RallySport Magazine November 2016

Issue #7 - November 2016
PADDON
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CONTENTS - #7 NOVEMBER 2016
FEATURES EVENT REPORTS REGULARS
FOLLOW
US ON:
MANAGING EDITOR
16 WRC 6 GAME REVIEW
LUKE WHITTEN HITS THE STAGES ON
THE NEW WRC GAME
16 GERMAN BEAUTY
STUART BOWES HAS BUILT A
BEAUTIFUL MERCEDES 450SLC
20 INTERVIEW: SIMON BELL
IT’S NO FLUKE THE NZRC IS LOOKING
SO GOOD FOR 2017
24 BEST OF THE BEST
PAUL GOVER SELECTS HIS TOP 10
AUSSIE DRIVERS OF ALL TIME
30 LONG TIME COMING
AN EX-TTE CELICA GT-FOUR IS NOW
RESIDING IN ADELAIDE
36 FRANK KELLY
HE’S A YOUTUBE SENSATION, AND
RIGHTLY SO. MEET FRANK KELLY
65 RALLY AUSTRALIA PREVIEW
WE LOOK CLOSELY AT THE FINAL
ROUND OF THE 2016 WRC
COVER PHOTO: Hyundai
The passion for rallying ....
PETER WHITTEN
peter@rallysportmag.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS
Martin Holmes, Luke Whitten,
Blair Bartels, Geoff Ridder, Jeff Whitten,
John Doutch, Dallas Dogger, Paul
Gover, Craig O’Brien
SENIOR WRITER
40 TARGA HIGH COUNTRY
MATT CLOSE DOES IT AGAIN
42 TARGA NEW ZEALAND
3 IN A ROW FOR GLENN INKSTER
44 CATALUNYA RALLY
OGIER JOINS THE GREATS
46 WALES RALLY GB
WET AND SLIPPERY CONDITIONS
WERE NO PROBLEM FOR SEB
50 MALAYSIAN RALLY
GILL CLAIMS SECOND APRC TITLE
58 AKADEMOS RALLY
DARREN WINDUS CONTINUED ON
HIS WINNING WAY IN THE VRC
✸
DID
TOM SMITH
tom@rallysportmag.com.au
PUBLISHED BY:
Peter Whitten
RallySport Magazine
peter@rallysportmag.com.au
www.rallysportmag.com.au
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06 EDITORIAL
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49 HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN
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52 HOLMES COLUMN
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56 RETROSPECTIVE
RECALLING SOME OF RALLYING’S
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62 PHOTO OF THE MONTH
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NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 5

EDITORIAL
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
By PETER WHITTEN
Rally Australia week is always
the most exciting week of the
rallying year for us, as we make
the annual trek to Coffs Harbour for the
showcase event on the calendar.
Seeing the world’s best rally drivers
and the fastest rally cars in action is
something to behold, and certainly
something you never get tired of
seeing.
This year, the chance to witness
Volkswagen’s last event in the WRC (for
the time being) will be special, as will
the possibility of seeing Hayden Paddon
standing on the top step of the podium.
With the biggest entry the event has
seen on the east coast of the country,
the excitement is building to fever pitch.
Once again RallySport Magazine are
hosting the official Kennards Hire Rally
Australia spectator tour, and we’ll be
out in force with a big group of rally
fans just as keen to see the action
unfold.
We’re not really looking forward to
the 4.00am stars on days one and two,
but the exclusive locations our tour
group gets to watch from will make it all
worthwhile.
If you can’t make it to Coffs Harbour
for the event, be sure to follow closely
via the WRC website, watch the live
stages on WRC+ or on Channel Nine,
and be there in spirit, if not in body.
Simon Evans, Molly Taylor and Harry Bates are separated
by just six points heading into the ARC finale ...
Rally Australia is the premiere event
on the Australian rally calendar, and
long may it remain so.
The Australian Rally Championship
is heading for one of its
closest finishes ever, with Rally
Australia set to decide who wears the
coveted crown in 2016.
Heading into the final round of the
ARC, Simon Evans, Molly Taylor and
Harry Bates are separated by just six
points, with the champion likely to be
the last man or woman standing.
Evans, already a four-time champion,
holds a five point lead over Taylor, with
Bates a further one point behind.
It means that the result will go down
to the wire, and any one of the three
would be a deserving winner.
We shouldn’t forget the co-drivers in
all this either, with Ben Searcy (Evans),
Bill Hayes (Taylor) and John McCarthy
(Bates) all just as determined to win the
title, having put their heart and soul
into the 2016 season.
It will be an enthralling battle. Evans
in his ageing Subaru Impreza WRX,
Taylor in her current model Group N
Subaru, and Bates in a Super 2000
Toyota that has already won the title in
the hands of his father, Neal.
Picking a winner is almost impossible.
Speed, reliability, experience and
youthful exhuberance will all play their
part. And the winner is .....
AP4 YARIS FOR BATES IN 2017
Australian Rally Championship front-runner, Harry
Bates, is set to debut a new Toyota Yaris built to the
AP4 regulations in 2017.
The new car is currently being built by the Neal Bates
Motorsport team in Canberra, although the process has only
just begun, and the team are unsure if it will be ready in time
for the first round of the championship in March.
“We’ve got a Yaris and it is stripped down and sitting in the
workshop, with the goal of debuting it in round one of the
ARC next year,” Harry Bates said.
“However, we don’t know how realistic that plan is as the
build process will be time consuming, and all our efforts
lately have been on getting the current car ready for Rally
Australia.”
“If the new car isn’t ready in time, then we still have the
S2000 Corolla that we can use in the meantime.”
Heading into the final event of the season, Bates says
there’s “all to play for” at Rally Australia, but admits that he’ll
have to take a strategic approach.
The Japanese Cusco team
recently debut an AP4 spec
Toyota Yaris
“We’ll be going out at maximum attack to win the
championship, but we’re well aware that we have to finish the
event to give ourselves the best chance.
“Of course the championship win is the goal, but even
finishing second or third is something that I’d be proud
of, given that this is my first year contesting the full
championship.”
- PETER WHITTEN
6 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
VW’S SHOCK WITHDRAWAL
PAVES WAY FOR NEW R5 PROJECT
Volkswagen officially confirmed
that they are withdrawing
from the World
Rally Championship in a statement
to the media on November 2.
In their anxiously awaited
official confirmation, Volkswagen’s
Member of Board for Management
of Technical Development, Frank
Welsch, stated that the company
will develop a new Polo according
to R5 regulations.
The statement added that this
car will be based on the next
generation Polo and that they will
offer the car to customers to buy
from 2018 onwards.
In the wake of the decision
elsewhere in the corporation
to end Audi’s WEC programme
because of the expensive rivalry
with Porsche, the announcement
of entry into R5 raises questions
about the future of the Skoda
Fabia R5 project, although the
mention of the word “customers”
is significant.
In the four years since the
Polo R WRC programme started,
there has been no customer
participation.
Motorsport Director, Sven
Smeets, said: “From now on, the
focus is on upcoming technologies
in motorsport and on our
customer sports range, where
we will position ourselves more
broadly and attractively.”
There is no information about
what upcoming technology
involves.
- MARTIN HOLMES
VW DRIVERS IN WRC LOTTO
The race is on between M-Sport,
Toyota and Citroen to sign the
Volkswagen drivers left jobless
following the team’s shock withdrawal
Malcolm Wilson believes he
has the car to give Sebastien
Ogier a fifth world title.
from the World Rally Championship.
It’s not often a four-time World
Champion suddenly comes on to the
market, and Sebastien Ogier has quickly
become the prize signing in the current
game of WRC lotto.
While many believe Ogier will end
up back at Citroen, where he started
his career, M-Sport’s Malcolm Wilson is
doing everything in his power to ensure
the Frenchman lands at Ford.
“I’m convinced we have the car for
him to take a fifth world championship,”
Wilson told Autosport magazine
recently.
“It’s no secret that he’s always been
my number one pick for a driver. We
came close to signing him with Ford at
the end of 2011, and I will do everything
I can to make sure he doesn’t get away
this time.”
Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas
Mikkelsen have both been linked to
Tommi Makinen’s Toyota squad, but
both also started their careers as
drivers in Malcolm Wilson’s team.
None of the drivers had signed a
contract as we went to press, ensuring
next week’s Rally Australia will be much
more than just the final round of the
2016 WRC.
With the WRC already decided, most
of the interest will surround the three
drivers contesting their last event for
Volkswagen.
- PETER WHITTEN
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 7

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
ONE-MAKE ARC SERIES LIKELY
A
one-make
series for the Australian
Rally Championship is
looking more and more likely,
with talks between Rallycorp and
manufacturers continuing.
“We’re hot to trot to make the
one-make series a reality,” Rallycorp
chairman, David Waldon said.
By PETER WHITTEN
“We’ve been dealing with several
manufacturers, but the important
thing is to find the right manufacturer
who has a suitable car for rallying.
“Being able to contain the costs is
important, so we don’t want to have
‘dog boxes and things like that.”
Waldon admitted that while there is
a lot of optimism about a one-make
series getting off the ground in 2017,
the short timeframe between now
and the first ARC round in March
would suggested that 2018 is perhaps
a more realistic goal.
4 ENGINES, 1000 HORSEPOWER ....
BARE SHELL REBUILD
FOR JACK’S 180B
After 16 years of service and hard work, Jack
Monkhouse is giving his 2015 Alpine Rally winning
Datsun 180B a full makeover.
The car is currently
undergoing a bare shell
rebuild and will be fitted
with a new roll cage and a
big horsepower motor.
Monkhouse is already
eyeing the defence of
his Alpine Rally title, in
December 2017.
Is this the future of rallying?
Manfred Stohl demonstrated a
special electric competition
rally car at the Austrian Race
of Champions at Greinbach.
Using a converted Peugeot rally car,
this vehicle was fitted with a standard
544bhp electric motor and represents
the start of a three-year development
project with the University of Vienna.
Future versions are to be fitted
with four engines, each coupled to a
wheel, with a total of 1000bhp being
envisaged.
This launch came the week that
Volkswagen announced they were
about to explore new technologies in
competition.
- MARTIN HOLMES
Jack Monkhouse’s Datsun
will get a new roll cage and a
big horsepower motor.
Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz
Call us o
8 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

FIESTA SERIES TAKING SHAPE
The Fiesta Rally Series in
Victoria is well on track
for a successful inaugural
season.
As the 2017 Victorian rally
calendar takes shape, so does
the series of events listed for the
Fiesta Series, aimed as another
step on the ladder for young rally
drivers.
At present, a four event
series within the Victorian Rally
Championship is planned, with
the provisional events aimed
at reducing travelling costs for
Melbourne-based competitors.
The Eureka Rally in March will count
for several ‘heats’, and will subsequently
run over both days.
Following Victoria’s ARC round, the
series will likely head to the Pyrenees
Rush, the Spring 200 and the Akademos
Rally.
By LUKE WHITTEN
“We are trying to limit the costs
for the series, and want to know
competitors’ thoughts on the plans so
far,” series organiser John Carney said.
Classes for both standard and
modified Ford Fiestas will be open for
the 2017 season.
RallySport Magazine recently drove
one of the cars earmarked for the 2017
series, with a full drive report set to
appear in the December issue of the
magazine.
NEW TYRE SUPPLIER FOR 2017 ARC
The board of Rallycorp has
approved a new tyre supplier
for next year’s Australian Rally
Championship.
The Australian Rally Championship
will have a new tyre supplier for 2017.
The details of the new deal will not
be announced until after Kennards Hire
Rally Australia in mid-November, which
is Kumho’s last event as the official tyre
supplier.
While the new tyre supplier can
not be named at this time due to
contractual agreements, Rallycorp are
excited about the new deal, and believe
it will have a positive influence on the
Australian Rally Championship.
It’s exciting news for the sport, and
Rallycorp chairman, David Waldon,
said that the new deal will offer growth
potential for not only the ARC, but
for grassroots and state level rallying
across Australia.
HJC MOTORSPORTS
n: AU 1800 CHICANE or NZ 0800 CHICANE
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 9

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
HUGE CHANCE FOR KIWI FIVE
22-year old Job Quantock
is one of five drivers in line
for the Hyundai Scholarship.
Photos: Geoff Ridder
Five young drivers have been
selected to compete for the
inaugural Hyundai NZ Young
Driver Shootout and Scholarship, a
programme developed by WRC star
Hayden Paddon and Hyundai New
Zealand.
The collaboration aims to give a
young New Zealand rally driver a major
step-up with their motorsport career
aspirations, as well as providing the
scholarship winner with the opportunity
to drive the Hyundai NZ AP4 i20 rally
car run by Paddon Rallysport in two
applications – some really good people
missed out this time,” Paddon said.
“It made our job really difficult to
narrow it down to five finalists, but
it’s a sure sign how much our sport
of rallying is growing, and it’s great
that Hyundai New Zealand can help
us to continue that growth with this
scholarship.”
Running near Auckland over the
weekend of December 9 and 10,
the Shootout includes lessons and
assessments on fitness, how to identify
and look after sponsors, nutrition,
driver – we are looking for someone
with that X factor who has the ability
to learn and develop into a leading
rally driver, both nationally and
internationally, while representing the
Hyundai brand.”
The competition was open to drivers
aged 16-25, with applicants having
contested a minimum of 10 rallies,
including four pacenoted rallies.
Seven more applicants – Jack
Williamson, Max Tregilgas, Michael
McLean, Chris McLean, Ari Pettigrew
and Jack Hawkeswood – have been
MATT SUMMERFIELD MAX BAYLEY SLOAN COX DYLAN THOMSON
rounds of the 2017 New Zealand Rally
Championship.
This will include testing and training
with Paddon, as well as the potential for
an expanded programme in 2018.
From more than 180 applicants, five
drivers were selected as finalists for the
December shootout weekend, where
they will participate with the co-driver
of their choice.
The finalists are:
• z Max Bayley, 20, Hawke’s Bay
• z Sloan Cox, 24, Rotorua
• z Job Quantock, 22, Ashburton
• z Matt Summerfield, 24, Rangiora
• z Dylan Thomson, 21, Waiuku
“We were all blown away by
the interest and sheer quality of
10 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
media presence, career planning,
writing pace notes and car set-up. The
finalists also get a day in the forest
where they will be writing and driving
to their own pacenotes in the Hyundai
AP4 car.
Paddon says he and fellow judges,
rally driver Reece Jones, talented teens
Pinnacle Programme leader Bernice
Mene, Newshub senior sports reporter
Shaun Summerfield, and former Rally
New Zealand chairman Chris Carr, aim
to not only find the shootout winner,
but help them to develop throughout
the classroom sessions.
“We want all finalists to take as much
as they can away from the shootout
weekend.
“We are not looking for the fastest
invited to participate in the classroom
day.
“It’s extremely exciting to see so many
young and very talented drivers apply,
even though this opportunity may be
a little too early in their career due to
experience and/or age,” Paddon added.
“However, we felt it was a good
opportunity to open the door to
these seven drivers for the classroom
sessions, to learn and expand their
knowledge and to help with their
development as rally competitors.
“It’s a fantastic chance for them to
develop as a driver, with the potential
and goal of winning the 2018 New
Zealand Rally Championship.
The scholarship winner will be
announced on December 11.

LUCKY ESCAPE FOR EVO CREW
New Zealanders Sam Hurley and co-driver Alan Steel
had a miraculous escape in the Kaiwara Road Rally
Sprint on November 6.
Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Hurley slid off the road at
high speed into a farmer’s fence, with a fence paling coming
through the driver’s door window, and narrowly missing his
head.
“I went too fast over a crest, the car got light and I wasn’t
able to brake or steer around the bend,” Hurley told
RallySport Magazine.
“I slid off onto the grass and went sideways into the fence.
I’m surprised there’s only a small scratch on my helmet.”
We expect both crew members rushed home to purchase
lottery tickets ….
TRINDER NEW APRC VP
Australian Rally Commission
chairman, Col Trinder, has been
elected as Vice-President of the
FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship’s
Working Group.
Trinder (pictured right) joins new
president Vicky Chandhok as part of the
APRC’s new administration.
“The election of Vicky Chandhok from
India as President has the centre of
gravity for the APRC moving from the
Pacific region to Asia, which hopefully
will work for us to improve the synergy
between events and communication
and marketing of the sport in the
region,” Trinder said.
Trinder outlined the challenges
that currently face the APRC, as the
Chandhok-Trinder administration seek
to improve the championship.
“There are a great many challenges
facing rallying in the context of
reinventing a successful Asia Pacific
Championship,” Trinder said.
“First, it is logistically challenging
with events spread across a massive
area, making transport and shipping
schedules significant drivers for
seemingly simple things
like setting a calendar
for events.
“Second, there
is a great cultural
diversity across the 18
countries participating
in the region, all of
whom have different
regulatory frameworks
and expectations.
“Third, the numbers
of participants in the
main championship
category, though similar to other FIA
regional championships, needs to be
improved to make this Championship
work.”
An affordable technical formula is
one of the more recent additions to the
APRC, with the regulations becoming
a popular alternative to the FIA R5
category.
“One area where great progress
has been made is around the vehicle
eligibility regulations with the
development of the AP4 Rally Car
technical specification by Australia and
New Zealand,” Trinder said.
“These cars are intended to be a
relatively affordable, locally produced
version of the FIA R5 category and they
are now accepted for competition in the
APRC.
“With nearly a dozen cars now built
or planned to be built in Australia and
NZ, as well as strong interest from a
leading European based team, we may
see the kind of critical competitive
mass develop at the top end that
will revive the championship as the
world’s most challenging regional rally
championship.”
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 11

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
LIGHTFORCE
BACK FOR
MORE IN ‘17
Lightforce, Australia’s leading
manufacturer of professional lighting
systems, has secured naming
rights for not one, but two major
motorsport events in South Australia
for 2017.
Lightforce Rally SA, South
Australia’s round of the Australian
Rally Championship, will run under
the naming rights of Lightforce
for the second year in a row. The
event will again be run on the roads
around Mount Crawford Forest on
September 15-17 .
In addition Lightforce have taken
naming rights to one of Australia’s
newest and most exciting rallies –
Rally of the Heartland. The event
will be known as Lightforce Rally SA
- Rally of the Heartland, and will be
held in South Australia’s mid north
on June 2-4 .
Based around Burra, Lightforce
Rally SA - Rally of the Heartland will
bring the South Australian Rally
Championship and a range of iconic
rally cars to the picturesque Flinders
Ranges, the heart of Lightforce
country.
POSTIVE FUTURE FOR TARGA
The future of Targa events in
Australia is looking secure, with
Targa Australia having long-term
approval and funding for both Targa
Tasmania and Targa High Country.
The events have government
approval and funding for Targa
Tasmania until the 30 th anniversary
event in 2021, and until 2022 for
Victoria’s Targa High Country.
And according to Targa Australia
director, Les Smith, 90% of their
corporate partners and sponsors
have signed on until 2020.
“Our technical regs have had a
major rework and are current until
the end of 2017 - previously we
ran under our own technical regs
endorsed by Cams and the FIA,”
Smith told RallySport Magazine.
“As part of our major overhaul
we re-wrote our regs to include
parts of the CAMS tarmac regs, so
they are now consistent with the
governing body, approved by CAMS
and the FIA, and are future focused
(including electric and hybrid
powered vehicles).
“Our entries are up for future
events, including some new to
tarmac, some new to motorsport,
and some new showroom based
performance vehicles in the hands
of regular competitors,” Smith
added.
With a record number of
competitors at Targa Tasmania in 2016,
Smith sees a bright future for tarmac
events.
“As a former competitor turned
boring administrator, I want a series
with a future (so) that I can build/design
a car that is relevant for a few years at
the front, and forever at the rear. We
have adjusted the regs to make this a
possibility in Targa world.”
STONIE CLASSICS
12 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 13

NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU
NZ news
By BLAIR BARTELS
Renewed hope for NZ WRC
The promoters of the World Rally Championship recently
confirmed that they’ll be visiting New Zealand after Rally
Australia, giving Kiwis even more optimism that the WRC could
return to their country in 2018.
New Zealand hasn’t hosted a round of the series since 2012, but
a test event will be held next year, with the hope that it is granted
WRC status the following season.
STRONG BACK IN 4WD FOR 2017
The four-wheel drive field
in the New Zealand Rally
Championship will be further
bolstered by the return of Dave
Strong’s sweet sounding V6 Ford
Fiesta in 2017.
The Fiesta originally started life
as Jari-Matti Latvala’s S1600 car,
before becoming an S2000 car at
the hands of Britek and Michael
Guest in Australia.
After a few seasons in NZ,
the car had a Honda 3.5 litre V6
transplanted.
Strong took a season to work
on a fragile transmission, winning
the open two-wheel drive class
in the process, but will be back in
the four-wheel drive for 2017.
- BLAIR BARTELS
More internationals for 2017 NZRC
Dave Strong will be back at
the wheel of his V6-powered
Ford Fiesta next season.
Rumours suggest that as
well as record numbers of
national competitors in the
NZRC for the 2017 season,
several New Caledonian
drivers will also contest the
championship.
It is also understood that
Richie Dalton will not be the
only Australian to contest the
championship, with serious
interest being shown by
competitors in both the two
and four-wheel drive ranks,
although no names can be
confirmed just yet.
Charlie Drake’s Fiesta Proto has
arrived in Australia, and will soon
make the trek to NZ.
Although Volkswagen
have left the WRC, their
presence will still be strong at
an NZRC level.
As well as Andy Martin’s Polo
Proto car, word on the street
suggests the brand may have
a presence in the Historic
category, and at the hands of a
former class champion.
14 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

WRC 6 GAME REVIEW
BE THE NEXT SEB!
WRC 6 gets the thumbs up!
By LUKE WHITTEN
Due to the obvious competition
from various rally games, the
official WRC game had plenty
to prove.
The RallySport Mag team recently
got stuck into WRC 6 and came to the
conclusion that it definitely holds its
own amongst competitors.
Released on October 14 in Australia
and New Zealand, the brand new
game of the World Rally Championship
is a difficult game to master, yet a
hugely fun and impressive title.
It features all of the current liveries
from the WRC, WRC2 and WRC3
championships, and gives gamers the
chance to compete in all 14 rounds -
including the cancelled Rally China.
When starting the game for the first
time, you compete as a top line driver
bidding for the title on two stages in
Italy and Australia, before the game
gives you its own suggested difficulty
level.
This level may be surprising, but the
stage itself is a fair indication of your
ability.
Unless you’re a clone of Sebastien
Ogier, it’s most likely that you’ve taken
a trip into the scenery. The car handles
like it should, and the body roll is
legitimate and slides around on the
loose gravel like a car should.
Your tyres (either soft or hard
compound) noticeably wear, and you
can feel them fading at the end of a
long stage.
The developers at Big Ben and
Klytonn Games have done a fantastic
job at recreating some of the intricacies
of a real rally.
Intercom failures, being stuck in sixth
gear and passing stricken cars are all a
part of the game. You can even change
a flat tyre mid-stage.
Yet understandably, they’ve still
catered for the ‘non-rally’ person. Some
things are still basic.
The pace notes are more detailed
than in the past, and listening to them
is undoubtedly a key, but these are still
not up to par if you’re driving at ten
tenths.
An ‘acute hairpin right’ or ‘square left’
suddenly appears very quickly when
you’re travelling at 200km/h down a
Finnish road!
It soon became very clear that a quick
change to the pacenote settings was
not just necessary, but vital.
Perhaps the only place you can do
without the pacenotes are the super
special stages, and these are perhaps
the game’s greatest feature
There are 11 stages on a 1:1 scale
with their real life counterparts - many
of which have been live stages during
the season.
The Mikoljaki Arena stage in Poland,
the Harju test in Finland and the
Barcelona street stage in Spain are the
main points of interest.
Identical to the real things, these
are great fun to drive and equally
challenging.
Overall, despite some minor flaws,
WRC 6 ticks all the right boxes in our
opinion.
The game caters for everyone, and
despite hours of play, we still haven’t
mastered it.
It’s a must for anyone’s Christmas
stocking, or if you simply can’t wait,
spoil yourself now.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 15

