RallySport Magazine February 2017

Issue #9 - February 2017 

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2 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017

CONTENTS - #9 FEBRUARY 2017 

FEATURES EVENT REPORTS REGULARS 

FOLLOW 

US ON: 

20 PEUGEOT 205 T16 

WE REMEMBER ONE OF THE FASTEST 

GROUP B RALLY CARS 

25 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 

TASSIE’S ADRIAN MORRISBY IS A 

POPULAR FIGURE IN RALLYING 

28 STEPHANE PREVOT 

WE INTERVIEW THE FORMER CO- 

DRIVER OF CHRIS ATKINSON 

34 STATE CHAMPIONS ➜ 

THE 2016 STATE CHAMPS ARE ALL 

DESERVING WINNERS 

40 GEMINI MISSION 

TOM SMITH LOOKS AT A CLASSIC 

RALLY CAR THAT’S DIFFERENT 

44 ENGINEERING A WRC CAR 

M-SPORT’S CHRIS WILLIAMS TALKS 

ABOUT THE FIESTA WRC 

50 DMACK MOVES FORWARD 

HOW DOES A PRIVATE TYRE BRAND 

SET FASTEST WRC TIMES? 

10 MONTE CARLO RALLY 

THE 2017 MONTE WAS A CLASSIC IN 

ANYONE’S LANGUAGE 

✸ 

DID 

04 EDITORIAL 

05 LATEST RALLY NEWS 

NEWS FROM AROUND THE SPORT 

19 HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN 

THE ‘17 SEASON DIDN’T START THE 

WAY THE FLYING KIWI PLANNED 

48 FIVE MINUTES WITH ... 

MARK PEDDER TALKS ABOUT HIS 

TROUBLESOME 2016 SEASON 

54 PHOTO OF THE MONTH 

THIS MONTH’S “TOP SHOT” 

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go directly to an advertiser’s website? 

Sign up for our 

FREE weekly news 

updates - click HERE 

The passion for rallying .... 

MANAGING EDITOR 

PETER WHITTEN 

peter@rallysportmag.com.au 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Martin Holmes, Luke Whitten, 

Blair Bartels, Geoff Ridder, 

John Doutch, Jeff Whitten, 

Craig O’Brien, John Crouch 

SENIOR WRITER 

TOM SMITH 

tom@rallysportmag.com.au 

PUBLISHED BY: 

Peter Whitten 

RallySport Magazine 

peter@rallysportmag.com.au 

www.rallysportmag.com.au 

ADVERTISING 

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dominic@rallysportmag.com.au 

COPYRIGHT: 

No material, artwork or photos may be reproduced in 

whole or in part without the written permission of the 

publishers. RallySport Magazine takes care in compiling 

specifications, prices and details but cannot accept 

responsibility for any errors. The opinions expressed by 

columnists and contributors to this magazine are not 

necessarily those of RallySport Magazine. 


EDITORIAL 

THE GOOD AND THE BAD ... 

By PETER WHITTEN 

There have been some positive 

signs for the Australian Rally 

Championship early in 2017, and 

with the first round of the championship 

only weeks away, it’s hoped they 

add to the success of this year’s series. 

A 50% reduction in the series 

registration fee (down to $1500) is a 

step in the right direction, but whether 

that’s enough to encourage more 

competitors to sign up to score points 

remains to be seen. 

Ryan Smart and Brendan Reeves both 

won ARC rounds in 2016 but weren’t 

eligible for points, preferring not to pay 

the series registration fee, while Nathan 

Quinn was another front-runner who 

clearly didn’t see the benefit when he 

only contested some of the rallies. 

It really is a conundrum for the 

series organisers, who need money to 

cover some of the administration costs 

associated with running a national 

series. On the other hand, they need to 

be careful to look after their customers 

(the competitors) and not bite the hand 

that feeds them. 

It’s hoped that the reduction in cost 

is enough to see registration numbers 

at least doubled on what they were in 

2016. Only time will tell. 

The announcement that MRF 

Tyres will provide the control tyre 

for the next three years of the 

championship is also good news, but 

comes just eight weeks before the first 

round. 

A deal with MRF’s Vivek Ponnusamy 

has been in the wings for many, many 

months, but the final signature on 

the contract wasn’t signed until only 

recently. 

After several seasons running Kumho 

tyres, competitors now have very 

limited time to purchase their 2017 

tyres, and to test them prior to the first 

round, a situation that is hardly ideal. 

However, MRF’s enthusiasm and their 

emergence as a major player in the 

Australian motorsport tyre market is 

great news, and should help to benefit 

the sport for many years to come. 

The Australian Rally Championship 

still has a way to go in other 

areas though. 

Last year saw a move away from 

traditional media coverage to a service 

The Australian Rally Championship is making some big 

steps forward, but there’s still some way to go. 

CLICK TO WATCH 

(Above) The 2016 ARC videos on YouTube have had fewer views than you might expect, while 

(below) the new ARC season brochure is a move in the right direction. 

that only produced short video clips 

that appeared on the event website, via 

YouTube, or on Facebook. 

New appointments 

Sarah Bell has been appointed 

as the Competitor Relations Officer 

for the 2017 Australian Rally 

Championship. 

Meanwhile, regular ARC competitor, 

Adrian Coppin, has been appointed by 

Rally Australia as their Sporting and 

While the ARC will tell you they were 

a resounding success, the punters out 

there desperate for rally news and 

event reports weren’t as convinced. 

Adding to this was a huge gap in 

the coverage, whereby the ARC didn’t 

produce any press releases during the 

season, relying on the sporadic efforts 

of teams to provide their own reports. 

It was clearly a process that didn’t work 

in getting the sport to those outside the 

close-knit rallying community. 

Expecting newspapers and radio 

stations to produce their own stories 

and reports from events is never a 

guarantee for success, and can be 

littered with errors that could possibly 

do the sport more harm than good. 

In my view, the ARC has a 

responsibility to its supporters to 

produce factual, quality reports from 

each day of each event. 

Let’s hope a return to this is not far 

away. 

Business Development Manager. 

Coppin’s role will include 

sponsorship sales, and support and 

liaison with prospective competitors. 

He will also assist Clerk Of Course, 

Wayne Kenny, on sporting matters and 

liaison with CAMS. 


NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU 

The four new 2017 World Rally 

Cars from Citroen, Hyundai, 

Ford and Toyota debuted at 

Monte Carlo Rally. 

TYRE DEAL GOES TO MRF 

MRF Tyres will be the official tyre 

supplier of the Australian Rally 

Championship for the next three years. 

Mentor Tyres, the importer of MRF 

Motorsport Tyres for Australia and 

New Zealand, has been negotiating 

with CAMS for many months to sign a 

contract, after the previous supplier, 

Kumho, decided not to renew their 

contract. 

Mentor Tyres’ Vivek Ponnusamy is 

looking forward to the opportunity in 

2017 and beyond. 

“MRF Tyres has a strong passion 

in motor sport and cannot wait to 

become a part of the Australian Rally 

Championship for the next three years,” 

he said. 

The controlled MRF tyre has won 

championships around the world, 

including the prestigious FIA Asia Pacific 

Rally Championship eight times. 

“We have the enthusiasm and 

commitment to support all forms of 

motorsport in Australia, right from club 

level to national and international level, 

and we are here for long term. 

“We have great reputation in all 

forms of motor sport, where our 

championship-winning tyres are used in 

rallying, open-wheel racing, motocross 

and international-level karting,” 

Ponnusamy added. 

This year’s Australian Rally 

Championship will begin with the 

Eureka Rally in March, and will then 

head to Western Australia for the Quit 

Forest Rally in April. 

ARC REDUCE 

FEES FOR 2017 

After much lobbying and 

complaints from competitors, CAMS 

have announced a 50% reduction 

in the series registration fee for this 

year’s Australian Rally Championship, 

to $1500. 

At the same time the governing 

body released the Sporting and 

Technical Regulations. 

CAMS General Manager of 

Motor Sport Michael Smith said 

he’s looking forward to a great 

season of Australia’s premier rally 

championship. 

“This marks the first of many 

changes on the horizon for the 

championship, with it now coming 

under the CAMS banner,” Smith said. 

“More news regarding the 

championship will be announced 

shortly, with the championship 

already shaping up to be one of the 

biggest seasons yet.” 

Entries have also opened for the 

first round of the championship, with 

competitors heading to Ballarat for 

the Eureka Rally on March 17. 


NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU 

NZ news 

By BLAIR BARTELS 

Fans waiting to see Marcus van Klink’s 

new Mazda RX8 in action will have to 

wait until round two of the NZRC, with 

the Christchurch plumber confirming 

he will continue to use his RX7 in search 

of a second Otago Classic Rally title. 

The open two-wheel drive class looks 

to be highly competitive this year, 

with confirmation that Wayne Pittams 

will join the class in a Millingtonpowered 

Escort recently purchased 

from the U.K. 

Other cars expected include a similar 

Escort for Anthony Jones, and van 

Klink’s RX8. 

N 

ew Zealand Motorsport supply 

agents Palmside NZ Ltd have 

expanded their range of top quality 

performance brands by adding MRF 

competition tyres to their line-up. 

Palmside’s Deane Buist, himself a 

highly-accomplished driver, is excited 

to team up with Mentor Tyres to deliver 

MRF tyres to the New Zealand market. 

Palmside will have a large and 

competitively priced range of 13, 14 and 

15 inch tyres arriving late in February. 

EVANS TO OTAGO 

Simon Evans is the latest big-name 

entry into this year’s International 

Classic Rally of Otago. 

He will drive a Datsun Stanza owned 

by multiple Otago Rally competitor, 

Darryn Snooks. 

Evans’ entry into the Otago Rally is a 

real coup for the event. This will be his 

first entry into the Otago Rally. 

Entries for the April 7 to 9 event 

continue to flood in. Irishman Frank 

Kelly has already confirmed his entry. 

See the current list of entries HERE. 

MOLLY’S ARC WINNING 

SUBARU FINDS NEW HOME 


Tasmanian driver, Craig Brooks, has 

purchased the Subaru WRX STI that 

Molly Taylor drove to victory in the 

2016 Australian Rally Championship. 

The three-time Tasmanian 

champion will debut the car in March’s 

opening round of the ARC, the Eureka 

Rally in Victoria, with the experienced 

Steve Glenney calling the pacenotes. 

Brooks had a disastrous ARC 

campaign in 2016, in which he rolled 

his Subaru in the shakedown at 

the National Capital Rally, and then 

crashed the car on the first day, after 

which it burnt to the ground. 

But the Tasmanian businessman 

is determined that 2017 will be more 

successful, and he will run the Les 

Walkden Rallying-built Subaru in PRC 

trim. 

“At the end of 2015 we went to 

Begonia Rally to do only my third 

event on pacenotes, with Steve as 

co-driver, which we won,” Brooks told 

RallySport Magazine. 

“That whet our appetite to try an 

ARC program, which ended abruptly 

in Canberra after a crew pacenoting 

error. I take full responsibility for 

that inexperience error, and really 

look forward to putting that demon 

behind me and getting the full feel for 

pacenotes. 

“I am a seasoned competitor on 

blind events, but pacenote experience 

is limited to two gravel and two 

tarmac events, plus the three stages 

in Canberra.” 

Brooks will fund the program 

himself through his own Contel 

Communications business, and after 

contesting the Eureka Rally, is hopeful 

of committing to the remaining 

rounds of the championship, including 

the Forest Rally in WA. 

“I’m not sure how we will fare in a 

big, heavy PRC Subaru against the AP4 

cars, but we will use the pedigree of 

the ARC-winning car to see how we 

can grow through the season,” Brooks 

said. 

“LWR have a great reputation and 

have built a very nice car that is 

clearly competitive, but we have no 

expectation of results, but are really 

looking forward to getting out into the 

forest again. 

“Les Walkden and his team 

have been very supportive of our 

endeavours, and we look forward to 

continuing to work with them,” he 

added. 

Interestingly, Brooks also owns 

another ex-factory Subaru rally car 

– the 2005 Impreza WRX STI that 

Cody Crocker used to win the 2005 

Australian Championship. 

Brooks has won two Tassie titles in 

that car and managed a fifth and a 

third in ARC heats in 2007 and 2008. 

