue. Round 1 of theAutosport Cup on March 13 will see the timer being used officially for the first time with Round 1 of the South Australian Rally Championship, the Fowles Auctions Southern Rally, also set to have a Special Stage at Lanac Park. The brainchild of SDCC ex-president, Marc Tillett, the club sought and obtained a government grant and together with the help of club members, the structure is finally taking shape. Double the size of the two sheds it has replaced, it has a second story for timing and officials, and spectators will now be able to view the entire track. Also with a permanent canteen space, it will no doubt prove to be a more comfortable venue for all involved. SEND YOUR NEWS Finally, thanks to SARAP and ARN for giving me the opportunity to contribute in this way. I thoroughly enjoy this great sport and look forward to helping increase its popularity here in SA. Feedback and suggestions can be emailed to: kristian@sportpix.biz
RAISING THE DUST: Declan Dwyer and Simon Orme head for second place in the Wirrabarra Rally.
Time’s running out - book now to secure your place!
2004 Rally New Zealand
Did you miss out on this year’s Australian Rallysport News “New Zealand Rally Tour?” If you did, we suggest that you get in early and book for our exclusive tour next year.
In conjunction with Southern World Vacations (NZ), Australian Rallysport News are hosting the 5th exciting tour which gives participants the opportunity to spectate at the 2004 Propecia Rally New Zealand on our 6 day/5 night tour. Then, after the rally, you have the option of unwinding with the optional 4-day tour to Rotorua, which includes a traditional Maori Hangi and dinner. Both tours depart Australia on Wednesday, April 14th. Full details including itinerary and prices are now available, so register your interest now. Places are strictly limited – all our previous tours have been fully booked and many of our tour participants travel with us each year. You’ll find that these tours are great value, fully escorted and visit as many spectator areas and service parks as we can fit in. You’ll travel by luxury mini coaches right to the heart of the action with minimal walking, and avoid New Zealand’s notorious rally traffic jams. Both tours include accommodation in one of Auckland’s best hotels, just one block away from rally headquarters, cooked breakfasts and your own tour guide. Plus you have the option of paying in 3 instalments. What could be easier?
TOUR PRICES
Rally Tour only - 6 days/5 nights $1985 pp ex-Sydney $2035 pp ex-Melbourne and Brisbane
Rally New Zealand & Rotorua Adventure Tour - 9 days/8 nights $2695 pp ex-Sydney $2745 pp ex-Melbourne and Brisbane
To receive more information on either of these tours and a tour brochure, phone ARN now on (03) 5722 1250 or email us at carolyn@rallysportnews.com.au
www.rallyscene.com - 25
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Hello and Happy New Year to all readers – both from Queensland and interstate. One of the last things I stumbled across as I tried vainly to clear my desk on Christmas eve (prior to taking a well-earned holiday) was an e-mail from our unrepentant editor reminding all of we state contributors that there is in fact no rest for the wicked, there is certainly no Santa Claus, but there is a new bloody deadline for contributions. Despite my laid-back holiday lustre, I felt a twinge of conscience and got stuck into it – late, but only fashionably so. What has the summer break revealed? Not a great deal of news coming out of the Sunshine State, to be honest, but Australia and the world has been turned on its ear by a number of incredible outcomes. Firstly the biggest news of the new year, as Steve Waugh trotted out to the SCG to wrap up a brilliant career. Why could he have not chosen rallying as a sport? Or, more the point, why couldn’t many of we rallyists not chosen a profitable sport like cricket?? It’s just as exciting, in a strange sort of way! Secondly, another Norwegian dominated the media with the ‘hobbit-like’ plumber winning ‘World Idol’! Rally champions, great singersÖis there nothing these people cannot do? Thirdly, and hot off the press on Christmas eve, was the news surrounding a massive change in the Mitsubishi set-up for the 2004 season. As far as ‘silly season’ revelations go, that one will be hard to beat! I had not heard anything to the contrary, so assume that if Ed is still number 1 driver, Queensland garden gnome Iain Stewart will retain his co-driver’s spot in the ‘new-look’ Mitsubishi factory team. The ’04 ARC season looks set for a massive shake-up, with this news, the Evans team joining Toyota, the Subaru Challenge and the recent confirmation of our first ARC Super Series sponsor.
ARC SPONSOR – HOORAY! Congratulations to Globalstar Australia on having the faith in the sport to jump on the ARC bandwagon. I, for one, have been waiting for a series sponsor since the inception of the Super-Series in 1996, and applaud the arrangement while looking forward to a successful partnership. Also, as someone who has a little to do in the working world with business partnerships and commercial outcomes, I have to make the obvious statement that for this to work, it must be a two-way affair. CAMS, ARCom and rally organisers must consider the sponsor at all times, and not assume that now the contract is signed, that is all that is needed. That said, we must also be sure that the true value of the championship has been adequately captured, and the sponsorship sold on this basis. I’m sure more news and details will be made public as we enter the new season. PETE’S TOP TEN As usual, Editor Whitten Junior provided his summary of the 2003 top-ten drivers in last month’s edition of ARN. Sadly there was not a Queenslander amongst the group this year, which is a little sad. Certainly in past years, the drivers from up in this corner of the country (the ‘Smart State’, we call ourselves now – apparently) have been highly regarded.
11 September – QRC 5, Bailey Powerlines, Benarkin 30October – KCF Short Course Series 3 27 November QRC 6 – Gallangowan. As usual, the KCF series will offer some great competition at a relatively low cost, plus an excellent opportunity for pace-note practice and fine-tuning in competition conditions. There are 6 rounds of the QRC series this year, with the obvious omission being the popular Townsville round. I have not heard whether this may yet be a late inclusion.
WHERE THE SUN SHINES
with Tom Smith QUEENSLAND Stewart Reid, John Goasdoue, Chris Atkinson, Mark Griffith – to name but a few – have been nominated in that list of ten for their feats behind the wheel. Given that this focus is on the ARC, obviously the Atkinsons were out of contention for ‘03. With Steve Shepheard the only other regular ARC starter in the ‘outright’ category, and having an ordinary season by his own standards, that did not leave a lot of choice. Let’s hope that in 2004, some talent reveals itself and a member of the Queensland brigade is once again promoted into the pages of history.