FEATURE: MERCEDES BENZ 450SLC
GERMAN BEAUTY
Leading Australian rally photographer,
Stuart Bowes, is the first
entry in the new Heartland Rally,
a classic event to be held in the Flinders
Ranges in South Australia next June.
Bowes will drive a magnificently
prepared 1975 Mercedes Benz
450SLC in the event, to be directed by
Lightforce Rally SA clerk of course, Ivar
Stanelis.
“Nothing could make me happier
than to be the first entry for this new
event,” Bowes said.
“Ivar has been a stalwart of SA rallying
for decades, he’s put his heart and soul
Stuart Bowes’ new
Mercedes 450SLC
is magnificent
from any angle.
into the sport and I decided it would be
good to jump in and put some weight
behind his effort to expand classic
rallying throughout Australia.”
Having spent the last 25 years
travelling the world covering the WRC,
F1 and the ARC, the now recently
“retired” Adelaide-based motorsport
photographer decided to get back
behind the wheel and committed to
have a Mercedes Benz 450SLC built.
Early on the decision was made
to keep it all in SA, so Bowes quickly
assigned the project to local car builder
Garry Kirk.
“Garry’s work is first class and he’s
16 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

got a proven track record building and
maintaining cars used on international
long distance rallies and the Dakar, so
he was the logical choice.
“The years pass so quickly. I haven’t
competed since the 1980s and I feel
like I’ve spent a lifetime of watching
others, so I thought it was about time
I immersed myself in my passion and
do a few things before I was too old!”
Bowes said.
His beautiful 450SLC has been built
specifically for long distance classic
“The finished job has exceeded even
my high expectations, and I can’t wait
to hit the roads in the mid north of SA
next year.
“The older cars and drivers need a
home too and classic rallying is it. As
much as we all love the action of the
WRC, participation is now pretty well
out of reach.
“It’s become an exclusive
club. I have no issue with
that, it’s what makes it
desirable and marketable,
but equally so, there are
plenty of us who would
just like a ‘spirited drive in
the bush’ and events like Rally of The
Heartland are just the thing,” Bowes
added.
gravel rallies and comes complete with
air conditioning!
The car was completely stripped to a
bare shell before welding in the handcrafted
roll cage. Minimal strengthening
was required - remember Mercedes
twice won the Ivory Coast Rally in pretty
well standard trim, and finished on
the podium in Kenya, Argentina and
New Zealand rounds of the World Rally
Championship.
The engine was improved, AP
Racing brakes all round, Murray Coote
suspension, ATL fuel cell, Hollinger
5-speed gearbox (the 3-speed auto
was a ‘shocker’), Motec, all new wiring,
etc. And three years later the car was
wheeled out of Garry’s workshop.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 17

FIVE MINUTES WITH ....
5
minutes with ...
GARY BOYD
If you’re not on Twitter, you may not
know of Gary Boyd. But WRC fans the
world over keep a close watch on the
rally-mad Kiwi’s knowledgable Tweets.
Gary Boyd (right) wit
FIA WMSC Sporting Vic
President Morrie Chandler
You are literally the rally guru of Twitter
‘Down Under’, posting news just about before
it happens. Does this mean you’re on Twitter
24/7?
Thank you for the compliment. It’s
pretty crazy considering I initially only
joined Twitter to get Hayden Paddon’s
Tweets. I probably spend too much
time on Twitter, but definitely not 24/7.
At times I use Tweetdeck to schedule
Tweets at an appropriate time, which
means I may actually be sleeping when
a Tweet is sent. Some of my “Rally
Trivia” Tweets are scheduled months
in advance. I already have something
scheduled for March 2 nd 2017.
We have a fantastic comradery
amongst rally fans on Twitter, a really
positive group of people.
You’re obviously a rallying tragic. Do you
spend most of your day following websites
and news feeds during WRC and NZRC events
to keep up with the news ?
We all need a hobby, my hobby is
monitoring NZRC and WRC news. I
have developed a few international
friendships that mean I occasionally
get a heads-up in advance of when key
announcements are due.
In Australia and NZ we are lucky in
having Rallysafe, which makes it easy
to follow local events. The website
Chrissport.kiwi used for timing many
NZ events is also very easy to use.
For WRC events I usually bookmark
the noticeboard page on event websites
as it enables you to monitor Bulletins,
Clerk of Course documents and
Stewards decisions with ease.
A huge number of people volunteer
their time running car clubs, acting as
service crews or marshalling to enable
rallies to take place. My volunteer time
is helping share info about rallying.
Warning: do not let me near a tool
box or your vehicle, I am mechanically
incompetent.
18 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
What do you do for a living,
and does your job allow you to
spend the time following events,
particularly those featuring Hayden Paddon?
I am the Finance Manager for the
Health & Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Auckland University
of Technology. My job has zero
connection with rallying. NZ events are
always weekends, so not a clash. WRC
events, with exception of Australia, are
outside NZ working hours, so do not
create a time conflict.
Being about 12 hours apart from
most European events does have an
advantage. I certainly could not follow
WRC events so closely if I was living
in a European time zone. Mexico and
Argentina are the most difficult events
for me to follow. Early bird starts are a
body clock killer. I have been known to
take a Monday as annual leave to follow
the Latin American events.
“Early bird starts are
a body clock killer.
I have been known
to take a Monday as
annual leave to follow
the Latin American
events.”
With the majority of WRC events in the
northern hemisphere, you must have some
long nights during rallies ….
NZ is between 11 and 13 hours
different to European local time,
depending on daylight savings and
country. Typically it means stages are
live between 7pm and 4am NZ time.
Up until 9pm is family time, so it means
I will not follow all the drivers on the
first couple of stages, but I will try to
sneak a few minutes to monitor WRC+
tracking maps while Hayden and John
are on stage.
You learn to pick and choose which
stages to follow and find opportunities
to sleep for two or three hours between
stages as much as possible. During
Rally Spain, by missing SS12 you got a
four hour sleep opportunity. I hardly
ever follow Super Special Stages,
they just do not interest me, but I
realise they are very important to the
promotion of rallying and helping
introduce new fans to the sport.
What’s your history in the sport, and
how did you get involved? And are you a
competitor, an official, or just a keen fan?
I am just a keen fan. I have done
one rally as a co-driver, which was a
disappointing DNF due to a mechanical
on day one, and an off road on day two.
In the late 90s I was heavily involved
with triathlon and knew absolutely
nothing about rallying other than TV
news reports. A friend, Ian Hepenstal,
was the Media Manager for many
triathlons in NZ, as well as Rally NZ.
About 1997 or 1998 he asked if I
could help him out as a volunteer. My
first rally was as a volunteer in the
media centre of a WRC event. I was the
go-fa. Go for coffee supplies, go for
stationery supplies, go for toilet paper,
just lots of small tasks to keep things
going smoothly.
At the time I did not appreciate what
a unique opportunity it was. I still
recall (radio man) Greg Strange asking
politely if we could all be silent for a
few minutes as he was about to do a
live cross. It would begin something
like: “This is Gregory Strange reporting
for BBC World Radio service live from
the WRC Service Park in [location] New

h
e
.
Zealand ….” This was well before the
days of the WRC radio shows we know
today.
By my third year of helping out I was
taking more and more time away from
the media centre to go and watch the
stages. I eventually had to say ‘sorry Ian
you need to get yourself a new helper’. I
had gone from volunteer to rally fan.
You’ve got a decent number of followers,
and even some of the sport’s higher profile
journos such as Rally Radio’s Colin Clark and
Becs Williams refer to you often. That must
give you a real thrill?
That is pretty crazy. I am just a fan
and am surprised that I have several
media types, some top drivers and
co-drivers, following me. Hopefully
I add something of value to rally
conversation.
We often talk about how accessible
rally drivers and teams are to the fans,
the same can also be said about Colin
and Becs. They are true rally fans and
are passionate about what they do.
They really enjoy interacting with fans.
I remember in 2011 an occasion
where Colin chatted with a group of
Kiwis after his lunch break and coffee
in a small town just north of Coffs. His
enthusiasm and energy was just like we
hear on WRC live radio, despite having
his personal time invaded by raucous
Paddon fans.
In 2012 I volunteered for Rally NZ
again in the media centre. It was the
500 th WRC event and I was asked to
research the 100 th , 200 th , 300 th and 400 th
WRC events. It was my introduction
to the history of rallying and some
excellent websites for rally information.
Some of that info was used by Becs as
general interest info between stages.
As that weekend in June 2012
unfolded it looked like 100% of WRC
The end to Gary’s first time co-driving at
the Otago Rally this year.
cars might finish with nobody using
Rally 2. I was asked to find out when
this last happened, so Becs had
accurate facts to use on air.
As it transpired Ott Tanak crashed
out on the final day so no 100% finish
occurred. (Rally Australia 2014 had
100% of the WRC cars finish, with
nobody using Rally 2).
Colin and Becs know they can fire me
a question and I will do some research
to try and answer it for them, although
I am not always able to. At other times
I will identify something as unusual or
interesting and let them know, in case
they feel it will be of interest to their
listeners.
The biggest thrill for me is yet to come
- it will be helping host international
media when WRC returns to NZ. I just
need dates so I can book my leave from
work!
The Aussie is
currently driving for
Subaru USA in the
Global Rallycross
series.
Tell us 5 things we probably didn’t know
about NZ rallying or the WRC ….
* Only 17 drivers have won WRC
drivers title. 13 of them have won Rally
NZ. The four exceptions are Massimo
‘Miki’ Biasion, Didier Auriol, Ari Vatanen
and Sebastien Ogier.
* A lot of people know Colin McRae had
his first WRC stage win at Rally NZ 1989,
but few will recall his father Jimmy won
two stages and led Rally NZ that same
year.
* The final Group B era WRC event
was Rally Olympus (USA) in 1986. Six
Kiwi drivers started the rally, including
Steve Millen in a Group B Toyota
Celica. The others were Rod Millen, Neil
Allport, Possum Bourne, Clive Smith
and Alan Carter.
* Bevan Docherty, the 2004 World
Triathlon Champion and Olympic
medallist in 2004 and 2008, enjoys
watching rallying.
* The Safari and Ivory Coast WRC
endurance events are known for their
long stage kilometres. In 1977 Rally NZ
debuted in WRC with 74 stages which
totalled 2,157 kilometres. It remains
the longest non-endurance WRC event
ever.
And finally, in what year will Hayden
Paddon win the WRC?
Tough question given new car
regulations for everyone next year.
Experience on events is vital. 2016 was
the first time Hayden has competed in
Monte Carlo and he has only competed
in Mexico twice.
2017 will be another experience
building year for Hayden, learning to
fight regularly at the pointy end. For
the world title I will say 2018.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 19

INTERVIEW: SIMON BELL
GETTING
THE JOB
DONE
By PETER WHITTEN
The New Zealand Rally Championship is going ahead in
leaps and bounds, hanging off the coat-tails of Hayden
Paddon’s success in the WRC.
NZRC co-ordinator, Simon Bell, opens up on what has
helped to make the series a success, and why at least 10
manufacturers will appear in the 2017 championship.
RSM: The NZRC seems to be in fantastic
shape with lots of new cars being built for
2017. What do you put the incredible interest
in the championship down to?
SB: I think there are three solid
reasons why the championship is
growing. Firstly, we have stable rules
that make sense and allow the NZRC
teams to be able to plan new cars,
attract sponsors and get value from the
championship.
Secondly, the marketing of the
championship. We have adopted a
wider spread of activities, plus also
listened to people and adapted the
offering, while including the teams in
the messages as much as possible.
Lastly, I think Hayden is doing
amazing things for our sport and it
allows us to grow the international
audience, plus it has created interest
in the sport here from the mainstream
publications, which has helped.
How much has Hayden’s participation
and success in the WRC helped to influence
manufacturers and sponsors in getting
involved in the championship?
I think to an extent it is the “Hayden
Effect”. Otago / Whangarei opened a
lot of eyes to the NZRC and has shown
people we have some real talent and
characters in our sport.
But also, that scrutiny has given the
manufacturers the awareness of the
ability for them to actually take a car
from the showroom, then turn that
production car into an AP4 or AP4+,
that will be competitive.
So, perhaps the old adage of “Win
on Sunday, Sell on Monday” could be
making a comeback.
The exciting part is the cars are built
on a similar chassis / driveline, so it
allows an instant performance parity
and the investment is lower, or perhaps
less risky, as they aren’t trying to invent
a full Group N car from scratch.
Also, don’t forget Greg Murphy, as
his legion of fans and the wider V8
supporter is now seeing some rallying
via his media streams. That has to help
and introduces our sport to guys that
may have never seen or known about it,
and has brought Holden into the NZRC
with a two-car team for 2017.
Next year looks like seeing Hyundai, Holden
and Toyota represented in the NZRC. Are
20 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

“The old adage
‘Win on Sunday,
sell on Monday’
could be making a
comeback.”
- Simon Bell
PHOTOS: Geoff Ridder
there any other manufacturers that may also
enter the sport?
Yes, we are looking like we will have
10 brands on the start line for 2017,
plus, last week another brand has
started working on an AP4 chassis.
We have more manufacturers
involved than a few years ago and
the level of support ranges for each
manufacturer. But the great thing is
they are supporting competitors and
helping the sport grow, meaning the
sport has attracted new interest and
more people investing in competitors,
which is great for the sport.
There are also some other brands
that have chassis’ that need a driver/
funding, so the potential is for more....
name another championship in the
world with this many manufacturers or
brands in new cars?
The AP4 chassis opens up exciting
avenues for the car brands, plus the
Group N+ cars are still able to foot it
with them, as Ben Hunt, David Holder,
Sloan Cox and Dylan Turner proved this
year.
To say 2017 is exciting is an
understatement.
While your rules are a little more fluid
than Australia’s, the two championships
seem to be at different ends of the scale,
with the NZRC seemingly a lot healthier. Do
you see this as the case?
I’m not sure that they are fluid as
such, they were thought through very
well and involved a lot of people in the
sport to create a long term view, which
➜
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 21

INTERVIEW: SIMON BELL
“We’d love to
see the ARC
grow, and we
are only too
happy to talk
to them ...”
possibly is where the ARC needs to
head with their strategy.
We have created a transition for
our sport from the Group A / Group
N based fleet to something new, the
next generation of cars, be that the AP4
based or showroom based cars like Ben
Hunt’s exciting new Subaru.
It’s working well and has helped
teams to be able to run older cars for
a time, which has given them some
breathing space to make decisions on
which way to go with new cars.
To be honest, we’d love to see the
ARC grow, and we are only too happy
to talk to them about what’s working
over here, as strong championships in
Australia and New Zealand can only be
good for the sport.
So yes, the NZRC is going well, but
there has been a massive amount of
work done to get it here from many
people, from competitors to MSNZ, and
everyone’s been positive.
We are all working towards making
our sport grow and being more exciting
in the long term.
Does the NZRC’s variation in events, with
some two-day and some one-day events, help
to increase the variety of rallies, and control
the cost of competing?
The NZRC is the pinnacle of rallying
in New Zealand. So there needs to be
a mix of events, where you have to be
reliable and manage the pace of the car
over two days.
Or like we saw at Coromandel, you
have to have the foot down from the
start, flinch once and you have lost 10
seconds and it’s all over.
Part of what we asked events was,
rather than be burdened with NZRC
rules on how to run an NZRC event, we
took off the shackles so to speak, and
said ‘give us events with flavour, with
spice and that have real character’.
I think we have that, the events have
really done some great things and
continue to, plus the mix is about right.
But, as always in any motor based
sport, cost is always an issue and
something we do take seriously. You
also have to temper that with the fact
this is the top of the sport in NZ, so it
won’t ever be cheap.
Australia has six state championships that
can take competitors away from the national
series. New Zealand doesn’t – does this help
to increase your competitor numbers?
I guess this comes down to
geography, as New Zealand is small
so it’s easier to travel, but we do have
regional rounds like Australia and they
are part of some of the NZRC rounds.
We have the Top Half / Central Region
and Mainland rally series, of which all
three have a lot of fantastic history, but
they are more focused on the clubman
type competitor.
We have also developed an entry
class into the NZRC via the Gull Rally
Challenge. That has helped us introduce
teams to the NZRC. They don’t have to
do the full six rounds, plus it’s cheaper
and the cars are running to the regional
championship Schedule A rules.
This class has brought through a few
new competitors, and some we have
are crazy quick in older cars. One has
stepped up to NZRC for 2017 with a
new car, so it appears to be working.
We have also introduced the Group
A Classic 4WD Challenge to again give
teams a chance to be part of the NZRC,
and that’s hopefully another stepping
stone, from a classic 4WD to a newer
4WD, and then perhaps the top class.
It gives some progression through
the sport at the NZRC level, at differing
budgets levels.
Where we are struggling a bit, and it
is something we are working on, is the
2WD classes, and how to make them
more appealing. But we have some
ideas, so watch this space.
What are some of the ideas you have to
help ensure that the NZRC continues to grow
and that the current wave of interest can be
maintained?
The main component is effective and
relevant content and marketing. And
not traditional marketing, but looking at
new avenues, providing good content
and listening to our audience.
For example, the content we supply
RallySport Magazine. Blair Bartels does
an incredible job managing and writing
these for us, and coupled with the great
images from the NZRC photographer,
Geoff Ridder, it works really well and
the feedback has been great.
This is a new channel for us and
provides a great platform to show off
the events and teams to NZ/Australian
audiences, plus the wider global
audience you have.
Our on-event @RallyLiveNZ live
streams have been a massive success
and continue to grow, with over 13,000
views @ Rally Whangarei.
The feedback while it is running
(from all around the globe too, which
has really amazed us) has been
tremendous. We can give up-to-theminute
splits – all while in the back
blocks of somewhere, standing on a
grass hill, watching cars and providing
what we are told is great commentary
– watch some from Rally of Whangarei
here.
Obviously, the big challenge is the
Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz
Call us o
22 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

emote nature of the events we have
here in NZ and the lack of coverage.
The contrasts between events, with
Whangarei having full HD quality, to
the back of Middlemarch where we had
very patchy reception.
To help us, we enlist Blair Read who,
while on recce, checks the coverage
at key spots for us - kind of a @
RallyLiveNZ recce, and stops us driving
to spots that were no good.
Also, of huge help this year, has been
the Chrissport results team. They are
actually watching the live feeds at HQ,
which has been a great advance for
them, so they get to see what’s going
on. We talk to them directly while live,
and they provide SMS feedback by the
way of splits or updates.
So the viewer will get more up to date
info than they are seeing on the actual
results.
Now, with manufacturers onboard,
we are looking at ways to create
corporate hosting type events, on
event, so the teams can bring key
guests and they are looked after, either
on tours or at a spot in the service park.
It’s going to be very human intensive,
we will need more people to make it
work, so we need to work out how we
deliver it to the right level.
So this is very much a work in
progress, but we are hopeful we will
have the 1.0 version in place come
round one.
There lots of other ideas being
floated about between Blair Read, Blair
Bartels and myself, and to be honest, all
the great content usually is unplanned.
We are constantly in contact, and it’s
a never ending round of “what do you
reckon about...” messages on Facebook
Messenger that I think helps us to keep
everything moving along and fresh.
Is the Tasman Cup (between New Zealand
and Australia) something that you see as
being a key part of building the popularity of
rallying down under, and are we likely to see
the return of it in the near future?
As I mentioned above, if the NZRC is
strong, and the ARC grows, then there
is the exciting prospect for the teams
to come together at certain events and
create a Trans-Tasman Championship.
The NZRC’s live video
broadcasts have proven
popular in 2016.
But it needs to be of value and we
need to ensure the rules on either side
of the Tasman Sea are going in the
same direction.
I feel our “proof of concept” for the
transition and the development of a
new generation of cars and teams has
worked incredibly well, so I hope that
in some sense the ARC adopts some of
this and we start to work in tandem.
We have offered to talk to the ARC,
and if they want to get together when
they are ready, then we are keen to
work with them to grow the sport
between our two countries, but in
saying that, we also have a focus on the
2017 NZRC.
Will we see New Zealand with a round of
the WRC again in the near future, or are
there too many stumbling blocks in the road
at present?
I have to say yes. With the amazing
work that Hayden is doing as our
Rally New Zealand ambassador, plus
the massive amount of behind the
scenes work the RNZ board and wider
members of the RNZ team are doing,
there is hopefully no way they can say
no to us.
There is so much passion, from the
local fans, to the teams, to the media.
But in saying that, I think the biggest
issue we have is history.
We need to be looking to the future
of the sport, not looking back at the
successful RNZs we have run since
about 1973.
RNZ needs to innovate, not only
on the stages, but off the stages with
technology to engage the fans in NZ
and globally.
So we are working towards the NZRC
RNZ 2017 in Tauranga as a warm-up
event where the RNZ trophy is up for
grabs, so come on over Australian
teams and have a crack.
Then that will build to the full WRC
RNZ 2018 ... the grand showcase
of the WRC in New Zealand.
#BringBackWRCRallyNewZealand
HJC MOTORSPORTS
n: AU 1800 CHICANE or NZ 0800 CHICANE
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 23

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 10 RALLY DRIVERS
BEST OF THE
Story : PAUL GOVER
Editor, CarsGuide
Possum Bourne is The Best. There are no ifs, buts or
maybes about his place at the top of Australian rallying.
I have seen thousands of forest fighters in action
since 1972, when Colin Bond ripped past me at the wheel of
a Torana XU1 somewhere near Buladelah in NSW and made
rallying my sport. I’ve even driven a bit.
After watching all the champions since Bond and Peter
Lang in Holdens, I have no doubt that Bourne is best of the
best in my personal rankings, and even when he is measured
by his own rules.
“It’s bloody simple,” Bourne tells me in Sydney during the
90s, when he is chasing the Australian Rally Championship in
his Prodrive Impreza.
“One stage. Two drivers. Same car. Who wins?” he asks.
“There are only two rules. Your bloke must finish the stage.
And it is FOR YOUR LIFE.”
It’s a game we play many times, usually with Bourne
making nice with a glass of bubbly, working our way right
through from the local wannabes to the heroes of the world
championship.
24 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