That car is likely to be sold to help 

fund his 2017 campaign. 

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FIA FINALISE R4 KIT FORMULA 

By MARTIN HOLMES 

French company Oreca has been 

name as the official supplier of 

equipment for the FIA’s new R4 Kit rally 

car formula. 

The new R4 Kit formula is for use in 

regional and national championship 

rallying, and ends a long period of 

waiting for the formula to be finalised. 

The formula, first announced by the 

FIA in September 2015, allows specified 

equipment to be installed in “a large 

number of road cars currently available 

on the market”. 

The permitted equipment includes 

conversion to four wheel drive and the 

use of a 1.6 litre turbocharged engine. 

In terms of cost and performance, 

these cars will sit between the current 

R3 and R5 cars. 

“Our intention was to create another 

low cost option within the rally pyramid, 

and to offer competitors a car with 

a high level of safety,” FIA Technical 

Director, Bernard Niclot, said. 

“The important thing is that the 

running costs are low, and for a 

competitor there are no development 

costs. At the same time, competitors 

will know that all R4 specification cars 

are identical, providing a level playing 

field within this new category.” 

This formula is intended to unify the 

wide-ranging opportunities currently 

offered, for example, by the regional 

The R4 formula will be 

similar to the regional AP4 

rules. (Photo: Peter Whitten) 

AP4 rules in Asia Pacific and individual 

national rules. 

This has no connection with the R4 

Kit regulations announced in 2001, 

which were intended to increase the 

performance of existing Group N 

Mitsubishis and Subarus. 

RHI JOINS MILLEN FOR AMA 

Australian co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino has signed a 

deal to sit beside Ryan Millen in the 2017 American Rally 

Association series. 

Millen and USA-based Gelsomino will drive a Toyota 

RAV4 this year, with their first event being the Rally Perce 

Neige in Canada. 

“I am really looking forward to working with Ryan and 

Toyota USA this season,” Gelsomino said. 

“Ryan and I competed together last season in a one-off 

test event in NASA, which I am happy to say we won. 

The RAV4, as in previous years, will continue to take on 

the brutal rally world with a stock engine and automatic 

transmission. 

Fans were continually shocked and impressed at the 

potency of the Rally RAV4, which spins only the front 

wheels through a conventional six-speed automatic gear 

box. 

HJC MOTORSPORTS 

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MINI COOPER AP4 

Evans Motorsport has been 

keeping rally fans updated via 

social media with progress on 

the build of their new Mini AP4 rally car, 

scheduled to be ready in time for the 

opening round of the 2017 Australian 

Rally Championship. 

RallySport Magazine’s Tom Smith 

caught up with Glen Weston, long-time 

co-driver to Eli Evans, and got the inside 

running on the team’s decision to ‘go 

Mini’, and the plans for a successful 

2017 season. 

When did the team decide to come back for the 

2017 series? Was this a recent decision? 

Evans Motorsport was disappointed 

not to have won the 2016 

championship after having come so 

close, so the decision was made soon 

after Rally Australia 

to contest the 2017 

ARC. 

What was the reason 

to go with the Mini, as 

opposed to any other car 

built to AP4 regs? And 

what are the technical 

attributes of the Mini 

that make it stand out? 

The Mini is, in 

our opinion, the 

perfect car for the 

AP4 regulations. 

The Prince engine is 

the joker engine for 

the class, and this 

engine is a standard 

fitment in the Mini. 

From a dimensional aspect, 

everything seems to fit nicely. The 

balance of the car should be very good, 

as the crew are sitting about 200mm 

behind the centre line of the car, and 

this should help to offset the weight of 

the engine and transmission. 

We also really like the appearance 

of the Mini. It’s an iconic shape with 

a great motorsport history, so we’re 

EVANS TEAM 

AIM FOR #1 

hoping that it will become a fan 

favourite. 

Did Eli drive a road-going Mini in anger to test 

his ‘fit’ in the car? 

No. We chose the Mini based upon its 

dimensions and specifications. 

Was the plan always to build this as a left-hand 

drive car? 

Eli prefers LHD. He feels that he has 

better co-ordination in his left hand for 

gear shifting and using the handbrake, 

and since 2009 he 

has only driven one 

event in a righthand 

drive car, as 

all of the other cars 

we used were LHD. 

Is this a serious tilt 

at the 2017 ARC crown, 

and what are the team’s 

expectations? 

Absolutely. We 

aren’t building this 

car to come to 

second. 

Who do you see as 

your main competition 

this year, given little 

Evans and Weston 

(below right) hope 

the AP4 Mini 

can deliver them 

another ARC title. 

advance coverage of 

who will be running the 

series (other than Molly 

Taylor)? 

The last event 

that Eli drove in 

a 4WD was Rally 

Australia in 2009, 

so I would have to 

say that any driver 

who was in a 4WD 

in 2016 will be our 

main competition. 

Eli is super quick 

in a front-wheel 

drive car, so we 

are expecting 

that this should 

translate across to the Mini Cooper 

AP4, however, there will obviously be a 

learning curve for us. 

Who are the major sponsors for 2017? 

Our major sponsor once again will be 

Tankformers. We are very grateful for 

their ongoing support. 

Finally, how much longer will Glen Weston 

continue at the top end of the sport? 

Everyone in the team tells me that codriving 

is easy because it’s basically just 

sitting there and reading a book. With 

that in mind, I think I’m all good to keep 

going as a co-driver for at least another 

30 years or so! 


WRC STATS 

REFLECTIONS ON WRC 

POWER STAGE POINTS 

Story: GARY BOYD 

@KiwiWRCfan on Twitter 

The Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 

podium finishers did not score 

any Power Stage points, a rare 

occurrence that has only occurred six 

times since Power Stage points became 

a regular part of WRC in 2011. 

The other occasions were Poland 

2016, Acropolis 2013, Portugal 2012, 

France (Alsace) 2012 and Sardegna 2012. 

During 1999 the FIA experimented 

at Rally Corsica and Rally Finland by 

awarding bonus points to the top 

three drivers on a televised Stage. 

Didier Auriol won both of the 1999 

experimental “Power Stages”, with 

Tommi Makinen second on both 

occasions. 

Carlos Sainz was third on the Power 

Stage, as well as third overall in Corsica, 

making him the first ever driver to 

score regular and Power Stage points 

at the same event. Toni Gardemeister 

claimed the final Power Stage point at 

Finland 1999, which meant the overall 

podium of Kankkunen, Burns and Sainz 

did not get any Power Stage points. 

From 2011 to 2016 the maximum 

points a driver could score on a rally 

was 28, being 25 for a rally victory, plus 

three for the Power Stage win. Only four 

drivers ever accomplished this feat: they 

are Sebastien Ogier, Sebastien Loeb, 

Andreas Mikkelsen and Hayden Paddon. 

Ogier’s first 28 pointer was driving 

a Citroën DS3 at Rally Jordan in March 

2011. He would take another 16 

maximum point hauls in the following 

years, including three consecutive 

events, Sweden, Mexico and Portugal 

2013. 

Sebastien Loeb claimed three 

maximum pointers in 2012, while Ogier 

was taking a gap year driving Skodas 

and developing the VW Polo. 

Andreas Mikkelsen’s only 28 pointer 

occurred in Catalunya 2015, when 

Ogier crashed 4km before the end 

of the Power Stage. The four-time 

World Champion had a comfortable 50 

second overall lead at the time of his 

rare mistake. 

The final driver to get a 28 point 

maximum was Hayden Paddon, 

winning the 2016 Argentinian Power 

Stage. 

Paddon is the only driver to ever 

earn a 28 point maximum in a direct 

competition with Ogier, and the 

Hyundai i20 NG is the only car to 

take a 28 pointer that did not win the 

manufacturer’s title of that year. 

With five points now on offer for 

Power Stage victory, a driver can earn 

a maximum of 30 points per rally in 

2017. Who will be first to claim a 30 

pointer, and will it happen on the snow 

and ice in Sweden? 

I predict it will be Seb Ogier, who 

scored Swedish 28 pointers in 2013, 

2015 and 2016. 

MONTE CARLO’S MULTIPLE WINNERS 

Sebastien Ogier’s season opening 

win got many people wondering how 

common it is to win the Monte in 

different makes of car. 

Germany’s Walter Rohrl won Monte 

Carlo four times in four different cars 

– 1980: Fiat 131 Abarth, 1982: Opel 

Ascona 400, 1983: Lancia Rallye 037, 

and 1984: Audi Quattro. 

Sébastien Loeb has the most 

Monte wins, nine, all with Citroën. 

Sébastien Ogier has five wins – 

three with Volkswagen from 2014 to 

2016, this year in an M-Sport built 

Ford Fiesta. 

Often overlooked is Ogier’s first 

Monte victory in 2009, driving 

a Peugeot 207. It happened as 

part of the Intercontinental Rally 

Championship, when Monte Carlo was 

not part of the WRC for three years 

from 2009. 

Tommi Makinen had three victories 

with Mitsubishi and one with Subaru. 

Italian driver Sandro Munari had 

four wins, all with Lancia. 

Other winners in different makes of 

car are Carlos Sainz, who has two 

wins with Toyota and one in a Subaru. 

Didier Auriol took two wins with 

Lancia, then one win with Toyota. 

- Gary Boyd 


REPORT: RALLYE MONTE CARLO - WRC 1 

OGIER TRIUMPHS I 

CLASSIC MONTE C 

World Champ’s fifth Monte win gives M-Sport its first WRC victory 

By MARTIN HOLMES 

Luck was with Ogier, but he 

was nevertheless impressive 

on his M-Sport debut. 


N 

ARLO 

since 2012 



Sebastien Ogier scored his fourth 

successive, and fifth overall, Monte 

Carlo Rally victory, this time in 

style, in a new team, in a car which he 

only first drove a month ago. 

It was the first WRC win for Ford for 

over four years and their eighth win on 

this highly prestigious event. 

Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport Team 

Principal commented: “I can’t put 

into words the feeling for the whole 

team. Obviously to get Sebastien on 

board was an incredible feeling for me 

Jari-Matti Latvala took second 

for Toyota on debut. 

personally, and I think you’ve seen the 

reaction from the staff. It’s the boost 

we needed as a company.” 

The ten 2017 specification cars at 

the start presented a spectacular 

sight, but teams suffered technical or 

driver related problems, though six of 

these finished in the top 10, with three 

different makes in the top four. 

There were many important 

indicators. Neuville’s Hyundai led for 

12 of the 16 stages, Tanak impressed 

by supporting Ogier and lying in the top 

The WRC’s class of 2017. 

three for three days, then showing a 

special fighting spirit on the final stage 

when engine trouble threatened a 

podium result. 

Elfyn Evans scored three fastest times 

in conditions that favoured DMack 

tyres, while Jari-Matti Latvala presented 

Toyota with second place. 

Disappointments came to Hyundai, 

first when Hayden Paddon was involved 

in a fatal spectator accident on the 

first stage, and then Neuville made a 

slight but expensive error. Troubles 

also for Citroen, for whom Meeke had 

a troubled event and after a long delay 

his rally ended in a traffic accident. 

Craig Breen was Citroen’s highest 

finisher in a non-scoring 2016 World 

Rally Car. 

Surely there had never been 

so much pre-event excitement 

in the WRC. All four registered 

teams produced their new designs of 

car, and like icing on a cake, for two 

days there were clear skies and snow 

all around in the mountains around the 

service park at Gap. 

When would we know which team 

had the best car? We had to wait. 

The short pre-event Shakedown test 

was run over a course with a mixture of 

conditions, and teams took the chance 

instead to test various tyre options. 

The first two stages were held the 

next day, in the dark in typical Monte 

Carlo conditions, and there was tragedy 

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when Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai slid on 

ice, bounced off a rock and blocked the 

road. Sadly a spectator was involved, 

and Paddon withdrew. 

When the rally continued there 

was a clear leader, Paddon’s 

teammate Thierry Neuville, who for 

nearly two days led the rally until a 

slight misjudgement led to suspension 

damage. 

From then on it was Ogier in the Ford 

all the way, leading comfortably. 

Kris Meeke started the 

event as favourite but had a 

disappointing rally for Citroen. 

