RallySport Magazine March 2017

Issue #10 - March 2017 

FREE 

EVERY 

MONTH 

Queensland’s 

SHOCK ARC EXIT 

MARKKO’S BACK 

Molly Taylor 

column 

BARINA AP4 UPDATE 

rallysportmag.com.au 

MARCH 2017 - RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE | 1

EDITORIAL 

QLD pain is ACT gain 

By PETER WHITTEN 

It’s been a topsy-turvy few days for 

Australian rallying, with the cancellation 

of the Rally of Queensland, 

followed soon afterwards by the announcement 

that Canberra would host 

the APRC round at the end of May. 

The bitter disappointment in 

Queensland was somewhat matched 

by the excitement of those around the 

nation’s capital. 

Credit must go to Adrian Dudok and 

the Brindabella Motor Sport Club for 

picking up the APRC round at such 

short notice, but on the flipside, the 

bombshell that was the cancellation of 

the Rally of Queensland could create 

ripples across rallying in the state for 

many years to come. 

We may have seen the last round 

of the national championship in the 

Sunshine State for some time, which 

would be a crying shame and a real kick 

in the teeth to Queensland rallying. 

Sullens, Shimmon tie for New England Rally victory 

The first round of the Gary’s 

Motorsport Tyres NSW State 

Rally Championship was held on 

Saturday, March 4, over 136 stage kilometres 

of fast shire roads at Glen Innes, 

on the Northern Tablelands. 

Conducted by New England Sporting 

Car Club with the support of the Glen 

Innes Severn Shire Council and the Glen 

Innes Tourist Association, the event had 

31 crews start. 

With the rally using RallySafe this 

year for all crews, in possibly a first 

NEXT 

ISSUE 

2 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - MARCH 2017 

For Canberra, though, it’s a real 

shot in the arm. The downside is that 

the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 

continues to struggle for competitor 

numbers, despite receiving strong 

support from Skoda and MRF Tyres. 

Both events face intriguing futures as 

to what happens, and where the sport 

heads next. 

CAMS cut this year’s ARC registration 

fee by 50%, but the first 

round of the championship in 

Victoria sees just 10 competitors registered 

for points. 

In a field of 21 cars in the ARC field, 

this must continue to be a concern for 

the championship. 

Nathan Quinn, Craig Brooks and 

Marcus Walkem – all seeded in the 

top five – are not registered for points, 

while Brendan Reeves will only contest 

the Victorian Championship component 

of the event in his Subaru. 

The entry features neither Simon 

for a NSW gravel rally, each of the six 

stages had one or two virtual chicanes. 

Crews were required to slow to 60 km/h 

in these areas, and after some initial 

problems, the intended aim of reduced 

average speeds was achieved. 

Once again this year there were no 

crashes, only a couple of minor offs, 

with 27 crews finishing. 

Unusually, there was a tie for first 

place, with Tony Sullens and Kaylie 

Newell (Subaru WRX) Richard Shimmon 

and Michelle Van De Wilk (Lancer Evo 7) 

both completing the event on a time of 

1h05m10s. 

Third place was taken by Bryan Van 

Eck and Jim Gleeson in an Evo 6 on 

1.05.43. 

A special mention goes to the Escort 

crew of Bruce Garland and Stephen 

Green who came in 13th, in what was 

Bruce’s first special stage rally for about 

30 years. 

He finished with a huge grin, already 

planning his return next year. 

- Richard Opie, Clerk of Course 

l Report: Eureka Rally, ARC 1 

l Report: Otago Rally, NZRC 1 

l The history of the HANS device 

l Interview: Fleur Pedersen 

l Report: Rally Mexico, WRC 3 

l Report: Tour de Corse, WRC 4 

Interview: Hannu Mikkola 

l Retro: Toyota’s darkest hour 

➜ 

Evans nor Mark Pedder – key players in 

last year’s championship. 

A total of 55 cars have entered the 

ARC and VRC events 

Across the ditch in New Zealand, 

the first round of the New Zealand 

Championship, the Otago 

Rally, has attracted a record field of 

over 100 cars. 

The Dunedin-based event also 

includes the International Classic Rally 

and an Allcomers event, but much of 

the interest is in the NZRC field and the 

new AP4 cars. 

Headlined by last year’s champion, 

David Holder, in the factory Hyundai 

i20, there will also be a pair of factorysupported 

Holden Barinas, Toyota 

Yaris’, Mazdas, Skodas and Suzukis. 