BEST
In
2013, Carsguide editor Paul Gover
wrote an exclusive article for RallySport
Magazine, naming his top 10 Australian
Rally Championship drivers of all time.
Three years on, and with Rally Australia
on our doorstep once again, we thought
it timely to repeat Gover’s article, and to
remember our greatest drivers of all time.
He puts Tommi Makinen above Colin McRae, because the
Scotsman is too flaky. My personal choice for number one is
Walter Rohrl, a winning machine with ice in his veins.
We argue and argue. He laughs. He taunts. Every night of
‘Race For Your Life’ is special.
So, what about the ARC?
Bourne has the best record, even better than Ross
Dunkerton, but there is so much more to his story.
I saw him beat Greg Carr in Rally Australia on a slimy day
south of Perth, when his Subaru Leone should be no match
for an ex-factory Lancia Delta. But he had practised the stages
12 times, even waiting for rain to test the grip, and cleared
stones from the long grass to make shortcuts easier.
I ride alongside him on a Canberra stage in his Impreza
WRC, running at full rally pace. It’s something I cannot forget.
And I also see him hotdog around a gnarly downhill lefthander,
smiling like a loon, on a corner he has nominated as
the best spectator point of the day.
“Come watch me there. It will be worth it,” he says. And it is.
Now he is gone, but not forgotten.
For me, Bourne is always in the here and now, not the past.
He is bigger than life, special in death, and the man that noone
has come close to trumping.
So ride along for a minute as I run through my personal top
10. And remember those rules, but mostly the big one that
was everything for Bourne - it has to be ‘For Your Life’.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 25

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 10 RALLY DRIVERS
1. Possum Bourne –
Australian Rally Champion 1996-2002
Speed is one thing, but Bourne is all
about commitment. He does anything
and everything it takes to win.
That means the best car, the best
co-driver and the best deal from
Subaru to fund it all.
He is plain crazy fast as a kid, but
when he gets some maturity he
becomes unbeatable.
He even parks his favourite WRC
weapon and keeps winning in Group
A. So, why doesn’t he make it to the
WRC in a factory Subaru?
He is trumped by Piero Liatti, who
brings Pirelli to Subaru in a doublebluff
that even Possum cannot beat.
4. Colin Bond - Australian Rally
Champion 1971, 1972, 1974
Hannu Mikkola says he is world
class after clashing with him in the
Heatway Rally in New Zealand in the
seventies.
He is past his prime when special
stage rallying shifts into gear, and
his great mate, John Dawson-Damer,
holds him back as they enjoy their
time together, but he sets the
standard for generations.
Bond has sublime speed and that is
enough in his days as the point man
for Holden in the forest.
2. Greg Carr - Australian Rally
Champion 1978, 1987, 1989
Carr is the best of his generation,
in the days when the ARC is a fullon
battleground between Ford and
Datsun.
It’s high stakes rally poker and
no-one trumps him for speed and
commitment. He plays chess to
improve his concentration, spends
every weekend practising in his
Canberra forests, and only needs a
reliable car - sometimes hard to find,
or easy to break - to do the job.
Two trips to the UK prove his
potential, but he settles for a safe
place in the public service instead of
gambling on a shot at the WRC.
3. Simon Evans - Australian Rally
Champion 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
Brave. Crazy at first. In the early
days you never bet on him finishing
any stage, but once he hooks up with
Neal Bates - and learns about slowing
down to go fast - he becomes special.
He shows me his speed the first
time in a front-drive Golf GTi, which
he also rolls on the first Super Special
at Rally Australia, and continues
through the years.
He is another who should head to
Europe and he tries once, but it’s not
enough.
On his day, fully formed, he is
formidable.
5. Wayne Bell
He is fast the first time I see him
in a Galant, and still fast when he
takes Hyundai into the World Rally
Championship. In between, he does
lots of winning but never puts all the
pieces together for a championship.
Does it matter? Not so much to
Bell, just as Stirling Moss revels
in his ranking as the best driver
never to win the F1 world title. He is
sensational to watch and only team
orders prevent him beating Peter
Brock to the big prize in the ‘Round
Australia of ‘79.
26 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

7. Neal Bates - Australian Rally
Champion 1993, 1994, 1995, 2008
Such a pity he peaks as Possum
is at the height of his powers. And
that Toyota never spends enough
to level the playing field against
Subaru. Bates is tagged as Mister
Two, first of the losers, but he is still
good enough for four titles and his
speed in his historic Celica today is
proof of his prodigious talent. He also
embarrasses plenty of people as “The
Stig” in Top Gear down under and
runs hard and fast in the Bathurst
1000. He is a nice guy, too.
8. George Fury - Australian Rally
Champion 1977, 1980
Another from the glory days, with
plenty of speed and a burning desire
to win. Perhaps it’s down to his
Hungarian immigrant background,
but he is the only one with the pace
to challenge Carr. His brilliance helps
him to transfer successfully to touring
cars, although he is always a bit weak
in the stages if things are not going
right. These days he still farms in
Talmalmo, near Albury, but has given
up driving the school bus.
6. Geoff Portman - Australian Rally
Champion 1981, 1982
How would you feel if you climbed
all the way to the top of the ladder,
and then someone smashed the
final step? That’s what happens to
Portman, who does everything right
on the way to leading Datsun in the
ARC just as the company switches
from rallies to races. Memories of
Portman centre on his elegance,
perhaps born from his time as a
Victorian forester, but more likely
from a full bottle of talent. Even in his
fifties he has enough pace to rattle
youngsters in historic cars.
9. Ed Ordynski - Australian Rally
Champion 1990
There is steel beneath the gentle
and quietly-spoken facade that
carries Ordynski into battle. He works
hard at his craft, even watching his
fuel economy on transport stages
to run light on the specials. He
convinces me he has real speed at
the 1000 Lakes in Finland, where he
attacks like he never does at home.
Mister Ed always brings his A
game to Rally Australia, which is his
personal Mount Panorama and as
important to him as Bathurst is to
any V8 racer.
10. Peter Brock
A stupid mistake in a stupid road
rally cuts him down, but Brock proves
his pace enough times in real forest
fights to earn my respect and a
top-10 spot. He has the advantage
of factory Holdens, but uses both
Geminis and Commodores better
than anyone expects of a touring
car star. Anyone who sees him in
the Castrol Rally, driving a battered
ex-Repco Trial Commodore, learns
what he can do when he cuts up in
the rough.
And the rest?
• z Ross Dunkerton never quits, but never has the ultimate
speed.
• z Chris Atkinson does his early learning on local roads, but
we never see him at his best, or in a serious WRC car.
• z Eli Evans is a champion, but never beats the big boys.
• z Cody Crocker stars as a kid, but never emerges from
Possum’s shadow,
• z Michael Guest is fast but flawed, David Officer is beaten by
Portman, and at least one recent champion buys the title.
So, what do you think? Remember, for your life …
- PAUL GOVER
Five titles, but
Dunkerton
doesn’t make
Gover’s Top 10.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 27

INTERVIEW: KIRRA PENNY
NEVER TOO
YOUNG
Kirra Penny is a 16-year old student
juggling her secondary schools
studies with an emerging co-driving
career in the Australian Rally
Championship.
Kirra Penny (right) with fellow
co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino.
We checked in with Kirra to see how
she manages the school vs rallying
conundrum, and what her plans for the
future are.
RSM: You’re a 16 year old co-diving
for Chris Higgs in the Australian Rally
Championship. How did you get involved in
the sport, and specifically, get to be codriving
for Chris at this level?
KP: For me, I have always been
involved in the sport and strangely,
really enjoyed the paperwork and
reading regs, etc. I never felt the need
to navigate until the day after my first
event.
I was always asked: “When are you
going to start racing?” and the response
was always the same, “Never, I am not
crazy. Until one day this conversation
just took a different direction.
I was told “That the real reason
I wasn’t competing was because
I was scared”. To me, I took that
as a challenge, and always being
competitive, I had to prove them wrong.
Three weeks later, I was competing in
my first motorsport event, a rallysprint
in Canberra. I competed along side my
Kirra Penny has had a busy
season co-driving for Chris
Higgs. Photo: Aaron Wishart.
28 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
father, in his Subaru GC8 that he had
just bought a week earlier. We ended
up winning the event outright, which
was a scary thought. Suddenly I was
hooked.
I’m not exactly sure how the rest
happened, it all happened so quickly.
Four weeks later I was in South
Australia competing in my first ARC
event, Scouts Rally SA 2015, alongside
Chris Higgs, at the age of 15.
I met Chris through my father,
Andrew Penny, as Chris leased dad’s
second car for the National Capital
Rally in 2015. It was one of the hardest
events, I have ever done, but I loved
every second of it.
You’re in the higher years of your
schooling, so obviously this must make it a
difficult balance. How do you structure school
and rallying when they happen together?
The balance between school and
rallying has been difficult to find, and
something I have struggled with, but
with the help from my school and
teachers, I have successfully been able
to juggle this past year.
I would independently work ahead
before a rally to try to even out the
work load for when I return. I have
been lucky that my school supports and
works with a lot of athletes who take
large amounts of time out of school
during the winter months.
This means the majority our work
is independent, making it easier to
catch-up on. Once I return home, I work
to catch-up on the work I missed. This
means lots of late nights and anti-social
weekends studying.
Presumably this will get even more difficult
when you reach the final year of secondary
school. Have you thought that far ahead, and
will you be competing while you’re doing year
12?
Currently I have just started my year
12 studies and feel that if I work hard,
stay focused and keep doing what I am
doing, it will work out.
At this stage it appears that I will
be competing in selected events
throughout the duration of 2017, but at
the end of the day, school comes first
in 2017.
Throughout 2016 I have developed
strong support networks and look
forward to the challenge that lies
ahead.
What are your career plans after secondary
school, and do you plan to continue codriving?
Or do you have a desire to swap sides
and drive?
I plan to go to university after high
school to further my education, but am
unsure of what I would like to study.
I would love to keep co-driving and
am determined to make that happen. I
have never had the desire to swap sides
and drive, I love what I am doing, and
would love to make a career out of it.
Who have been your rallying heroes, and
which co-drivers have been the biggest help

and inspiration to you so far in your rallying
career?
Possum Bourne and Colin McRae are
two drivers that I really enjoy watching.
For the people who helped start
my rallying career, Rhianon and Alex
Gelsomino have taught me to be the
co-driver I am today.
Coral Taylor and dad’s co-driver, Rhys
Lewellyn, have always been there every
step of the way, while Rhianon has
been mentoring me for almost a year
now, and inspires me each and every
day.
Even when she is busy or competing
herself, she finds time to answer
questions, give explanations and even
read and provide feedback. Rhianon is
a role model and someone I aspire to
be like.
There were plans to co-drive at Rally
Australia with Chris Higgs, but school
commitments have got in the way, which
must be disappointing?
Yes, unfortunately I won’t be
competing at Rally Australia due to
school commitments during the week
leading into Rally Australia. Although I
will still be at Rally Australia spectating
for the weekend. I hope to be
competing at Rally Australia next year.
What are your rallying aspirations for the
next five years?
I hope to still be rallying and working
hard to climb my way to the top. I hope
that I can gain experience in events
across the country, and potentially
internationally.
I would like to secure a full-time ride
Chris Higgs and Kirra Penny in this year’s Quit
Forest Rally in WA. Photo: CMR Photography
and be on the path to making rallying a
full-time job. Like a friend once told me:
“Dream big, and achieve big”.
I would be happy to keep doing what
I am doing. I have made great friends
and loved every second of it.
- PETER WHITTEN
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 29

FEATURE: TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR
A LONG TIME
COMING ...
If ever you get a hair-brained idea that you’d like to steal an
ex-works Group A rally car you might want to think again?
30 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

The TTE Celica was driven by
nine world champions at the
1997 Race of Champions.
Story: PETER WHITTEN
Unless you sit close to the spectrum,
love “counting cards” or
numbers on buses, the starting
sequence might do your head in?
Remembering each of the six steps,
and in the correct order, could well be
more difficult than actually getting the
1990s WRC weapon off the line, but I’m
sure I’ll give it a go given the chance!
Stuart Bowes is one of the bestknown
rally photographers in
Australia and overseas, and one
whom the RallySport Mag team helped
along the way in his early years.
Having spent 25 years covering the
Australian Rally Championship (ARC)
and jetting around the world shooting
WRC, F1 events and motor shows, in
between times, and with his brother
Angus, he’s fronted Broons, a successful
earthmoving equipment manufacturer
and rental business
based in Adelaide.
Stuart says he’s now
“sort of” semi-retired
from rally photography,
and has decided
to finally get back
behind the wheel of
a rally car “before the
years march on any
further” – something
that he hasn’t done
since driving a Group
G Datsun 1600 in the
1980s.
“I’ve had a few long
chats with Jeff David
about classic rallying
and I reckon he’s spot
on about making some
decisions and doing
what you really enjoy,”
Stuart says.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have been
able to accumulate the resources to
enjoy my passion, and
I’m forever grateful
for the wonderful
opportunities that have
come along over many
years.”
The mighty “Datto”
still sits in a shipping
container at the Broons
yard (and could well
see daylight again in
2017), but with money
in the bank, Stuart
decided that he was
going to chase a car
that he never actually
believed he could even
contemplate owning
– an ex-works Toyota
Team Europe (TTE)
Celica GT-Four.
As Toyota’s official rally photographer
in the ARC for many years, the Toyota
passion burned brightly and so the
search began….
“I started looking seriously in 2007,”
says Stuart.
Countless trips to Europe (where
the Broons work often just happened
to align with his motorsport interests)
and after looking at numerous cars, he
started to hone in on his objective.
“Group B was never going to work
for me. I love the cars and I remember
watching them on the WRC in Europe,
but they are very expensive to run
and maintain, plus they were never
campaigned in Australia.
“Anyone who’s got a real one will
tell you they’re fantastic to drive, but a
bottomless money pit if you intend to
use it.
“The latter years of Group A was
every bit as impressive as Group B for
action, and I was right in the thick of
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 31

FEATURE: TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR
it taking the pictures. They might not
have had the outright grunt, the big
wings and Kevlar body panels, but the
handling and performance made up
for it, blitzing the stage times of the old
days.
“No doubt about it, they were quick
for sure. The cars were getting modified
to such an extent that they barely
resembled the road car under the shell,
and of course this led to the start of the
World Rally Car formula we see today.”
Freddy Loix driving the car in
Marlboro colours in the 1996
European Rally Championship.
32 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
Isolde Holderied in the car’s
only WRC appearance, in the
1997 Monte Carlo Rally.
Mattias Kahle won the German
Rally Championship in the car now
residing in Adelaide.
But what really attracted Stuart to
these cars was the fact they were
based on a road car sold to the
public.
“It’s the last time a manufacturer built
a production special just so they could
compete in the World Championship,
and so my passion became buying not
just the genuine ex-works factory rally
car, but also the matching road car, so
I’ve got the pair and I’ve made a lot of
progress!” he says.
“I’d been searching for a genuine
car that was in pretty much original
condition, but just about everything out
there has been modified so much over
the years that it is only a hint of the car
that emerged from the TTE factory in
Cologne, Germany.
“I made contact with a guy in Europe
who had one of Kankkunen’s cars for
sale, but he had sold it just before I got
a chance to take a look.
“A couple of weeks later he dropped
me a note to say he had a second car
that he didn’t really want to sell, but it
was perhaps the most original ST205
Celica from TTE, and the third to last
one built, so I changed my travel plans
and went for a look.”
A deal was done and once the import
permit was arranged, it was on the
water heading for Australia.
“I went to Germany for 24 hours
to wash the car and pack it in the
container - I knew what Australian
quarantine was like given our years of
experience shipping machinery all over
the world, so I didn’t want to take a
chance.
“I drove it in, shut the doors, and
10 weeks later I opened the doors,
started it up and backed it out right
here in Adelaide - it has to be one of the
highlights of my motorsport life - I still
smile when I think about it.
“I never thought I could do it, but I
made it happen. I’m like a dog with a
bone when I focus on something.”
Parked at the Bowes workshop in
South Australia, the car is pretty well as
it arrived from Europe and is as genuine
as you could find. Whilst the ST205
Celica might not have the WRC cred of
the previous ST185 that won a couple

R-L: Stuart Bowes, Neal
Bates, Angus Bowes
and Darryl Bush with
the Celica GT-Four at
Wakefield Park Raceway.
Below: Neal Bates belts
up as Bowes takes the
Celica for a
test drive.
of world championships, it is the better
performer and much of the technology
carried over to the Corolla World Rally
Car.
“The anti-lag system and Hang-On
Clutch (HOC) is leading edge for the
1990s - flick the switch and hang on. But
I’m not sure I’ll ever master that,” Stuart
says.
“Unfortunately, the only original item
missing is what makes it one of the
most infamous of all rally cars - the
modified turbo restrictor - for those
who remember the events which led
to Toyota being banned from scoring
points on the WRC.
“Never before had a team been
banned from an FIA series, but
subsequently McLaren has since joined
Carlos Sainz (L) and Colin McRae in
the 1997 Race of Champions final.
this very small club a few years back.”
The car is currently adorned in
the Marlboro livery that former
factory driver, Freddy Loix, used
in the European Rally Championship
during late 1996, but the car has a long
history worth briefly recounting.
In the Castrol colours for which they
are most well known, the car was used
by the indecently fast German lady,
Isolde Holderied, in the 1997 Monte
Carlo Rally, and was then driven by
Mattias Kahle to win the 1997 German
Rally Championship.
But undoubtedly, its final official TTE
event was it’s crowning glory.
In December of 1997 the car was used
in the Race of Champions event in the
Canary Islands, where no fewer than
nine former World Rally Champions
drove the car.
Carlos Sainz won the event in the
exact car now owned by Bowes, beating
Colin McRae, in an identical Celica GT-
Four. Incredibly, Neal Bates also drove
the car in his only appearance at the
ROC.
Along with Sainz and McRae, at the
ROC the car was also driven by former
champions Bjorn Waldegard, Hannu
Mikkola, Timo Salonen, Stig Blomqvist,
Didier Auriol, Walter Rohlr and Miki
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 33

FEATURE: TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR
Biasion. WRC event winners, including
Michele Mouton, Armin Schwarz, Gilles
Panizzi and Kenneth Eriksson, also took
the wheel in the event.
Whilst the car only contested one
round of the WRC, it was the most
famous of them all, Monte Carlo.
The fact it also won the German
Championship and was later driven by
nine former World Rally Champions
simply adds to its value in the years
ahead.
“I have the TTE car body record to
prove the provenance,” Stuart says. “It’s
the real deal.”
The car is still in the Marlboro
colours, although Stuart thinks that
eventually he’ll convert it back to the
famous Castrol colours that the cars
become synonymous with, and in which
it spent most of its life as a works car.
Since the car arrived in Australia it’s
only done a couple of track days,
but recently Stuart had it over in
the Neal Bates Motorsport workshop
for a thorough going over, before Neal,
Stuart, and his brother Angus, took the
car to Goulburn’s Wakefield Park race
circuit to put it through its paces.
“Compared to your daily drive, it’s
incredibly expensive to run,” Stuart
stresses, “… around $40 a lap I worked
out, but it is worth every cent.
“Considering it’s been over 20 years
since Neal drove one of these cars he
jumped straight back in and was right
on the pace from the first lap.”
In the future the car will be kept
solely on tarmac, but there are plans to
enter it in some tarmac hillclimb events,
as well as at some track days.
“Neal and Darryl (Bush) were both
keen to point out they’re a lot of fun for
sure, but keep in mind the wear and
tear the more you do.
“It’s a full-on works car and parts
are limited, but we’ve struck up a
good relationship with Erik Wevers in
Holland, who owns the entire spare
parts stock from TTE, and only serves
those who own the genuine cars.”
Between running the family business,
driving the Celica and competing in
his recently-finished Mercedes Benz
450SLC, it doesn’t look like Stuart will
have much time for rally photography
any time soon. Not that he’s too
concerned.
“ I like to tell people I spent more than
25 years taking hundreds of thousands
of pics and travelling the world at
someone else’s expense, but I’m over it.
I probably couldn’t care if I never pick
up a camera again.
“The time pressure is enormous,
everyone wants everything instantly
or faster, and I’m just not interested -
the world doesn’t need to move that
quickly, regardless of what people
think, so I’ve decided to slow things
down a little – well, not too much when
it comes to the cars!”
With a purpose-built rally workshop
nearing completion,
any spare time is likely to be
spent tinkering on rally cars, or scouring
the world looking for the next “must
have” historical piece.
Freddy Loix jumps the Celica GT-Four in
the European Rally Championship.
34 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

Owning the ex-factory Toyota is a
dream come true for Stuart Bowes.
“I’ve got a real surprise I’m working
on and hopeful it will come to fruition.
I’ve been chasing this car for some
years and I’ve had a tip off I might be
close to securing it.
“For sure it will be the only one in
this part of the world, and one of only
a couple left in existence,” Stuart says.
We could think of few better ways
to spend our time.
Car History:
Built Aug 1996
Nov 1996 Freddy Loix Condroz Rally – ERC (Marlboro) 1 st
Jan 1997 Isolde Holderied Monte Carlo – WRC (Castrol) 8 th
Feb 1997 Renaud Verreydt Spa Rally – ERC (Marlboro) 1 st
Mar 1997 Mattias Kahle Sumava Rally – ERC & ADAC (Castrol) Ret
April 1997 Mattias Kahle Pneumant Rally – ADAC (Castrol) 1 st
May 1997 Mattias Kahle Havelland Rally – ADAC (Castrol) 1 st
June 1997 Mattias Kahle Deutschland Rally – ERC & ADAC (Castrol) 1 st
Aug 1997 Mattias Kahle Hunsruck Rally – ERC & ADAC (Castrol) 1 st
Oct 1997 Mattias Kahle 3 Staate Rally – ERC & ADAC (Castrol) 3 rd (Kahle
Won German Rally Championship)
Dec 1997 Various Race of Champions – Canary Islands
(Carlos Sainz won the event, beating Colin McRae)
Stuart’s road car set up to tow the new
rally car ..... perhaps.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 35