QRC POINTS FINAL TALLY Thanks to the QRC series registrar, Dave Grundy, the final scores have been tallied for the ’03 Queensland season. As indicated in the last issue of this magazine, the provisional new state champions were Paul Andrews and Ashley Bolt – and there seems to be no reason why that is not the ratified outcome. Out of interest, the final top five drivers were (1) Paul Andrews 141.5pts, (2) George Shepheard 136 pts, (3) Ian Ogilvie 93 pts, (4) Stephen ‘Yorkie’ Berry 82.5 pts and (5) Matt van Tuinen 75 pts. Top five co-drivers were (1) Ashley Bolt 136.5 pts, (2) Tony Best 99 pts, (3) Dom Corkeron 90 pts, (4) Brad Wedlock 72.5 pts and (5) Nikki Doyle 70 pts. In the classes contested, provisional champions were: P1 Ian Ogilvie/Tony Best, P2 Steve Berry/Nikki Doyle, P3 Simon and Margot Knowles, P4 Viv Gees/ Brad Wedlock, P5 George Shepheard/Dom Corkeron, N4 Paul Andrews/Ashley Bolt. I’m pretty sure I have interpreted the results accurately and although everything is subject to the ‘eligibility rule’, I offer my congratulations to all competitors who ensured that Queensland once again had a championship to be proud of. CLUBMAN SERIES RESULTS I have to be honest, and acknowledge that I did not receive much in the way of formal updates throughout the year on the positions of the Clubman Championship. Thanks to Mr Grundy and his scorecard, I was provided the final scores for the Clubman Championship just before Christmas and they follow below. Congratulations to Shane and Adam Turner in their Datsun 240K for a sound effort in 2003. They were (nearly) always confident and constantly enthusiastic – even when brakes failed and things dropped off the car that weren’t supposed to. They managed to collar some reasonable sec-
ond hand tyres along the way and found grip that they did not realise a 240K could provide. They are worthy champions in the true sense of the clubman spirit for 2003. The top five drivers for 2003 were (1) Shane Turner 99.5 pts, (2) Steve Berry 68 pts, (3) Paul Bergmann 60 pts, (4) Dave Ovenden 58 pts and (5) Trent Dutton 58 pts. Co-drivers scored as follows: (1) Adam Turner 113 pts, (2) Colin Moyse 67.5 pts, (3) Margot Knowles 58 pts, (4) Wayne Daniels 43 pts and (5) Byron Farrow 33 pts. Clubman class champions were P1 Kingsley Smith/Jody New, P2 Steve Berry/Wayne Daniels, P3 =Paul Bergmann, Glenn Mitchell and Margot Knowles, P4 Shane/Adam Turner, P6 Andy Pearce (no co-driver?).
2003 RALLY DINNER I’m just doing my repetitive best to ensure all readers are aware of the 2003 Rally Dinner, scheduled at this stage for 3 April 2004. The venue is yet to be confirmed, as the previous venue (Bronco’s) may not be available. Don’t forget to mark your diaries – Berenice Stratton is chief organiser and arranger. She can be contacted on 3209 2073 (home) or 0414 733 614. 2004 CALENDAR – TO BE FINALISED At this time, the best set of Queensland dates I can establish is that which was published in the December issue of the Brisbane Sporting car Club magazine. Hopefully, this is fairly accurate and should enable all competitors to plan their coming competition year. 21 Feb – KCF Short Course Series 1 13 March – QRC 1 Cooloola 15 May – KCF Short Course Series 2 5/6 June – ARC Rally Qld 17/18 July – QRC 4 – Rydges Resort, Yeppoon
CLASSIC CRITTERS Following one of my ‘cries for help’ in a recent column lamenting the fact that I did not know how many Queenslanders were heading south for the Alpine Rally, I had a quick call from Keith Callinan reminding me that he and wife Mary-Anne have one of the most special classic rally cars around with the mighty silver Monaro. As Austin Powers would say – “Very Horrrrny, Baby!” KC and Mary-Anne continue to take themselves around the country to classic rallies, supporting the category, enjoying themselves immensely and pleasing the assembled throngs of spectators. I have discussed the possibility of doing a special feature on the Callinans with the editor who agreed to proceed with “no expense spared – so long as it doesn’t cost any money..!” I will be in Mackay early in the new year and will have a quiet ale and a chat with KC about this latest cult icon. For those in the (geographically) little states, Mackay is about 8 hours drive from Brisbane so it’s not a matter of ducking up one afternoon and grabbing a bite to eat. Stay tuned for that one. THE YEAR BEGINS AGAIN Well, that’s about it for January – certainly the quietest month of the rally season. I would be pleased to receive news and updates from anyone during the year, and can be contacted at home on (07) 3862 9363, mobile 0403 019 642 or at ‘clack@tpg.com.au’ (home). You can also refer items of interest or feedback to ‘tom.smith@rallysportnews.com.au’. Once again, I cannot promise that every snippet will make the cut but we shall try to promote events, team and individuals wherever possible. Don’t forget that between the magazine and website, there are great opportunities for exposure. I look forward to catching up with everyone in the forests. Cheers for now! Tom.
Full season for Antony
German Antony Warmbold is the first privateer to confirm a full 16-round assault on the 2004 FIA World Rally Championship behind the wheel of a Ford Focus RS WRC02, which will be run by British-based Motorsport Specialist M-Sport Limited. The 25-year old, who completed a 12-event program this season, is looking forward to the challenges offered in 2004 and to improve on the experience gained during his first year of competing at the top level of the sport. “We set
ourselves manageable goals this season, which were to finish every round we started and get as much knowledge of the events as possible. Next year we are looking forward to building on that experience and have targeted a number of events where we will be fighting hard for a good finish,” he said. Warmbold will again be joined by regular codriver, 22-year old Gemma Price from Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, the only female codriver at this level of the sport.
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26 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
W
elcome back to those of us who were on holidays, recharging or just plain vegetating. It’s time for another year in rallying and for a columnist it is that difficult time to write about news that hasn’t happened yet. You can try ringing people but they are either still away, or decidedly non-committal about their plans which usually means they haven’t worked them out yet or are still piecing together that elusive budget. Take Gerald Mammi for instance. On the back of his successful assault on the 2003 Yokohama VCRS, which he and Geoff Sheeran won with consistency without taking an outright victory, Gerald is taking a well earned break and intending to kick back and relax, watching his son learn to drive and just doing the odd event. He may make a challenge for the VRC Two Wheel Drive Championship in years to come but only after a new motor and a new budget. As for Mike Reeves, for most of 2003 he was quite adamant that this would be his last year in rallying, never knowing whether his ailing back would hold out on long stages. He is more interested in his two sons in the wings, and the 15 year old one, Brendon, is even faster than the old man on his test track. Despite Mike having a lucrative sponsorship deal for 2004 which would have paid for a defence of his second title, he is definitely retiring. Last year he once again emphatically demonstrated he had the speed and consistency, only being seriously challenged on the former by Darren Windus. And a bloody good Proctor-built car helps. It will be one of those regrettable things in life that we never got to see Reeves strut his stuff at higher levels but like so many good state level drivers, there was an imbalance in that time-honoured formula of Talent + Time + Money = Progression. This should leave the VRC wide open in 2004 as Mark Fawcett elects to build a house and do the marrying thing. It could (finally) be the year of David Nutter or even Justin Dowel, both of whom have competent machinery with good support. It is a shame that young hotshot Will Orders will be sidelined for the year as at the time of writing his plans haven’t come to fruition. He may just keep punting that venerable old Escort just to get those all important forest kilometres. As I find out more I will write more for next issue. It would be a “first” if teams actually contacted me for a chat - all my numbers, emails etc. are readily available via the usual sources. Rally people seem to hate publicity then complain when they don’t get it. Of course, we are all hanging out for that an-
OF T OU
L O R T N
CO
By Michael Cains
nouncement from Subaru about the one make challenge (See story elsewhere in this issue). Lots of unconfirmed rumours abound such as Gavin Mosher scoring one of the new Subaru Impreza RSs, along with Nathan Davis, Benni Tirant, and Andrew Pannam. Mosher competed in a couple of Victorian rounds in 2003 and was one quick maniac behind the wheel of his green Zed before various mechanical mishaps or scenery excursions put him out.