It’s fair to say the New Zealand 

championship is healthier than it’s 

been for many a year, with excitement 

building by the day in the lead up to the 

first event in early April. 

AVAILABLE APRIL 20

CONTENTS - #10 MARCH 2017 

FEATURES EVENT REPORTS REGULARS 

FOLLOW 

US ON: 

22 THE INNOVATOR 

WE CHAT TO RALLY AUSTRALIA 

FOUNDER GARRY CONNELLY 

34 QUIRKY BUT QUICK 

RENAULT’S ALPINE A110 

38 HOLDEN BARINA AP4 

A LOOK AT THE NEWEST AP4 

CHALLENGER IN NZ 

42 GLENN MACNEALL INTERVIEW 

A LOOK INTO THE CAREER OF 

CO-DRIVER GLENN MACNEAL 

59 TRAVEL TIPS WITH ELFYN 

THE DMACK DRIVER GIVES HIS BEST 

TRAVEL TIPS 

60 CO-DRIVING GIRLS 

QUEENSLAND HAS A LONG LIST OF 

LADY CO-DRIVERS OF NOTE 

12 RALLY OF SWEDEN 

TOYOTA WINS AN ACTION-PACKED 

SNOW RALLY 

41 LEADFOOT FESTIVAL 

ALISTER MCRAE TOOK THE 

HONOURS IN THE EX-POSSUM 

BOURNE IMPREZA WRC CAR 

62 PORT HILLS PEAKS 

RALLYING IS ALREADY WELL 

UNDERWAY FOR 2017 IN NEW 

ZEALAND 

COVER PHOTOS: GEOFF RIDDER 

✸ 

DID 

03 EDITORIAL 

04 LATEST RALLY NEWS 

NEWS FROM AROUND THE SPORT 

8 MOLLY TAYLOR COLUMN 

THE 2017 AUSSIE CHAMPION WRITES 

EXCLUSIVELY FOR RSM 

20 HAYDEN PADDON COLUMN 

SWEDEN WAS MORE SUCCESSFUL 

FOR THE SUPER FAST KIWI 

28 FAMOUS STAGES 

LANGLEY PARK SET THE STANDARD 

FOR WRC SUPER STAGES 

50 FIVE MINUTES WITH ... 

LONG-TIME QUEENSLAND 

ORGANISER ERROL BAILEY 

YOU KNOW? 

You can click on an advert or website address to 

go directly to an advertiser’s website? 

The passion for rallying .... 

MANAGING EDITOR 

PETER WHITTEN 

peter@rallysportmag.com.au 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Martin Holmes, Luke Whitten, 

Blair Bartels, Geoff Ridder, 

Jeff Whitten, Molly Taylor, Hayden 

Paddon, Bob Watson 

SENIOR WRITER 

TOM SMITH 

tom@rallysportmag.com.au 

PUBLISHED BY: 

Peter Whitten 

RallySport Magazine 

peter@rallysportmag.com.au 

www.rallysportmag.com.au 

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dominic@rallysportmag.com.au 

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necessarily those of RallySport Magazine. 


RALLY QUEENSLAND CANCELLED 

SHOCK EXITNeal 


Australia’s round of the Asia-Pacific 

Rally Championship (APRC) 

will now be held in Canberra 

after the Confederation of Australian 

Motor Sport (CAMS) cancelled May’s 

International Rally of Queensland. 

The championship’s longest running 

event, Rally Queensland was scheduled 

to run on May 27 and 28 as a round 

of the ARC, APRC and the local 

Queensland Rally Championship. 

The rally was organised by the 

Brisbane Sporting Car Club from 1968 

until 2015, before being taken over 

by CAMS in 2016, although with many 

of the rally’s long-term officials still 

involved. 

“The event was simply not financially 

viable,” CAMS General Manager of 

Motor Sport Events, Michael Smith, told 

RallySport Magazine. 

“Added to this there were some 

contractual obligations with 

stakeholders that simply could not be 

delivered upon. 

“Thus the Board of Rallycorp took the 

difficult decision to cancel the event.” 

Key personnel working on the Rally 

of Queensland were totally blind-sided 

by the cancellation, with meetings 

“Key personnel 

working on the 

rally were totally 

blind-sided by the 

cancellation.” 

Bates in action in 

Queensland in 1996. 

Photo: Stuart Bowes 

between stakeholders being held 

right up until the day before the final 

decision was made. 