FEATURE: FRANK KELLY
“THE ONLY WAY IS SIDEWAYS”
Kelly is a name steeped in Australia’s
history, with the legendary
bushrangers recognised by
many as a part of Australian culture.
Another Kelly from Ireland – Frank
– is recognised as one of the most
exciting talents in the world of classic
I
first got behind the wheel at the
age of 7. It was a wreck of a Mini
and my two brothers, Conor and
Gary and I rallied it up and down the
road behind our house. We crashed
it on a regular basis, but I eventually
wrote it off when I hit a lorry backwards
and bounced into the wall of my dad’s
garage.
I will never forget my first big off and
waiting to face the music when my dad
36 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
rallying, behind the wheel of a familiar
blue Mk 2 Escort, ‘Baby Blue’.
Certainly one of the more endearing
features of Australian rally fans is their
propensity to accept and embrace
such great driving talent as Frank Kelly,
despite only having first hand exposure
through the pages of YouTube.
Whether it’s a Flying Finn, or a Kiwi
named ‘Possum’, rally enthusiasts in
Australia have warmed to the exploits
of internationals who can drive a rally
car like there is no tomorrow.
Frank Kelly is one of the latest in the
line of rally drivers who Australians are
taking to heart.
YouTube clips reveal Kelly’s driving of
his immaculate Mk 2 Escort to be both
fluent and aggressive, and driven in a
style that proves to the audience he
knows what he is doing.
Kelly’s clips have attracted thousands
of views, with his aptly named “Frank
Kelly – Fast, Sideways and Mental’
hitting a whopping 372,000 views at
last count.
came home. He eventually arrived on
the scene, surveyed the wreckage and
turned to me and said “... well that’s a
valuable lesson learnt ...” - how wrong
he was.
When my father started stock car
racing at a local quarry a few years
later, it wasn’t long until I was looking
for a spin. He let me use his car for
junior races, which had me hooked
on motorsport for life. A few months
As a ‘clubman’ outfit, Kelly
Motorsport run on a tight budget with
as much of the preparation work being
carried out by the team as possible.
Frank takes care of the pre-event
work on the car, and any rebuilds or
developments required.
Gary, Frank’s brother, is the onevent
service man and chief mechanic,
and keeps the car in good shape
throughout the rally, having pulled
the team out of the fire on numerous
occasions.
Frank’s other brother Conor, takes
care of the paint work when required,
and has been known to manage a full
re-panel and paint between rallies.
Frank Kelly generously gave his time
to tell his own story for RallySport
Magazine in this 2 part series.
What started as an interview to
gather information became a great
yarn, as Frank tells his Australian and
New Zealand fans his story, in his own
words.
- TOM SMITH
later I had saved up and built my own
VW Beetle, and was at it hammer and
tongs.
I won the junior championship on
three or four occasions and by the time
I was 15 the stockcar club put me out of
the juniors into the senior races.
Boy they were rough buggers, but I
held my own. I fitted a 2 litre Alfa twin
cam in the back of the Beetle and held
on for dear life. There were some good
wins, but equally some big, big offs. I
even won a race one day as I passed
the leader over the finish line on my
roof.
By 19 I had won the local senior
championship a couple of times and
was thinking of moving to rallying. It
seemed a very big jump - I had no
money and rally cars appeared so
high-tech compared to the cars I was
building at the time.
Work was light so I sold the stock car
and any bits that I had and headed to
London to sell my road car, which was
an Alfa GTV that I had fixed up. The
second day I was there I was offered a
job and ended up in London for eight
years.
I went to Australia for a year as well.
This was all fantastic, but there was no
motorsport at all.
In 1993 I was back home again in
Ireland. I had no time to build a car,

and as I couldn’t wait to start rallying,
I looked around for something cheap
and simple that would get me started. I
ended up with a Fiesta XR2 which was
an ex-Brands Hatch car. She hadn’t
much power and even less grip, but it
was a start.
First rally and Conor co-drove for
me. Now everybody will tell you that I
crashed on the first corner of the first
stage of my first rally, but that’s not
true. I made it to the second corner
and crashed there. We got going again
and took a stage maximum, but went
on to finish the rally. That was it, no
turning back.
WATCH HERE
▲
Over the next few years the
Fiesta grew horns and became
“the baby baboon”. I fitted a
home-built 2-litre 16v Zetec with 45mm
Webers and a Quaife gearbox, lengthened
the wheel base by four inches and
widened it by two inches. She had a
handling characteristic all of her own.
I had to drive it completely on the
limit to get the times, but if I made
even a small mistake, which was fairly
regular, it usually ended up in a tree or
on its roof, or both. Luckily Conor is a
brilliant panel beater, and although he
got seriously peed off, he never let me
down.
We had some great results now and
then, a couple of top three overalls and
even one outright win, with Rosemarie
(my wife) co-driving.
All good things come to an end and
so did the Fiesta. I went one tree too
far in 2001 and broke a collarbone and
a few ribs, and the Baby Baboon was
dead and buried.
That’s when I bought my first Mk2,
a red Group 4 with a 2-litre Vauxhall
engine. It was a good car but for some
reason I didn’t warm to it. I still don’t
know why that was.
A few months later, I traded it in
for an F2 Escort. I was back to frontwheel
drive and something I was more
familiar with. Again we had some good
results, but there was something big
missing ... “FUN”.
At this stage I had ran out of
navigators as my big offs were making
it very hard to talk anybody into getting
in the car. Mickey Broderick, my cousin,
had sat in the early years, but he wised
up when the Fiesta went 2-litre and
hung up his helmet.
Fintan McGuckin sat with me for
most of the Fiesta 2-litre years and
was probably there for most of the
biggest accidents, then he went and got
married and that was that. Sean Ferris
did some of the local events and there
were loads of people in for “one offs”, in
fact I don’t think I have ever had a bad
navigator.
The F2 was sold in 2003 and I told
the Mrs that was it - no more rallying!
That lasted for 11 days until I watched
Coronation Street with her one evening
and she knew I wasn’t taking the whole
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 37

FEATURE: FRANK KELLY
“rally over” thing to well.
Then I heard about a yellow Mk2 for
sale at reasonable money. I rang about
it, drove it for 200 yards and bought it.
Yet again some major offs, but I loved
this car, the fun was back. We changed
the colour and she became the first
“baby blue”.
In 2005 some of the locals talked
me into going down south to do
the Irish Forest Championship, and
boy was it good craic. John Shelvin sat
with me and did a great job, but made
it clear that he couldn’t afford to do the
whole season.
We got as far as the fourth round and
were going well, but John had to pull
out and that seemed to be that.
The day before the fourth round,
Greg Shinnors, the Clerk Of Course of
the Moonraker, rang to see why I hadn’t
entered. I told him the story and he
replied: “Get your butt down here Kelly,
I will have a navigator ready to go!!”.
That’s how I met Liam Brennan from
Cork. I couldn’t understand a word he
said between stages, but his notes were
perfect and we hit it off immediately.
We did the rest of the season
together and became 2WD forest
champions.
In 2006 “baby blue” was replaced
“All I had to do was
finish in the top 12
in 2WD, but like a
dipstick I went off
while battling for the
lead ....”
with “Tarzan” a white Pinto Mk2. I
fitted a 2-litre 16-valve Mountune
engine and went back south again with
Liam on the notes. The season went
great until the last round. All I had to
do was finish in the top 12 2WD, but
like a dipstick I went off while battling
with Seamus O’Connell for the 2WD
lead. Championship lost, but no one to
blame but myself.
2007 went the same way, except I
kept it on the road on the last round
and regained the 2WD title.
In 2008 a change was needed.
After talking with Seamus and Adrian
Hetherington we all headed for the
BTRDA Silverstar Championship, based
mostly in the Welsh forests, and so
“the reindeers were on tour”, Liam
couldn’t take the time off work so Aiden
Friel, who had sat on a few occasions,
committed to the full season.
The first round went well and we
scored top points. We missed the
second round when I fell ill with
meningitis and I thought the season
was over. Luckily I had recovered
sufficiently for me to return to the third
round in Humberside.
We were in a frantic battle all day for
the lead and went into the last nine
mile stage two seconds down. The
stage went great right up to half a mile
from the finish line when the gearbox
blew up. We pushed her over the
finish line but went OTL. To cap it all,
my main competition had wrung a half
shaft and didn’t finish either.
At this point it didn’t look good,
but they are great rallies over
there, so we went to Somerset
anyway. We won that one and things
went great for the next three rallies,
taking maximum points on all of them.
Unfortunately, I became unstuck in the
Woodpecker were we rolled heavily on
the second stage (sound familiar??).
It had been 13 months since I had
been on my roof and that was a record
for me.
It was a big rush to get the car
ready for the next round, but once
again Conor and Gary helped pull it
all together. Maximum points on the
38 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

last two rounds, gave us a total of
six maximum scores and we became
BTRDA Silverstar Champions.
That Christmas Paul Hughes gave me
first bite at buying his 2-litre Duratec
engined Mk2. A deal was done and
Baby Blue 2 was in the garage getting
the forest treatment! Tarzan was sold
to a guy in London and we were ready
for the new season.
For 2009 I decided to take on the
Scottish stages and signed up for
the Scottish Rally Championship.
We had a season long battle with the
legend that is Steve Bannister.
Our biggest problem was punctures.
On average we had two punctures per
rally! I lost count of the times we were
in the lead only to pick up a puncture.
Sometimes we lost the rim as well
and on one occasion, on the Speyside
Stages, we lost tyre, rim and brake
calliper!
By the time I worked out that I
couldn’t drive sideways without getting
a puncture it was too late and we
finished second overall in the 2WD
championship.
I went back for another crack in 2010,
but by mid season the ferry costs had
gone up so much it wasn’t affordable
anymore. Driving the
car straight wasn’t
suiting me either,
and when I’d get
frustrated and go
sideways I picked up
punctures again!
We cut the season
short and did some of
our local forest events
to finish off the year.”
Join us next month to
see how Frank’s story
unfolds.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 39

REPORT: TARGA HIGH COUNTRY
WILD WEATHER NO PROBLEM FOR CLOSE
Victorian Matt Close took his
Porsche GT3 to outright victory
and GT2 competition honours at
Targa High Country, which finished at
the top of Mt Buller on November 6.
After the opening two days of intense
duelling, Close started the final leg
with just a one second lead over fellow
GT2 competitor, Tasmanian Michael
Pritchard, driving a Dodge Viper ACR.
Overnight snow on Mt Buller saw
Close adopt a cautious approach on
the wet and slippery run down the
Grant Denyer
and Jim Richards
at an autograph
session in
Mansfield.
Michael Pritchard finished
second in his Dodge Viper.
mountain, and he dropped 16 seconds
to his rival.
But on the very next stage he
bounced back, grabbing the lead on the
40 kilometre long Jamieson test.
With his confidence high, and
hard tyres now working well, Close
pushed on to extend his lead on every
stage, finishing the three-day enduro
59 seconds clear of his fellow GT2
competitor.
Third in the Mt Buller GT2
competition went to Craig Dean and
Kate Catford in a 2015 Mustang Shelby
GT, one minute 14 seconds further
back.
In Shannons Classic GT, Pete Nunn
looked set for an emphatic victory,
having led from the very start on Friday
morning, but on the penultimate stage
his 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo developed
clutch problems, forcing him out of the
rally.
His misfortune handed the lead
and the competition victory to South
Australian, Craig Haysman, in his
thumping Triumph TR7 V8. The Targa
veteran, with co-driver Julie Boorman,
finished three minutes and 38 seconds
clear of Mark Hammond and Lisa
Dunkerton in a 1980 Jaguar XJS.
Roger Lomman and Annie Bainbridge
were third in their 1971 Datsun 240Z,
another one minute 29 seconds further
back.
The Shannons Classic competition
went to Lindsay Stone and Simon
Martin in their 1985 Mazda RX-7.
The 1971 Porsche 916 of Ted Banks
and Bruce Douglas kept the pressure
on until the end, eventually finishing
just 45 seconds in arrears, while Colin
Byrne and Paul Stoopman performed
strongly to move up to third, one
minute and 26 seconds behind in their
1971 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000.
One of the drives of the event came
from Alan Roe and Michael Lloyd, who
took the Duttons Garage Early Modern
honours in their 2000 Mitsubishi Evo
6.5RS.
Roe was quick across all of the 277.71
competitive kilometres, and in outright
terms was third fastest overall.
Second in Early Modern went to
the highly consistent pairing of Adam
Kaplan and Aleshia Penney, one minute
31 seconds behind Roe, with Liam and
Larry Howarth, in a 1995 Nissan GT-R,
rounding out the podium a further one
minute 12 seconds back.
In the RDA Brakes GT4 competition,
Trevor Macleod had the highly
experienced Steve Glenney calling the
notes, and they proved a formidable
combination in their 2010 Subaru WRX
STI.
Others around them faltered, with
overnight second placed Barrie Smith
and Anthony McLoughlin forced out
TAILOR-MADE PACKAGES TO
40 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

Matt Close left the field in his
wake at Targa High Country.
on stage 16 when their Audi TTRS had
mechanical issues.
Their bad luck left the door open
to Tasmanian Crichton Lewis, who
improved on his fifth last year to
take second place, two minutes back,
with yet another Subaru STI WRX
combination, Nathan and Nicholas
Stokes, in third.
In the Mansfield Shire GT Sports
Trophy, Anthony and Toni Rizzo
continued their great form to take their
1977 Subaru WRX STI to victory over
the fast finishing James Bullock and Ben
Dearlove in a Porsche GT3.
The Porsche pairing started the day in
fourth, but charged home to finish one
minute 27 seconds behind the Rizzos,
with Jordon and Debbie Bridge forced
to accept third, having been pipped on
the very last stage for second by just 18
seconds.
The combination of Brian and Justin
Marshall, in a 2011 Volkswagen Polo
GTI, proved too good to lead from start
to finish in the TSD Trophy.
Across the final day’s six stages and
125 competitive kilometres, the pair
added just 10 penalty points to take
their total to 23 across the three days.
Darryl
and Peter Marshall, driving a Ford
Pursuit Ute, finished second with
33 points, after an exceptional final
day which saw them only collect four
points. Jeffrey Morton and Jarred
Kershaw in a 2006 Lotus Elise finished
third with 39 points.
While some competitors will head to
Classic Adelaide later this month, the
Day 3 started with snow on
top of Mount Buller.
focus
now moves to Targa Tasmania, the
mother of all Targa events in Australia,
which will get underway in Launceston
on April 24 and finish in Hobart on April
29.
Targa North West, based out of
Burnie, will be held on February 18 next
year.
SUIT YOU
To advertise in RallySport Magazine call Dominic on
0499 981 188 or email dominic@rallysportmag.com.au
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 41

REPORT: TARGA NEW ZEALAND
INKSTER CLAIMS TARGA NZ TRIFECTA
Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn
(Mitsubishi Evo 8) claimed their
third Targa NZ win in a row,
crossing the finish line at the end of the
four-day/1602km tarmac road rally over
five minutes clear of their nearest rivals.
Second place went to 2013 event
winners, Martin Dippie and Jona Grant,
in a Porsche GT3 RS.
Both pairings also claimed class wins,
Inkster and Winn in Allcomers 4WD,
Dippie and Grant in Modern 2WD.
In an event which took a field of 134
from a start in Taupo on Thursday to
the finish in Havelock North on Sunday,
Inkster and Winn fought back after
problems with their car on the first day
to dominate the second and the third
days.
Former gravel rally star, Chris West
and his co-driver Chris Cobham
(Mitsubishi Mirage Evo), beat them
home on the first day as Inkster
struggled with an engine management
system issue and traction problems.
But Inkster wrestled back the advantage
and was never again headed.
West kept Inkster honest, but late on
the third day he slid off the road and
his event was over.
The same slippery corner on the
second of two Gentle Annie stages also
caught out West’s sponsor, Andrew
Simms (Mitsubishi Evo 10), and Modern
2WD top three prospect, Brent Early
and co-driver Andrew Oakley, in their
former event winning Nissan Skyline
GT-R34.
Accidents on the final day also put
paid to the finishing hopes of Mark
Chris West led early, but
then suffered engine
problems in his Mirage.
Regan Ross thrilled the
crowds in his rear-wheel
drive Escort Mk 2.
Hellier and Glenn Edley (Porsche 911)
and Kim McLeod and Ben Quinn (Mazda
RX7), the latter pair running in fourth
place in the concurrent two-day Targa
Regional Rally when they crashed.
Targa Rotorua winners Leigh Hopper
and Michael Goudie (Subaru WRX STi)
were lucky to get to the finish line, let
alone be able to hang on to second
in the Allcomers 4WD class, after
completing the last three stages of the
event without a clutch and running off
the road at least once because of this.
Also suffering mechanical problems
and ending up back in sixth place
overall was five-time event winner Tony
Quinn and his co-driver, Naomi Tillett.
Quinn was due to start the event in a
new two-wheel-drive Porsche GT3 RS,
but was forced to press his well-used
Nissan GT-R35 4WD into service when
it became obvious that delivery delays
meant the Porsche, though landed,
42 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

Glenn Inkster and Spencer Winn took
their third successive Targa NZ victory.
PHOTOS: Fast Company / ProShotz
would not be ready in time.
Quinn and Tillett were never far
behind the lighter, more nimble
Mitsubishi Evos of Inkster and West
early in the event, and were swapping
times with the Subaru of Leigh Hopper
when the GT-R35 was first slowed, then
eventually stopped, by a gearbox issue.
Enjoying a nearly perfect event were
standout Classic 2WD class winners
Regan Ross and Shaun Howie (Ford
Escort RS1800).
A stalwart of the South Island gravel
rally scene, Ross topped his class time
sheets in 21 of the 25 stages, to beat
former class winner and pace-setters,
Mark and Chris Kirk-Burnnand, by
more than six minutes and end up fifth
overall.
Despite Ross and Howie’s winning
margin, there was depth as well as
quality in the Classic 2WD class, with
a pitched battle for second through
sixth places. Kirk-Burnnand was under
constant pressure from Bruce Farley
(BMW 325i), Ashton Wood in another
Escort RS1800, and BMW duos Barry
Kirk-Burnnand (M3), and Rex McDonald
(325i).
There was also a fascinating battle
of the BMWs in the Modern 2WD class,
where Steven Kirk-Burnnand (Barry’s
son) and co-driver Mick Hay eventually
prevailed in their modified 318ti
Compact, over Perth-based Kiwi expat
Rob Darrington in a M3.
They ended up second and third
respectively in class (and fourth and
seventh overall) after a three-way battle
for second place with the only other
driver to take a class stage win other
than Martin Dippie, Marcus van Klink, in
his exciting new Mazda RX8.
The concurrent two-day Targa
Regional Rally, from Palmerston North
to Havelock North, was won by Grant
Marcus van Klink debuted
his fire-breathing Mazda
RX-8.
Aitken and Caroline Cullimore. Second
was Graeme and Maree Coley in an
Audi RS4, with third going to Jerry Friar
and Nick Chibnall-West in a BMW 330ci.
Barry Kirk-Burnnand twowheels
his BMW M3.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 43

CATALUNYA RALLY - WRC 11
OGIER JOINS THE RALLY GREATS
Kankkunen, Makinen, Loeb .... Ogier.
Fab Frenchman is now a 4x WRC title winner.
Story:
MARTIN HOLMES
Thirty-two year old Sebastien Ogier
clinched his fourth successive
World Rally Drivers’ championship
title in Spain, the fourth driver in
the history of the series to achieve this
level of success.
He won the Catalunya Rally, gradually
overhauling Hyundai driver Dani
Sordo, who gained the lead in very wet
conditions at the start of the event,
which he held for half the rally. Sordo
finished second, the 24th time he has
finished runner-up in a WRC event.
The Drive DMack Fiesta Trophy was
won by Osian Pryce, after a remarkable
series of misfortunes on the final
morning for higher positioned drivers
elevated the Welsh driver’s hopes to the
title.
Ogier retained his title after a first
half season crisis, when running order
rules made it difficult to win events.
More favourable events strengthened
his championship hopes in the second
half of the season, though on this event
his Volkswagen teammate, Jari-Matti
Latvala, was the fastest driver on the
rally, winning seven of the 19 stages.
Latvala, however, had missed stages
when he went off the road on the
Friday and their fellow VW driver,
Andreas Mikkelsen, retired after going
off the road. This left Hyundai finishing
2-3-4, while after a relatively technically
trouble-free event, Mads Ostberg was
fifth in M-Sport’s Fiesta WRC.
Catalunya Rally is an unusual
event, not only because it has a high
proportion of stages on gravel, as well
as the majority of stages on asphalt,
making this the only truly mixed surface
rally in the series, but also because
there was one important stage held
fully in the darkness
for the leading drivers.
Run in the region
down the Spanish
coast south of
Barcelona, it created
considerable national
WRC 3 winner Fabio Andolfi.
interest because the Spanish driver,
Dani Sordo, was currently in top form.
No Spanish driver had won the event
for 25 years, the first time it was held as
a WRC qualifying event.
Volkswagen could afford to play a
cautious hand, their manufacturer
championship hopes depended simply
of containing the challenge by Hyundai,
while only a remarkable turn of fortune
could deny Ogier his drivers’ title on this
event.
The pressure from the Hyundais,
however, forced two of their drivers
into errors – all the team except for
Ogier.
Hyundai brought four cars to
Spain, for the usual three
drivers plus an old 2015 car for
their test driver Kevin Abbring. All of
them finished in the top seven and all
completed the full route.
2016 Catalunya Rally, WRC 11
1. Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R 3h13m03.6s
2. Dani Sordo, Hyundai NG i20 3h.13m.19.2s
3. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai NG i20 3h.14m.18.6s
4. Hayden Paddon, Hyundai NG i20 3h.14m.31.4
5. Mads Ostberg, Ford Fiesta RS 3h.16m.28.0s
Fourth place for Hayden
Paddon and his Hyundai.
44 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

To the winners,
the spoils.
The reliability of these cars, however,
was affected as all three of the 2016
specification cars suffered severe
understeering problems, which
arguably cost Sordo his chance of
beating Ogier and winning.
Abbring did not have this trouble, but
he suffered coil failure on Day 1 which
caused bad misfiring and he dropped
out of the top 10 for a while.
After their impressive turn of speed
in Finland and Corsica, there were
high expectations from the nonchampionship
Abu Dhabi Total team
Citroens, who this time fielded Kris
Meeke and Craig Breen, as well as team
patron Khalid Al Qassimi.
Meeke made a few driving mistakes,
including a spectacular roll, and finally
retired with electrical trouble. Breen
had been lying eighth before losing a lot
of time with driveshaft failure, though
finally he recovered back to finish tenth.
The M-Sport team continued their
troubled path through the WRC,
and Ostberg suffered an upsetting
transmission problem on Day 1.
“I can only attack round right handed
corners!” he explained.
The car wanted to change direction
unexpectedly, but happily these issues
did not seriously delay him. The result
was an encouraging fifth place, his best
result for almost six months, behind the
VWs and Hyundais.
Teammate Eric Camilli was less
fortunate, gearbox trouble forcing
him to lose stages on Day 2, but there
were smiles in M-Sport during the
extraordinarily wet opening super
special stage on the Thursday evening.
Ott Tanak’s run round the famous
Magic Fountain gardens of Barcelona
came in between downpours, and the
DMack team driver was fastest!
Tanak finished the event sixth overall,
while the private Fiesta driver Lorenzo
Bertelli was eleventh.
So ended the final time the teams
bring out their 2016 specification cars
for an asphalt WRC event, and the sport
rounds off their current formula with
gravel rallies in Britain and Australia.
The race for WRC2 honours
continued its circuitous path
through the season with competitors
trying to maximise their points
scoring opportunities by avoiding unnecessary
confrontation with rivals.
Points leader, Elfyn Evans, had
already competed his maximum
available score, but rivals Teemu
Suninen, Esapekka Lappi (who was not
entered on this event), Jan Kopecky
and Pontus Tidemand still retained the
chance to increase their points.
Suninen initially led but then had
turbo failure, missing four stages and
dropping to ninth place in the category.
His good luck being that many other
WRC2 rivals were also being heavily
penalised for missing stages. One day
later he was lying fifth, and was able to
keep his championship hopes alive.
Meanwhile the race was on between
the Skoda Motorsport team drivers,
Kopecky and Tidemand, who pulled
well ahead of the rest of the WRC2 field.
Kopecky was quicker on asphalt, but
Tidemand momentarily led at the end
of Day 2 when Kopecky punctured.
The Czech driver pulled ahead on Day
3, leaving the Swedish driver in second
place. In his case this was not good
enough to remain in contention for the
title.
The race for the Drive DMack Fiesta
Trophy was exciting, of which this was
the final round.
Osian Pryce and Max Vatanen were
favourites for the title, in which points
were earned not only by category
finishing positions, but for winning
individual special stages. Pryce lost
nearly a quarter hour with electrical
trouble on Day 1, dropping him to ninth
in the category.
All seemed lost. He stayed in that
position through Day 2, out of obvious
contention. Vatanen’s hopes were
mounting, but then on an incredible
final morning the fifth, sixth and eighth
drivers all had to retire, and Pryce
found he had won the title!
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 45