S
o that leaves your average columnist with little in the way of new news to write about and he lightly turns to weighing up just where rallying is in general, with an emphasis on the local level. And of course, Nostracainsus predicts. We haven’t had that for a while. I think that Jamie Neale in last month’s Letters to the Editor summed up with eloquence and passion just what many people in rallying feel about the tenuous links between the top end of the sport and the rest of the pack. Every sport has its elite at the pinnacle on the other side of an ever widening gulf and rallying is no exception. If it was easy to bridge that gap then everyone would be doing it, but what Jamie expressed was the perception of disenfranchisement most feel about ARCom with its obsession with the top end and the seeming lack of interest in where 90% of rallying occurs. The “Cost of Rallying” questionnaire on the CAMS website was viewed with mixed emotions ranging from suspicion to hostility by those bothering to log on as it appeared to be asking questions pre-ordained to an existing view, with little opportunity for expansion or other issues to be raised. But you can write to Penny Swan direct with your comments, of course.
Also being watched closely under a few dozen microscopes is the arrangement between ARCom and IMG. This could feed those feelings of alienation as “commercial in confidence” decisions are made about our sport at the top level and which flows on to all levels and increasingly fuels the feeling that there is no way to progress or even reasons to get involved in the first place. Let’s not mention fuel. Jamie’s is a voice that should be listened to as it comesfrom another of those rally dynasties where once again it is proven that rallying is not a sport but a genetic disorder. It’s a proud heritage which is normally a pre-requisite for success. If you look at all of the top Victorians competing at the highest levels they come from similar backgrounds of family involvement and support. And let’s face it, some of those families are not short of money. Alienation may appear a harsh description but it is alive and kicking and resulting in people taking different directions to those preferred by ARCom. Witness the growth of historic rallying and the interest generated by retro events like the Alpine Rally with nearly 100 entries from people with very different views on what rallying is about. 120km stages and a challenge that goes well beyond a weekend of practiced sprint rallies. You don’t mention ARCom in such company as these people don’t care what they are doing as long as they can rally the way they want in cars that they can afford away from airport lounges and four star hotels. Herein lies the crux of the problem, one which the Victorian Promotions Committee consistently flattens its head against. To inject the muchneeded cash into the sport it appears you need to alter it radically from the way it operates at the moment. Or you need to recognize that there are
Nostracainsus predicts .....
Simon Evans will be offered a drive with one of the big three but wife Sue, the hidden brains and the one with themarketing talent will take an offer with the one that doesn’t sign him. Brian Semmens will get a four wheel drive something or other but will sell it shortly afterwards as it isn’t as fast as his Nissan. Beni Tirant will need to alter his birth records again as he realises that there are other younger people in the state who are nearly as quick as he is.
A light-hearted look at things that I would like to see come true, that don’t have a ghost of a chance, or are just plain wicked! By Michael Cains
The Full Montgomery Family will take a year out of rallying to go racing V8 utes.
recent fuel decisions, a control tyre will be introduced. Mousse-filled Pirellis are widely tipped at $500 each.
Geoff Sheeran will write a book on navigating (once he learns English) and conduct a TAFE course as a recognized international expert on map reading.
A new VRC rule will be introduced making it mandatory to retire after winning, thereby enshrining the precedent set by Messrs Stannus, Thompson and Reeves.
Stuart Lister will have a weekend off in 2004. He will also be prised out of the Chair of Rally Panel but it will be a large lever with Stuart on both ends!
Someone under 25 will win the VRC in 2004. Someone over 25 will win the VCRS. Not sure what this proves except that there are a lot of quick oldies who have been put out to pasture.
ARCom will issue minutes on time and in a format that those who weren’t at the meeting (or even those that were) can decipher. Garry Connelly will be overthrown by a coup, ending the longest reign as Supreme Dictator since Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. John Howard will send condolences and volunteer commitment to a UN peace-keeping force. To reduce costs along the same lines of
The Seniors Cup will become hotly contested but Henry Marciniak will still win on handicap. David Nutter will have a week where he doesn’t get rung to bankroll something in Victorian rallying. He will contest the Senior’s cup next year in a late model Ford. Danny Murphy will permanently relocate to Japan where they will make a Manga series
about him.
Sue and Kylie Evans will launch a range of ladies cosmetics – “Forest Essence” marketed as “Discerning Perfume for the Pace Noted”. Justin Dowel will get the gearbox he deserves. Matt Swan will find in his backyard the diff centre that purportedly went missing. A conclusive discussion will actually occur on the eGroup. Michael Cains will be banned from taking part. Any family with at least three members involved in rallying will be charged double entry fees. The Snooks, Raymonds, Woods, and Wilsons take out separate contracts on the Rally Panel. Four Wheel Drive Turbos will be banned from competing below State Championship level. No-one notices. Eli Evans will get a works drive, usurping brother Simon who will go into the concreting business and make all Eli’s driving shoes for the future. Scott Pedder will time the birth of his next offspring not to coincide with the ARC calendar. He will also stop hitting and breaking things resulting in a halving of the team budget. Spencer Lowndes will be advised by email that he has lost his works drive. Oops, sorry, that one has already happened!
different areas of the sport that cater to people with very different needs and there is no magic pill or solution. That way the type of fuel you use, or if you run with maps on your knees, is irrelevant. And we can accept that a two layer driving suit, an automatic sprinkler system, and a National licence isn’t really necessary as some people have no aspirations or desire to progress into what the sport is becoming.
T
o my mind one of the key priorities needing to be addressed to get those people who do want to compete out side Victoria would be to put together a viable competitor assistance package to those who demonstrate the necessary talent. This should include air fares, accommodation and entry fees which represent a large part of a budget. Maybe this should be linked to those who have demonstrated the results, say VRC and VCRS outright and class winners? This is the way many sports are going – look at various Olympic programs which provide basic support and sustenance to individuals that make it possible for them to take the next steps and build on their talent. Not everyone has that rich relative or can pick up the phone to people in certain factories. At the other end of the scale we need support for the grass roots of the sport, both in terms of events and attracting new people. Some support from CAMS for initiatives like Victoria’s Junior Cup or Two Wheel Drive championship for example, as the perception is that these were introduced in the face of obstruction rather than cooperation. We need genuine junior development rather than ways of passing money onto those who know people who know people. And let us not forget the problems we are having with changing bureaucracies like Hancocks and National Parks as many feel that progress is imperceptible in resolving these admittedly complex issues. Enough diatribe now – I have to stop listening to those voices! On the bright side we still have two sponsored series at State level as both Racetech Steel and Yokohama/Traction Tyres have committed to the VRC and VCRS respectively for 2004. Now if we had some more organisers able to run VRC’s we could actually have all events within Victoria and more of them. P.S. Don’t forget the Victorian Rally Dinner on January 31. Best you ring me on 98704088 after hours at this late stage to see how you can pick up your tickets if you have left it until the last minute. See you in the forest, Michael Cains.