It is hard to over estimate the effect 

of the M-Sport team’s success, 

especially while Ogier’s teammate, 

Ott Tanak was also holding second 

place. This proved that Ott’s impressive 

performances in the DMack team car in 

2016 was not only the consequence of 

superior tyres. 

Third team member, Elfyn Evans, this 

year driving the DMack sponsored car, 

provided three fastest times when the 

conditions suited, when these tyres 

were unbeatable. 

With three stages to go Tanak had 

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Craig Breen was Citroen’s best 

finisher in a 2016 car. 

suspension. 

Teammate, Stephane Lefebvre, went 

off the road momentarily on the second 

stage, but this damaged his clutch. He 

finally climbed back to ninth place, 

while the team’s third entry, Craig 

Breen in an old DS3 WRC, which was 

not eligible for Manufacturers’ points, 

finished fifth after being embroiled in a 

battle with Sordo’s new Hyundai. 

By the end of the event the stage 

victories stood at eight for Hyundai 

(seven for Neuville, plus one for Sordo), 

seven for M-Sport (three each for Ogier 

and Evans, plus one for Tanak), with 

one for Citroen (Lefebvre). Note: none 

for Toyota. 

serious misfiring trouble and lost his 

second place, but on the final stage 

he drove magnificently downhill in 

increasingly wintry conditions on the 

Turini stage to safeguard third place. 

So finishing first, third and also sixth 

meant M-Sport went home with a 

handy 16 point championship lead, but 

it was an embarrassment when Ford 

personnel confirmed the new Fiesta 

was based on a production model that 

was still not on the market! 

The pace of Toyota’s Juho 

Hanninen surprised many. 

After the excitement of 2016, 

the WRC2 category started off 

at a lower level, with Andreas 

Mikkelsen back in the formula where he 

really cemented his international mark, 

Jari-Matti Latvala’s second place 

was a delightful encouragement 

for Toyota Gazoo Racing, representing 

Toyota’s first official WRC 

entry for 18 years. 

It had been a surprise when it 

became apparent that Toyota had 

carried out twice the amount of test 

work of other teams, with M-Sport 

probably the least. 

Juho Hanninen was initially lying third 

overall before he went off the road on 

stage 5, on only his second rally in over 

two years. 

Despite minor troubles, Latvala 

held fourth place for half the event 

before benefiting from the problems of 

Neuville and Tanak. 

M-Sport and Toyota were the success 

stories of the new formula. Less 

happy were Hyundai, who in Neuville’s 

hands had been impressive, but whose 

top finisher was Dani Sordo. 

There was considerable fan support 

for Citroen’s veteran driver Kris Meeke, 

but he had a disastrous event, going off 

the road and breaking his suspension 

on stage 4, then stopping with an 

ignition fault on stage 10. 

He finally suffered a traffic accident 

on the Saturday evening en route to 

Monte Carlo which wrecked his rear 

14 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2017 

Best Hyundai at the finish was 

Dani Sordo in fourth place.

and he was in a class of his own. 

He led all the way ahead of his Skoda 

teammate Jan Kopecky, while Bryan 

Bouffier’s Fiesta was ahead of Eric 

Camilli and Quentin Gilbert. 

Driving out of the championship 

points was the Skoda of Pontus 

Tidemand who finished the event 

between Bouffier and Camilli in the RC2 

class. 

Kevin Abbring drove the Hyundai N 

Motorsport NG i20 R5, missing stages 

after a suspension part broke, but 

scored two fastest times in his class. 

In WRC3 the domination was even 

more pronounced with Raphael Astier’s 

Peugeot 208 R2 winning 11 of the 

stages ahead of the Renault Clio Turbos 

of Luca Panzani, Charles Martin and 

Surhayen Pernia. 

Real winter conditions greeted 

crews at Monte Carlo. 

Rallye Monte-Carlo (2017 FIA WRC, round 1): 

1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 4:00:03.6 

2. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +2:15.0 

3. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Ford Fiesta WRC +2:57.8 

4. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti Hyundai 120 Coupe WRC +3:35.8 

5. Craig Breen / Scott Martin Citroen DS3 WRC +3:47.8 

6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC +6:45.0 

7. Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger Škoda Fabia R5 +9:32.7 

8. Jan Kopecky / Pavel Dresler Škoda Fabia R5 +12:58.1 

9. Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau Citroen C3 WRC +14:43.8 

10. Bryan Bouffier / Denis Giraudet Ford Fiesta R5 +16:09.4 

Leading retirements: 

(4) Hayden Paddon / John Kennard Hyundai i20 Coupe (M) accident 

(7) Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle Citroen C3 (M) road accident 

Rally leaders: Neuville stages 2-12, Ogier 13-17. Weather: Days 1 and 2 clear and cool, Day 3 cloudy and 

began to snow. 

Winner’s average speed over stages: 88.95km/h. 

FIA WRC Drivers’ Championship (after round 1): 

1. S. Ogier 25, 2. J-M Latvala 18, 3. O. Tanak 15, 4. D. Sordo 13, 5. C. Breen 10, 6. E. Evans 10, 7. A. Mikkelsen 

6, 8. S. Lefebvre 6, 9. T. Neuville 5, 10. J. Kopecky 4 

FIA WRC Manufacturers’ Championship (after round 1): 

1. M-Sport World Rally Team 40, 2. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC 24, 3. Hyundai Motorsport 20, 4. Citroën Total 

Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 10 




A mature drive from Estonian Ott Tanak had him on track for second 

place, until a final day engine drama relegated him to third. 



THE KEY MOMENT ... 

The Key Moment had to be stage 13, the final stage of 

Saturday. Thierry Neuville had been leading the rally 

by 51 seconds from Sebastien Ogier, who on his debut 

appearance with the M-Sport team had been trailing the 

Hyundai, with no realistic chance of challenging for victory. 

Neuville was planning his event carefully. 

“I have the snow tyres this afternoon (for stage 13). This 

morning (for stages 9-12) we were on slicks. It was the safe 

choice. We have a good lead, but we have to be clever.” 

Then it all went wrong. 

“It happened in quite a slow left hand corner. In the exit 

the rear went wide and I hit something, I don’t know what!” 

He spent over a half hour repairing the damage and he 

dropped to 15th place. Fifteenth place was where he finished 

the rally three stages later, gaining championship points for 

the team - but nothing like as many as the team would have 

liked! 

- Martin Holmes 

Watch the moment Thierry lost 

his Monte Carlo victory HERE. 


COLUMN: HAYDEN PADDON 

Hyundai driver Hayden 

Paddon issued the following 

statement after the opening 

day accident that resulted 

in a spectator passing away 

at Rallye Monte Carlo. 

Hi everyone, 

Upon reflection, I wanted to issue 

a small statement about yesterday 

events. 

Firstly, our thoughts are with the 

family and friends of the spectator 

involved. No matter the circumstances, 

this is never something we want to see. 

Secondly, John and I are humbled by 

all the messages of support at this time. 

Obviously, my thoughts are with the 

family and that is my only concern at 

the moment. 

Not being able to return home to 

New Zealand does make it a little 

tougher but it is important we stay 

strong. 

I do want to take this chance to ask 

people not to speculate. Irrespective of 

how and why the accident happened, 

finger pointing will not change anything. 

HAYDEN 

PADDON 

COLUMN 

The most important is that we learn 

from this and I am committed to 

work with the FIA and rally organisers 

relentlessly to ensure this does not 

happen again. 

I will take this chance to ask 

spectators at rallies to please be 

considerate where you stand and 

to respect the instructions of the 

marshals. 

We all want to enjoy a good show 

and go home to the family afterwards. 

I also ask each and every rally fan 

at the events, if you see someone in 

a dangerous position to request they 

move for everyone’s best interest. 

As a community, we can collectively 

work together to prevent this from 

happening again. 

Lastly, I please ask the respect from 

the media in these times, especially for 

the family and friends of the spectator. 

I will not issue any further statements 

or conduct interviews at this stage. 

We made the decision to not 

continue this weekend out of respect, 

but will be back in Sweden where we 

will pay tribute. 

Thank you again for everyone’s 

support and for the support of the 

team – it really does mean a lot. 

Until Rally Sweden, 

Hayden. 

It was an unfortunate start to the 2017 season 

for Kiwis Hayden Paddon and John Kennard. 


RETROSPECTIVE: PEUGEOT 205 T16 

THE LION 


Photos: HOLMES / PEUGEOT 


KING 

It became a familiar sight - the tall, 

blonde Finn, Ari Vatanen, standing 

atop his Peugeot 205 T16 toasting 

another victory with a glass of milk. 



overhauled at the finish by a Rover 

3500. 

It suffered from serious turbo lag and 

the intricacies of the 4WD handling, 

most of which was rectified by its World 

Championship debut in Corsica in May 

1984. 

The 205 T16 had a steel chassis 

that was part space frame and 

part monocoque and used Kevlar 

and plastic panels. It was the only 

Group B car to use a transverse engine. 

The mid-mounted 1775cc engine 

initially produced around 340bhp 

through a five-speed gearbox and a 

33:66 front to rear torque split, and 

weighing only 940kg, it got off the mark 

quickly. 

Peugeot went for double wishbone 

And had it not been for a 

change in road conditions 

between reconnaissance and 

the rally that resulted in an almost 

fatal accident in the 1986 Rally of 

Argentina, Ari Vatanen would almost 

certainly have become World Champion 

in the little French rocketship. 

PETER WHITTEN looks back at one 

of France’s finest. 

Following on from the pioneering 

Audi Quattro, Peugeot’s 

foray into Group B rallying 

brought almost immediate success. 

Ari Vatanen went on a five event 

winning streak that was only broken 

by team-mate Timo Salonen, such 

was the little car’s dominance. 

But it hadn’t been a good start 

for the Pug. On its debut event 

in 1983, a one-day rally held in 

muddy conditions, the 205 T16 

was embarrassingly beaten by a 

Citroen Visa 1000, and was almost 


Ari Vatanen emerges from 

his 205 on the 1984 RAC 

Rally. The rear of the car 

could be removed to allow 

easy servicing access. 

This crash nearly claimed 

Ari Vatanen’s life in 

Argentina in 1985. 

suspension and coil springs, rather 

than MacPherson struts, although 

the car had a tendency to dip its nose 

on jumps, and both the brakes and 

the shock absorbers were prone to 

overheating. 

Despite the fact that the 205 was 

recognised as the best all-round Group 

B car, work on the 205 T16 E2 began 

before the original car had won its first 

rally - such was Peugeot’s attention to 

detail and their will to win. 

When the E2 did finally arrive, it 

sported better cylinder head porting 

and a new turbo that had the car 

developing over 500bhp, and the 

monocoque rear chassis had been 

replaced with a lighter and stiffer 

tubular construction. 

Power was now transferred through 

a six-speed gearbox and new front 

and rear spoilers had been added to

1985 Acropolis Rally: 

Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne. 

improve the stability at high speed. 

In fact Peugeot had wanted to use an 

even bigger rear wing on the car, but 

that was subsequently knocked on the 

head by the FIA. 

The original 205 T16 won nine 

World Championship events in 

1984 and 1985 and gave Peugeot 

both the Drivers’ (Timo Salonen) and 

Manufacturers’ championships in 1985, 

while the 205 Turbo 16 E2 won seven 

WRC rounds, again taking the Drivers’ 

(Juha Kankkunen) and Manufacturers 

crowns in 1986. 

I saw the 205 Turbo 16 E2 in action 

at the 1986 Rally of New Zealand - an 

event won by Juha Kankkunen. 

While the car was an awesome sight 

on the stages, my lasting memory is 

of following Kankkunen on liaision 

sections through the New Zealand 

countryside, passing other cars like 

they were standing still, and with 

that raucous 500 horsepower motor 

echoing through the hills. 

But perhaps the best description of 

the car comes from Kankkunen himself: 

“In 1986 we tested a 205 with a bigger 

turbo giving 550 horsepower. This 

engine was so powerful that the first 

time we tried it the headsets nearly 

blew off when I lifted the clutch! 

“It was wet tarmac and we had 

wheelspin on all four wheels, even in 

third gear, just using the throttle alone. 

“There was nothing before 6000rpm 

and then, ‘BANG!’, all the power came, 

up to 10,000rpm. 

“You cannot compare this kind of car 

to a World Rally Car. It would be like 

comparing an old Volkswagen Beetle to 

a new Turbo Porsche.” 