“We appreciate the tremendous 

support from the Sunshine Coast 

Regional Council, Tourism Events 

Queensland and the army of volunteers 

that have worked so hard over the 

years,” Smith said. 

The replacement APRC event will be 

held on the same weekend, May 22 and 

28 (see story page 5). 


Ed Ordynski contesting a super special 

stage in the 90s. Photo: Stuart Bowes

ARC LOSS A BIG 

BLOW FOR QLD 

RALLYING 

By TOM SMITH 

Gaurav Gill during the 2014 

Rally of Queensland. 

Photo: Geoff Ridder 

EXCITED TO BE BACK 

National Capital Rally director, 


Adrian Dudok, says that he is 

excited to be able to bring back 

an Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 

The Nat Cap Rally already had a 

event to Canberra, but feels for the Rally 

of Queensland organisers who have the 2017 rally, and sponsorship was 

government grant in place to run 

had their event cancelled. 

already secured for the rally. The 

The recent decision to cancel the event hotel and Rally HQ is also able 

event in Queensland and award the to accommodate the rally on the last 

APRC round to the Nat Cap Rally 

weekend in May. 

not only came as a shock, but was 

“I’m excited about bringing the APRC 

perceived by some as a ‘conspiracy’ event home to Canberra,” Dudok said. 

long in the making. 

“It’s a big step up for the rally, which is 

However, Dudok told RallySport a little daunting, but we have plenty of 

Magazine that this is definitely not the expertise to draw on. 

case. 

“I know how devastated the 

“We (the Brindabella Motor Sport Queensland people must feel. It must 

Club) knew nothing about the 

be heartbreaking for them.” 

Queensland cancellation until last 

The Nat Cap Rally’s biggest hurdle 

Thursday (March 2), when we were will be getting enough officials for the 

contacted by CAMS to see if we could earlier date, although Dudok says they 

host the event,” Dudok said. 

still have a really good lead in time until 

“We held an extraordinary committee the rally is held – ironically on the same 

meeting that night, and the club 

weekend the event was run in 2016. 

decided to step up to the plate and help While there was initially a thought 

CAMS out.” 

to change the event name back to the 

Dudok says the road book for 

‘International Rally of Canberra’, the 

October’s event is already done, and event will remain the National Capital 

making the change to the date wasn’t Rally this year. 

as big a decision as it could have been. The Rally of Canberra name is owned 

“My road director and his assistant by the ACT Government, although 

were going to be away for seven weeks Dudok didn’t see a name change in the 

before the event in October, so they future as being out of the question. 

made the decision to get the road book The Brindabella Motor Sport Club 

done early, which it was. 

now plan to run a round of the NSW 

“This might sound like we were Rally Championship on the October 

pre-informed and prepared, but we weekend formerly set aside for the ARC 

definitely weren’t.” 

round. 

Errol Bailey has been involved 

with the Rally of Queensland 

and the Queensland APRC 

event since its inception. 

Errol has also been Clerk of Course 

for some of the most successful and 

popular ARC rounds in memory, 

all of which have been based on 

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. 

“Obviously the whole team is 

disappointed by this late decision,” 

Errol told RallySport Magazine. 

“We were of the understanding 

that the event was a goer, and on 

the morning of the announcement, 

Belinda Howard and I were actually 

meeting with the local Planning 

Committee at the Sunshine Coast, 

regarding details of the event.” 

It is understood that CAMS officials 

have made a number of trips to 

Queensland and the Sunshine Coast 

since the new year to look at the 

region and discuss event logistics. 

While it is understood the 2016 

IROQ suffered a financial loss, 

cancelling the Queensland event 

has a ripple effect on local funding, 

event sponsorship and the economic 

benefits returned to the Sunshine 

Coast and the regional town of Imbil, 

which has now lost its biggest annual 

influx of visitors to the district. 

2017 will be the first year that 

Queensland has not hosted an ARC 

since 1968 (except 1988 when police 

permit issues caused a late and 

controversial cancellation). 

“To be honest,” added Bailey, 

“Queensland clubs and officials will 

need to regroup and decide whether 

the state can run another ARC ... last 

year’s event might be the last one we 

see for a while. Let’s hope it’s not the 

case.” 

On Sunday, March 6, the 

organising team sent a message 

to all volunteers confirming news 

of the event’s cancellation, and 

thanking all for their long support. 

The message made it clear that the 

decision was not a reflection on the 

professionalism of the organising 

team. 

Further, the team is looking to 

organize a replacement QRC event 

around Imbil sometime in August. 