Cross runs behind time
With less than eight weeks to go, the Southern Cross Rally is still waiting for CAMS approval of the Supplementary Regulations. The delay will mean that prospective entrants will have very little time to enter, a factor that is concerning Clerk of Course, Dan White. “The supp regs have been with CAMS for over two months,” White told ARN “and I have no idea when they will be approved.” The Southern Cross Rally re-run is set down for March 11 – 14 and will be based at Port Macquarie on the NSW north coast. The proposed schedule is for a club road event that will feature road sections and average speed components on Thursday March 11 and the event proper, the Challenge, which runs from Friday 12 to Sunday 14, offering competitors around 100km of rallying, of which 550 km is competitive. Prospective competitors who would like to be involved should contact Dan White at thecross@bigpond.net.au or check their website at www.southerncrossrally.com
WA RALLY AWARDS Darren Schultz and Scott Beckwith scooped both the PRC3 and F2 titles in the 2003 WA Rally Championship. Schultz and Beckwith were the only multiple award winners for the year. They were presented with their awards and the coveted Rod van der Straaten trophy in a gala night of presentations held in mid-December. Beckwith was doubly pleased to receive his trophy as the late van der Straaten introduced him to rallying and was a mentor to him for many years.
www.rallyscene.com - 27
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
Respect Yourself Forest Rally Plenty is going on in the background in preparation for the 2004 Respect Yourself Forest Rally. Meetings are scheduled through to the start of the rally and the event looks set to build upon its enviable reputation once again. Good local support is coming through with SMR promoting the event strongly in the Busselton area. 2004 will see the traditional Busselton Toyota Super Stage event expanded to a two-night rally spectacular in conjunction with an all-day Saturday ‘Wheels Expo’, running from Friday 26 to Saturday 27 March. Changes to the Busselton Toyota Super Stage include the area being fenced off and an entry fee being charged for the first time. The sheer economics of preparing the venue including carting tons of concrete for safety barriers not previously required, demands the extra income. Alternatives examined and rejected included the effects on competitor’s pocket (again), or not running the spectacle, meaning a huge part of the event marketing program disappears and along with it the loyal sponsorship from Healthways and Busselton Toyota. With the extra effort of putting the fence up, competitors will get three opportunities to show off their capabilities, twice on Friday and once on Saturday that will count towards Heat 2. Thanks to Malatesta Road Paving and Hot Mix the gravel section heading into the hairpin will be bituminised, maybe not on the request list for the rally but essential for the Speed Event Series to be held on the Saturday while we’re in the forest. Respect Yourself Forest Rally co-ordinator, Ross Tapper, told ARN the Saturday Wheels Expo will feature a Busselton speed event, with up to 80 competing street cars. Displays and demonstrations by motoring clubs, car clubs and everything else to do with wheels will also be a feature of the Wheels Expo, along with an action alley and extreme game attractions. “There will be something for everyone at this year’s Respect Yourself Forest Rally,” Tapper added. Changes to the layout of many of the forest stages have been required to allow for the new tyre restricting service schedule for all ARC events. Effectively there will be more even stage distances between services. All up it’s looking to be a great event with some new twists to maintain the challenge for competitors! Rally Chaplain Kim Van Kyul has been inducted into the Chaplaincy of Rallying as WARC Chaplain for 2004. Many rally folk would be aware that Terry Dorrington has assisted the sport with the two tragedies we have had this year. Terry inducted Kim in December at the old Nollamara Police Station. Kim and his wife will be active in service parks from now on so please make them welcome. Thrust Rallying Thoughts Is it February 2004 already? It only seems like the 2003 season ended last week and WA competitors in the WARC and Clubman Cup had a few months to prepare for 2004. Last year’s season did not end on a high unfortunately. A tragic accident saw the passing of Paul Bazzica and the hospitalisation of 3 more competitors with serious injuries. Going into the last round of the championship, Rob Herridge and Craig Bignell were on equal points. The last round was certainly set to be the
Paul's Pacenotes By Paul van der Mey decider. Even though the Stirling Stages rally was cut short, points were allotted for both the WARC and the WA Clubman Cup. This saw Rob Herridge take the win for the rally and the state championship. Rob later admitted that it was not the way that he would have liked to have won the championship. There have been rumours that after winning 5 WARC titles, Rob may retire from rallying. It will be left to be seen whether he does or not. This year, the battle will be as close as ever. Craig Bignell is certainly in with a fighting chance for the title in his Lancer Evo 3, as is Dennis Dunlop in his Evo 7, John Macara in his Evo 3 and Tolley Challis in his Evo 5. Alex Stone in his WRX showed blitzing speed in 2003, unfortunately suffering appalling luck at times. Brad Markovic also showed a good turn of speed in his WRX in 2003. This year the Lowther’s with their Subaru Legacy and Shane Eather in his new Legacy are worth watching too. The up-and-coming young blood may well stir up some of the more seasoned competitors in 2004. No doubt most teams will have their respective cars in pieces, furiously preparing for the start of the season. The Forest Rally is not only the first round of the WARC, but also the ARC as well. WA competitors will be able to run against the Australian works Group N teams of Subaru, Mitsubishi and Toyota. The two-day event held in late March is always a good start to the season. Crews will have the chance to shake out the cobwebs on the first of only two fully paced noted events in the WARC calendar. The Forest Rally generally attracts many competitors from over east, not only the works teams. One such competitor is Kira Douglas, an ex-pat West Aussie who is returning to WA to run her new Galant VR4. It will be Kira’s first rally in a 4-wheel drive car. The ex-Mick Steele /Dunlop/Ralliart VR4, ironically was bought in WA after Rally Australia last year and now returns to turn its wheels in anger. Kira did not have the best of runs last year in the Forest, breaking the rear axle in her Escort and retiring very early in the event. Lee McIlroy and his Extreme Racing Team will be running a selection of cars including WRX’s, a Legacy, Charade GTti’s and a Mazda RX7. The team certainly has the pick of car and driver combinations for the 2004 season. In the two-wheel drive side of things, Paul Feaver and Blair Pugh will be returning in their Escorts. For those running under 2 litre, most competitors will take advantage of some or all of the new F16 rules. Conspicuous by his absence lately, it will be good to see former Australian Formula 2 Champion Andrew Hannigan return. Andrew won the F16 category at the Forest Rally last year, and after having to strip the en-
gine for final scrutiny, has not contested a rally since. With the right backing, Hannigan is definitely an Australian F16 Championship contender. There are some changes in the pipeline for the WA Rally Championship; the aim is to aid competitors, organisers and officials. Announcements will be made officially in the near future. Watch this space. Thanks to Karl Drummond of Thrust Rallying for providing the above information
Safety With many cars put away over the festive season, the return to rallying could awaken a bug that bites! Some seals are susceptible to the effects of certain fuels so be aware of fuel connections that may have leaks - they present a serious fire hazard. A thorough inspection of the fuel system before blowing the cobwebs out may save your car from a fire. Training Fest The WA Training Fest to enable motorsport officials to become CAMS accredited is to be held on the weekend of January 17 and 18. All clubs and volunteers need to look at their training needs for this season. Please pass these details onto anyone who you think may be interested, take advantage of the “down time” during our motorsport season, and encourage participation. Although most of the following courses are
available on-line by registering with CAMS, some are not, and may not be on offer again during 2004. Courses on offer for January 17 and 18 include: Generic Module for Grade 3 Officials CAMS Boardroom - Corner Roberts & Wanneroo Roads Joondanna Flag Marshal – Jaguar Car Club Rooms - 396 Scarborough Beach Road Osborne Park Event Administration Jim Satchell Community Centre - Light Street Dianella Stewarding Jim Satchell Community Centre - Light Street Dianella Generic Module for Grade 3 Officials CAMS Boardroom - Corner Roberts & Wanneroo Roads Joondanna Scrutineering Jaguar Car Club Rooms - 396 Scarborough Beach Road Osborne Park Event Command Jim Satchell Community Centre- Light Street Dianella General Competition Area Jim Satchell Community Centre - Light Street Dianella Generic 2, for officials who work in a leadership role in state, national or international events, is not being offered during January. This course may run on the weekend of February 21 and 22 so register your interest now by ringing Colleen on 9444 3188 and advising that you would like to attend. If there are sufficient numbers you will be contacted and your enrolment confirmed. Any questions should be directed to the WA CAMS Office on 9444.3188.