WALES RALLY GB - WRC 12
OGIER BACK IN TOP FORM
Finally the world champion has
won a gravel rally this year!
Sebastien Ogier’s win at Wales
Rally GB finally ended the running order
nightmare which has haunted him, in
conditions where tracks which became
progressively more slippery actually
favoured him.
For another time this year, Ott Tanak
found the conditions also completely
suited his DMack tyres, notwithstanding
his later running order, and on this
occasion he scored the most number of
overall scratch times.
The Estonian not only scored his
second runner-up place of the season,
but also his first ever Power Stage win.
Ogier helped Volkswagen forget a
nightmare event, in which all their cars
had driveshaft troubles, by leading
the team to their fourth successive
Manufacturers’ title.
Simone Tempestini secured the
WRC3 title, leaving WRC2 as the only
remaining series to be settled, in which
works Skoda drivers fought hard not
only to overtake the championship total
of Ford driver Elfyn Evans, but also the
privateer Skoda driver, Teemu Suninen,
to be resolved in Australia.
The category was won by Esapekka
Lappi after a dramatic first stage crash
which wrecked his car’s aerodynamic
wing.
British drivers fared badly: Citroen
driver Kris Meeke had a most unhappy
event, struggling to finish even fifth, the
only British driver to finish in the top 20,
while Craig Breen retired off the road.
For the final round in Europe, the last
time fans will see top drivers in action
in the current specification WRC cars,
there was a good turnout in the top
teams, with the non registered Citroen
team even bringing four examples of
their DS3 WRC cars.
But for a puncture, Ott
2016 Wales Rally GB, WRC 12
Tanak may have won.
1. Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R 3h14m30.2s
2. Ott Tanak, Ford Fiesta RS 3h.14m.40.4s
3. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai NG i20 3h.16m.05.6s
4. Hayden Paddon, Hyundai NG i20 3h.16m.25.1s
5. Kris Meeke, Citroen DS 3h.17m.05.4s
46 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

There were no technical novelties
among the cars and with continued
attention to finalising the designs of
the 2017 WRC cars, there was very
little attention to pre-event testing of
the 2016 cars.
Special this year was a change of
date, moving from the traditional
November date into the warmer and
longer daylight of late October, and
competitors were pleased to see good
conditions during the recce.
This immediately focussed attention
on the other major change, the route
between tyre changing points, which
on Day 2 extended for 100km, an
unprecedented distance under current
rules.
Drivers wanted to run soft tyres for
performance, but would these last the
distance in the warmer climate?
Actually they would, because the
weather turned the night before the
start. It was now wet and foggy!
Someone happy to see the change
was the DMack driver Ott Tanak,
knowing that his tyres would be
splendid on the wet and slippery Welsh
roads. Indeed he had already created
a shock when he was fastest on the
rather softer but dry conditions at
Shakedown.
There was to be only one rival for
Tanak for whom the conditions were
also well suited. The recently crowned
world champion Sebastien Ogier. He
was happy as it was probably one of the
few occasions during the season when
running first car on gravel roads was an
advantage.
As the tracks became damp the slimy
roads got more and more slippery with
passing cars. Except for Tanak, who
found the conditions gave his DMack
tyres an even greater advantage!
So it was that Ogier set off on another
rally, this time leading Tanak from start
to finish. Tanak lost touch when he
dropped about a quarter minute with a
puncture late on Friday afternoon, after
which Ogier was in full control.
Tanak ended up with 12
fastest stage times against seven for
Ogier, an impressive confirmation of
the speed of these tyres, as shown in
Poland and Finland.
Volkswagen were in for a rally of
stress, when all three cars suffered
various forms of driveshaft failure. In
the case of the champion it came just
before the end of the final stage of the
day. How about that for luck!
This offered a lot more hope for the
Hyundais, who ended up with three
cars in the top six places, while
Ostberg’s Fiesta was struggling to keep
up with Hyundai’s Sordo.
While Mikkelsen suffered bad time
The World Champion took his
first win on gravel this year.
Skoda again dominated the
WRC 2 category with its Fabias.
Thierry Neuville was the first of
three Hyundais in the top six.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 47

WALES RALLY GB - WRC 12
Kevin Abbring’s Hyundai R5 had
a troubled event.
loss with his VW transmission trouble,
Latvala was still able to join the top 10
cars, eventually overtaking Ostberg into
seventh place by the finish.
The top 10 ended up with Stephane
Lefebvre ninth on his first event since
his Germany crash, and Camilli 10th.
There were 19 competitors in WRC2,
but sadly the British national champion,
Elfyn Evans, was not among them.
Best WRC2 driver at Shakedown was
Suninen, but it was Lappi who soon
passed into the lead, despite damaging
the rear of the car and particularly
the rear aileron on his Skoda on the
opening stage, a major handicap on the
fast Welsh stages.
Suninen continued in second place
until the final stage, when he was
pipped by Tidemand.
Tidemand was up to third behind
Lappi and Suninen midway through Day
1.
Although Tidemand had already lost
his own chance of the WRC2 title, he
was in the position to support Lappi in
his title race by reducing the points that
Suninen could achieve. Team tactics!
Tidemand started the final day 12.3
seconds behind Suninen. After the first
loop the gap was down to 4.8 seconds
and finally he snatched second place on
the PowerStage.
Standings in the series now saw Elfyn
Evans and Teemu Suninen equal not
only on points, but also on the number
of wins, second, third and fourth places
48 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
gained during the season.
Hopes lay with Lappi finishing first or
second in Australia to secure the title
without the need to consider the rule
book further, at least for who takes the
title!
Kevin Abbring had another rally in the
official NG i20 R5 entry but had to stop
on all three days having slid into a ditch,
then had transmission trouble, and on
the final day off the road avoiding a
rock.
Four drivers were still able to win
Quentin
Gilbert,
Citroen
DS3 WRC.
the WRC3 series, two of them were in
Wales. These were the current leader
Simone Tempestini, the veteran Michel
Fabre, and Sebastien Loeb’s protégé
Terry Folb (non starter), while the
Peugeot driver Fabio Andolfi stayed at
home.
The winner of the associated Junior
World Rally Championship series, for
which Wales was the final qualifying
round, was decided in favour of Simone
Tempestini.
- MARTIN HOLMES

HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN
MORE PROGRESS FOR PADDON
Another rally and another close
run for the podium, but we
eventually had to settle for
fourth at Wales Rally GB.
While the result is nothing to turn
my nose up at, naturally when you’re
close to the podium, there will always
be a little frustration. But we will use
that as fuel for the next round to go
even faster!
This is a rally that has never played
to my strengths. After seeing the
roads in recce, every year we love the
look of the stages - fast, flowing and Paddon’s speed continues to
almost NZ-like in places.
improve with each outing.
But the deal breaker is once you
in the championship. Who would have thought at the start
start the rally
of the year that we would be fighting for third in the drivers
and get a feel
championship in only our second full year in the WRC?
for the grip,
it feels like
The work has already begun to prepare better than ever for
driving on
Australia. Naturally I have been looking forward to the rally
ice in places.
all year, which will be made even more special for the fact we
Especially on
will have over 100 guests that we will be hosting and have
the second
supporting us.
pass when
A huge thanks for everyone’s continued support. It may not
the road
seem like it (especially after the Argentina result earlier this
surface
year), but we are still making progress with every rally and
becomes
continuing to make sure we do make steps forward.
‘polished’,
We will continue that moving forward for 2017.
which means
- Hayden
the tyres
and car have
nothing to
grip onto.
While conditions were still wet and muddy this year, there WRC TECHNOLOGY SUSPENSION
was virtually no rain. Almost against the laws of physics, the
roads were more slippery with no rain.
FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE
At least when it rains the roads become more muddy and
gives you something to ‘dig’ into and find some grip. This
year, the hard base roads had very little of a layer of anything
on top of the rock base, meaning there was nothing to extract
grip from.
I spoke a lot over the weekend about how these conditions
did not suit my driving style and the general reason for this
is the lack of grip. My natural style is to slide the car more on
the entry of the corner, to get a straight exit - but doing that
here meant the rear would then become unbalanced, lose
even more grip and lose all corner speed.
For the final day we tried a smoother style that, while it
didn’t show anything in the times, will give us important info
for next year.
It is important we learn from this year and become more
adaptable so that I can increase my ‘window of performance’.
At the moment that window is too limited.
But it’s not all negative. We were much more competitive
!
this year compared to last (last year finishing three minutes
behind Ogier, this year less than two), and we were pushing
our team mate, Thierry, all the way for the podium (who
always goes well here).
We also keep our fourth in the championship, which gives
us a good road position for Australia, while closing the gap to
third by just three points. Australia will not only be a battle
for the rally result, but it’s now a straight out fight for third
!
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 49

REPORT: MALAYSIAN RALLY, APRC
FIFTH WIN
GIVES GILL
APRC TITLE
Story:
MARTIN HOLMES
Indian MRF team driver, Gaurav
Gill, clinched the FIA’s Asia-Pacific
Rally Championship title for the
second time when he won the very
hot Malaysian Rally, held around Johor
Bahru, near Singapore.
It was the fifth successive time a
Skoda driver has been champion,
and Gill’s fifth consecutive win this
season, after victories in New Zealand,
Australia, China and Japan.
Second overall was the nonhomologated
Swedish Mitsubishi
Mirage running under special local
rules, driven by Jari Ketomaa.
Gill’s teammate, Fabian Kreim,
stopped on the first day with gearbox
troubles.
Michael Young was lying second at
the end of Day 1, but on the first stage
of Day 2 he went off the road and his
Subaru was stuck in a drainage ditch.
Two fellow Subaru drivers stopped
and tried to retrieve the car, but were
unsuccessful.
The heat affected many drivers.
Japanese driver Makoto Kawahara
collapsed. Ketomaa said it was almost
impossible to breathe inside the car
and the gear lever was too hold to
touch.
“It was for me the toughest rally I ever
did,” he said. “On Day 1 we spent two
hours on the stages in these conditions.
The stages are so slow that air does not
pass through the car.”
One APRC rally remains (India),
in which the co-driver’s title will be
decided.
Currently, Australian Glenn Macneall
is in the best position to be claimed
champion, having missed one round
due to European commitments.
2016 Malaysian Rally results:
1. Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall, Skoda
Fabia R5, 2h48m12.5s
2. Jari Ketomaa / Mikko Lukka,
Mitsubishi Mirage, 2:57:32.7
3. Yuya Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui,
Jari Ketomaa took second in his
Mitsubishi Mirage.
50 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

Five wins from five events for
Indian star, Gaurav Gill.
Subaru Impreza WRX, 3:06:23.8
4. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita,
Subaru Impreza WRX, 3:19:58.2
5. Fabian Kreim / Frank Christian,
Skoda Fabia R5, 5:47:45.3
Kiwi Mike Young’s event
ended in a deep ditch.
New German champion
Fabian Kreim.
TENNIS STAR’S BIG CRASH
David Nalbandian, the former world class tennis
player turned Argentine championship rally driver,
had a spectacular accident on the penultimate stage
of the Entre Rios Rally, the second last round of this
year’s series.
Nalbandian lost control of his Chevrolet Agile
Maxi Rally on a jump over a cross roads when lying
seventh overall.
The event was won by the Fiesta Maxi Rally of
Federico Villagra, beating Agile team leader Marcos
Ligato.
Ligato has already won the championship with one
round to go.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 51

HOLMES COLUMN
HOLMES
INSIDE
LINE
VW OUT ... FOR NOW
Story:
MARTIN HOLMES
I
was not surprised that Volkswagen
decided to end their WRC campaign.
Every promotional campaign has an
exponentially diminishing value the
longer it runs, even if it is successful.
However, it was very sad that they
chose to do it in such a sudden fashion,
in a way and with timing that paid no
attention to the collateral damage it
would cause to the sport, which they
had tirelessly served for years.
Why it all happened in this way is
puzzling. While the future of VW’s
motorsport programme had been
in constant public debate from the
moment when the financial enormity
aspect of ‘Dieselgate’ became apparent,
right up to the Board’s decision, there
had been no indication this would
happen.
There had been the decision that
Audi should stop their World Endurance
Championship programme, but that
was different. There was a clear
financial duplication with the Audi and
Porsche programmes.
There had been a recent change
of the position of VW Competition
Director, but the impending move by
Jost Capito to McLaren had
been known a long time
earlier.
There had been no warning
signs that the WRC rally
programme would end. No
sign that anyone involved
with the team was any the
wiser.
Official announcements
like that issued by VW on
November 2 are very carefully
prepared documents, saying
exactly what the company
wants you to know, omitting
what it does not want known.
The real message was in the
heading. “New technologies
and customer support activities
get top priority”.
This is interesting,
considering that rallying’s
non connection with ‘new
technologies’ has long
been cited by Japanese
manufacturers as the reason
why other active participation in
other motorsport disciples have
been preferred.
Now, suddenly, it is a European
company – and the biggest one
at that – which is talking about
this.
It will take a long time for the dust to
settle after the VW decision, and many
innocent people will suffer as a result
while it happens, but the official VW
communiqué offers new and exciting
light down the tunnel.
And I am also wondering why the
word “top” was
used. What
else is in the
pipeline? Rallying
hasn’t seen the
back of VW yet.
Far from it.
52 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
Any unlikely
situation that
in theory could
just happen is
sure to happen
in motorsport.
Look again at the
situation after
Wales Rally GB
in WRC2 where
there is a tie for
the lead in the
series, with one
round to go.
Teemu Suninen
and Elfyn Evans
are equal on
points and both
have entered

the maximum permitted number of
times. A third driver, Esapekka Lappi,
can and will enter the final round, and
if he finishes first or second in WRC2,
he will surpass the total points of
both Suninen and Evans and become
champion.
But what happens if he does not? Tie
deciding rules will have to be applied.
The primary rule (10.1.1) looks to
the greater number of category wins,
then the category seconds, etc. until a
winner is found. No such luck! Both
have scored three wins, one second,
one third and one fourth.
On to the next tie decider.
Championship sporting relation
rule 10.1.2 states: “According to the
greater number of highest places
achieved in the final classifications on
their respective
Championship,
counting only those
rallies in which
each of the drivers
and co-drivers
concerned have
taken part”.
What does that
mean? So on to
the tie-tie-decider
rule 10.1.3, which
says: “the FIA itself
will decide the
winner and decide
between any
other tying drivers
and co-drivers,
on the basis of
whatever other
considerations it thinks appropriate”.
Clearly the problem lies with the word
“each” in 10.1.2. The word “both” was
what the FIA had intended and if the
rule said that it would have saved all
the argument.
Suninen and Evans met each other
three times in 2016. In Portugal Evans
finished higher, albeit in an out of point
scoring position; on the second and
third occasions (Poland and Finland)
Suninen beat Evans. Two scores to one
means Suninen will be the champion if
Lappi misses out in Australia.
Is this all storm in a teacup? We wait
to find out.
WRC2 may sound like a second
division in the sport, but it
is still first division when it
comes to professional strategies.
Skoda boldly supported their three
team drivers Lappi, Pontus Tidemand
and Jan Kopecky as equal challengers
for the championship, giving each
of them different programmes, but
an equal number of events, so as to
reduce the number of occasions they
would have to fight unfairly against
each other.
Pontus was the first of the three to
lose a chance of title, but still went to
WRGB where he carried out his team
responsibilities to perfection by pipping
Suninen on the final stage into second
place, behind Lappi, reducing Suninen’s
chances of beating Lappi to the title.
But what is happening here? Why
was it important for one Skoda driver
not to beat another? If the company
funded a works team to challenge for
the title, it would have been seen as
bad strategy if a customer team could
have done this on their own.
Then came the decision to cancel
the entry for Jan Kopecky in Australia.
There was no championship rival
on that event whose championship
endeavours could be spoiled by
Kopecky, therefore no need for Jan to
go on the rally.
The only person whose championship
chances that Kopecky’s presence could
spoil was Lappi’s. As the Mafia hitmen
could have said: “Stay at home, it’s
nothing personal, it’s only business”.
And while we are talking about Skoda,
the VW communiqué threw out the
promise that their otherwise redundant
motorsport staff were to set about the
development of an R5 version Polo for
supply to customers in 2018, when the
next model Polo is to go on sale.
One week the group stops the direct
competition between Audi and Porsche,
the next week they introduce VW into a
realm where their Skoda associates are
supreme. Curious days.
The world of WRC3 hardly gets a
mention these days, although
it is one of the four major WRC
divisions.
The subject came to my mind when
a media colleague inferred a curiosity
that Michel Fabre should be able to
challenge for a title as his pace was well
short of other top contenders.
The observation raised the required
ingredients for being a champion.
Speed is not the primary name of the
rally game. The real game is winning.
The skill is finding what wins are
achievable.
Don’t forget the historic essence of
rally sport is regularity and complying
with rules. A rally is defined as a
“competition in which automobiles are
driven over public roads and under
normal traffic regulations, but with
specified rules as to speed, time, and
route”.
Years ago, Rauno Aaltonen told me
he persuaded BMC to give him a Mini
instead of powerful car like a Healey.
He explained that road sections were
traditionally a more fundamental
aspect of the sport than stages. Before
road books became compulsory, recce
concentrated on finding the intended
route for the road sections, and there
was insufficient time to recce the stages
as well.
A Mini was chosen because it was
more suitable for tackling special stages
without pacenotes.
Back to today. Fabre is over 60
years old. His formative rallying
days were likely to have been during
Aaltonen’s heyday. Fabre represents
the essence of rallying, where speed
is not everything, where spotting
opportunities is everything.
The late Richard Burns told me that
his greatest regret when winning the
world title in 2001 was the NZ Rally that
year. He had hoped to be champion by
regular consistency, but his win in NZ
spoiled that ambition.
Fangio said the art of motor racing
was winning at the slowest possible
speed, conserving, not wrecking your
car in the process.
If you have the chance to watch Rally
Australia this year, hang around to
cheer on Fabre, who is planning the trip
down under even if his title chances
disappeared at Wales Rally GB. For him
rallying is not a business, it’s personal!
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 53

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54 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

NEWS
ABBLITT TAKES TASSIE TITLE
The North-West coast Tasmanian
crew of Keith Abblitt and
Adrian Hodgetts are the 2016
TRS champions after finishing second in
both heats of the LWR Mountain Stages
Rally which was run in the forests
around Mathinna.
TRS round4Driving their Subaru WRX
STi, the team were no match for the
flying Eddie Maguire/Michael Potter Evo
9 Mitsubishi which won both heats by a
comfortable margin elevating them to
second outright in the series.
Going into the round only two points
separated the top three teams but
series leaders Lee Peterson/Daniel
Willson went out on stage four with
gearbox failure in the Nissan Sunny GTi
and the Marcus and Scott Walkem Evo 9
Mitsubishi was a non starter so Abblitt/
Hodgetts, who were third going into the
event, just needed a consistent run.
While Maguire/Potter set a blistering
pace to win nine of the ten stages, the
Subaru team were content to stay out
of trouble and focus on the series win.
A remarkable third place in both
heats went to the Toyota Sprinter of
Kade Barrett and Mitch Newton which
put in some staggering times for a two
wheel drive car which is normally driven
by Kade’s father, Peter.
2015 series champions Craig Brooks
and Reubecca Sheldrick in the Subaru
WRX STi, looked set to provide a
challenge to the Maguire/Potter team
Keith Abblitt is the new Tassie
champion: Photo: Jarrod Leonard
in the early stages but it all came to
nothing with gear selection problems
on stage four and they were forced out.
While there were no incidents, the
event proved to be tough on the cars
with eight of the 23 car field not getting
to the finish.
- BARRY OLIVER
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 55

RETROSPECTIVE
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Jeff Whitten looks back on some of rallying’s lighter moments
BUILDING A BETTER
RAT TRAP
In the 1955 Redex Round Australia
Reliability Trial, an entry from an
AW Standfield meant very little
amongst the 175 other starters who
had entered for this rugged 10,500 mile
endurance event.
Advertising on cars entered for
motorsport, once forbidden by CAMS,
was common and most competitors
were happy to spell out their sponsor’s
name on the panels of their car to
help finance the big drive around the
country.
In last month’s issue of RallySport
Mag we described how Ford had
support from Colibri cigarette lighters
in the 1974 RAC Rally of Great Britain,
and gave out thousands of lighters at
spectator points, service breaks and
rally forums.
It wasn’t the most generous of
financial support (cash would have
been far better), but at least it got the
sponsor’s name before the public.
Unique, yes, but giveaways had been
done before.
Standfield manufactured rat traps
under the “Supreme” brand, which
was recognised as the leading mouse
and rat trap manufacturer in Australia,
turning out 44,000 traps per week.
Since 1944, when the company was
established, the family business had
sold more than 64 million mouse traps.
Obviously the business knew a thing
or two about marketing (as did Colibri),
and 54-year old Wes Standfield, the
company’s CEO, decided to take the
opportunity to promote his business
even further.
With his sons Ron and David as crew
members, they packed their 1953
Standard Vanguard sedan, resplendent
in “Supreme Rat Trap” stickers, not with
just the spare parts that the Vanguard
would possibly need on their long and
arduous journey around Australia, but
with thousands of giveaways in the
form of – you guessed it – rat traps.
By the time the Redex Trial was over,
the Supreme name was displayed all
around the country, sales went through
the roof, and rat and mice numbers
tumbled.
It was a great bit of marketing that
proves the point that sponsorship can
come in almost any form.
PULL OVER DRIVER
One of Australia’s foremost navigators
of the 60s, 70s and 80s
was John Bryson, a somewhat
eccentric all-round driver and navigator
The ‘Supreme Rat Traps’
Vanguard stuck in a bog in
the 1955 Redex Trial.
56 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

Italy’s Alex Fiorio pushes his Lancia
Delta hard on the ‘Rollercoaster’
stage at Rally Australia in 1989.
Photo: Peter Whitten
who was able to get out of almost any
difficult situation.
In his book “A Bootful of Right Arms”,
the legendary Evan Green tells of one
incident from Bryson’s long rallying
career, and which he swears is true.
The story goes that Bryson and his
driver were competing in a rally on a
shire road somewhere when a stone
broke their windscreen.
They were driving on a tight time
schedule when a farmer in a truck
pulled out of a paddock and slowly
drove down the road in front of them.
The road was narrow and the farmer,
being a typical bush motorist, was
reluctant to glance in his rear view
mirror, with the result that he blocked
the road and prevented the rally car
from passing.
With the windscreen missing, dust
and stones were pelting into the cabin,
and tooting the horn and flashing of
headlights had no effect.
After many fruitless attempts to
get the farmer to pull over, Bryson
instructed his driver to pull up as close
as possible behind the slow-moving
truck, whereupon he climbed out the
hole where the windscreen had once
been, and on to the car’s bonnet.
He then leaped onto the tray of the
truck and stuck his head through the
driver’s window.
“Excuse me,” he said. “We’re in a rally
and short of time. Would you mind
pulling over and letting us pass?”
The startled farmer obeyed and with
that Bryson jumped off the truck, got
back into the car and took off, leaving
a startled farmer to wonder where the
speeding rally car had come from.
JUMPING THE START
When you’re performing on
the world stage you want
everything to go right so that
you leave a good impression. That’s a
good philosophy, right?
Back in 1989, RallySport Magazine
almost shed a tear when we witnessed
a gut-tearing mistake from a competitor
in that year’s Commonwealth Bank
Rally Australia.
The 1989 event, like most rounds
of the World Rally Championship at
that time, had attracted quite a few
Malaysian crews, of which Francis
Cheung from Hong Kong was one.
Cheung and his co-driver Danny
Wong had spent a considerable amount
of money on preparing their Subaru RX
Turbo, shipping it to Australia and finetuning
it for an assault on the big event
– you can appreciate what an entry in
this caliber of event costs.
In due course the big day came
around and Cheung and Wong lined up
for the “off”, which was a Super Special
around Fremantle’s Richmond Raceway
trotting track.
As car 51 of the 67-car field, the duo
were naturally all fired up to attack the
first stage, watched by thousands of
spectators, and although the stage ran
in reverse seeded order, they still had
plenty of time to watch the proceedings
before their turn came around.
However, things didn’t quite go to
plan. Competitors were required to
drive up onto a big wooden start ramp
where they were flagged off by Western
Australian Premier, Peter Dowding, to
the cheers of the crowd.
But this flagging-off was not the start
of the first competitive - they were
required to slowly drive off the ramp
and stop at the start control timing
marker 20 metres further on, on the
Raceway’s shell grit track surface.
But with a rush of blood to the head,
poor old Cheung was more interested
in waving to the crowd and putting on
a show.
He floored the accelerator and
charged off the ramp with a squeal of
tyres and a big roar, totally ignoring
the timing marker at which they were
required to stop, and took off on the
first stage.
You can imagine what happened next
– our hapless crew had taken off before
the officials had time to count them
down, so no time was recorded.
Sadly they were immediately
disqualified and spent the next three
days of the event as spectators instead
of competitors. It was one hell of a
mistake, and rumour has it that their
service crew and supporters were none
too pleased – all that time and effort,
only to be disqualified even before the
start.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 57