PEUGEOT BY THE NUMBERS .... 

PEUGEOT 205 T16 

1984 1000 Lakes Rally 1. Vatanen/Harryman 

1984 Sanremo Rally 1. Vatanen/Harryman 

1984 RAC Rally 1. Vatanen/Harryman 

1985 Monte Carlo Rally 1. Vatanen/Harryman 

1985 Swedish Rally 1. Vatanen/Harryman 

1985 Portugal Rally 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1985 Acropolis Rally 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1985 Rally of New Zealand 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1985 Rally of Argentina 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1985 World Rally Champion Peugeot 

1985 World Rally Champion Timo Salonen 

PEUGEOT 205 TURBO 16 E2 

1985 1000 Lakes Rally 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1986 Swedish Rally 1. Kankkunen/Piironen 

1986 Tour de Corse 1. Saby/Fauchille 

1986 Acropolis Rally 1. Kankkunen/Piironen 

1986 Rally of New Zealand 1. Kankkunen/Piironen 

1986 1000 Lakes Rally 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1986 RAC Rally 1. Salonen/Harjanne 

1986 World Rally Champion Peugeot 

1986 World Rally Championship Juha Kankkunen 

The Evolution 2 version 

of the 205 T16 was a 

purposeful looking rally car. 


WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 

Adrian Morrisby (right) with 

good mates ‘Hooch’ and 

actor Shane Jacobson. 

? 

WHERE 

are they now 

ADRIAN 

MORRISBY 

Adrian Morrisby is a larger-thanlife 

character who has long 

been one of the stalwarts and 

most-respected people in Tasmanian 

rallying. 

A former Tassie correspondent for 

RallySport Magazine and Australian 

RallySport News, “Mozza” is a long-time 

competitor, commentator and all round 

good guy. 

But in recent years he’s drifted out of 

the rallying spotlight as other interests 

have taken his time and focus. 

We caught up with him to see what’s 

been happening. 

Back in the 2000s you were our Tasmanian 

correspondent and were heavily involved in the sport. 

How did your interest in rallying come about? 

Growing up racing karts in the 80s 

there was always an expectation to 

go to the next step. Good mate and 

all round top bloke, Jason White, was 

the first to jump and got an RX2 and 

campaigned it on the gravel on his L’s. 

My first experience was in the 

navigator’s seat for him in a Datsun 

1000 Coupe in a rally out the back of 

Latrobe. 

The next step was that I built a 

Gemini and raced a few hillclimbs and 

club days while navigating for Jason and 

others in Targa and state rallies. 

Meanwhile, the Gemini developed 

from a 1600 to an injected 1600 (made 

myself using JD Camira injection), 

then 2.6 (1994 Rodeo engine), then 

eventually a 2.6 Turbo and competed in 

Tasmanian Classic Rally, hillclimbs and, 

eventually, Rally Tasmania. 

It eventually got “banned” for beating 

Porsches and we went back to a 100kw 

at the wheels 1600 block engine on 

Webers, eventually re-shelling to the 

2-door. 

While this was all going down Jason, 

Jon (mechanic) Frenchy (navigator) 

built a 4-door, 4-link 2.6 “club car” 

Gemini (white) for the Tassie gravel 

series and this is what I made my 

gravel rally debut in. 

Luckily I won my first ever event 

I competed in on the gravel, the 

Exeter Rally. 

You have been involved at all levels, but 

firstly as a competitor. What rally cars have 

been in your garage? 

To be truthful I have never had 

a garage to put one in! I would say 

my work is my garage. 

Along with my constantly 

evolving Gemini, we built three 

or four Geminis for customers, 

as well as a rather sporty Ford KB 

Laser. With Jason always building 

cars I had many cars through the 

“garages” out the back, and got to 

know every nut and bolt on them. 

Probably your most famous car was the 


WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 

MHDT lookalike Gemini you built for gravel and 

tarmac events. Why a Gemini? 

Aaaah good question! I often 

asked myself the same question! 

The main reason was that 

we had started with a Gemini, 

had HEAPS of parts for it, and 

developed some cool bespoke 

parts we could use. 

I did also like the handling of 

a Gemini, with the torque tube 

pulling from halfway up the car, it 

made it sit well under braking and 

enabled the car to be driven with 

a lot of rear bias and handled not 

unlike a go-kart. 

How easy was it to convert the car from 

gravel to tarmac spec, and which events did 

you prefer? 

Easy, it was just a matter of 

removing some spring packers, 

take off the underbody and flaps 

and she was ready to attack the 

tarmac. 

Gravel is where the “enjoyment 

factor” is high, on and off the stages. 

Tarmac was good, but lacked the true 

mateship that gravel rallying has, BUT 

at least the car was easy to clean after 

some black tack work. 

When and why did you stop competing? 

I did have a steer in a hillclimb last 

year in the good wife’s not-so-standard 

XT Forester and took the W (win) too, 

which was my first competitive drive in 

three years. 

The last time I competed in a gravel 

rally I got “pinged” because my engine 

was 9mm too far back in the engine 

bay. I thought it was a load of crap and 

never really went back. 

I then went on to compete in tarmac 

events, but budget restriction and the 

major tarmac rally (Targa Tasmania) 

heading in a direction I didn’t agree 

with put an end to that. 

On top of that, five or six years 


“The after parties, the 

camaraderie, the all 

nighters in the shed 

with mates building 

cars, even just the 

trips to get to an event 

were all so much fun, 

turning your idols and 

heroes into friends.” 

ago my good wife (and best friend) 

was pregnant with our son, and she 

asked ever so kindly if I could do a 

bit less motorsport and a bit more 

fishing, citing the fact I was away most 

weekends either commentating on 

Geminis have been Mozza’s 

rallying machines of choice, 

as well as, more recently, a 

Subaru Forester. 

motorsport or competing. 

Little did she know that the level of 

“going fishing” was going to outweigh 

the motorsport 10 fold as far as levels 

of commitment. Oops! 

Tell us what it is about rallying that inspires you and 

makes it such a great sport. 

Well, from being involved from 18 

years of age, nearly all my friends have 

come from rallying. They are my family, 

all over Australia, and you won’t find a 

better bunch of people. 

The after parties, the camaraderie, 

the all nighters in the shed with mates 

building cars, even just the trips to 

get to an event were all so much fun, 

turning your idols and heroes into 

friends. 

You’ve also been heavily involved in commentating 

at various rallies around the country as well, and it is 

something that seems to come naturally to you. Is this 

the case? 

I am a great believer in the putting 

things back into life (especially when 

you take so much out of it, like I do). So 

I wanted to put something back into the 

sport that had given me so much. 

There was no way in the world I 

wanted to be an official, and I had done 

a million road closures, course setting 

and other jobs, but the microphone just 

seems to come to me. 

In recent years we haven’t seen or heard as much of 

you in rallying. Why is that? 

The fishing scene has really embraced 

myself and co-fisherman, Hooch. 

We quickly gained a big following 

through social media with our antics 

and humour, and that then brought 

us many big name sponsors, making 

DVDs and doing promotional work 

throughout Australia. 

This is basically my first half of

the year with a competition most 

weekends, and other times filming or 

spending time fishing with my son and 

mates. 

The second half of the year is taken 

up with commentating duties around 

the country covering power boats, 

drifting, World Time Attack and more. 

Fishing is now a big part of your life. Has it taken 

over from rallying, and is there any chance you’ll 

return to four wheels in the future? 

Oh yes, indeed. I still walk past my car 

10 times a day or more and it hollers to 

me “don’t forget about me, man!” 

I am also in the middle of trying to 

promote a series/category in Tasmania 

for normally aspirated 4WD cars and 

we are currently building a normally 

aspirated 2005 RS Impreza. 

Along with 6 others I know, we 

should see a field of about 10 cars next 

season. 

The Gemini needs a gearbox and 

she is good to go too. I can’t wait to get 

behind the wheel again. I’d probably 

look like a one handed man in a face 

slapping competition though, but I will 

have the biggest smile. 

You’re still involved in the automotive industry 

through your business and with some sponsorship. Is it 

important to keep that link to the sport? 

Yes indeed. As mentioned before, 

motorsport made me the person I 

am today. I owe it everything, and I 

encourage everyone to get their kids 

into it. 

I have forgotten how many people I 

have supported in motorsport this year, 

but its in the 20s or 30s easy. 

It does bring some business our way, 

but its more for passion I do it. Like 

the ol’ saying goes: “Do you know how 

to make a million out of motorsport … 

start with two million”. 

In your view, what state is rallying in, and what 

would you do to make the sport even more successful? 

Well, she’s “can o worms o’clock” right 

there! Tasmanian state rallying is on the 

grow again which is great, BUT it had to 

have a change of direction. 

It was no longer viable to race 

Geminis, Escorts or Datsuns due to 

availability of parts and the “bespoke 

parts” needed to make them fast and 

reliable. The new rookie rally people 

were coming into the sport, buying old 

cars, breaking/crashing them, and they 

were out of the sport. 

I have been involved with trying 

to find a better option (hence the 

normally aspirated 4WD option). This 

should allow younger drivers to enter 

the sport, have a car that will do a full 

season on two sets of tyres, one set of 

brakes and an engine/box/diff that lasts 

a season or two. 

I mean, let’s face it, the youth has 

so much going on now they aren’t just 

going to a mate’s workshop after work 

and building cars. A lot are paying 

people to build them and maintain their 

cars, which can cost a fortune. They do 

one season and “poof”, they’re gone like 

last week’s pay. 

We must also have heroes and idols 

for this new generation to aspire to, 

somewhere to aim to be. Like the 

Subaru and Mitsubishi programs of the 

early 2000s, everyone wanted the seat 

that Cody Crocker or Dean Herridge 

and co. had. 

Most of all, I think the sport needs to 

tighten up a bit. There’s far too much 

BS in-fighting in the social and notso-social-media 

making the ship look 

unstable. 

There are too many changes, too 

many “rumours” making the ship look 

unstable to not just spectators, but to 

investors and governments as well. 


INTERVIEW: STEPHANE PREVOT 

Belgian Stéphane Prévot is one of the nicest guys 

you will meet on the rally circuit. It’s clearly one of 

the reasons he’s been so successful over a 

co-driving career that has seen him contest over 

400 rallies, with more than 60 different drivers. 

MR NICE GUY 

Story: PETER WHITTEN 

Photos: HOLMES, RSM 


Prevot co-driving for Aussie Chris 

Atkinson in the 2008 Acropolis Rally. 



Among his long list of famous 

drivers is Australian Chris Atkinson. 

They shared two seasons 

with the Subaru World Rally Team in 

the WRC (2007 and 2008), and he guided 

Atko to five podium placings in the 

2008 championship. 

More recently, Stéphane has 

contested events in the Asia-Pacific 

Rally Championship, and last year won 

the Otago Classic Rally with Markko 

Märtin. 

RallySport Magazine caught up with 

Stéphane and asked him about his long 

and varied rally career. 

You are one of the most experienced co-drivers 

in the world. How many drivers have you sat with, 

and who are they? 

I keep a record of all my races since 

the beginning (event, result, driver, car, 

start number). It’s 404 rallies (175 WRC) 

with 64 different drivers. 

The most famous are (in 

chronological order): Yves Matton, 

Guy Colsoul, Bruno Thiry, François 

Duval, Stéphane Sarrazin, Philippe 

Gache, Chris Atkinson, Evgeny Novikov, 

Henning Solberg, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, 

Stéphane Lefebvre, Alister McRae, 

Markko Märtin and Gaurav Gill, as 

well as a few historic events with 

Markku Alén, Björn Waldegård and Stig 

Blomqvist. 

Is it difficult to jump from driver to driver so 

often? 

If you understand pacenotes and 

work with a professional driver, it’s 

okay. Bad notes are very difficult to 

read, especially wrong distances. Then 

you never know where you are. 

So it depends very much on the 

driver level and experience! But to build 

a 100 per cent relationship with a top 

driver you would need a few rallies to 

understand the way he lives, works, 

drives and reacts – and much more 

time with an inexperienced or young 

driver who has to learn. 

What do you think are your greatest successes 

in the WRC, and perhaps in other championships? 