Wedding It’s a little late however congratulations go to Christian and Annette of the CableTie Rally Team! (They finally cable-tied the knot? Ed.) Thank You Thanks to those who contributed. If you’ve any rally news or stories please let me know at paul.vandermey@rallysportnews.com.au or by phone (08) 9472 5885 0419 201 477.
2004 WA Rally Calendar The following dates are as listed in the CAMS WA calendar. As always there is a possibility that event dates can change due to unforseen circumstances. Most of the events allow two weeks between the WARC and ARC events except for a couple of clashes with ARC events as noted below. Date
Organisers Event
Series
Location
March 26-28
WACC
Forest Rally
ARC/WARC
Busselton/Nannup
May 1
AMC
Lewana Rally
WARC/Clubman
Balingup
(Subaru Rally of Canberra on the following weekend) June 5 & 6
LCC
Safari Rally
WARC/Clubman
Boddington
(Falken Tyres Rally Queensland on the same weekend) July 17
WACC
September 18 WACC
Experts Cup Rally
WARC
Stirling Stages Rally WARC/Clubman
Collie Harvey
October 17
Eventscorp Rally Australia Trial
Clubman
Jarrahdale
Nov. 11-14
Eventscorp Rally Australia
WRC
Perth & South West
Clubman
TBA
November 27 LCC
Darling 200
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28 - www.rallyscene.com
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
With 2004 now upon us it is time to look forward to the new season, new cars and some new teams mixed with some series regulars in the same old cars.
Gold Cup John Stilling will be returning in an EVO Lancer, either the 3 or the 6 but as yet undecided. He will be hard to beat but with Rallyequip putting their weight behind Darren Gee, it should be an interesting battle. Karl Willett will make a return in his newlybuilt WRX, as will Peter Skinner in another WRX. Pete Ewing and Geoff Stewart will keep the 4WDs honest and push as hard as they can, picking up podiums when the faster cars fall by the wayside. Graham Thompson will come back out in his VR4 and should show these younger guys how it’s done. Matt Dyne will be taking on the 4WD guys in his Camira, as long as it can keep up with him. Another 2WD driver to watch is Guy Brown if he makes the odd appearance in his Datsun WRC. Clubman series There will be some very serious battles here, with a number of competitors returning in new cars. Stephen Mee has gone 4WD with a Mazda Familia. Another going 4WD is Mark Pilkington, in a Celica GT4. These guys will have to battle with the RX7 of Nathan Senior and the big V8 of Russell Winks. Brett Walther will do well in the world’s fastest Charade, if he can keep it on the road. A couple of interesting lady crews will be headed by Jenny Austin in her new RX7 Series 4 and Sophia Moody in her Datsun 1600. They might scare a few guys and show how fast they are. Marty Holberton will be competing in his Camira, trying to set another jump record. Keep your cameras ready for when he is around. Novice series Well. It looks like being another year of bumper Novice fields. It’s great to see so many new competitors every year. There should be plenty of action at the front of’the novice class between Paul Marando in Spac’s old RX5 and Russell Battison in his Lancer. A bit of a wildcard will be James ‘Jimbo’ Elliott in his newly acquired Hyundai Lantra. Many people in rallying will know Jimbo as the shirt hunter from ARC rounds. A second-generation eneration driver, Dave Boyd will be making an appearance in his RX3. Dave is well known for putting up with sitting next to Nathan Senior for many years. It appears there will be a lot of co-drivers having a go at driving this year. Silver Cup This series should be a hard fought challenge between Peter Ewing, Geoff Stewart and the Barrett brothers. Nathan ‘Spac’ Senior is expected to put a few spanners in the works with some solid performances in the potent RX7 turbo. Maybe’s and ? As usual, there are a few rumours around the
if you can’t compete, officiate.
Ray's Canberra Corner
RALLYEQUIP CONTESTS ACT SERIES Rallyequip, the team that runs Osamu Yamaguchi and Craig Neale in the ARC, have thrown their weight behind Darren Gee in the ACT Series. After setting a string of second fastest stage times behind ACT champion John Stilling in the Starmart Rally, Darren Gee and Jamie Neale will contest the 2004 ACT Gold Cup series in a Rallyequip-prepared Lancer Evo 3. Darren has only been involved in the sport for 6 months, but has already achieved a NSW Clubman victory and an outright stage win in the Allguard-sponsored Lancer. When you consider Darren has finished in the top five outright three times, has a 100% finishing record, and has blasted a few top ten stage times at the Bay, he may just be the man to step up and challenge JS in 2004. That’s all from me. If you have anything interesting that you would like to see in print, give me a bell on 0417 057 361 or drop in and see me a Super Cheap Auto Queanbeyan (not Tuggeranong as I have moved) You can also contact me on: ray@bakermotorsport.net
By Ray Baker
CAMS fees rise by 310%
Darren Gee and Jamie Neale will contest the 2004 ACT Gold Cup series in a Lancer Evo 3.
Jenny Austin’s new Mazda RX7 could upset some of the more fancied male crews in 2004.
traps, some unsubstantiated, but others more solid. Rob Nunn will possibly return in a Commodore, Phil Donohue is to have a run in the EVO, and Richard Helyer might be expected to have a go in Peter Skinner’s WRX It’s rumoured that Simon Leigh will actually finish the RX3 and drive it in an event. My Charade will actually make it to an event. I’m looking forward to a great year of rallying. I will be sitting next to Jenny Austin for most of the ACT series except Bega. My brother decided to get married on the same day as Bega after I gave him the calendar and he thought that it was a typo that the event was on a Sunday so he
booked his wedding for that day. Oh well, there is always next year. Matt and I will run a few ARC rounds, budget permitting and hopefully Rally of Canberra with new rules.
BMSC Rallysprint This event will be held on January 31 at Hyles block. If you wish to compete you have to be a BMSC member. Details will be on the BMSC website. It should be a great event and having Neal Bates as zero car should be good as well. Hope to see everyone out there, and of course
Despite making recent announcements that a number of CAMS fees and charges have been reduced, motorsport’s national body has increased permit fees for Touring Road Events by 310 percent. As from January 1, the cost of obtaining a permit for a TRE goes from $38 per car to $118 per car, a massive increase which has infuriated many event directors. The increase has been introduced without warning – in fact many organisers who had submitted dates for the 2004 calendar were unaware of the increase until lodging a permit application early in January. Affected will be a large range of events from club level right up to major events such as the Grand Prix Rally and others that are primarily low-speed timed events on open roads. Previous charges ranged from $38 per car per event for events of 3 day’s duration or less, $47 for 4-day events, $55 for 5-day’s duration and $122 for events longer than 5 days. It appears that no matter what budgeting has already been done for 2004 events, directors will either have to pass the costs on to competitors or absorb the increases. ARN understands the new fees were suggested by ARCom and passed to the Board of CAMS for ratification.