NEWS@RALLYSPORTMAG.COM.AU 

NZ news 

HYUNDAI BACK 

By BLAIR BARTELS 

Hawkeswood family participation in 

the Brian Green Property Group New 

Zealand Rally Championship is set to 

double with Andrew’s son, Jack, joining 

the newly reformed Category 2 for 

two-wheel drive cars up to two-litres in 

capacity. 

Hawkeswood junior will compete in 

a Mazda 2 with a complete AP4 spec 

bodyshell, and Andrew explains that 

outside of the engine and drive train, the 

car will be identical to the new car he is 

preparing to debut at Rally Whangarei. 

While Hawkeswood senior will 

campaign a new Skyactiv 1600cc turbo 

engine, Jack’s car will use a two-litre 

naturally aspirated engine from a Mazda 

CX5. 

The open two-wheel drive field is really 

coming together for the NZRC, with 

the latest being confirming of an entry 

for Wellington’s Jeff Ward. 

Ward will campaign a Hillman Hunter 

that was originally campaigned by none 

other than series sponsor, Brian Green, 

in the 1970s. 

Since then, the car has been hugely 

modified by local rallying identity Steve 

Bond, and now feature a 4.4-litre Rover 

V8, as well as some rather wild looking 

fibreglass add-ons. 

Joining the NZRC for 2017, Rally 

Waitomo is set to be a huge challenge 

for the penultimate round, with 

organisers’ early indications suggesting 

the one-day route will cover 200km of 

special stages. 

H 

yundai New Zealand’s announcement 

sees David Holder assured to at least 

contest two rounds of the series, but the 

defending national champion is currently 

working hard to ensure he can contest 

further events and defend his title. 

FOR MORE 

Hayden Paddon and Hyundai New 

Zealand have put together a full-on 

campaign for the 2017 New Zealand 

Rally Championship (NZRC). 

Competing under the Hyundai 

New Zealand Rally Team banner, the 

team will contest all six championship 

rounds with the Hyundai i20 AP4+ 

spec car launched so successfully in 6. 

First into the driver’s seat is 

defending New Zealand rally 

champion David Holder, who’ll contest 

the NZRC’s two April events, the Otago 

Rally and the International Rally of 

Whangarei. 

Taking the wheel for June’s Rally 

Canterbury and Rally Waikato in 

October is Job Quantock, the 22-yearold 

who won the inaugural Hyundai 

NZ Young Driver Scholarship in 

December last year. 

Paddon takes over the i20 rally 

car for the other two NZRC events, 

Rally Coromandel in August and the 

two-day, Tauranga-based Rally New 

Zealand in November. 

The team is run by Paddon 

Rallysport with Paddon himself as 

co-manager alongside his Wanakabased 

father Chris Paddon. They have 

already appointed very experienced 

engineer Mike Pittams, of Force 

Automotive, as the car chief of the 

Hyundai NZ Rally Team. 

“I’m incredibly excited to see this 

project step up to the next level,” 

Paddon said. 

“This rally programme is like a 

baby to me and gives me a lot of 

satisfaction that we are able to give 

opportunities to other drivers. 

“We are running what is essentially 

a manufacturer dealer team in the 

New Zealand Rally Championship, 

which is fantastic.” 

The goal is for the Hyundai New 

Zealand Rally Team to win the 

manufacturers’ championship title. 

Paddon adds: “My main target is 

obviously the WRC programme, but 

to keep me sane it’s good to have 

projects outside the WRC; they give 

me a different perspective on things. 

“This programme does just that, 

however having my father Chris 

managing things on the ground takes 

a lot of pressure off.” 

The key expectation for both Holder 

and Quantock is for them to develop 

as drivers. 

“We know we have a competitive 

package with the Hyundai AP4+ car. 

“We have enlisted the help of 

some new, young engineers and 

technicians, which fits nicely with our 

goal of developing talent for rallysport 

in New Zealand.” 

Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz 

Call us o 

6 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - MARCH 2017

LIFE MEMBERSHIPS TO 

RALLYING STALWARTS 

Senior Rally Australia officials 

Colin Trinder and Alan Vaughan 

have been honoured for their long 

commitment to motorsport with Life 

Memberships of the Confederation 

of Australian Motor Sport. 

Trinder (above right) has been 

a member of the Australian Rally 

Commission since 2001 and 

Chairman since 2007. 

The citation accompanying his Life 

Member award said: “During Colin’s 

time as Chairman his measured 

approach to leadership has ensured 

exceptional outcomes and stability 

during tumultuous times.” 