I’ve never won a WRC event, and 

have only climbed on a podium 17 

times. But over the years I worked with 

nearly every factory team involved 

(Ford, Subaru, Toyota, Citroën, Peugeot, 

Škoda, Seat, Mini, Hyundai) and had 

three different careers in WRC with 

three different drivers (Thiry, Duval and 

Atkinson). It’s quite unusual! 

I’ve also had great experiences in so 

many other championships and rallies 

with lots of fantastic drivers and teams. 

Probably my biggest success is the 

variety of my rally career – I’m lucky to 

still live from my passion after 30 years. 

From the results I remember Corsica 


“Chris is the best 

driver I know who can 

write notes with that 

precision. He trusts 

them 100 per cent and 

that’s why he’s got so 

much speed in the 

narrow, fast roads. It’s 

very impressive.” 

WRC in 1995. I was with Bruno Thiry 

in the second factory Ford Escort 

Cosworth and we led the rally from 

stage one. After four days and 500km 

of competitive sections we had to retire 

after a stupid wheel bearing failed – 

with just one stage to go! Since that day 

there’s not one week in my life when 

someone doesn’t talk to me about that 

race... 

In 2008 I finished third in Finland 

with Chris Atkinson and Subaru. I’m 

quite proud of that podium. Finland is 

something really special for co-drivers! 

Monte-Carlo 2008 is also a great 

memory when we beat Duval by 1.1 

seconds to finish third. 

That year we broke the record on 

the famous Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid stage 

at the average of 123km/h on ice! I’m 

happy the record is still there today, as 

I don’t think I’d feel too comfortable to 

try it again! Winning the 2012 APRC title 

with Chris and Race Torque was also 

something special. 

What is one thing you’d say about Aussie, Chris 

Atkinson, that sets him apart from other drivers 

you’ve sat with over the years? 

Chris is the best driver I know who 

can write notes with that precision. 

He then trusts them 100 per cent and 

that’s why he’s got so much speed 

in the narrow, fast roads. It’s very 

impressive. 

He was a bit mad when I started with 

him in 2007! His target was more to 

try to win every stage, but he started 

2008 with a more mature approach 

and realised that to finish first, you first 

have to finish. 

We were in a fight for third place in 

the Drivers’ championship that year 

with a total of five podiums and Chris 

was at his best, and very, very close to 

a win. Unfortunately it all came to an 

end when Subaru pulled out from the 

championship in December 2008. 

How difficult was it for you to start reading 

English pacenotes, as it is not your first 

language?

I’m not perfect bilingual. I understand 

English better than I speak it, but this 

is more to have a normal conversation. 

With pacenotes it’s always the same 50 

or so words to read. 

Atko was my first driver in English, 

and before I teamed up with him I 

thought it shouldn’t be too difficult. 

But I did not expect Chris’ pacenotes 

to be that difficult! They are the most 

accurate and precise I’ve had, but very 

busy with lots of instructions. 

After Chris I found it easier in English 

than French, as the words are shorter 

to read. But honestly, it’s just a question 

of concentration and I’m okay with that. 

Even in a big action moment or crash 

I’ve never called sh** or f*** in French! 

You have competed in numerous rounds of the 

APRC. Do you think that championship is heading 

in the right direction, and would you like to 

compete in it again? 

I’d really love to do APRC again. 

It’s a great championship with the 

biggest variety of events. It’s very well 

organised and open to the right type 

of cars. I have all fantastic memories 

from my three years in the APRC. The 

years 2010 and 2011 were so much fun 

Bruno Thiry and Stephane 

Prevot in the works Skoda on 

the 2001 Safari Rally. 

With Francois Duval in the 

2004 Rally of Germany. 

with Alister McRae and Bill Hayes in the 

Proton team. 

The only thing now is probably the 

lack of competition, with only the two 

Škoda MRF cars. Race Torque is a 

fantastic team and sure they are ready 

to fight anyone in the championship. 

With more manufacturers involved that 

could be more fun than WRC. 

Last year you did the Otago Rally for the first 

time. What are your greatest memories of the 

event? 

The Escort is so much fun! And still 

fast with a driver like Markko Märtin 

at the wheel. It is definitely the most 

enjoyable thing I’ve done for a long 

time. I remember well the famous Kuri 

Bush stage, but most of the stages are 

simply the best in the world. 

Dunedin has great atmosphere too. 

The organisers were so helpful. They 

allowed us to overtake everyone to be 

first car for the recce convoy. Brent 

Rawstron and the Rossendale Rally 

Team are so enthusiastic, and it’s a rally 

I really hope we can do again. 

Many circuit racers have tried their hand at 

being rally drivers… Sarrazin, Raikkonen and 

Kubica for example. From your time with Stephane 

Sarrazin, why do you think it’s so difficult to 

make the transition? 

The main thing is pacenotes. They 

are able to write a good set of notes, 

but it’s very difficult for them to rely on 

someone in the car who says what to 

do. They are more selfish. 

Surface changes are also a problem. 

A racing circuit is nothing like 

improvisation – and of course they have 

no experience on loose surfaces. But 

on the other hand, racing drivers are 

maybe more sensitive and able to set 

up cars a better way. 



“NZ WRC, Whangarei APRC 

or Otago are the greatest 

rallies I’ve done over the 

last 20 years.” 


Their driving style is sharper and 

smoother because they can find good 

lines. And they’re used to driving much 

more powerful cars, so braking is better 

too. 

Sarrazin was very impressive on 

tarmac with the Subaru. 

Who is the next up and coming Belgian rally 

star? 

Maybe Guillaume De Mévius 

(Grégoire’s son). But I’m not sure; 

rallying’s not big at the moment. Belgian 

racing drivers have more future, I think. 

Car importers have gone since 

tobacco advertising was banned, and 

together they were a big help for drivers 

like Thiry, Loix, Duval and, more recently, 

Neuville. 

Now the Belgium Federation is 

trying to help, but they are not big. But 

honestly, it’s unbelievable that such a 

small country with no car manufacturer 

and no WRC rounds brings drivers to the 

top of the sport since the early 90s. 

What is your favourite rally? 

Definitely New Zealand. By far the best 

roads in the world. WRC, Whangarei 

APRC or Otago are the greatest rallies 

I’ve done over the last 20 years. 

I really like Sweden WRC on the 

snow, but it depends too much on the 

conditions. You are never sure to find 

good snow and ice, and it’s a disaster 

when it’s not frozen and gravel appears. 

What are your plans for 2017? 

Since 2016 I’m freelance and work on 

a rally-by-rally basis, but I’m still very 

busy. I’m also trying to get a foot in the 

door in cross-country and I did five races 

for the World Cup last year, contracted 

to QMMF with Khalifa Al-Attiyah 

(Nasser’s brother). 

Unfortunately, there is more future 

there for professional co-drivers. I think 

WRC is not going the right way. 2017 

should be the same for me with about 

15 rallies, plus a few cross-country 

events. 


2016 STATE RALLY CHAMPIONS 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

Driver: Andrew Gleeson 

Co-Driver: Fred Brewer and Mike Dale 

Car: Datsun Stanza 

Class: Club Rally Car 

Engine: Nissan SR20DE 

Gearbox: 6 speed Nissan Silvia 

Suspension: Bilstein 

2016 results: Third outright at every 

round and heat of the season. This 

car also won the State Championship 

in 1981 in the hands of Barry Burns 

(Datsport), although I don’t think it had 

an SR20DE in it. 

Sponsors: SA Motorsport Tyres, Braid 

Wheels Australia, Hankook Tyres, 

Exhaust Technology 

Best results prior to 2016: 1st outright 

Wirrabara Forest Rally (SARC) 2001, and 

many more podiums and class wins in 

the SARC. Third outright Rally of South 

Australia (SARC) 2015, 1st outright 

SA Clubman Series 2001, 2013, 1st 

Outright SA Rallysprint Series 2014 

What was your best performance of 2016 and why? 

I had already sealed the 

championship on the Saturday at Rally 

of South Australia. On the Sunday, I 

was having too much fun ripping skids 

and we were sixth outright at the last 

service, with two stages to go in my 

favourite environment, the forest. We 

managed to gain 30 seconds and take 

third position. 

What was the key moment of the season for you? 

I realised mid-season that I was in 

the hunt for the championship. In the 

past I had been in a similar position 

and my championship was let down by 

reliability problems. I put a lot of time 

and effort into the car at this point, 

which I could not have done without 

the support of my wife Rebekah and 

kids, Matilda and Cody, allowing me to 

spend many nights and weekends in 

the shed. The car was bulletproof at 

the end of the season. 

What makes the state championship so competitive, 

and such a prestigious title to win? 

All of the events in 2016 were 

pacenoted. South Australia is known 

for its pacenoted events. There have 

been many interstaters coming over 

to contest the championship in the 

past as it is a great stepping stone to 

national and even international events. 

It is an honour to be included in the list 

of state rally champions. Many of the 

past South Australian Rally champions 

have gone on to win the Australian 

Championship. 

How long has your co-driver been with you, and 

what does he bring to the combination? 

Fred Brewer has co-driven for me 

many times over the last few years and 

he has experience in much faster cars 

than mine and as a bonus, knows how 

to fix them. Mike Dale first co-drove for 

me in 2016 and we did two of the SARC 

events. He has been rallying almost 

longer than I have been alive, with a 

wealth of experience both driving and 

co-driving. 

What are your plans for 2017? Will it be the same 

car, co-driver and driver combination? 

I am planning to contest the SARC yet 

again in the same car. Fred Brewer will 

be co-driving for the season. 

Do you have any plans to contest any ARC rounds 

outside your home state? If so, which ones? 

At this point, due to cost, I do not 

have the budget to contest other ARC 

rounds. If a sponsorship opportunity 

came up, I would be there in a 

heartbeat. 

TAILOR-MADE PACKAGES TO 


WESTERN AUSTRALIA 

Driver: Dylan King 

Co-Driver: Abbey Hayes 

Car: 2006 Subaru STI Spec C 

2016 results: WA Rally Championship 

winners 

Sponsors: DK Earthworx (Dylan’s 

business), Lee’s Transport, Trade 

Hire, Aslab, TJ Signs, RallySchool, King 

Earthmoving 

Best results prior to 2016: WA 2WD 

Championship in 2012 


Going into the last round (Safari Rally 

in Chidlow) we were only leading by 

two points so the pressure was high! 

The event didn’t come without its 

usual problems, with the car misfiring 

on stage two and a puncture on the 

second run of the longer stage - which 

meant we really had to be on our game 

to finish on top. 

We were stressed that our puncture 

would have cost us quite a bit of time, 

but when we got to the end of the stage 

we were surprised to see it hadn’t cost 

us much! It was definitely a stressful, 

intense last round to the season for 

us with everything on the line, but 

we worked well as a team and took 

home the event win, and with it the 

championship; so it really was our best 

performance in the car and as a team. 


I think this answer is pretty simple 

- winning the WA Rally Championship 

was certainly the highlight of the 

season. It didn’t come easy and not 

without faults, so it was a good battle 

all year. 

We were very lucky to have a 

committed service crew who have 

ensured we get to every round and 

we can’t thank them enough - this win 

is just as much theirs as it is ours. We 

couldn’t be happier! 



This one is a tough one. I guess 

winning any championship, whether 

it be state or national or even 

international, is quite special and 

doesn’t come easy. There are many big 

names on the championship trophy 

from previous years, so we feel very 

honoured to now be on there too. 

You have to be in it to win it and with 

the nature of this sport that can be very 

difficult at times! A lot of hard work, 

determination and commitment goes 

in, in order to achieve something this 

big, so we are very proud of it. 


what does she bring to the combination? 

Abbey and I first hopped in the 

car together at Safari Rally in 2015, 

before committing to the 2016 season 

together. We have worked really well in 

the car all year. 

Abbey brings a sense of calmness 

to the car in her note reading, which 

helps me concentrate and focus on 

my own job. Her organisation and 

professionalism is something that has 

certainly helped us too! 



Abbey and I have a trip to Europe 

planned for the middle of 2017, so we 

will do our best to make every other 

round 

of the WA championship again, but 

things may change as the year 

progresses. Work on the car is well 

underway, with a few improvements, so 

we are excited to get back out there. 