REPORT: AKADEMOS RALLY, VRC
WINDUS SHOWS HIS CLASS
Different car, same
result. Darren
Windus was in fine
form again.
Story: CRAIG O’BRIEN
Photos: JOHN DOUTCH
Above: Luke Sytema slides his Escort, while Arron
Windus and Joe Brick listen intently at the pre-event
briefing.
58
Photos: | RALLYSPORT
Red
MAGAZINE
Bull Content
- NOVEMBER
Pool
2016
Darren Windus took another
step closer to defending his
Victorian Rally Championship
with victory at the MRF Tyres
Akademos Rally on October 16,
ahead of Glen Raymond (Subaru).
In a season plagued by
cancellations and wet weather,
a field of 45 crews set out under
clear skies from the picturesque
Alexandra township to take on three
stages, repeated twice, for a total
competitive distance of 100km.
Following the sale of one of the
team’s Subarus, Windus opted
to lease Irishman Charlie Drake’s
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for
this round, with Bernie Webb calling
the notes.
A change in manufacturer and
co-driver did little to change the
status quo of proceding events,
with Windus going fastest on the
opening stage, four seconds clear
of an impressive Glen Raymond, on
his first competitive outing in a 4WD
since winning Rally Victoria in 2010.
The Mackenzie brothers, Steven
and Brent, were an impressive third
in their G2 Fiesta and leading 2WD.
However, drama would soon
follow with defending Akademos
winners, Arron Windus/Joe Brick
(broken differential), Andrew
Pannam/Tim Batten (suspected
blown turbo), and 2011 champions
Warren Lee/David Lethlean
(gearbox) all retiring.
The short liaisons between stages
caused brake dramas for Darren
Windus on SS2 when the brake
pedal went to the floor, dropping
the stage to Raymond, who also
encountered his own problems with
a fuel surge.
Benefiting from the issues of
those in front were the Mackenzies
who recorded a stage win on SS3.
Heading into heat two, a mere
12 seconds covered Raymond,
Mackenzie and Windus, but the
order would soon change when
the front differential on Raymond’s
car failed, leaving him to fight
spectacularly in rear wheel drive.
Mackenzie too had problems
when he dropped five minutes
Stephen Eccles, Hyundai Excel.
with a flat tyre, leaving Windus with
enough margin to claim the win,
despite his brake problems reoccurring
on the final stage.
A faultless drive from Michael
Conway/Jenny Cole in their Escort
netted them the final Sloan step Cox on broke the the
podium. stage record, but had
Tod Reed/William to Murphy give best to Matt
Summerfield in the final.

(Mitsubishi) were fourth in their only
appearance for the year, Tony Moore/
Simon Rowland (Ford) fifth, with
Luke Sytema and Simon Evans (Ford)
rounding out of the top six.
Aiming to clinch the Our Auto Rally
Series for Hyundai Excels, series leader
Stephen Eccles/Simon Pilepich were
struck a cruel blow on SS3 when a
brake component failed, sending them
off the road.
Fortunately the crew escaped
unharmed, but the same cannot be said
for the car, which suffered significant
damage.
Luca Giacomin/Brett Williams
eventually came out on top to win in
a tight battle over Joel Perkins/Tom
Brennan.
Mike Conway, Ford Escort.
Ben Hayes, Datsun Bluebird.
DON’T MISS AN ISSUE OF RSM
Corolla or Clio? Gravel or
tarmac? Richard Fung has a
difficult choice.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 59

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60 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

AP4 REGS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
The Confederation of Australian
Motor Sport and MotorSport
New Zealand are continuing
their discussions about ensuring that
the shared regulations for AP4 rally cars
stay aligned in both countries.
Australian Rally Commission
(ARCom) chairman, Col Trinder, told
RallySport Magazine that they have
been approached by New Zealand
about making some changes to the
regulations to take into account
the lessons learned over the last 18
months, and dealing with cars being
constructed to the AP4 regulations.
Trinder explains:
“In response, ARCom appointed a
technical group made up of teams,
scrutineers and engineers to consider
the NZ proposals and we tossed in a
few ideas of our own. These have been
discussed with NZ representatives over
the past month or so.
“Many of these points are of a
relatively minor technical nature and
are rightly focused on containing
construction and operating costs (e.g.
brake rotor sizes, a few cc’s of engine
capacity, chassis weight, piston weight,
etc.).
“The problem we face is that we have
to balance the philosophy underpinning
the development of the AP4 category –
which was to facilitate the construction
of locally built cars that have a similar
level of performance to FIA R5 (but
not exceed that benchmark) – with the
desire to make the cars as cheap as
possible to build and own.
“Some of the proposals put by NZ
move some of the technical aspects
slightly to the right of what we consider
is appropriate for the R5 benchmark.
While we are not welded on to every
element of R5 as fixed in perpetuity,
our position has been that there has to
be a good business case demonstrating
an overall cost saving for competitors
if we are going to adopt a more liberal
specification than what is permitted on
an R5 car.
“So some minor tweaks have been
agreed, some are being considered,
others have not been accepted.
“An area where no resolution could
be reached was the NZ proposal to
amend the regs to provide for a type
pattern chassis that conforms to a
single design – in essence a control
chassis.
“NZ propose the chassis developed
in NZ by Andrew Hawkeswood at Force
Motorsport NZ. Force has done a great
job, being the first to design and build
AP4 east/west-engined cars for NZ, with
nine cars now completed or planned.
“The problem we have with that
approach is that none of our Australian
teams or engineers have been involved
in the development of that car design,
and this was not really the model for
the category that we had in mind when
the regulations were first drafted.
“Our view is that we want our
Australian teams to be able to use the
same regulations as Force Motorsport,
to be able to develop their own chassis
within the template provided for in the
AP4 regulations (this is more like the FIA
approach to R5).
“In NZ their concept may well have
merit, and there may even be cost
efficiencies in common parts, but we
see the approach as potentially risky,
possibly slowing the evolution of the
AP4 design and making it potentially
more difficult to get the category widely
accepted both here and in Asia.
Australia and New Zealand are still
working closely to ensure the AP4
regulations are aligned in both
countries. PHOTO: Geoff Ridder.
“Given more time, I’m sure we
can work our way through this with
NZ, but we also need to confirm the
AP4 regulations here so people can
start cutting steel. There have been
a number of constructors who have
applied to build cars in Australia for
next year, and they want to get on with
it.
“Since we don’t think it is sensible
to unilaterally make changes to the
regulations moving away from R5,
unless both Australia and NZ agree -
ARCom has not recommended changes
to the existing regulations at this point,
except on those issues where both
countries are in full agreement.
“Discussions at the philosophical
and operational level about the future
direction for the category are still
continuing with NZ, at the highest
levels,” Trinder said.
To download the current AP4
regulations CLICK HERE.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 61

PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Steve Mackenzie put in a brilliant drive in the
Akademos Rally, setting fastest times in his
front-wheel drive Ford Fiesta.
Photo: John Doutch
62 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 63

NEXT MONTH IN RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE
OGIER GETS HIS WAY
WITH START ORDER
It has been reported that the FIA World Rally Championship
Commission support Sebastien Ogier’s
call for a change in the starting order rule in 2017,
as well as increasing the points issued from the Power
Stage.
The World Rally Championship Commission is to ask
the World Council to use reverse order seeding on Day
2 of WRC events, rather than only on Day 3, as has been
the case in 2016.
Insiders consider the current rules have been the
basis to the wide variety of different winners on 2016
WRC events, and that these proposals will serve simply
to strengthen the monopoly of Ogier - assuming he
finds a competitive car to drive next year.
- MARTIN HOLMES
Sebastien Loeb seems
to have got his way, with
changes to the running
order expected in 2017.
NEXT
ISSUE
Full Rally
Australia wrap
WRC driver
line-ups:
where will
Ogier drive?
WE DRIVE ONE OF THE NEW
ONE-MAKE FIESTAS IN VICTORIA
AVAILABLE DECEMBER 15
at www.rallysportmag.com.au or www.issuu.com
64 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

2016 Rally Australia preview
THE LAST
HURRAH
Can Paddon upset the
World Champions?
DRIVER PROFILES - FULL ENTRY LIST
RALLY AUSTRALIA MEMORIES - OGIER FEATURE
RALLY GUIDE 2
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 65

RALLY AUSTRALIA PREVIEW
LOCAL BONANZA
PADDON’S
The biggest field in the
event’s east coast history
will start Kennards
Hire Rally Australia on November
18.
Fifty-five Australian
competitors are spread
throughout the WRC, Australian
Rally Championship and NSW
Rally Championship fields, with
the season-ending date on the
calendar seemingly helping to
increase entry numbers.
The fight for the Kumho Tyre
Australian Rally Championship
may not receive the media
attention that the WRC event
receives, but among the
rallying faithful it will be just as
keenly observed.
Simon Evans, Harry Bates
and Molly Taylor are all eager
to win the country’s ultimate
rallying prize, and with only six
points separating them, it will
be the driver who has the most
consistent event who will likely
spray the victory champagne.
Bates and Taylor will run
among the WRC field, but
Evans has chosen to enter only
the ARC component of the
rally, meaning that he will start
the first day 15 cars behind
Molly Taylor.
As car one in the ARC field,
Evans will have a five minute
gap between the last car in
the WRC field and himself,
so if the stages are dry and
dusty, it could really work to his
advantage.
However, should the event
be hit with wet conditions, then
his decision could well come
back to haunt him.
The entry list includes a wide
variety of four-wheel drive
and two-wheel drive cars,
highlighting the current high
level of interest in the sport in
Australia, as well as the desire
for many to compete in a world
championship event.
A competitive field in the
NSW Rally Championship
component will also ensure
that spectators attending Rally
Australia will be presented with
three days of high octane rally
action.
- PETER WHITTEN
Hayden Paddon will be going all out for his second
WRC victory when Kennards Hire Rally Australia
gets underway on November 18, with a near
perfect road position set to aid his attack.
The Hyundai i20 driver will start the event fourth on
the road, and while he’ll have a top three finish in the
2017 WRC in his mind, it will be victory at Rally Australia
that drives him the most.
But standing in the New Zealander’s way will be three
Volkswagen drivers, all desperate to win the team’s
last official event before the team withdraws from the
championship.
Four-time World Champion, Sebastien Ogier, has won
Rally Australia for the past three years, so betting against
the Frenchman will be a brave call. However, having to
run first car on the road for the first two days of the rally
will severely disadvantage him, particularly if the current
dry spell around Coffs Harbour continues.
His team-mates, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas
Mikkelsen, are currently team-less for 2017, and while
there may well be contracts ready to be signed with
other teams, they’ll both be eager to impress.
Paddon’s Hyundai team-mates, Thierry Neuville and
D
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RALLY AUSTRALIA - HALL OF FAME
2015 Sebastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2014 Sebastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2013 Sebastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC
2011 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC
2009 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC
2006 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC
2005 Francois Duval Sven Smeets Citroen Xsara WRC
2004 Sebastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroen Xsara WRC
2003 Petter Solberg Phil Mills Subaru Impreza WRC
2002 Marcus Gronholm Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
2001 Marcus Gronholm Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
2000 Marcus Gronholm Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
1999 Richard Burns Robert Reid Subaru Impreza WRC
1998 Tommi Makinen Risto Mannisenmaki Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V
1997 Colin McRae Nicky Grist Subaru Impreza WRC
1996 Tommi Makinen Seppo Harjanne Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III
1995 Kenneth Eriksson Staffan Parmander Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III
1994 Colin McRae Derek Ringer Subaru Impreza 555
1993 Juha Kankkunen Nicky Grist Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185
1992 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
1991 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1990 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1989 Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165
1988 Ingvar Carlsson Per Carlsson Mazda 323 4WD
CLICK HERE for spectator l
66 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

BIG PUSH
ani Sordo, look to be the only other drivers likely to
ature in the podium celebrations, as the M-Sport
rivers, Mads Ostberg and Eric Camilli, have shown
othing of late to suggest they’ll be dark horses once the
ree-day event begins.
Being held two months later than ever before on the
ast coast, this year’s Rally Australia will throw up a
umber of new challenges for the world’s best drivers.
While many of the stages remain the same as in
revious years, the warmer and drier conditions will
ake road sweeping a real factor, and tyre wear a critical
omponent.
Saturday’s 50km Nambucca stage will be a huge test if
remains dry, and conserving tyres for the duration of
e stage will be a skill in itself.
On the other hand, November can be wet in Coffs
arbour, and afternoon thunderstorms could really
pice up the leaderboard and make road conditions
eacherous for everyone.
With 19 stages and 313km of competitive driving on
ffer, a Kiwi desperate for a ‘home’ victory, and a VW
am wanting to go out on top, the 2016 edition of Rally
ustralia could go down in history as the best yet.
LAPPI SET FOR WRC2 CROWN
Esapekka Lappi will be Skoda
Motorsport’s sole entry in Rally
Australia after Skoda withdrew
Jan Kopecky’s entry.
Lappi is lying third in the
series, 13 points behind Skoda
private team driver Teemu
Suninen, and Ford driver Elfyn
Evans.
The FIA has already stated
that the title would go to
Suninen unless Lappi finishes
first or second in the category
in Australia.
It would be more fitting for
Skoda if a works driver, rather
than a private Skoda team
driver, took the title.
This will be Skoda
Motorsport’s first official entry
in the Coffs Harbour-based
event, after the team appeared
several times in the Perthbased
Rally Australia, with
drivers such as Colin McRae,
and Didier Auriol.
ocations and maps
TOUR GUESTS IN FOR A TREAT
Passionate rally fans will get
the best seat in the house as
part of the sold out RallySport
Magazine Official Rally
Australia Spectator Tour.
Armed with cameras, GoPros
and flags, the 40-strong crowd
will be escorted around the
stages by RallySport Mag
representatives to the best
viewing locations Kennards
Hire Rally Australia has to offer.
These like-minded rally
enthusiasts will see a minimum
of several spectator locations
per day as the New South
Wales countryside welcomes
the world’s best teams, drivers
and cars.
Shakedown, the pre-event
rally show, grandstand seating
and the end of rally podium
presentation are also included
in the package.
Guests will also visit a
number of exclusive viewing
locations across the four days
of action – something the
general spectators don’t have
access to. It promises to be a
fantastic weekend.
- LUKE WHITTEN
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 67

WRC DRIVER PROFILES
VOLKSWAGEN
Volkswagen
Polo R WRC
Sebastien Ogier Jari Matti Latvala Andreas Mikkelsen
Name: Sebastien Ogier
Co-Driver: Julian Ingrassia
Nationality: French
Car #: 1
DOB: December 17, 1983
WRC Starts: 109
WRC Wins: 38
WRC Podiums: 55
Name: Jari-Matti Latvala
Co-Driver: Mikka Anttila
Nationality: Finnish
Car #: 2
DOB: April 3, 1985
WRC Starts: 168
WRC Wins: 16
WRC Podiums: 57
Name: Andreas Mikkelsen
Co-Driver: Anders Jæger
Nationality: Norwegian
Car #: 9
DOB: June 22, 1989
WRC Starts: 76
WRC Wins: 2
WRC Podiums: 19
Theirry Neuville Hayden Paddon Dani Sordo
HYUNDAI
Hyundai
NG i20 WRC
Name: Thierry Neuville
Co-Driver: Nicolas Gilsoul
Nationality: Belgian
Car #: 3
DOB: June 16, 1988
WRC Starts: 70
WRC Wins: 2
WRC Podiums: 18
Name: Hayden Paddon
Co-Driver: John Kennard
Nationality: New Zealand
Car #: 4
DOB: April 20, 1987
WRC Starts: 58
WRC Wins: 1
WRC Podiums: 4
Name: Dani Sordo
Co-Driver: Marc Marti
Nationality: Spanish
Car #: 20
DOB: May 2, 1983
WRC Starts: 139
WRC Wins: 1
WRC Podiums: 40
Mads Ostberg Eric Camilli Ott Tanak
M-SPORT
Ford Fiesta
RS WRC
Name: Mads Ostberg
Co-Driver: Ola Fløene
Nationality: Norwegian
Car #: 5
DOB: October 11, 1987
WRC Starts: 102
WRC Wins: 1
WRC Podiums: 16
Name: Eric Camilli
Co-Driver: Nicolas Klinger
Nationality: French
Car #: 6
DOB: September 6, 1987
WRC Starts: 22
WRC Wins: 0
WRC Podiums: 0
Name: Ott Tanak
Co-Driver: Raigo Mõlder
Nationality: Estonian
Car #: 12
DOB: October 15, 1987
WRC Starts: 66
WRC Wins: 0
WRC Podiums: 4
68 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

RALLY AUSTRALIA - WRC ENTRY LIST
ENTRY LIST (Approved by the FIA)
18 - 20 NOVEMBER 2016
Comp.
Driver
Competitor
No
Co-Driver
Nat Car Class Pri. Elig.
1 VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT OGIER Sebastien FRA VOLKSWAGEN
RC1 1 M
INGRASSIA Julien FRA Polo R WRC
2 VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT LATVALA Jari-Matti FIN VOLKSWAGEN
RC1 1 M
ANTTILA Miikka FIN Polo R WRC
3 HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT NEUVILLE Thierry BEL HYUNDAI
RC1 1 M
GILSOUL Nicolas BEL New i20 WRC
4 HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT PADDON Hayden NZL HYUNDAI
RC1 1 M
KENNARD John NZL New i20 WRC
5 M-SPORT WORLD RALLY TEAM OSTBERG Mads NOR FORD
RC1 1 M
FLOENE Ola NOR Fiesta RS WRC
6 M-SPORT WORLD RALLY TEAM CAMILLI Eric FRA FORD
RC1 1 M
VEILLAS Benjamin FRA Fiesta RS WRC
9 VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT II MIKKELSEN Andreas NOR VOLKSWAGEN
RC1 1 T
JAEGER SYNNEVAG Anders NOR Polo R WRC
12 DMACK WORLD RALLY TEAM TANAK Ott EST FORD
RC1 1 T
MOLDER Raigo EST Fiesta RS WRC
20 HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT N
SORDO Dani ESP HYUNDAI
RC1 1 T
MARTI Marc ESP New i20 WRC
37 F.W.R.T.
BERTELLI Lorenzo ITA FORD
RC1 1
SCATTOLIN Simone ITA Fiesta RS WRC
31 SKODA MOTORSPORT LAPPI Esapekka FIN SKODA
RC2 2 WRC2
FERM Janne FIN Fabia R5
32 SKODA MOTORSPORT KOPECKY Jan CZE SKODA
RC2 2 WRC2
DRESLER Pavel CZE Fabia R5
33 PEUGEOT SPORT SLOVAKIA PTASZEK Hubert POL PEUGEOT
RC2 2 WRC2
SZCZEPANIAK Maciek POL 208 T16
34 JOURDAN SERDERIDIS
SERDERIDIS Jourdan GRC CITROËN
RC2 2 WRC2
MICLOTTE Frderic BEL DS3 R5
35 CULTURE & SPORT QATAR
AL-SUWAIDI Khalid QAT SKODA
RC2 2 WRC2
RALLY TEAM
CLARKE Marshall GBR Fabia R5
42 NICHOLAS FUCHS
FUCHS Nicholas PER SKODA
RC2 2 WRC2
MUSSANO Fernando ARG Fabia R5
62 SAINTELOC JUNIOR TEAM FABRE Michel FRA CITROËN
RC3 3 WRC3
VILMOT Maxime FRA DS3 R3T
63 BRENDAN REEVES REEVES Brendan AUS SUBARU
ASN
GELSOMINO Rhianon AUS Impreza WRX Sti
64 NATHAN QUINN QUINN Nathan AUS MITSUBISHI
ASN
CALDER David NZL Lancer Evo IX
65 NEAL BATES BATES Harry AUS TOYOTA
ASN
MCCARTHY John AUS Corolla S2000
66 RYAN SMART SMART Ryan AUS MITSUBISHI
ASN
ALLEN John AUS Lancer Evo IX
67 LES WALKDEN
TAYLOR Molly AUS SUBARU
RC2
HAYES William AUS Impreza WRX Sti
68 BRAD MARKOVIC
MARKOVIC Brad AUS SUBARU
ASN
MACNEALL Glenn AUS Impreza WRX Sti
69 ADRIAN COPPIN
COPPIN Adrian AUS TOYOTA
ASN
KELLY Erin AUS Corolla S2000
70 DYLAN KING KING Dylan AUS SUBARU
ASN
NICOLI Daymon AUS Impreza WRX Sti
71 JUSTIN HATTON HATTON Justin AUS MITSUBISHI
ASN
TIERNEY Lee AUS Lancer Evo IX
72 TONY SULLENS
SULLENS Tony AUS CITROËN
ASN
NEWELL Kaylie AUS DS3
73 SUPER ALEX TROOP
MASUMURA Atsushi JPN MITSUBISHI
RC2
AKIKO Nakagawa JPN Lancer Evo X
74 ANDREW PENNY PENNY Andrew AUS SUBARU
ASN
LLEWELLYN Rhys AUS Impreza WRX Sti
75 STEPHEN RAYMOND RAYMOND Stephen AUS FORD
RC4
RAYMOND Glen AUS Fiesta R2
76 TOM CLARKE CLARKE Tom AUS MITSUBISHI
ASN
PRESTON Ryan AUS Lancer Evo IX
77 JOHN STILLING
STILLING John AUS MITSUBISHI
ASN
STEPHENS David AUS Lancer Evo IX
78 PETER DUNN DUNN Peter AUS SUBARU
RC2
NEAGLE Dennis NZL Impreza WRX Sti
79 MARK BEARD
BEARD Mark AUS SUBARU
ASN
GLEESON Jim AUS Impreza RS
80 MICHAEL RYAN
RYAN Thomas AUS MITSUBISHI
ASN
RYAN Nicholas AUS Lancer Evo VII
81 RHYS PINTER PINTER Rhys AUS FORD
RC4
HALL Phil GBR Fiesta R2
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 69

RALLY AUSTRALIA - ARC ENTRY LIST
Car
No.
Competitor (Entrant) /
Sponsor
70 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
Vehicle
2 4
ARC Group
Driver
Make
W W
Reg Class
Co-Driver
State Model
D D
KUMHO TYRE AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ®
Other