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www.rallyscene.com - 29
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
VANDENBERG DOMINATION The Vandenberg brothers from the Northwest in their Evo Lancer, dominated the first Tasmanian Rally Series in 2003 with some excellent battles against the Brothers Stoneman who also had their best year ever. The TRS 2004 will no doubt be even better with some new machinery hitting the gravel and the 2WD battle hotting right up with a couple of new grunters tearing up the forests. So for now rack up the videos (old rally and home footage that is) and kick back for the festive season but don’t get too comfy with Rally Tasmania coming up in Late February it is going to sneak up. FINAL EXAMS It was one of those phone rings that are too early in the morning to be anything good, but with one eye opened, I check the screen and it said “Blu”. This was the day I had been looking forward to for many years, a good hard look and a sniff of up-close rally testing with rally legend Les Walkden and his Australian Champion Team (privateer that is). In the forests southwest of Maydena we travelled in the trusty Spectron, Capt. Peter Angle, Flight Lieutenant David French and Myself with instructions of “go over two bridges then turn right.“ Not a problem, Les, and soon we are there, a couple of fly buys and an excursion onto an air field, we finally landed at the said test site. There, surrounded by stacks of BF Goodriches, were two of the best Evo 7’s in the country and a strong stench of ELF Turbomax in the air. Yep,
TT
ASSIE ORQUE
By Adrian Morrisby
that’s my idea of heaven. Chief of the Indians, Peter, was rattling and clicking with Harry throwing a few theories about, and Uncle Les taking it all in and coming up with the potion needed to score the Australian Privateers title from Simon Evans. Stirring up the gravel was Finnish hot shot Juha Kangas and with pin-point accuracy he managed to leave only millimetres either side of the car through the finish gate. A quick change of boots and the flying Finn was off again, setting a blistering pace, but this time with Blu Walkden jumping aboard to see what makes this guy so quick. Next up was Blu’s turn and ‘‘with an invitation to get into the navigator’s seat”, I was quick to offer my services. With a quick puckering up of my well-rounded rear end I was in and we were away. The “7” was off like a top fuel dragster and the cogs were being swapped at the speed that the
Brock for Mt Buller Sprint The Australia Day long weekend Porsche Mt Buller Sprint has drawn a field of over 50 cars. Heading the field are Peter Brock and Steven Richards, who will both drive Monaro CV8s up the winding 16 kilometre tourist access road to Mt Buller village. Despite the experience of these drivers, they are expected to face fierce competition from a number of other suitably quick punters, including Melbourne-based Jeff Beaumont (Mitsubishi Evo) and Ian Swan (Ford Mustang). The Porsche Mt Buller Sprint is the only event of its type in Australia and is thought to be unique in the world. The event itself will get under way on Saturday, January 24 with a qualifying prologue at the Winton Raceway, near Benalla in North Eastern Victoria. Laps of the circuit will determine the starting order for the Sprint which commences the following day from Mirimbah, at the foot of Mt Buller. Competitors will have a familiarisation run up the 16 kilometre road which rises 1000 metres to the top of the mountain, famous for its skiing facilities, followed by two timed runs on both the Sunday and the Monday to decide the winner. It is expected that cars will cover the course in less than 10 minutes, ensuring some high speed action. Spectators have been well catered for with a number of exciting vantage points on the mountain on both days, as well as live entertainment for adults and children at the Mt Buller Alpine village. Spectator passes cost $10. Mt. Buller can be reached by travelling through Mansfield and Merrijig to the foot of the moun-
L, Marshall I. Thompson K. Maxfield C. Brooks N. Keily
tain. Action gets under way on Saturday and Sunday from 9am. Further details are available from the Mt Buller Sprint office on 0418 337955.
Calling Goran
Goran Frisk from Sweden is looking for members of the Volvo Australia team who assisted him during the London – Sydney Marathon in 1968 and in other events he competed in around that time. He remembers names such as Max Winkless and Bob Holden but is looking for contact numbers for them. If you can help him out, contact him on goran.frisk@mbox.lidnet.se
Directors note
A reminder to all event directors or club secretaries – the pages of ARN are always open for you to send us details of your forthcoming events and reports of events that have just been run. As always we are keen to publicise anything to do with rallying, particularly YOUR event, so get cracking and send us details. Email us at jeff@rallysportnews.com.au or fax (03) 5721 5590 or by post to Box 784, Wangaratta 3676. The ball’s in your court.
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pines seemed to whip by my window. The lateral traction was un-believable, hitting corners at speeds I had only dreamed of and still going up the gear box. Then it was deep into a Tjunction and once again I was thrown back into the seat for another run through the awesome 6 speed box before executing a quick hand-brake turn and the final 3km run back to HQ. I was then relieved of my duty as my trusty copilot, Frenchy, jumped in the left hand side for a taste of the wild beast, as I tried to get my sweaty palms dry enough to write down some notes. Thanks go to Les and Blu Walkden and the boys for letting us into their team for the day and providing a little teasing taste of what is any rally driver’s (or co-driver’s) dream. It’s common news now that the team kicked some serious ass that weekend and it goes to show there is no sacrifice for good hard bum-in-theseat practice. Go team!
NWCC ROUND UP The NWCC has for years been running one of the better club series in the state and caters for the black stuff as well as their gravel rally series. This year the rally series was dominated by the man of the moment, Jamie Vandenberg, with challenges from the great Steve Mott and Lee Marshall. Best of all was to see Ivan Thompson sneaking into seventh outright in his first year of competition. 2003 Competition points - Black Tack Series J.Vandenberg 67 S. Mott 55 S.Mott 47 S. Russell 49 S, Vandenberg 46 K. Maxfield 47 B. Anderson 37 A. Woodwatd 44
37 G. Brooks 33 33 31 31
39
MSCT ROUND UP The MSCT suffered a little in 2003 with a few competitors missing due to mechanical and financial woes, but this doesn’t take anything away from the champions who pushed hard all year and showed some real determination in getting to the end. The final points saw Matt Von Bertouch and Paul Murfet taking out the title from the hard charging Peter Sutcliff and Adrian Lee and taking out the P4 and P3 titles respectively. Club stalwart Ben Sheldrick promises this year will see the revival of the club as they charge into 2004 with state titles, not club titles, on their mind. 500CC ROUND UP The 500CC Series was won by the Tim Rose/ Ross Ferguson combination in the fire-breathing V8 with Dirty Dave French and I coming home second with Wiggans and Svennsen a solid third. FINAL CLUB STANDING AND CLASS WINNERS Tim Rose/Ross Ferguson Also P5 champions Adrain Morrisby/Dave French Also P3 champions Ian Wiggans/Silja Svennsen Simon Jansen/Elysia Kruper Also P2 champions Mathew Turner/Catherine Ratcliffe Also P1 champions David Waldon/David Catt Also P5 champions. Novice champions Mat Turner and Dave French. Thanks to everyone for their support throughout the year – I look forward to bringing you the latest and greatest news from the rally capital of Australia. (? Ed.) If there are any suggestions that you might like to make or news that you might have for me. please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0419 743 291. Be safe and most of all, be happy and we’ll see you sideways in 2004. Mozza.