We both really love the vibe and 

atmosphere of the Forest Rally, which is 

obviously an ARC event, so with that in 

mind we would love to try and compete 

over east. No decisions have been 

made yet as we will have to look at the 

budget after Europe is factored in (!!!), 

but we have spoken about getting over 

to Coffs Harbour at the end of the year. 

I went over in 2016 to compete in 

Rally Australia and it was such a great 

experience, so I would love Abbey to 

get a feel for it too - it’s so different to 

competing over here in state rounds, 

that’s for sure! 

SUIT YOU 

To advertise in RallySport Magazine call Dominic on 

0499 981 188 or email dominic@rallysportmag.com.au 



QUEENSLAND 

Driver: Rob Bishop 

Co-Driver: Neill Woolley 

Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 

Rob Bishop took two wins and two 

second places on his way to the title. 

(Photo: Sam Tickell) 

2016 results: Rnd 1 - 2nd QRC, Rnd 2 - 

2nd QRC, Rnd 3 - 1st QRC, Rnd 4 - 1st 

QRC, Rnd 5 - DNF 

Sponsors: Kinetic Resources 

Best results prior to 2016: 2010 and 2012 

Queensland Rally Champion 


Day 2 of International Rally of 

Queensland in the pouring rain was 

certainly a challenge I haven’t faced 

for a lot of years in rallying. Although, 

we managed to keep the car on the 

road (just) and set some top 3 times 

compared to the ARC field, only 4.5 

seconds off the lead on the longest 

stage of the day. 


There’s two moments that stand out. 

Firstly, the opening round of the season 

passed over the same section of road 

where two years prior we had a really 

bad accident which I was air lifted out 

from, making it past that point and 

completing the stage certainly helped in 

putting that incident behind me. 

Secondly, after traveling north to 

Wowan (Inland from Rockhampton) for 

the second round, whilst unloading the 

car off the trailer the throttle position 

sensor completely failed, not having 

one in the spares I had brought with us, 

and not being able to rev the car at all 

we would’ve been unable to start. 

We were flooded with offers of help 

from everyone around the service 


park, although a correct replacement 

wasn’t able to be found. Luckily a mate 

working in Rockhampton dropped 

tools, shot round to a local wrecker, 

found a sensor and got it out to us in 

record time which allowed us to make 

the start line, although a bit late and 

receiving a time penalty. Without the 

points from our finish we wouldn’t have 

taken out the championship seeing we 

DNF’d the last round. 

It certainly was a humbling 

experience to have so many offers of 

help from the rally family and have 

someone put themself out so much for 

us. 



I think having the opportunity to drive 

alongside talented people that are truly 

passionate about the sport and fiercely 

competitive, yet everyone is always 

looking out for each other and willing 

to lend a hand to keep you in the game 

makes it for me. This coupled with 

competing at extremely well run events 

over an amazing selection of roads 

(which all the 2016 event organisers 

need to be commended for) was 

certainly the icing on the cake. 



Neill had only sat in with me for 2 

events prior to the 2016 season, the 

first of which I had a bit of an off, so I 

was surprised he was game enough to 

get back in with me again. 

Neill has been in with some great 

drivers, so is very capable and calm 

whilst calling the notes, which definitely 

gives the driver a boost in confidence. 

He did an excellent job all year and 

was super committed, often traveling 

a couple hours out to our place on the 

weekends to help prep the car. Neill 

has also got a great sense humour and 

keeps a light hearted atmosphere in the 

car. 

For Rally Queensland he made up 

novelty rally packs for us and a couple 

of the other teams we were competing 

with. I’m just glad we didn’t break down 

mid stage and have to use some of the 

rather questionable items it contained! 



Only plans for 2017 so far is to be 

back on the spanners at service park 

and maybe 1 event at the end of the 

year. The car and same co-driver will 

be running 2017 with the missus back 

behind the wheel which will be great to 

see. 



No solid plans as yet, though I really 

would like to have a run at the WRC in 

Coffs and enter the ARC section. I grew 

up there and started rallying on a lot of 

those roads back in the early 90’s, so 

it would be nice to go back to the area 

and compete again.

TASMANIA 

Driver: Keith Abblitt 

Co-Driver: Adrian Hodgetts, Nicole 

Bryan (Round 2) 

Car: Subaru WRX STI Spec C 

2016 results: Rd1: 1st, Rd2: DNF, 

Rd3 :3rd, Rd4: 2nd 

Sponsors: Speedy Couriers, Midland 

Tractors, Dunlop, Motul 

Best results prior to 2016: Runner up 2013 


Round 1 at Retreat. Dropped four 

seconds on stage one then won every 

stage after, without taking any risks. 

First event running first on the road 

also. 


Bouncing back after crashing at 

round two to finish third behind Molly 

Taylor and Marcus Walkem. 



There are some top level competitors 

in Tasmania and to win a title against 

those crews, and put my name on the 

trophy, is pretty satisfying. 


Photo: Jarrod Leonard 


Since my second rally, experience, a 

calming voice when it’s needed, and the 

comedy relief. 



2017 is still in limbo, depending on 

time and budget. 



No, maybe in the future. 

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NEW SOUTH WALES 

Driver: Nathan Quinn 

Co-Driver: Bruce Tyler / David 

Calder 

Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 

Nathan Quinn again showed his 

considerable pace in 2016. 

Photos: Peter Whitten 

2016 results: State Champion, 2nd 

outright Rally New England NSWRC, 2nd 

outright Rally of Canberra (ARC) and 

first NSWRC, 1st NSWRC Rally Australia 

Sponsors: Coffs Coast, Repco, Wurth, 

Century Batteries, Goodprice Pharmacy 

Wharehouse, Cowling’s R&R Carpets, 

Valvoline, MD3, Florrent & Mundey Real 

Estate, Steve Arthur Electrical 

Best results prior to 2016: 2015 NSWRC 

Champion. 2013 Rally Australia 

8th outright (Mini JCW WRCar), 1st 

outright Rally Johor (Malaysia Rally 

Championship) 


Rally of Camberra. Prior to this result 

I think between myself and my old man 

we amounted six attempts and zero 

finishes. It was good to get the monkey 

off our back and secure a good return 

result to the ARC. 


Difficult to pin point one moment. I 

think we had to work harder this year, 

as luck seemed to be against us from 

having a perfect run. Persistence was 

the key to the whole year! 



The NSWRC has been very active with 

the social media. The competition at 

the top has been great, with some long 

time regulars still setting competitive 

times in ever improving cars. 

For me, the tulip (non-pacenoted) 

aspect of the events really tightens 


up the 

competition, 

like the ‘old 

days’ - I guess it 

sorts the men 

from the boys. 

I love that 

adventure side 

of the sport 

where you 

have no idea 

where you are 

or where you 

are going. 

For me, 

the state 

championship 

is something I 

was exposed 

to in the late 

80s and has 

bred some very popular and strong ARC 

names! 



Fortunately I have a selection of codrivers 

that I manage to adapt to, and 

vice versa. It’s imperative that they can 

be trusted, as you really can not do it 

without them, let alone get to the start 

of the event. 



At this stage, I will see. My aspirations 

are national and international, which 

beckons for an updated car. If that falls 

through then I will spend time getting 

my first rally car into fighting form 

again, and perhaps have a good crack 

at the Alpine Rally. I’m not sure of the 

last rotary to win the Alpine? 



I am looking at ways/cars to be 

competitive for 2017’s ARC. However, 

I don’t have much pocket money 

left to do a full series, and we found 

that running ARC events on less than 

$10,000 can have adverse results. 

Deep down I would love to win an 

ARC round, as I know I can do it with 

the right resources. Furthermore, the 

championship is going to be stronger 

again in 2017!

2016 results: 

Sponsors: Western Victorian Crane 

Trucks 

Best results prior to 2016: Top 5 ARC for 12 

years and 2015 Victorian Champion 


Would have to be the Mitta Rally, 

where we won two stages by two 

minutes each. The car and roads just 

felt great. 


Winning the Akademos Rally in 

a borrowed car and sealing the 

championship. We didn’t get to drive 

the car until stage one. 

What makes the state championship so 

competitive, and such a prestigious title to win? 

The Victorian championship has 

always been a tough nut to crack – 

arguably we have the most talented 

drivers in the country in Victoria – and 

this is not to discount or knock the 

ability of drivers in the other states at 

all. 



I have had three co-drivers in Victoria 

VICTORIA 

Driver: Darren Windus 

Co-Driver: Joe Brick / Jamie 

Sargeant 

Car: 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 

in the last three years 

and each have made 

their own contributions 

to the team success, 

and most importantly, 

had fun. 

What are your plans for 2017? 

Will it be the same car, co-driver 

and driver combination? 

2017 is a bit 

uncertain. We are 

planning to do the first 

ARC / VRC as it’s local, 

but not sure post that. 

Do you have any plans to 

contest any ARC rounds outside 

your home state? If so, which 

ones? 

I have no plans at this 

stage, but who knows? 

Darren Windus was the class of the field in 

the Victorian Rally Championship. 

(Photos: John Doutch, Craig O’Brien) 


FEATURE: GEMINI RS 

GEMINI MISSION 

By TOM SMITH 

RallySport Magazine relishes the 

opportunity to showcase a special 

rally vehicle that is different 

to the mainstream, and which reveals a 

true passion associated with innovation 

and engineering excellence. 

Long time competitor and ex-NSW 

Rally Panel Chairman, Col Fletcher, 

unveiled his newly built Gemini RS 

in the NSW Championship division 

of Kennards Hire Rally Australia in 

November. 

Fastidiously built in the garage at 

home, Col and son Scott debuted five 

years of blood, sweat and tears with 

a car that was simply the car that the 

Fletchers wanted to build. 

It is clear that this special car has 

taken many, many man hours. It was 

developed with 95% of the fabrication 

and design done by the Fletchers at 

home. 

Col and Scott started with a Gemini 

as they had run one in the NSW Gemini 

Series and had plenty of parts. This car 

would be something unique, however, 

with a big horsepower Vauxhall engine, 

close-ratio Ford gearbox and a five-link 

rear end and Hilux diff! 

It’s certainly not your average Gemini 

package. 

“The Gemini is actually a very good 

base car as it has almost identical 

weight, weight balance, track and 


wheelbase to a Mk2 Escort. However, 

the Gemini has a fantastic front end 

with a very low roll centre and nearly 

zero bump steer,” explained Col. 

Col wanted to experience the 

challenge of designing the car and 

every component from scratch. 

Starting with a sound Gemini 

shell (hard enough to find in any 

case), old seam sealer and sound 

deadening was removed by hand and 

wheel arches were opened up to fit the 

preferred 15” wheels and tyres. 

Clearance at the front of the front 

wheel wells also had to be changed 

to achieve safe clearance needed to 

achieve full steering lock. 

With weak chassis tie rails across 

the front and being very low to start 

with, the team modified the chassis tie 

rail with something about four times 

stronger, and with an added 40mm of 

ground clearance at its lowest point. 

The link boxes for the 5-link rear 

were stitched in and have chassis 

rails extending the link boxes to the 

transverse box section, which the seats 

are mounted on. The roll cage ties the 

link boxes in, as well as transmitting 

all of the vertical suspension loads 

(both front and rear) through the entire 

structure. 

With flares firmly back in fashion, the 

flares for this car were made by making 

plugs from MDF wood hot glued onto 

the car, and then builder’s foam, 

and then body filler to get the final 

smooth finish. Fibreglass moulds were 

then taken off the plugs to make the 

flares from those moulds in 225 gram 

fibreglass. 

After the shell was painted, Kevlar 

underbody panels were made by simply 

turning the car on a spit, waxing and 

“The Gemini is 

actually a very good 

base car as it has 

almost identical 

weight, weight 

balance, track and 

wheelbase to a Mk2 

Escort” 

preparing the painted under floor 

with PVA, and then laying down Vinyl 

Ester Resin and layers of Kevlar. Kevlar 

panels were also made for the sills. 

Col explains his engine choice: “The 

Vauxhall Red Top (C20XE) engine is 

legendary and is used in many Escort 

rally cars in Europe. They have massive 

advantages over the Ford options, 

including the fact that a C20XE built to 

a ‘BDG-type’ specification is good for 

around 200 hours!” 