RALLY AUSTRALIA - NSWRC ENTRY LIST
Vehicle
2 4
ARC Group
Car Competitor (Entrant) /
Driver
Make
W W
Reg Class
No. Sponsor
Co-Driver
State Model
D D
Crews entered in the WRC who are also eligible for ARC Awards & NSWRC where shown.
*
*
*
*
NSWRC RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (SAT ONLY) & NSW (SAT & SUN)
Other
Full details soon at
rallysportmag.com.au
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 71

RALLY AUSTRALIA MEMORIES
LIQUORICE ALL SORTS
You name it,
Rally Australia has seen it ...
By PETER WHITTEN
REMEMBERING RODGER
Rally Australia has always been the
best week of the year for Aussie rally
fans, but September in 1993 will go
down as one of the darkest days in not
only the event’s history, but also the
sport’s.
Rodger Freeth had a Ph.D in physics,
but rally fans knew him as Possum
Bourne’s jovial co-driver, and a great
guy to be around.
So, when Possum’s Subaru Legacy
left the road near Mundaring on the
first morning of the 1993 event, killing
Rodger, the sport went into mourning.
The Langley Park Super Special Stage
held later that night had lost all its
spark, and while the rally continued,
those who knew the likeable Kiwi were
left heartbroken and bewildered that an
accident like this could happen.
Possum would bounce back to win
many more titles, but rallying had lost
one of the great ones.
MIKKO’S UNEXPECTED WIN
2009 was the only year Rally Australia
was held at Kingscliff, near the NSW and
Queensland borders, and was duly won
by the incomparable Sebastien Loeb
and his Citroen.
Ford’s Mikko
Hirvonen took
second, and hit the
post-event after
party with gusto
to celebrate a
successful weekend.
But late on the
Sunday night
Hirvonen’s weekend
got better still,
when news filtered
through that
Loeb’s Citroen had
been excluded
for a technical
Fateful day: RSM’s Peter Whitten
gets Francois Delecour’s
signature, with Rodger Freeth
in the background.
infringement.
Ford’s media team
went searching
for the Finn, as TV
Carlos Sainz’s battered Toyota.
Photos: Stuart Bowes
crews wanted an interview to get his
thoughts on his unexpected win. The
only problem was, Mikko was, by this
stage, a little too under the weather for
a serious discussion with the world’s
media ……
SHERATON AFTER PARTIES
The after parties at WRC rounds
always seem to take on legendary
status, particularly as the years go on.
Back in the early days of Rally
Australia the parties were held at the
Sheraton Hotel, just a stone’s thrown
from Langley Park, and in the late 80s
and early 90s the stars of the WRC used
to really let their hair down.
Parties went well into the early hours
of the morning, and many a local girl
is said to have been propositioned by
some of the sport’s biggest names –
multiple world champions included.
72 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

CARLOS IS ON A ROLL
Along with vision of the Bunnings
jumps and watersplash, perhaps the
most iconic of all Rally Australia footage
is the shot of Carlos Sainz barrel-rolling
his Toyota Celica multiple times in the
Bunnings plantation in 1991.
But this wasn’t the first time Sainz
rolled that year. In fact, it was the third
occasion in which El Matador had
inverted his Celica.
Locked in a tight title battle with
Juha Kankkunen, the Spaniard was on
maximum attack, but an early roll on
a night-time tarmac stage at Curtin
University cost him valuable seconds.
A second roll on the infamous
‘Rollercoaster’ stage the next morning
saw his Celica’s wheel spinning almost
before they’d landed back on the
ground, while the third happened when
he cut a corner and tripped over a rock,
sending the Celica into a violent series
of rolls.
Both the car, and Carlos’
championship hopes, were done.
UNWANTED PROTESTORS
Things got ugly at Rally Australia in
2009 when protestors became angry
and took matters into their own hands
in protest of the event on the NSW-QLD
border.
Along with placards along the route
and “no rally” slogans painted on
roads leading to and from the stages,
those against the event even blocked
roads and threatened some of the
competitors as they toured between
stages.
Thankfully nothing more came of the
protests, but this was the only time the
event visited the region, so perhaps the
protestors won after all …
LANGLEY PARK EXCITEMENT
Named the best event in the WRC
several times, Rally Australia has always
set standards that other events have
tried (and usually failed) to better.
The Super Special Stage at Langley
Park on the banks of Perth’s Swan River
is an example in point. A two-at-a-time
stage that included a jump, a tunnel,
sweeping turns and long straights, the
stage never failed to produce exciting
rallying and incredible TV footage.
As the opening stage of the rally,
I remember vividly Brett Middleton
tearing down the tarmac of Riverside
Drive, and keeping right onto the
gravel surface in his Daihatsu Charade.
The problem was that Brett failed to
negotiate the corner at speed, sliding
off the road and into a big tree that
wrote off the little Charade.
Another year, it rained so heavily
that Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima’s
Protestors at Rally Australia in 2009.
factory backed Suzuki Swift slid off on
one of the tighter corners and became
bogged. And there were also numerous
rolls when the stage condition
deteriorated and ruts developed on the
tight corners.
But of all the memories, perhaps the
most incredible is from 1995, when
the speed of Toyota’s works Celicas off
the start line was so impressive that it
prompted an FIA investigation.
That investigation uncovered that TTE
had been using an illegally modified
turbo restrictor, after which the factory
team were unprecedentedly banned
from rallying for 12 months.
AT YOUR SERVICE
In the early days of Rally Australia
there were no clover-leaf event formats
or single service parks. As the rally
moved from location to location, the
service crews did likewise, packing up
their gear and moving from place to
place.
This meant that even the biggest WRC
teams could be seen servicing on the
side of the road in the WA bush, with
rented trucks and vans parked among
the trees on roads between the stages.
It all added to the glamour of the
event, and gave everyone the chance to
get up close to the cars and the drivers.
But it didn’t always go to plan.
In 1989, one of Rod Millen’s service
guys lost control of his van on one of
the slippery ball-bearing covered roads,
hitting a bank and rolling the vehicle.
When the RallySport Mag crew
passed by several minutes later, the
team members had been picked up by
another service crew, leaving the van
on its side in the middle of the road.
A makeshift sign that read “Don’t
smoke – petrol” was further evidence of
their near miss, and subsequent quick
getaway.
BOGGED DOWN ON DEBUT
Neal Bates’ debut in Rally Australia
was in the 1989 event – the first time
Australia hosted a WRC round.
In the early days of his career, Bates
was behind the wheel of a front-wheel
drive Celica and had done okay, until
the final spectator stage at Whiteman
Park, near Perth.
Running down the field on roads that
were quickly deteriorating, Bates’ Celica
became bogged in sand on the 32 nd
stage of the four-day event.
Thankfully for the future Australian
Champion, his future attempts at Rally
Australia were in four-wheel drive
Toyotas.
Mikko Hirvonen’s 2009 victory
even came as a shock to the
Finn, who was partying hard.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 73

FEATURE: SEBASTIEN OGIER
SUPER SEBASTIEN’S FOUR PEAT
Behind the scenes with newly
crowned four-time champion
Sébastien Ogier.
Martin Hassenpflug
stood in front of
Sébastien Ogier’s
Volkswagen Polo R WRC. He’s
the only man who can stop
the now four-time World Rally
Champion.
It’s his job. Hassenpflug is
the Frenchman’s car controller;
when Ogier arrives in service,
it’s him who guides him and his
number one machine to a halt.
That happens hundreds of times in
a season, but this time – at the titleclinching
finish of the Rally of Spain in
Salou – it’s just that bit more special.
Just for a moment, there’s a look
between the pair. The look’s all it takes.
Ogier beams through the windscreen,
Hassenpflug grins back. They’ve done
that world champion thing again.
For the fourth time the superstar
from Gap has demolished all before
him and clinched the FIA World Rally
Championship for drivers with two
rounds remaining.
“He’s incredible,” says Hassenpflug,
quietly, but full of admiration. “I have
known him since he came to the team,
since he started with us at the end of
2011. I’m the only person who has done
every rally with him.
“When we started competing in the
2012 season, Séb was driving a Skoda
[Fabia S2000]. Our Polo was not ready,
so this was like our training year. I got
to know him well then, there was not so
much press, not so many media, more
time than we have now. We became
quite good friends. I learned how he
works.”
And how he works is very
straight, very focused and very, very
straightforward. “He’s like Carlos
[Sainz] says Hassenpflug. “We have the
Sébastien before the rally, during rally
and after rally. During the rally, he is
so focused, there’s no mistakes. This is
what is so fantastic about him.”
That focus theme comes up time
and again from the team behind Ogier.
Gerard Jan de Jongh is chief engineer
on his car – between them, they make
good, great and the best even better.
“Seb’s a very determined, very
professional and very precise driver,”
says de Jongh. “And he has the ability
74 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
to know what is important to him at
any one time and if it’s not important at
that time, then it’s discarded. He simply
won’t be distracted. That focus really is
incredible.”
Unfortunately for Ingo Roersch, his
public relations man, among the first
things to be jettisoned at moments of
increased intensity are any outstanding
“He simply won’t
be distracted.
That focus really is
incredible.”
media commitments.
Roersch smiles: “He’ll say
to me: ‘Let’s skip this…’ But,
you know, sometimes he
gets out of the car and he’s
full of emotion. I’m kind of
the first person who gets
that emotion. Sometimes,
leave it for five minutes,
come back for a second lap
and it won’t be a problem.
“One thing which really
impresses me about
Sébastien though is how he
can take the pressure and
deal with it.
“When he goes to the
press conference at the
end of the day, he’s regularly doing 100
selfies or autographs with people. If
there’s time, he’s always happy to share
it with fans.
“If you see him out of the rally car,
you see a completely normal person;
totally rounded and down to earth.
Sometimes we go to the restaurant for

an interview and I will try to make sure
we get the good table, maybe a table
in the window. But he’s not interested
in that. To him, it doesn’t matter. It’s
a table. He’s not interested in the
superstar thing.
“When you are out with him, you
would not think you were out with the
best driver in the world. It’s crazy how
good he is and, in the team, you can
see he’s an inspiration for those around
him.”
And an inspiration to the sport at
large. “Watch him on the Power
Stages,” says de Jongh, “you can
watch his lines from the helicopter. He
doesn’t go deep into the cut of a corner;
he doesn’t let the car run wide to outside
on the exit. Unless it’s absolutely
necessary, he doesn’t drive the car
sideways. He looks after the car and he
looks after the tyres. He has a feeling
for the tyres and for the grip, which you
don’t see in all drivers.
“I’ll be honest, I think I have one of the
easiest jobs in the service park. I trust
Sebastien in his feedback – I know that
he knows how to make the car fast.
When he’s happy and confident, my
work is done.”
Hassenpflug agrees completely, “We
all work for him.”
Francois-Xavier Demaison is
Volkswagen’s technical director and a
like-minded countryman to Ogier. “I
think he and I are a little bit the same,”
says Demaison.
“We are both mountain men, so
we have a little bit the same attitude.
Nothing was given for Ogier, he has
had to fight for everything and now he’s
there, he won’t settle for anything less
than 100 per cent.
“He works all of the time and he
demands everybody do absolutely their
best for him – because that’s what he
does for them and for the team. He
never gives anything less. He’s a special
guy.”
And in Spain, he became a little bit
more special again. Before the finish,
there were three drivers, three heroes
of world rallying who had won four
or more titles: Sébastien Loeb, Juha
Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen.
Today, there are four.
“When he’s happy
and confident, my
work is done.”
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 75

RD
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RALLY AUSTRALIA - ROUTE OVERVIEW
WRC Rally Australia - Friday 18 November 2016
GULLY RD
JASPERS
BRU SH RD
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SS3 08:40 - 10:50
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TODMAN RD
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NORTH BANK ROA D
TAYLORS ARM RD
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SS2 08:12 - 10:22
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AQUARIUS
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5 am to 6 pm
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SS6 13:10 - 15:20
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SUNDOWNER
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STAGE
R D
GREENHILLS
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RD
ROAD CLOSED
5 am to 4:30 pm
FARMER
BAKERS
ROAD
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SPOONTRL
ROAD CLOSED
6:45 am to 7 pm
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Ü!(
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CPT 287/1 TRL
CPT
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SS4 9:48 - 11:58
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To Raceway
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ANTIMON
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RD
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475/2 RD
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STAGE
TEAGUES KNOB
T RL
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CH
RD
B RIDGE
CABANS
PADEMELON PL
DUSTY TRL
LOUIES RIDGE
PACIFIC HWY
RD
RD
TAMBAN RD
FRI-4
SS5 10:41 - 12:51
BRUTONS RD
BROWNS
VALERY RD
RW1
!(
BROWNS
CROSSING R
CROSSIN G R D
Warrell Creek
PACIFIC HWY
CO CKBURNS
WA LLBRIDGE
MAILMANS
LANE
RD
TRL
BOUNDARY
TRACK RD
BOUNDARY TRL
CPT 481/1 RD
CPT
BRUSHBOX
482/1 RD
CPT
RD
RD
76/4 TRL
SILVER RIDGE
RD
Raleigh
BRU SH BOX
CPT
76/5 TRL
STRANGE
RACEWAY SSS INSET
PTC
To/From
MACKSVILLE
RD
CPT 76/2 TRL
O'DELLS
RD
INDIGO RD
PACIFIC HWY
SHORT RIDGE RD
TREE RD
MIGHELL RD
DR
KEEVERS
MYLESTOM
POWERLINE TRL
DEVOS
TRL
QUARRY
TRL
DR
BOUNDA RY TRL
OLD FERRY RD
To/From
SERVICE
PARK
CPT
CPT
ROSEWOOD
INDIGO
TOWER RD
490/4 RD
CPT 490/5
TRL
490/3 RD
RD
CPT 490/2 R
PERRYS RD
PINE CREEK WAY
PERRYS LANE
HIGH
DONOHOES RD
ILEY ST
KN O B TRK
WAY WAYCREEK
JOEL
WOODWARD ST
IZA
HUNTERS
RIDGE
Legend
0 0.5 1 2 3 4 5
Kilometres
Special Stage Start
Stop Control
Fuel
Spectator Point
®Ρ Spectator Parking
!(
TCP Locations
Speed Restriction TCP Locations
VMS Locations
Direction of travel
Special Stage
Liaison Stage
Spectator Routes
Combined Liaison &
Spectator Routes
!(
Commence Time - Commence Time
14:09 - 16:55 First Car Estimate - 100th Car
SS6 Special Stage
Map by Major Events Section, Transport Management Centre Eveleigh NSW.
Base data © Copyright Department of Lands NSW 2015. Date issued: June 2016.
File: \World Rally Championship Nov 18 2016 FRI Overview No Frames.mxd
!(
WRC Rally Australia - Saturday 19 November 2016
RICKERBYS
YORK
RD
RD
MORAN TRL
KENNAI CLE CREEK RD
R AZOR
B ACK
TRL
BLA KES TRL
W
ILLIAMS
CPT
RD
247/1
RD
C LIFFS TRL
RD
244/1
BELLINGEN RD
RD
MALLEE
LO GGING RD
OLLAN OLL A
RAIL
FIRET
ECHID NA
H O
LLINGS CL
FUERTE DR
SHARWILL DR
ZUTANO CL
BROUGHAMS RD
KOALA CL
PRIORY
PDE
TALLOWOOD TCE
EAST
BUR K ES
VALLA
P E A R L
BEACH RD
BIRUGANCL
CCT
N UNGUU TRL
KUTA AVE
COCKBURN ST
MORANS
CPT 302/3 RD
CPT
302/1 RD
MITCHELLS
RD
RD
To/From
SERVICE
PARK &
RACEWAY
SULLIV ANS
DEEP
CREEK RD
O CEANVIEW
RIDG E T R L
D R
THOMPSONST
ALBANY
DR
HOGBIN
ORARA ST
ST
BARRIE ST
HARBOUR DR
VICTORIA ST
HOWARD LANE
To/From
SERVICE
PARK
NANA LANE
NANA ST
DIBBS ST
HOWARD ST
GUNDAR ST
BOAMBEE ST
HARBOUR DR
BENT
ST
SHO RT
ST
HOWARD ST
MILDURA ST
MOORE ST
JARR E TT ST
EDINBURGH ST
!(
3
Coffs!(
4
Harbour
!(
2
NILE ST
CAMPERDOWN ST
!(
1
JORDAN ESP
MARINA DR
SSS 16:30 - 19:25
VALLEY VALLEY TRL
E AFO RTHDR
COFFS SSS INSET
VALLA
FLIGHT RD
CPT328/1 RD
AJAX RD
CPT 324/1 RD
ALCO
NORTH
8
ORANGETREE RD
CARBINE
ZULU
RO A D
LOW ER
CPT 322
RD
/1 RD
9
MCHU GHS CR EEK RD
GRACES
B UC K RA BENDINNI
ROCK
SAT-3
ROAD
CPT 323/2RD
HA N GING
R O AD
R OAD
ROCK
TULLOCK
RD
7
NAMBUCCA
STAGE
SOUTH
NOR TH ARM RD
DEE R HILL RD
ME NZIES
RD
DYERS LOOP
ROAD CLOSED
7 am to 7 pm
RD
LEMANS
RD
LOWER
5
RD
MISSABOTTI
BUCKRA
4
RD
WILLIAMS HILL ROAD
BENDINNI
RD
10
GREY GUM RD
PAWSEYS RD
6
WELSHS
P ROCTORS
RD
CREEK
SAT-2
SILVIAS RD
D EANS
BL ACKBERR Y LA NE
NORTH ARM ROAD
RZ6
RZ8
RD
CPT 308/1 RD
GR A CES
BELLINGEN
BOREFIELD RD
RD
09:02 - 12:06
13:50 - 16:54
SOUTH ARM
RO AD
DOTTI CL
HIGH ST
CPT 308/2 RD
!(
!(
17
18
CPT 308/5 RD
11 12
WILSON
COULTERS
RD
T 30 8/7 RD
C P
PARK ST
ROAD
ATTARDS RD
3
FACTORY RD
CPT
SAT-1
308/8 RD
CPT
GRANDIS GLEN
307/1 RD
CPT 307/2
13
GRASSY RD
SMITHS LANE
SHEAT HERS TRL
LONDON LANE
SPOKES RD
RHONES CREEK
CPT 304/1
RD
RD
PEPPE R
TALAR M
RD
BALANCE TAN K
RD
BUCHANNS RD
SS13 9:37 - 12:36
SLEES
SS16 14:25 - 17:24
CONGARINNI ROAD NORTH
2
TRL
INNI ROAD NORTH
CONG A R
1
CONGARINNI
M ANUSUS RD
RD
ENGLANDS
TRL
NELSONS
LANE
SPALDINGS
14
VALLA16
STAGE
RD
TEWINGA LANE
SS12 08:28 - 11:27
SS15 13:16 - 16:15
RICHARDS
RODEO
DR
WILSON RD
RICHARDS
RD
IRVI NES
LANE
ROAD CLOSED
9 am to 8:30 pm
PETERKIN LANE
RD
TAYLORS ARM
RD
COWINS
GREENAWAYS RD
CORONATION RD
RD
JELLICO
ST
KYLIE
MACKAYPL
!(
16
ST
ST
WILLY
STURDEE
TILLY
CHRISTINE CL
SHORT ST
WEST ST
15
WALLACE
NE WEE
FERRY
ST
SOLDIER
RODEO DR
YARRAWONGA ST
MATILDA ST
ST
PRINCESS ST
SETTLERS
CREEK
COOPER
ST
RD
SAT-4
RD
WILLIS ST
PACIFIC HWY
OXLEY ST
IRONBARK
URITI RD
RIVER ST
EAST ST
VALLA ROAD
HAWKS
RD
BIRDS RD
PADE CR
BELLEVUE
DR
ILLERS
RD
GORD ON S KN OBRD
WIRRIMBI RD
BIRD TRL
CPT 316/2
CPT
!(
15
TRL
16
SIDING RD
MATTICK RD
NURSERY RD
BOUND ARY RD
RO
316/ 1 TRL
VALLA ROAD
COW
BOGGY
BLACKBUTT
SEGUM
CPT
CREEK RD
31 7/1
ROSEGUM TRL
PO PLAR
TRL
GUMMA RD
GORDONS KNOB
TRL
319/ 3 TRL
TRL
IRON
CHARLES PL
BAR KTRL
OLD
COAST RD
HUT
BALE CL
NEWEE CREEK ROAD
TRL
3 21/5
CPT
RD
CP
!(
MESSMATE
SOUTH BOUNDARY RD
ACACIA RD
C PT320/2 TRL
TRL
12
ALFRED CL
AULD CL
318/3
CPT
RD
FOXS
LINK RD
TRL
RAILWAY
TRL
319/1 TR L
TE AGUE
CPT321/4 TRL
RA CECOURSE TRL
FLORENCE WILMONT DR
FIGTREE RD
BERYLS
313/3
!(
RD
CPT 313/5 TRL
RD
ALEXANDRA
RIDGE RD
13
DR
ROYALE CT
RL
BANGALOW DR
MARSHALL
JACKS RIDGE RD
PT 3 21/2
TRL
ALLOWWOOD RD
CPT
HYLAND PARK RD
HYLAND PARK RD
310/1TRL
MANN ST
WAY
DAM RD
CPT
TRL
312/1
C PT 312/2
B EN T
MUMBLER ST
BOULTONS CROSSING
BARNETTS RD
T RL
EGGLETON ST
FLAT RD
PARR O T
JOHN AVE
PALMER
SEAVIEW
RD
BANYAND AH
CPT 312/ 4 TRL
PACIFIC HWY
RACEWAY SSS
STAGE
CABANS
MIL L RD
SAT-5
MAHOGANY
NELSO N
IDE
RIVERS
DILLONS RD
RD
DR
ST
RD
COTTAGE
CPT
311/1
LOFTU SST
BACK ST
T RL
CPT 311/2 TRL
RIDGE ST
WE
SS14 10:35 - 13:34
BRUTONS RD
VALERY RD
C HAR LTON
SHORT ST
LLI NGTON DR
LISTON
RW1
!(
EA N
NEWRY
MAILMANS
TRACK RD
To/From
MACKSVILLE
Raleigh
RACEWAY SSS INSET
PACIFIC HWY
DR
KEEVERS
MYLESTOM
POWERLINE TRL
DEVOS
TRL
QUARRY
Ü
TRL
DR
OLD FERRY RD
To/From
SERVICE
PARK
PERRYS RD
ILEY ST
PINE CREEK WAY
PERRYS LANE
JOEL
WOODWARD ST
IZA
Legend
0 0.5 1 2 3 4 5
Kilometres
Special Stage Start
Stop Control
Fuel
Spectator Point
!(
TCP Locations
VMS Locations
Direction of travel
Special Stage
!(
Liaison Stage
Spectator Routes
Combined Liaison &
Spectator Routes
14:09 - 16:55
SS11
Commence Time -
First Car
Special Stage
Commence Time
Estimate - Last Car
Map by Major Events Section, Transport Management Centre Eveleigh NSW.
Base data © Copyright Department of Lands NSW 2015. Date issued: June 2016.
File:\ARCGIS mxd\World Rally Championship Nov 19 2016 SAT Overview Frames.mxd
76 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016