30 - www.rallyscene.com To Clubman or not to Clubman? There has certainly been plenty of debate about the Clubman series since the decision was taken to split the series in two (north and south) and to have a grand final on southern turf. The debate has ranged around the subject basically of ‘what is the Clubman series about?” Many theories have abounded, but here is my two cents worth. Maybe there is a solution. In NSW there are many series’ - Group 7, Novice, Clubman and State are the main ones, and there is the ACT series, which doesn’t exactly struggle for fields! The interesting thing with all these series’ is the lack of restrictions placed on them (ie: turn up as a complete novice to any of them in an Evo 8 and you can run, bar Group 7, I think). The reverse is true in a state I used to live in – and that seems to mean that the Clubman series there is a true feeder to the state series and a place to gain experience, as I believe they should be. The restriction in WA is that you must have a 2WD car – be it turbo or non turbo, as long as only two wheels are driven. In Victoria the system is similar to that in NSW – you are graded by your results in whatever you happen to turn up in – but in Victoria there is a restriction on when you can fit a turbo to your 4WD – a case in point is Eli Evans, whose black turbo 4WD was a non-turbo prior to the Rally of Melbourne in 2003. (I’m sure Mr Cains can set me straight on that one if I am mistaken). Now, complicating factors – the guy who turns up in a weapon of a car, 2WD or not, is usually of going to do pretty well, if he can drive at all. This is true of motorsport in general. There is also the situation that exists where the cost of going to a 4WD turbo after you have proved that you are quick in a 2WD is not diminished now you have proved it! So I guess this debate may head the way of not solving much, but at least the debate has been healthy. There has been a bit of debate on a style of rallying for the older people who remember stages over 100km long, let alone rallies that length. The Alpine in Victoria has re-ignited the debate here for a series based around the rally driver who may have retired, but still has that Escort/Torana/ Cortina etc. in his shed waiting to get back out on the stages. Historic rallying caters for this, as will the Southern Cross rally in March (www.southerncrossrally.com). Let’s see who has the proposals for the rally panel and makes their style of event happen. 2003 Rally Presentation Night Everyone’s invited to the 2003 NSW State Rally Championship Presentation Night on February 7 at 7pm. The cost will be $40 per person. It is to be held at the North Ryde RSL, corner of Magdala and Pittwater Roads in North Ryde. This will be your chance to help celebrate the achievements of the NSW State Rally Championship. There will be a great dinner, some laughs and a look back at the highs & lows of the year that has past. It’s a time to catch up with your friends and officials who help make our sport great, even if you’re not up for a trophy - come along and join the fun. The MC for the night will be Bernard Corbett who always does an excellent job. For ticket applications please fax the NSW CAMS office 9635 8537 or post to CAMS, PO Box 4025, Parramatta, NSW 2124. RSVP no
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
N.S.W. notes
By Neil Blackbourn later than January 28.
F2/ 2WD Classes in the State Series Russell Dixon was kind enough to provide me with some information on the F2 2WD classes which are another path to consider instead of heading down the 4WD turbo path! Or one to learn the ropes in before you do! “With newer front wheel drive makes becoming more popular and with the pending Excel series hopefully about to happen, its great to see more interest in these low cost cars. “We hope to see a number of new cars including the brilliant Daihatsu Charade de Tomasos competing in NSW state rounds early this year up to 5 of these are expected to be competing in
State rounds next year. Brett Walther from Canberra has repaired his group N version after a slight roll over this year, and is ready for the new season. Wayne Parsons from NSW Central Coast has bought the ex-Ryan Lahiff Group N car and expects to compete in a limited number of state events. Mathieu Durand has sold his Group A Charade Turbo and bought a Group N de Tomaso version from Victoria, and is looking at state rounds and has shown interest in a couple of ARC events. John McCredie should be dusting the covers off the very rapid RaceTech Steel car, and we would all love to see that scaring the trees in the forests at some stage in the coming season. There are a few rumours circulating that this
car should be out and about very soon. It would be great to see John take on Victorian Ian Martin in a Group A showdown at the Bega event. Russell Dixon himself is knee deep in preparing a new Charade which should see the light of day next month. Dixon’s car is a PRC version of the de Tomaso, preparation of this car aided by the input of Brett Walther, Doug Wright from Canberra, Brett Middleton and the MRT team. As a matter of interest to those who are interested in preparing a front wheel drive car, the Charades are a great alternative to the costs involved in running a 4WD or the old rear wheel drive cars. If the proposed Excel One Make Series is a little limiting for you in terms of development and tinkering, playing Charades may be another option worth considering.
State Round Date Change It looks like the Bathurst state round is to stay where it is as there is no other suitable date that doesn’t clash with some other motorsport event. Accordingly, there are no changes to the calendar as printed last month. That’s it As usual I look forward to receiving any interesting news on what everyone is doing for inclusion in the next issue. Contact me on blacky@blacky.com.au!
Contesting the ARC on a shoestring budget
Yet another ‘budget’ way to rally is the exCorolla Cup cars – there are still a few around. Greg Lemmon was in one last year. Canberra rally duo, Greg Lemmon and John Paul De Sousa, came out of nowhere to win their class in the 2003 Australian Rally Championship last year. What’s so impressive about the win is not the speed of the car, but that a little known team, driving a basically stock-standard ‘shopping trolley’, was able to achieve national success on a shoestring budget. In their first full season of rallying, in 2002, the team took third place in the highly competitive ACT Championship behind an Evo III and a VR4. Their success spurred them on to look at ways of competing at the State and National levels in 2003, despite being short on funds. “I can’t remember how many proposals I sent out. There were plenty of encouraging noises from various quarters, but only Toyota had the foresight to give us a go,” said Lemmon. It wasn’t until midway through the season that Toyota (Eastern Region) provided funding to help get them to the Premier State Rally. It was an opportunity for Toyota to build the brand with a stock standard Corolla that the public could immediately identify with. “Our car is pretty much identical to what thousands of Australian motorists are driving every day. We were able to prove that these cars have enormous strength and durability, if somewhat lacking in horsepower,” he added. The ex-Corolla Cup car was meticulously prepared in Neal Bates’ workshop. “The guys knew we didn’t have much cash and made every effort to apply all their knowledge and skill to keep the car in peak condition without throwing new parts at it every five minutes.
NATIONAL CHAMPS: Greg Lemmon and John-Paul De Sousa won their class in last year’s Australian Championship, driving their diminutive Toyota Corolla. (Photo: Neil Blackbourn)
“We didn’t have the luxury of rebuilding engines and gearboxes, and as we’ve discovered, the basic design and strength of the Corolla meant that we could drive the car hard without worrying about things breaking.” After winning both heats at the Premier State Rally, Toyota once again helped get the team to the NGK Rally of Melbourne. “We bought second-hand Toyota driving suits from Simon Evans and Nick Vardos to look the part,” said co-driver De Sousa. Some of the bigger expenses like fitting a fire-bomb were a concern, but we decided to bite the bullet and put off some other luxuries, like taking a family holiday this year,” laughed De Sousa.
To the delight of their sponsor, the team took class honours at Melbourne to give them enough points to win the N3 Class for the year. They also took out the NSW State and Clubman Championships as well. “There’s no comparison to competing on pacenotes against the fastest drivers in the country,” Lemmon added. “But I can’t understand why more people like me don’t enter these events. You don’t have to be super rich or drive an expensive turbo fourwheel drive to get the adrenalin hit. It’s tough, competitive and great fun – we just need more teams having a go at this level to really make it interesting,” he said.
DMA Motorsport offers for sale the 2003 RACEtech Steel VRC Group N Championship -winning Subaru STi Impreza version 5. This car was built to FIA spec at the start of 2003 solely for the Victorian Rally Championship. It has competed in 5 rallies only and features:
Call Danny Murphy on 0419 800 684.