Col chose a gravel spec package from 

SBD in Surrey, England, designed to 

operate on (English) 97 RON pump fuel 

and produce 292hp and 197 lb/ft of 

torque. (Following the extensive head 

work by RAMS Head Mods, the result 

has been better than the expected 

292hp). 

These engines were first released in 

1989 in Europe and have been used in 

many different Vauxhall and Opel road 

cars. Cosworth originally developed 

the C20XE and the Fletchers were lucky 

enough to buy one of these privately 

out of England, and then found another 

in a Calibra being wrecked in Ballarat. 

The Fletcher motor now has 

2mm oversized valves; head 

ported and matched by RAM 

Head Mods in Windsor; 55-48mm 

tapered throttle body fuel injection; 

modifications to the block and head for 

releasing steam build up, 12.77:1 static 

compression, and ARP main and head 

studs. 

The dry sump system scavenges not 

only the oil from the dry sump, but 


FEATURE: GEMINI RS 

all of the blow by gasses, which are 

separated in the sump tank in the boot. 

The extractors and exhaust were built 

by Craig Stallard at Quality Performance 

Exhausts. 

“The flywheel is a 

chrome moly onepiece 

unit weighing 

3.2kg, with a Tilton 

7.25” twin plate clutch 

with a centre push 

thrust race.” 

Col gave Craig the SBD specifications 

which required variances in lengths of 

no more than +-3mm, and 52 hours 

later the car had an awesome exhaust 

system. Ceramic coating keeps the 

temperature down in the engine bay 

and under the floor. 

The flywheel is a chrome moly onepiece 

unit weighing 3.2kg, with a Tilton 

7.25” twin plate clutch with a centre 

push thrust race. 

The team is using a Ford T5 5-speed 

gearbox (used in many Escorts in NZ), 

with a Quaife close ratio kit and quick 

shift. They are a good strong gearbox 

happy to stand up to 500hp, however, 

a long term plan (dependent upon 

a Lotto win!) is to install a Samsonas 

6-speed sequential. 

Holding the rear end into the car 

is a heavy duty 5-link kit from 

GP4 Fabrications out of Ireland. 

Complementing the standard kit is a 

custom chrome moly panhard rod. 

The diff is a Hilux with a 5.714 (40/7) 

ratio and a KAAZ LSD, and the team 

plans to upgrade the rear by modifying 

the diff to an adjustable full floater to 

fine tune toe and camber. 

The heavy duty Escort quick rack fits 

straight onto a Gemini crossmember, 

and comes with just 2.2 turns lock to 

lock. Some modifications were made 

to overcome pivot centre issues, and 

a simple solution enabled adapters 

for each end of the rack to allow the 

standard Gemini inner tie rods to 

mount in the correct position and still 

provide full lock. 

To cope with the higher steering load, 

an electric power steer column was 

added. 

Col designed and fabricated an 

overhung pedal box with balance bar 

and modified the firewall. 

Front rotors are 296 x 28mm 

ventilated from the front of a VE 

Commodore. Rears are 289 x 23mm 

from the front of a VS Commodore. At 


“Yes, we could have 

saved a heap on money 

and time by buying 

a used 4WD turbo, but 

that would be boring 

to us.” 

the moment Commodore callipers are 

used (VE on the front and VS front on the 

rear), but 4 pots are planned very soon. 

Suspension for the Gemini is provided 

by canister MCA units on each corner. 

Col designed a wiring harness from 

scratch, including all of the wiring to the 

ECU and sensors, and fabricated and 

installed it. The very small alternator 

is straight out of the Bosch catalogue, 

marked as a Bosch Racing alternator. 

They provide 90amps output and 

Bosch insist that the unit should not be 

modified in any way. 

Driver and co-driver’s seats are 

mounted down low and as far back as 

possible - essential for a crew averaging 

188cms+ in height. The steering wheel is 

7” further back than standard, as are the 

pedals. 

With polycarbonate windows installed, 

empty space was available in the door 

shells, and useful storage spaces exist 

in each door behind each of the carbon 

fibre door skins. 

A Stilo intercom was installed as the 

crew expected that it might be a touch 

noisy inside the car. After Rally Australia, 

Col confirms that it is indeed noisy inside 

the car! 

“We have the Stilo turned up to max 

and when the engine is on full song 

I often have difficulty hearing Scott’s 

notes,” he said. “What an awesome 

problem to have.” 

The car’s debut at Rally Australia’s 

line-up in Coffs Harbour drew lots 

of attention for its radical, yet pure 

‘rally’ presentation. While only running 

the NSW Championship stages on Sat- 

urday, Col and Scott were out to make an impression on 

competitors and spectators alike. 

The sound of the powerful Vauxhall engine and the 

obvious traction afforded by the highly developed car 

certainly impressed many. 

Some may ask what possesses a team to spend five 

years building and developing such a radical and unique 

car? 

“Yes, we could have saved a heap of money and time by 

buying a used 4WD turbo, but that would be boring to us,” 

explained Col. “This car is the most fun you can have with 

your pants on!” 

Thanks go to Col Fletcher and team for their willingness to share 

detailed technical specifications of this unique rally car. 


DESIGNING A WORLD RALLY CAR 

THE CHALLENGE OF DESIGN 

The 2017 rally car revolution has 

been like no other in the story 

of world championship rallying, 

explains Martin Holmes. 

When the WRC cars were restricted 

in 1973 to Groups 1-2-3-4, the cars of 

most teams already complied. 

When the Group B cars came along 

in the early ‘80s, each team introduced 

their new designs at different times 

and when they were banned for the 

start of the 1987 season, no new 

designs suddenly appeared. 

When World Rally Cars appeared 

in 1997, the only fully compliant car 

came from Subaru, then when the 

1.6 litre format arrived in 2011 there 

was only Ford and Citroen, with Mini 

coming along a few months later. 

Now, in 2017, there were four teams 

present at Monte Carlo, all with brand 

new designs, all at once. These are 

days to remember! 

M-Sport’s chief engineer, Chris 

Williams, looked around the Service 

Park at Gap remembering how the 

hectic year leading up to the 2017 

WRC season affected them and the 

other teams. 

CW: Everybody has been working 

behind the scenes in secrecy and at 

the same time dealing with regulations 

that were quite fluid. Initially 

everybody was working on different 

M-Sport 

engineer 

Chris 

Williams. 

ideas. 

Then the rules changed round a 

little bit, details were clarified. What 

I do notice is that there are common 

themes among all the four teams’ cars. 

I don’t think there have been different 

philosophies between the teams. I 

have also noticed that some teams’ 

people have taken greater risks, 

specifically with aero, but basically the 

cars are what we expected them to be. 

We’ve looked at some things and 

gone in one direction and others 

have gone another. We’ve been quite 

introvert, looking internally, making 

sure that what we’ve got we’re happy 

with, and that we hope we have a 

reliable and durable package. 

What has been the biggest design 

challenge for each of the team? 

CW: Keeping your aero together in 

one piece is fundamental. If you have 

more fragile parts and start knocking 

them off, then you’re going to lose 

performance fairly quickly. 

I think some people have taken 

more risks than others in this respect. 

You can’t change the aero design from 

event to event, so we have all had to 

balance our aero to be suitable for the 

whole season. 

On certain events you’ll have an 

advantage with fragile stuff, but on 

the rougher stuff you lose out. But 

everybody’s done their own analysis, 

everybody has their own philosophy 

and their own approach. 

We have to make sure the 

performance of the car isn’t 

severely limited if there is damage, 

so robustness of the aero is a 

fundamental factor. But on the other 

hand, we are here to race and not 

here just to finish rallies. 

At the end of the day you have 

to look for the performance and 

then look to make it durable. If you 

compromise too much you’ll always be 

behind. 

- MARTIN HOLMES 


ING A WORLD RALLY CAR 

Elfyn Evans was the third of 

three Ford Fiesta WRCs in the 

top six placings at Monte Carlo. 


COMMENT 

STORIES WE’D LIKE TO READ 

Christmas time – the time when 

we traditionally put our feet up, 

select a comfortable chair and a 

cool, shady spot, and settle in for some 

quiet time with a cold drink or two to 

help us while away the hours. 

We’ve all done it at one time or 

another – it seems to be a part of the 

Australian way of life. 

However, there’s just one thing 

missing – a good book to read, one 

that will keep you occupied for some 

considerable time. There are plenty 

of books available at this time of year, 

both fiction and non-fiction, so there’s 

no shortage of titles to choose from on 

the widest possible range of subjects. 

RallySport Magazine went looking to 

try and find something suitable to read 

over the Christmas break, something of 

interest and with a motorsport theme 

but, surprise, surprise, nothing seemed 

to be available. 

Oh, there was rack after rack of books 

on cricket, football, golf and rugby 

league. It seems everyone who’s ever 

had a career in a particular sport, both 

currently and in the past, needs to tell 

others of their achievements, whether 

that’s of public interest or not. 

Take cricket as a for-instance. There’s 

Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehman, Chris 

Rodgers, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn 

McGrath, Alan Border, Bill Lawry and 

hundreds more titles. Same goes for 

Australian Rules football – the list (and 

the code) goes on. 

But we weren’t interested in any ball 

sports or the like. We wanted to read 

about real sportsmen and women and 

their rallying and motorsport exploits, 

the funny stories and the tragic ones 

that will strike a chord with us, and the 

real personalities of the sport that we 

admire so much. 

Our search of the shelves turned up 

nothing – surely someone could publish 

a fictional tale about some aspect of 

motor sport or a factual story about a 

long distance event or whatever. 

Why, Evan Green did it years ago 

with “Dust and Glory” and “A Bootfull of 

Right Arms”. 

Even the legendary Ross Dunkerton 

put pen to paper to write “Dunko” some 

years back with Bob Watson, while 

ex-Holden Dealer Team guru mechanic 

and driver, Mat Philip, published his 

own ‘warts and all’ autobiography back 

in the late 90s. Seems it can be done. 

Just imagine these possible titles 

- “The Neal Bates Story”, “My Years 


Story: JEFF WHITTEN 

in Rallying, by Ed Ordynski”, “The 

story behind Rally Australia by Garry 

Connelly”, “Simon Evans’ Most Hilarious 

Rally Moments”, “Be My Guest” by 

Michael Guest, “The Harry Firth Story”, 

“Cody Crocker, Possum Bourne’s 

prodigy”, “Maximum Attack by Rob 

Herridge” and so on and so on. 

As is obvious by the suggestions 

above, there is a plethora of stories out 

there that need to be told before it’s too 

late. 

You may not think that your story is 

worth telling, but that’s probably what 

E.L. James thought when writing “Fifty 

TOYOTA THRU & THRU 

The 

NEAL BATES 

Story 

CODY 

CROCKER 

The rally career of 

Possum Bourne’s 

prodigy 

FROM JUNIOR STAR TO NATIONAL CHAMPION 

Rally driver to 

fishing guru 

BE MY GUEST 

Shades of Grey”, and look how that 

took off! 

But leave it too late (as was the case 

with the late Harry Firth) and all that 

untold history, the fabric of Australia’s 

rallying history, is lost forever. 

Almost everyone in rallying has 

a story worth telling, despite their 

reluctance to sit down and record 

their individual history for others to 

read. Convincing them to do this is the 

difficult part. 

But can you imagine the interest 

there’d be in sitting down and reading 

the Neal Bates story, or the Coral Taylor 

history! 

Surely those would have to be highly 

entertaining. 

So, all you rally tragics out there, 

please make an effort to tell us of 

your rallying history and exploits, and 

publish them so that the rest of the 

rally world has something worthwhile 

to read next Christmas. 

You won’t make a fortune from sales, 

but it might just attract others to do the 

same.

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Straight advice, specialists you understand and... 


5 MINUTES WITH .... 

5 

minutes with ... 

MARK PEDDER 

Story: PETER WHITTEN 

It was a bitter-sweet finish to the season 

at Rally Australia. Did you feel an equal 

amount of relief and disappointment at the 

same time? 

There was a little relief and incredible 

disappointment on so many levels. 

Obviously personal disappointment 

at not getting my first ARC win, but 

more for my team who had put in an 

incredible amount of time and effort to 

get the car right. 

Probably the most disappointing 

aspect was the reaction from some 

people I have known for a long time. 