ING
EAST BANK
D
RSH ELTE
DAYRSHIREPARK
R
GLENLYONDR
ING
BULL TRL
RD
REDCEDAR DR
FIRERD
RSH ELTE
GLENLYONDR
BULL TRL
RD
REDCEDAR DR
TDOUGKNI GHDR
YGULL
PARKESDR
YGULL
PARKESDR
RED ASHRD
H EA T HME R E CL
PACIFIC HWY
RED ASHRD
H EA T HME R E CL
CR
CR
ELLY
RC Rally Australia - Sunday 20 November 2016
JUMP
RD
BURRA FIRE
T RL
CASUARINA LANE
GUM
D
R
CYCLONE R D
HOPES
LANDRIGANS
Karangi
FLAT RD
CY CLONE TRL
RD
POPERAPERAN
TRL
R D
LOOP RD
LOOP
YA KKATRL
BATTERY
ROCKY TRL
CREEK
MO UNT BROWNE
TRL
KOALA
RD
LOOP RD
RD
CAT TRL
PRIORS RD
FERRETTS
Nana Glen
RD
16 !( 20
!(
10
!(
9
14
Lower Bucca
!(
8
!(
16
!(
11 Wedding Bells
Regroup
!(
3 !( 19
SETTLES
REVERSE
STAGE
!(
2
ROAD CLOSED
Moonee
ROAD CLOSED
6:30 am to 1:30 pm
Beach
5:15 am to 1 pm
SUN-1
Coramba
!(
6
!(
!(
5
21
!(
4
SETTLES
Ü
REVERSE
STAGE
Kororo
!(
1
!(
2
ROAD CLOSED
Moonee
6:30 am to 1:30 pm
Beach
SPECIAL STAGE
DESTINATION NSW SSS
SUN-1
Karangi
!(
5
!(
Ü
4
Kororo
Korora
!(
1
Upper
Orara
Red
Hill
SPECIAL STAGE
!( 3
DESTINATION NSW SSS
!( 4
!(
17
!( 7
!(
18
Korora
S30°18.582'
!( E152° 8.305'
5
Thompsons
!(
Coffs Harbour
Hill
S30°18.562' STOP
E153° 8.305'
!( 1
!( !( !( 2
SERVICE
2
3 PARK !( 5
!(
5
!( 1
!(
4
S30°18.582'
Red
E152° 8.305'
!( 6
Hill
!( 3
S30°18.562' STOP
E153° 8.305'
0 0.5 1 FRI-4 2 3 4 5
Legend
SAT-6
Kilometres
Special Stage Start !( TCP Locations
Special Stage
Commence Time - Commence Time
9:30 - 11:35
First Car
Estimate - Last Car
Stop Control
Speed Restriction
!(
Liaison Stage
TCP Locations
SS13 Special Stage
Spectator Point
Spectator Routes
!( VMS Locations
!( 4
Time Control
Direction of Travel
Combined Liaison & CLICK HERE for spectator Map by Major Events Section, Transport Management Centre Eveleigh NSW.
FRI-4
Spectator Routes
Base data © Copyright Department of Lands NSW 2015. Date issued: June 2016.
®Ρ Spectator Parking
!(
17
!( 7
SAT-6
File: \ARCGIS mxd\World Rally Championship Nov 20 2016 SUN Overview No Frames.mxd
!(
18
locations and maps
!( 5
RIDGE
CPT
CPT619/1 RD
DAIRYVILLE RD
WA
RD
NANA CREEK RD
628/4 RD
HARTLEYS RIDGERD
RD
CPT
ROBINSONS TRL
RD
617/1
BREWERS
RD
RD
COMLAR OI
LTER SRD
NORTH ISLAND LOOP RD
SOUTH
HALLGATHS
RD
STAR
RD
EAST BANK FIRE RD
THE
TA NA RD
WELLROAD
K
ORARA WAY
ORARA WAY
CREEK RD
RETREAT RD
MORBID
SCREEK RD
DINGO
TRL
C ONVI NCING GROUND
TRL
RD
UPPER ORARA RD
ORARA WAY
PRIORS RD
WAT KINRD
ISLAND LOOP RD
MASTONS RD
!( 20
KINGS RIDGE RD
GRAFTON ST
NANA ST
OLD KINGS
RD
L OST
FRIDAYS CREEK RD
KOOK
HUT TRL
GALE ST
DUNC ANS BRIDGE RD
SIX
MIDDY TRL
TUFF
RD
ENGLANDS
WEIR ST
SOLOMON CL
B ARREL TRL
TRL
FINBERG RD
ARMY
RD
UPPER
MORROWS RD
C O TTAGE RD
SCHOONER R D
PINTTRL
Stage summary
Day 1
9 stages
MCCANS RD
MORROWS RD
SPOT RD
SLIPRD
TIGER
BOFFS
THORNTON RD
HARTLEYS
TIGE
ORARA RD
CORAMBA
WRC Rally Australia - Sunday 20 November 2016
FIRETRAIL
JACARANDA
TANNERS
R FIR E
RD
RD
GUTTER TRL
TUFF
RANDALLS RD
TALLO W
TRL
GATES
RD
RD
!(
10
RD
DR
COW
KELLY
RD
WATTLE
BEN NETT S RD
A XE RD
GILLARDS RD
RD
BURRA FIRE
JUMP T RL
RD
CASUARINA LANE
NORTH BOAMBEE RD
GUM
!(
9
PLUME RD
PL ONK RD
LOST RD
RIDGE RD
120.61km competitive
335.24km liaison
Day 2
5 stages
135.19km competitive
259.56km liaison
Day 3
5 stages
57.18km competitive
132.73km liaison
Totals
19 stages
312.98km competitive
1040.51km liaison
ABU R RA RD
T R L
RESERVE
CHALKER
RD
R
CYCLONE R D
HOPES
COMMANDO TRL
LANDRIGANS
FLAT RD
ROSE
LAND SDR
REPTILE RD
CY CLONE TRL
RD
POPERAPERAN
CEDARVALE RD
R D
Lower Bucca
FIRERD
TRL
LOOP RD
SCHOOL TRL
FRO G
DAM RD
LOOP
BEE RD
ROCKY TRL
CREEK
RD
MO UNT BROWNE
TRL
KOALA
RD
ROBINSONS TRL
MI DDLE BOAMBEE RD
CANALE DR
WEDDS RD
WILLIAM
YA KKATRL
!(
8
STORE RD
TAYL ORS CREEK RD
END
SHEP HARDS LANE
GILLON S T
NELSON ST
LOOP RD
FIRE
PEAK
FOSTER RD
RD
DAM R D
BUCCA16
STAGE
APSEYS
HALLGATHS
RD
DINGO
EAST BANK FIRE RD
TA NA RD
MINERS RD
RD
SHE
FIRE HUTTRL
TRL
THE
SHAR P DR
AVONDALE RD
LAKES
ANT FIRE RD
RETREAT RD
C ONVI NCING GROUND
LTER RD
TRL
DR
CCT
CEMETERY
WELLROAD
K
MORBID
CROSS
CORIEDALE DR
RD
SCREEK RD
A RTIST RD
MCNAMARA
SWANS RD
H ALL
S
RD
TRL
PEARCE
SKYE CL
TRL
RD
MASTONS RD
MCALPINE
AMANDA CL
LOADERSLANE
RD
KRATZ
AGAVE GR
DR
RD
RULIDARA
DR
!(
MCCLELLANDS RD
PEARCE DR
WAY
GRIFF
KINGS RIDGE RD
OLD KINGS
RD
L OST
ITHAVE
HALLS RD
ABU R RA RD
KOOK
HUT TRL
MIDDY TRL
TUFF
PINTTRL
B ARREL TRL
TRL
ARMY
RD
MCCANS RD
ENGLANDS RD
FINBERG RD
!(
7
C O TTAGE RD
SCHOONER R D
SYMON S AVE
SPOT RD
SLIPRD
BOFFS
CORAMBA
RD
GUTTER TRL
TUFF
Thompsons
Hill
PACIFIC HWY
HERDS RD
WEIRS
BEX TRL
WALKING TRACK
BEX
MU R
BUCCA RD
RD
MCRAES
RD
BEX TRL
VERA DR
BOLWARR A TRL
P HY
C R
JIMS
DUTTONCR
MACKAYS
ROBIN ST
RD
THOMPSONS
CORNISH ST
TRL
MIDWAY TRL
RANDALLS RD
TALLO W
TRL
END PEAK
FINC
KING ST
COMBINE ST
PITT
GUNDAGAI ST
SQ
H
RD
COW
BEN NETT S RD
BERYL
JEAN ST
AUBREY
GATES
RD
WATTLE
A XE RD
GILLARDS RD
RD
NORTH BOAMBEE RD
TRL
T R L
WEST HIGH ST
RD
ST
FRANCES ST
RESERVE
PACIFIC HWY
PLUME RD
PL ONK RD
LOST RD
RIDGE RD
CHALKER
RD
COMMANDO TRL
JOYCE ST
MCLEAN ST
MEADOW ST
CR
J EEP RD
FERANCR
REID DR
MIDDLE RD
WESTERN BOUNDARY RD
WEARS
PERR Y
CR
SUN-2
RD
DR
TRL
ROVER
SUN-3
LONG ST
HILL ST
SEALY LOOKOUT DR
APOLLO DR
KORFF ST
GRAFTON ST
ROSE
LAND SDR
ISLES DR
REPTILE RD
FRO G
BEE RD
GILLON S T
WILLIAM
STORE RD
TAYL ORS CREEK RD
F ORGE DR
SCHOOL TRL
DAM RD
APSEYS
END
SHEP HARDS LANE
NELSON ST
FIRE
PEAK
FOSTER RD
RD
BUCCA16
STAGE
LALS RD
MINERS RD
RD
SHE
FIRE HUTTRL
TRL
SHAR P DR
KEO
AVONDALE RD
DAM R D
DR
LAKES
CCT
N A
ANT FIRE RD
LTER RD
TRL
CEMETERY
CROSS
CORIEDALE DR
H ALL
S
RD
A RTIST RD
MCNAMARA
ROAD CLOSED
5:15 am to 1 pm
FINLAYS RD
BRAY ST
BAILEY AVE
MOONEE ST
EARL ST
ANN ST
!(
15
CO FF
VERNON ST
ALBANY ST
BONVILLE ST
RALEIGH ST
HARDY CL
JUNE
FLOODED GUM RD
!(
CENTRAL BUCCA RD
MARDELLS RD
ROVER
SWANS RD
MARCIA ST
ST
ST
RD
PEARCE
LOADERSLANE
RD
KRATZ
STADIUM
HARBOUR DR
AGAVE GR
DR
DR
RD
RULIDARA
DR
MCCLELLANDS RD
MCIVERS RD
SHERWOOD RD
SHERWOOD
MARDELLS RD
PORK
RD
GATELYS
PRINCE JAMES AV E
OGBIN DR
TURPENTINE RD
TE N
PEARCE DR
GRIFF
HALLS RD
COOK DR
O'KEEFE
BUCCA RD
!(
7
!(
19 6
!(
3
ITHAVE
PACIFIC HWY
FRASER DR
DR
HERDS RD
WEIRS
BEX TRL
WALKING TRACK
K ORORA BASIN
ARGYLL ST
NORTH ST
POLYOSMA
RD
FORTY
RD
CHOP RD
!(
13
BEX
WINGARA DR
MASTRACOLAS
KAN
E CR
KURRAJONG ST
WOOLGOOLGA RD
ROSE AVE
L ANTANA RD
DUCK RD
RD
TALOUMBI
BARRIE ST
TWO
HOWARD ST
MCRAES
!(
11
RD
MU R
RD
RD
BEX TRL
VERA DR
BOLWARR A TRL
P HY
LAW S
SHORT
MCKAYS RD
MUSA LANE
RD
W EDDING
RD
SE
DUCK RD
RD
DUTTONCR
C R
JIMS
TTLES RD
MACKAYS
ROBIN ST
RD
THOMPSONS
CORNISH ST
TRL
MIDWAY TRL
ROVER TRL
END PEAK
FINC
H
GUNDAGAI ST
KING ST
COMBINE ST
BRO DIE
PITT
SQ
WEARS
PERR Y
CR
BERYL
JEAN ST
AUBREY
ORLANDO ST
RD
TRL
ST
FRANCES ST
WEST HIGH ST
RD
J EEP RD
DR
FERANCR
REID DR
JOYCE ST
MCLEAN ST
MEADOW ST
CR
TRL
ROVER
MIDDLE RD
WESTERN BOUNDARY RD
SUN-2
SUN-3
LONG ST
HILL ST
SEALY LOOKOUT DR
KORFF ST
GRAFTON ST
WEST KORORA RD
ON CR
AIRPORT
Coffs Harbour
HARBOUR DR
BENT
FLUKE RD
VI CTORIA ST
BOYDS DEV
CUT
ROWSELLS RD
D R
BELLCREEK
ST
RD
TRICKY
APOLLO DR
LALS RD
FINLAYS RD
BRAY ST
BAILEY AVE
MOONEE ST
EARL ST
ANN ST
!(
15
CO FF
VERNON ST
RALEIGH ST
DR
PARK BEACH RD
!(
12
GAUDRONS
RESORTDR
PRINCE ST
ALBANY ST
BONVILLE ST
AVIA
HARDY CL
JUNE
TION DR
ARTHUR ST
BOULTWOOD ST
NILE ST
RONS RD
WATTLE
CHINAMAN RD
BR ODIE DR
JARR
L
TR
CREEK
MARYS WATERHOLE RD
RD
EDGAR ST
HOOD ST
IATION
DISCOVERY DR
PUGS RD
LINE TRL
PANTHER TRL
JAMES
SMAL L
DRESS CIR
ETT
FLOODED GUM RD
!(
14
CENTRAL BUCCA RD
MARDELLS RD
ROVER
SHERWOOD
MARDELLS RD
GATELYS
PRINCE JAMES AV E
!(
RD
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VARDYS TRL
DR
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BEE CL
D R
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RD
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TRACK
RD
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TIKI RD
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CONDONS RD
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BOUND ARY RD
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SKINNER CL
CREEK RD
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TIKI
HAMMOND RD
SMITHS RD
WALKING
RD
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RD
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TRACK
PARK AVE
WOOLGOOLGA
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BREEZE
LANE
RD
CONDONS RD
PONT CL
LAK E
PACIFIC HWY
CREEK RD
Emerald
Beach
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 77
GREYS
FREEMANS RD
RD
MORGANS RD
PUHOS
BREEZE
LANE
RD
JOHNSONS RD
KAY DR
TOPAZ DR
PARK AVE
PONT CL
PACIFIC HWY
HOLLOWAYS RD
JOHNSONS RD
KAY DR
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EMERALD HEIGHTS DR
L
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D
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AMMEREL

INTERVIEW: JARI-MATTI LATVALA
LATVALA TALKS TEAM-MATES A
The day before the start of
Wales Rally GB, Volkswagen
team driver Jari-Matti Latvala
was talking about his rally life
at VW, unaware of the shock
withdrawal announcement
that his team would make
after the event was over.
Clearly this had been an already
difficult season for Jari-Matti up to then,
and it was suddenly going to get very
much worse. First of all, JM told us
about his season leading up to Wales
Rally GB.
JML: It hasn’t just been an unlucky
year. It is a combination of many
different things going wrong for me this
year.
It already started wrong going off the
road in Monte Carlo, and then I had
some technical problems in Sweden. I
tried to fight back in Mexico, but it was
looking good in Argentina. We were
leading the rally, but then a damper
came through the bonnet and we
crashed, and so on.
It was turning into a “good rally-bad
rally” season and when all the time it is
like that you cannot create consistency.
It started to get really frustrating
after Germany when I had a gearbox
problem. My motivation was down.
Then I didn’t get my longed-for good
performance in Corsica. I can tell you
that this year more things have been
happening than ever in my season.
MH: Working as teammate with Sebastien Ogier
and Andreas Mikkelsen has provided a unique
VW’s withdrawal from
the WRC came as a
shock to everyone -
even team mechanics.
78 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
By MARTIN HOLMES
close-up glimpse of two other great drivers in
action. What makes four times World Champion
Sebastien so special?
JML: Sebastien really wants to win,
he has a big passion for winning. He
is very motivated to win rallies. Then
there is his ability to save the tyres, he
is very easy on the tyres. His driving
style is very straight line, which also
reduces risks of hitting things.
He is very, very talented driver, and
I think his success is just many, many
little things coming together - there are
so many little things where he is very
good. But tyre management is one of
those things, but it is not telling the
whole story.
I think another big thing is his ability
to feel in the changing conditions. He
can adapt to changing conditions very
well.
MH: Tyre management has been one of the
main rallying characteristics for many years now.
What is the trick in good tyre management?
JML: To succeed in tyre management
I think the trick starts with braking.
You must ensure you are gentle, that
you don’t brake too aggressively. I
think that is where the most benefit is
coming from.
On the other hand you must also
control the acceleration coming out
from the corner, reducing spinning the
wheels with your throttle. See if you
can start to accelerate earlier. And I
have always been quite hard on the
braking.
I think next year the cars will be
different because in a way they will be
a small step back to the old days where
you must be more aggressive with the
car. You will have to play with the car
more to get the most out of them.
MH: And Andreas, what do you think is his
great skill?
JML: I think Andreas physically is
the fittest driver in the whole rally
championship. It is a very good help for
him. He is very good in the fast special
stages and soft surfaces.
On rallies like Poland he is extremely
good. There are still maybe a couple of
events like Rally Finland that have been
difficult for him. If you want to win the
title you have to be able to perform well
on all the surfaces and that is the same
with me. There are a few rallies where I
need to improve.
MH: Even though you are only 31 years old, you
are the most experienced driver currently in the
WRC. The required driving styles have changed
a lot since you started. Is extensive experience
an advantage, or a confusion having to keep
changing your way of driving?
JML: For sure I have a lot of
experience in rallying, it is not a bad
thing, it is not a disadvantage. For sure
there are some bad habits that you
have to keep unlearning.
One of the things that has been
difficult for me is when I had to unlearn
driving the cars sideways. They were
difficult days trying to learn straight line
driving.
MH: Will the new cars be easier for more
experienced drivers or for younger drivers to
adapt to?
JML: I think experience with the old
World Rally Cars, the 2-litre turbo cars,
will help. The feeling with the 2017 cars
is similar to what we had with those
cars. I think if you jump only from a
1.6-litre WRC to next year the step will
be even bigger.
- The devastating announcement
about Volkswagen’s rallying future has
put Latvala’s expectations for 2017 on
ice, but it was interesting to hear what
he had been expecting from the 2017
cars. -
JML: Managing tyres will be more
difficult next year. With more power
you always have more tyre wear.
When we increase the power it will be
necessary to increase the number of
tyres we are allowed to use. We will
have 60 or so horsepower more to
handle, so we will have more tyre wear.

ND 2017
MH: How does driving the 2017 car compare
with the existing car?
JML: The new car will have more
power. I mean the car is accelerating
quicker so you have to also think about
new braking points.
In the new car everything is
happening quicker. The central
differential gives a bit easier turning-in
for the car on the “technical” (twistier)
sections, but on the other hand the
car is also wider. It is wider than the
existing car, so means that in some
narrow roads it also can be more
difficult to drive.
MH: And how easy will it be to adjust to
the increased speed? Will new pacenotes be
necessary next year?
JML: I think the characteristics of the
pacenotes will be the same, the corner
angles and everything, but it is just you
have to think about the points where
you start braking, so I think the notes
must now focus on those elements.
* With the announcement from VW,
nobody yet knows if Sebastien, Jari-
Matti or Andreas will be able to put their
theories about the 2017 rally cars into
practice.
For the moment, all we can do is wish
them good luck in their rallying!
All the testing on the 2017
cars seems to have been
for nothing.
NOVEMBER 2016 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 79

FEATURE: CAUGHT WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN
MAXIMUM EXPOSURE
Rally Australia has been a part of
the WRC for nearly 30 years and
uniquely in the WRC calendar, it
has literally migrated from one side of
the country to the other.
Other WRC rounds tend to stay
relatively focussed in one geographical
area, but by comparison Australia is a
massive nation and, state politics aside,
communities with quality rally roads are
readily found – and each with their own
style and nature.
The Australian WRC round is also
well recognised for a wide array of TV
footage capturing once-in-a-lifetime
rally incidents, ensuring its legendary
status.
Who can forget Colin McRae’s
Subaru WRC at maximum attack over
the downhill jumps at the Bunnings
Forest complex stages, or Carlos
Sainz’s frightening multiple rollover
in his Toyota Celica GT4 with a world
championship title in sight?
Langley Park introduced the rally
world to a purpose-built Super Special
Stage in the middle of a capital city, and
the stage provided great side-by-side
two car competition, along with crashes
and rollovers along the way, in front of a
huge local audience.
One of the most loved helicopter
shots must surely be Ross Dunkerton
and Steve McKimmie’s factory
Mitsubishi Galant VR4 sideways through
a grid on the Muresk stage, and the incar
footage of Dunko completely revved
up by the experience!
Along with the dangerous and
spectacular, there has also been the
entertaining.
Twenty-five years ago, at the
1990 Commonwealth Bank Rally
Australia, one of the most unusual and
memorable events unfolded.
Popular Queensland rally driver,
George Kahler, was a regular competitor
at state and national levels in the late
80s and 90s, and in 1990 took his
Duckhams Oil VR4 to Perth.
His regular co-driver at the time was
Kenyan rally legend and new Australian
resident, Lofty Drews, famous for his
expertise at WRC level with factory
teams, and especially in the East African
Safari.
As a true privateer effort, the Christian
Autosports entry was competitive in the
Group N category, but on the televised
special stage it all came undone in view
of the watching world.
After a relatively ordinary water
splash and within sight of the flying
80 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
By TOM SMITH
finish, the car faltered and almost came
to a halt with no engine power.
While the heavy VR4 still had
George Kahler and Lofty Drews push the heavy VR4.
momentum, Kahler and Drews jumped
from the vehicle and, in true ‘never-saydie’
fashion, used manpower to push
the car towards the flying finish.
With the television cameras capturing
every moment from at least two
angles, George (whose driving suit
preference of the day was a two-piece
set) unfortunately showed more than he
intended when his pants began to fall to
his knees.
First images from the front of the car
showed both crew members pushing
on open doors, with legendary Channel
9 commentator, Darryl Eastlake,
commenting on a smile which emerged
on the face of the Kahler, knowns as the
“Faster Pastor”.
He wasn’t aware at that early
stage that George already knew his The ‘Faster Pastor’ loses his modesty on live TV.
predicament was ‘unfolding’..... continue
to push the car or use both hands to
protect his modesty!!
While neither of the crew were ‘young’
men, they showed willpower - and first
managed to get to the yellow flying
finish, before continuing to push the
big Mitsubishi onto the red flag end of
stage.
In the control zone they still managed
to stay out of the way of the following
car, Bob Nicoli in his Daihatsu Charade
GTti, who had caught the big 4WD at the
end of stage.
With the relieved crew at least
recording a finish in a safe place, George
was finally able to dress himself again
and regain his dignity.
Interestingly, television footage also
reflects the safety standards of the day Kahler tries his best to get the stubborn VR4 started.
with both George and Lofty resplendent
in matching short-sleeved polo shirts
and, in the case of Lofty Drews, jeans
and running shoes! Not a racing suit,
nor HANS device to be seen.
While the assumption at the time
was that the car must have suffered
wet electrics from the water splash,
the story emerged afterwards that the
bumps caused the fuel pump switch to
flick off, and the car simply ran dry of
fuel.
With the immediate panic over and
with time to investigate, George quickly
found the problem and the crew was
able to continue without further delays.
A large personality, George
unfortunately passed away in 1999. Photos: Channel Nine TV footage from 1990.