● Seam welded shell with fully integrated DMA Motorsport homologated chrome moly multi-point weld in cage ● STi V5 Group N engine, Group N Link ECU with anti-lag, STi clutch, STi 5speed synchro gearbox with variable centre diff with STi ECU, 4.4 final drive ratio. STi front and rear brakes, with STi braided brake line kit. ● STi Suspension bushes, STi engine and gearbox mountings, STi sump, fuel tank and rear diff guards, STi mudflap kit ● DMS struts with STi strut tops, STi roof vent, DMA exhaust system ● Peltor intercom, FIA fire bomb, FIA Velo seats, Takata 3 inch FIA harnesses, 8 Compomotive rims, Light pod with 4Hella Predator Zenon gas discharge lights ● There are some spares including radiator, some lights, alloy bonnet, alternator, new turbo, front and rear STi pads. ● This rally car is part of the Victorian Rally registration scheme and the registration number is ‘0024 RP’
P.O.A.
www.rallyscene.com - 31
Australian Rallysport News - February 2004
CLASSIFIEDS
UNIQUE SETUP. FWD SUBARU Rally car. Full roll cage, Sparco seats, 3” OMP harnesses, intercom, Terratrip, fire extinguisher, factory light pods, 4 Hella lights, 5 Enkei wheels, Quadrant suspension, 2 litre Quad Cam motor. Inspect Brisbane. Registered 848 ICB. $12,000. Phone 0402 796 153. DATSUN 1200 COUPE RALLY CAR. PRC specs. Seats, Halda, intercom, rollcage, Koni suspension, hydraulic handbrake, log book, engineer’s report and heaps of spares. Vin. No. B110 – 914296. Engine A12198802E. $5,000. Phone Chris on 0411 700 768 or (02) 4774 0455. RECAROS with side mounts - $800 each, open-face Peltor - $800, Peltor transport headsets – POA. Items have had little use. Seats are Pro SPG. Phone 0408 608 551(Canberra) TRIUMPH TR7 V8. Fresh 3.9 engineered NSW RTA legal. Many new parts. Reg. ALE 44T. Make an offer. For details email carebear1@optusnet.com.au or phone (02) 4965 9202 AH.
AUSTRALIA'S RALLY CAR SUPERMARKET
LANCER EVOLUTION 5. Ex-Mark King GTP title car. RS model, full Ralliart bits, LSDs, Motec, new cage, $4,000 exhaust. Rally rego papers. Unreg. Engine No. CP9A 0002907. $42,500. Phone 0412 644 780. LASER TX3 PRC2/F16. Comprehensive steel cage in semi-welded shell, rebuilt Koni suspension, twin cam 16valve 1600cc engine, Wade cams with vernier pulleys, Motec throttle bodies, custom mandrel extractors and exhaust system, Motec M4 with data logging, full throttle up shift, launch control. New close ratio dog box, turbo shafts, LSD, hydraulic handbrake, adjustable bias, Sparco seats and wheel, 3” FIA belts, Terratrip, Terraphone, light pod etc. 12 wheels, 20 tyres, heaps of spares including motor & gearbox. Comes with new custom tandem trailer (car plus trailer equal 1260kg.), super light – lots of carbon/kevlar and alloy. CAMS log book, Victorian road rego. QCW 221. Regretful sale. Ready to rally, nothing to spend. $14,900. Phone 0417 345 026. LANCER EVO 1 – 2 and some 3 parts. Engines, gearboxes, diffs, suspension arms, cross members, drive shafts, tail shafts, body parts, brakes, radiators, intercoolers etc. I have dismantled 6 cars over the last 12 months so I have many bits. Call or email for more information. Phone (03) 5823 1911 BH or email cvapbigpond.com MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 7 rally car. Built to FIA specs, Recaro seats, firebomb, kevlar underbody protection. NSW rally registered AMM 42V. $60,000 neg. Phone Frank Neale (02) 9636 6666 or 0429 081 248.
Register for the ‘SEARCH FOR A RALLY STAR’ The winner receives a WRX or LANCER EVO Rally Car! Plus Expert Rally Tuition Plus Start Money Ever wanted to be a Rally driver but have never had a head start needed to launch a rally career? Well here’s your chance to get a foot in the door and enter the amazing sport of rallying! Those who enter the ‘Search for a Rally Star’ driver program will be assessed on driving capability, enthusiasm, ability to market themselves and their long term plans for future involvement in this exciting form of motor sport. Estimated entry fee is approximately $1950 including GST. Just send your contact details. We will contact you with further information and conditions once finalised. See you there and GOOD LUCK! Search For A Rally Star Pty Ltd PO Box 1405 Mona Vale 1660 Ph: 0411 277 433 Fax: 02 9973 3989 Email: sfars@bigpond.com www.rallystar.com.au In Alliance with Sideways Action www.sidewaysaction.com.au Rules subject to variation. Neither party is bound at this stage
SUBARU WRX STi V. Version 4 STi upgraded to Version V STi. Prodrive 450Nm engine, ECU and Turbo (quick release), 5-speed STi gear box with latest Group N gear ratios, STi front LSD, STi 20kg. centre viscous, R180 rear diff with upgrade kit running 4.4 ratio, chrome moly cage including mounting through dash to towers, full intrusion bars, seam welded, strut tower plating and integrated side dowels for jacking. Proflex 55mm suspension, floating bottom bush, large diameter springs, adjustable bump and rebound, remote canisters, full Group N suspension bush kit. Special front and rear driveshafts, MRT Group N clutch and plate, FIA FT3-approved bladder tank, carbon fibre surround, firewall and rear parcel shelf, Bosch fuel pump. Kevlar underbody and side skirt protection with rear diff plate, FIA-approved 4 litre fire bomb system, Momo Corse kevlar FIA-approved seats, Sabelt 3 inch 6-point harness, Prodrive carbon fibre dash and gauge pod with boost gauge and pyrometer, 40-channel in-dash two-way radio, Coralba trip meter, 5 Compomotive wheels. Reg. AOF 05Q. $57,950. Phone (02) 9712 3177 BH or 0419 712 317 AH.
SELL YOUR CAR THROUGH AUSTRALIAN RALLYSPORT NEWS ☛ 20 cents per word - 1 word per box ☛ Minimum of $5 per ad (+10% GST) ☛ Additional $5 for use of photo in ad
SUBARU LEGACY RS-R PRC. Adjustable Bilstein suspension, Albins close ratio gearset, front & rear HD LSD, 20kg centre diff, hydraulic handbrake, upgraded brake package, Motec ECU with antilag, light pod, Compomotive rims. P6 class-winning car. Reg. ADT 29T. $19,500 or $15,500 with STi gearbox and diffs. Phone Mark 0402 078 077 or legacyrsr@bigpond.com
1980 Datsun Sunny B310. Fully developed, sorted and proven car which is still fairly new - done just 8 events since being built. Finished 2nd outright in 2003 Victorian Club Rally Series and dominated Class B. 1587cc Datrally motor with extractors and twin Webers, electronic distributor, Escort ‘Rocket’ competition gearbox with quick shift, slip limiting diff with big axles, big disc brakes all round, fully adjustable front end with Pedders suspension, new button clutch, triple core radiator with thermo fan, Velo seats, 3 inch harnesses, twin electric fuel pumps, intercom and rally tripmeter, Lightforce lights, reverse light, hydraulic handbrake, all navigation equipment etc. Car is road registered, with log book and homologation papers and is ready to go now. Full specs sheet, photos and pricing available for serious enquirers from Steuart Snooks on (03) 8801 1050 or 0413 830 772 or steuart@optusnet.com.au
LANCER EVO 111. All fresh Group A motor, turbo, Ralliart viscous, LSD’s and Proflex. Serviced gearbox. Rigorously maintained vehicle, fire bomb, Sparco seats, 3 inch Willans harnesses, light pod, 10 x Compomotive wheels, Ralliart bushes, Autronic anti-lag, Terratrip, hand brake, Pagids, HKS gasket, forged pistons, very straight and never rolled. Top 10 ARC results. Service records. Many mechanical spares. Rego RALL11N. $28,500. Phone Paul - 0438 909323.
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