To think that we would purposely 

affect the result of a sport I have been 

48 

Photos: | RALLYSPORT 

Red 

MAGAZINE 

Bull Content 

- FEBRUARY 

Pool 

2017 

ARC front-runner Mark Pedder 

had a topsy turvy 2016 season, 

suffering plenty of mechanical 

problems in his Peugeot 208 

Maxi. 

His year culminated in 

winning the final round at 

Rally Australia, only for a 

timing error see that victory 

taken away from him. 

involved with my whole life certainly 

put a sour taste in my mouth. 

Funnily, the Evans Motorsport Team, 

who were the most affected, were also 

the most supportive, and for that I’ll 

always be grateful. 

2016 had been a frustrating season in the 

Peugeot, so to have it run reliably for a full 

event must have been a very pleasing? 

It was really pleasing! One of the 

things we always kept in our heads was 

this car was the first of its kind. 

Yes, the Maxi Cars were running 

in Europe, but not with this engine 

configuration. The speed was always, 

there we just needed the reliability. 

Were the problems throughout the season 

all unexpected and ones that weren’t 

repeated again? 

This was one of the problems. There 

was never an issue that raised its head 

twice. 

We would do quite a bit of testing 

and the car would run faultlessly, and 

then put the numbers on for an event 

and something would go wrong. A 

broken control arm in Perth, electrical 

issues in Canberra, massive oil leak in 

Queensland, and an engine in SA. 

There were other smaller issues as 

any rally car would have, but these are 

what stopped us. 

How hard did this make it on not only you, 

but also on the team? 

The hardest thing from a driver’s 

point of view is you are always testing 

to sort a problem, rather than testing to 

make the thing faster. 

It is twice as hard/frustrating for the 

team because they are spending weeks 

between events getting the car right, 

only to have another issue. 

There were a few times we were close 

to throwing in the towel, but when the 

thing was running well it was simply 

brilliant to drive. This is what kept us all 

coming back. 

PHOTOS: Peter Whitten, John Doutch, APSM TV.

Looking ahead 

to season 2017, 

will we see you 

contesting the 

ARC again in 

the Peugeot, 

or perhaps in a 

different car - a 

Skoda R5 perhaps? 

Almost 

definitely we will 

not be running 

the ARC. You 

may see us at 

Ballarat if plans 

come off, as 

would love to 

compete back 

on those roads. 

My first real event was in the Wombat 

State Forest co-driving in an Escort for 

my Dad. We rolled! 

There’s also been some rumours that you 

may contest the APRC this season. Is that a 

possibility? 

This is more of a possibility than the 

ARC. With our business growing in 

Asia, it makes the most sense to run the 

APRC from a marketing point of view. 

I’ve done the series once before, 

and although we don’t see much in 

Australia, they do leverage the events 

very well locally. 

Finally, many in the sport would love to see 

a two-car Pedders team in the ARC again. 

Will we ever see that again? 

Never say never! The only problem 

with a two-car Pedders team is I’d have 

to find a slower car for Scott, and we’d 

have to have a fight over who uses Dale 

(Moscatt)! 

MULTI-YEAR DEAL 

FOR FOREST RALLY 

The 2017 Forest Rally will be 

renamed the Make Smoking History 

Forest Rally, following a new multiyear 

deal with event sponsor 

Healthway. 

The Make Smoking History Forest 

Rally will be held in Busselton and 

Nannup from the 21-23 April, and is 

the first round of the ARC and WARC. 

Healthway has sponsored the event 

since 1995. 

Announcing the renewed 

sponsorship agreement, Forest Rally 

Event Director, Ross Tapper said he 

was delighted that Healthway had 

continued their support of the event. 

“The support of Healthway – as well 

as our other great sponsors – allows 

us to expand the event year on year 

ensuring we are always providing 

new and exciting challenges for 

competitors,” Tapper said. 

“Healthway’s support over the past 

22 years has been an integral part 

of the success of this event and the 

growth of rallying in our state.” 


INTERVIEW: FIORENZO BRIVIO 

DMACK MOVES FORWARD 

Story: MARTIN HOLMES 

In the middle of 2016, M-Sport’s 

DMack sponsored driver, Ott 

Tanak, started to produce some 

remarkable performances in the 

World Rally Championship that led to 

thoughts that maybe their WRC rivals, 

Michelin, had finally met their match. 

Was it only because Ott had enjoyed 

the conditions involved, as seen in 

Poland and then Wales Rally GB, or was 

there an underlying reason? 

During the course of the season, 

DMack had introduced new tyre 

designs, as the regulations permitted, 

but the new-found DMack speed had 

come at a time when the company had 

launched the first all new design from 

Fiorenzo Brivio, their recently engaged 

rally tyre engineer. 

Brivio was already well respected in 

the sport for his work with Pirelli, so 

it was good to catch up with him at 

the end of 2016 to find out what had 

been going on in the business since the 

earlier days in his career. 

FB: I’ve been working in rallying for 

more than 25 years. In that time I have 

been involved in a lot of innovations, 

starting from the asymmetric gravel 

tyre and the asymmetric tarmac tyre. 

Asymmetric tyres were all new things 

when I was in Pirelli. 

I had the chance to move to DMack 

in September 2015 and was able to 

put all this experience 

in every day work with 

them. DMack’s main job is 

rallying. Their competition 

department is already 

quite well experienced, 

so we have common 

ground to discuss the 

development, how to go 

in the right direction in all 

the different areas of the 

rally development. 

So we started quite 

well. The core business 

of DMack is making rally 

tyres, so they invest 100% 

of their money in rally 

work. 

MH: What is the main 

difference in the tyre work 

now compared with 30 years 

ago? 

FB: Basically the biggest difference is 

the electronics. The electronics on the 

car is what makes the big difference 

in the way the tyre works. When the 

differential is fully controlled by the 

electronics, you can obviously control 

and set-up the car better in order to 

make the tyre work and spin as little as 

possible. 

In conjunction with the tyre design 

change, that is the biggest difference. 

At the same time the format of the 

rallies has changed. Special stages are 

now in groups. Before you used to 

change tyres nearly every stage so you 

could design a tyre for a specific stage. 

Now you have to design a tyre that is 

basically less extreme. 

There is also much more restriction 

now in the way you can design the 

tyre because you have to respect new 

rules. In the past there was much more 

freedom. 

MH: Is rally tyre design nowadays a much 

bigger compromise than the old days? 

FB: Yes. Basically you have the choice 

of only two tyre compounds each rally 

and always with the same pattern. In 

Elfyn Evans set three 

fastest times at Monte 

Carlo on DMack tyres. 


the old days you could use different 

compounds and treads, so you could 

design a tyre for a specific condition. 

Now you have to design a tyre for a 

much wider operating range. 

MH: You also have limits on how many tyres 

you can use during an event. 

FB: This limitation leads to the need 

to mix compounds left and right with 

hard and soft, which seems a strange 

technique. Even in this technique the 

differential of the car and the electronic 

of the car helps to compromise the grip 

on the two sides. 

Basically that’s the idea that is behind 

this combination when you have 

crossed tyres and things like that. You 

have to select which compound of tyres 

to use much earlier than the time when 

they are going to be fitted on the car. 

The final stage is often many hours 

later in the day than when the choice 

had to be made. So every tyre has to 

cover a very wide range of temperature 

and type of surface. 

And for that reason sometimes you 

are encouraged to mix and to cross 

between soft and hard tyres. 

MH: How is life at DMack? 

FB: DMack’s founder, Dick Cormack, 

raises new ideas and new projects 

every day. He doesn’t leave me alone 

except when he’s been away! 

He’s always coming to me with new 

motivation and new ideas to develop. 

They encourage us to do our best. 

Coming to Britain was a big change, a 

big, big challenge, but I repeat I am fully 

backed from the management to do the 

best, and the results are coming. 

Obviously we expect it will get 

tougher and tougher as long as we 

are getting closer to the best of the 

opposition. 

MH: In 2016 DMack introduced two 

new tyre designs, the new gravel and 

the new asphalt. What has been the 

special characteristic of the new tyres? 

FB: Everything on the tarmac 

tyre, the external aspects, the 

tread pattern, the tyre profile, the 

inside is different, the compound 

is totally different. 

The gravel tyre we started in 

2016 had the same tread pattern 

as the old one, but inside the tyre 

was completely different and the 

compound technology is totally 

different. 

I think the results on the gravel 

tyres have been encouraging. 

We did very well in quite a few rallies 

in medium to soft conditions. We still 

have to work in the tougher surfaces, 

but we took a good step in the second 

half of the year, even in that kind of 

surface. So for 2017 we will start with a 

good product on the rough surface. 

Already the 2017 season has started 

in a most exciting way for DMack, with 

Elfyn Evans scoring three fastest times 

at the Monte Carlo Rally on winter tyres 

on the Saturday, on stages that were 

largely clear of snow and ice. 

MH: The surprise was how fast the tyres 

were in Poland and Finland in 2016, and the 

disappointment was that the asphalt tyres 

were not a lot better than the old ones. What 

was the reason for that? 

FB: It is difficult to compare exactly. 

We believe the asphalt tyre has also 

been much better than the old one, but 

still there is a gap to recover, which we 

quantify as half a second per kilometre, 

so we are getting in the final area 

where the steps are more and more 

difficult to gain. 

Brivio and 

Toyota’s Carlos 

Sainz in 1991. 

But we have quite encouraging 

results. Our best area has been in 

softer conditions. We’ve been very 

good in UK, we won the BRC (British 

Rally Championship) because the soft 

tyre was working quite well. 

We still have to manage the longer 

stages and the hotter conditions better. 

We are working hard to bridge the gap. 

But we believe we have taken a good 

step forward also on the tarmac tyre, 

compared to the old one. 

MH: Do you think you will see a situation 

where DMack will be able to be the official 

supplier for a big team? 

FB: That’s our goal. We are working 

hard every day to win special stages, to 

win rallies, and then we want to win the 

championship. 

Obviously on the back of this project 

we need to sell the tyres, so on the side 

of this WRC project there is a big sales 

programme in every country, and that 

we will develop in 2017. 

And also, this new tyre will be 

produced in UK. So in every country we 

want to be the best. 


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PHOTO OF THE MONTH 

Monte Carlo Rally winner Sebastien Ogier 

slides his M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC through 

the snowy French Alps. 

Photo: Red Bull 



NEWS 

FIESTA FOR ARI 

Rising New Zealand star, Ari Pettigrew, 

will drive a Stadium Finance supported 

Ford Fiesta in this year’s NZRC. 

Pettigrew will drive the 2-litre ST150 

Ford Fiesta owned by Stadium Cars’ Tony 

Gosling. 

After several impressive drives in a 

BMW E36 last year, there is plenty of 

anticipation ahead of his first event in the 

car, the Otago Rally in April. 

TARGA NORTH WEST ATTRACTS STRONG FIELD 

The new 2017 Targa North West will 

host a top field of competitors when 

the field gathers in Burnie on February 

18, enticed by the opportunity to take 

on the famous Savage River stage, a 

compelling test of driver and car. 

The event has replaced Targa Hellyer 

Gorge on the annual Targa calendar and 

sees a 60% increase in entries over 2016 

numbers, including teams who will use 

the event to prepare for the ultimate 

tarmac rally, Targa Tasmania, in April. 

As well as attracting some of the most 

experienced drivers, the event also 

provides a great way to start competing 

in Targa events with a number of 

rookies set to test their skills on the 

roads around Burnie. 

The format in 2017 will see cars 

tackle multiple stages, with competitive 

kilometres equal to any tough day at 

Targa Tasmania. 

Last year’s Targa Hellyer Gorge 

winners, Trevor McLeod and Scott 

Hunter, return looking for another win 

in their Subaru WRX. They will be hotly 

pursued by Crichton Lewis and Adam 

Kudra, also in a Subaru, as well as 

Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler in their 

awesome Nissan GTR, who finished 

third in Targa Tasmania GT4. 

Other front-runners include Michael 

Pritchard and Jason White in the GT2 

Crichton Lewis will tackle Targa 

North West in his Subaru WRX. 

class. 

The event starts and finishes in 

Burnie. 

2017 sees the new Targa North West 

run for the first time under its new fiveyear 

agreement that will see the event 

run each year until at least 2021. 

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RallySport Magazine February 2017

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