BRC win 

clearly in 

Arron’s sights 

Rising star, Arron 

Windus, will head back 

to the UK this year for 

a full seven-event assault 

on the British Junior Rally 

Championship. 

After a shortened 2016 

program driving for the 

Vauxhall Junior Rally Team, 

20-year old Windus will start 

his season on the Border 

Counties Rally on March 17 

and 18. 

For 2017, Windus will be 

co-driven by young Irishman, 

Aaron Johnstone, who also 

contested last year’s British 

Junior Championship. 

“Having seen first hand 

what it takes to win the 

championship last year, the 

plan is definitely to win the 

title this year,” Windus said. 

He also has made major 

achievements as Sustainability and 

Environment Manager for Rally 

Australia, the Coffs Coast-based 

round of the FIA WRC. 

Alan Vaughan (below right) 

received his Life Membership 

from CAMS President Andrew 

Papadopoulos at the CAMS Gala. 

Under his direction, Rally Australia 

in 2013 became the first motorsport 

event in the world to receive 

the FIA Institute Achievement of 

Excellence award for environmental 

sustainability and to achieve carbonneutral 

status. 

6 ROUNDS 

FOR AMSAG 

SERIES 

The 2017 Pipe 

King Southern 

Cross Rally 

Series has expanded to 

include six rounds. 

The Pipe King 

Southern Cross Rally 

Series begins west of 

Sydney on March 18 at Oberon, before 

heading to the south east of the NSW 

Riverina at Rosewood in May, followed by 

a two-day event in the Bega Valley on the 

June long weekend. 

Events on the Mid-North Coast at 

Bulahdelah and Johns River fill out the back 

end of the season, with a second event west 

of Sydney at Orange in August. 

In line with the relaxed nature of the 

series, there is no registration fee, and all 

competitors are eligible to score points. 

2016 Open 

Champions Ron and 

Jo Moore. (Photo: 

Dave King) 

The regulations have, for the most 

part, remained unchanged for the past 

seven years, with the club resisting the 

introduction of most limitations, instead 

allowing the competitors freedom of 

choice when it comes to safety equipment 

and vehicle modifications. 

AMSAG competitor information is 

available at www.amsag.com.au 

Competitors can enter online for the 

Oberon Rally via the event page, with the 

entry fee being set at $400. 

HJC MOTORSPORTS 

n: AU 1800 CHICANE or NZ 0800 CHICANE 


COLUMN: MOLLY TAYLOR 

Firstly, thanks to RallySport 

Magazine for 

the invitation to write 

a piece for the magazine. The 

team here are passionate 

about our sport and do a lot 

to promote rallying, so I’m 

excited to be able to be a part 

of it. 

It’s hard to believe that we 

are already two months into 

2017 and time keeps flying 

by faster and faster as the 

momentum builds for the 

start of the 2017 Australian 

Rally Championship season. 

I’ve just returned to Sydney 

after spending the past week 

down with the Les Walkden 

Rallying guys in Tasmania. 

The boys have put in a huge 

amount of hours to get the 

new car up and running and 

it was very exciting for all of 

us to get it out on the gravel 

for the first time. 

We’ve made quite a 

few changes to the car 

this year, so it was an 

important opportunity to test 

everything. 

Now that we will be running 

under the ‘PRC’ regulations, 

one of the things we have 

done is fit a sequential 

gearbox, built by Pfitzner 

Performance Gearboxes. I felt a bit like 

a kid in a candy store! 

We had a great package in our Group 

N WRX STI last year, so it’s exciting to be 

able to build on this with the new car 

and continue our development. 

While in Tasmania, Subaru hosted 

a dinner to thank the whole team 

for their hard work last year and to 

celebrate winning the 2016 Australian 

Rally Championship. 

MOLLY 

TAYLOR 

I love how our sport creates another 

‘family’, the family you work with and 

compete with, where the teamwork 

from every single person involved is 

what makes winning possible. 

When you look back on 2016, it 

far exceeded any of our wildest 

expectations. I can honestly say that 

we put everything we had into it and 

did the best job we could have possibly 

done. 

Championship or no championship, 

I am extremely satisfied and 

proud of what we achieved 

as a team. 

Rallying is hugely 

unpredictable and at the 

end of the day we focused 

on our job and put ourselves 

in the best position we were 

capable of. 

It’s exciting for our sport 

to have had such a close 

championship battle and 

as our sport continues to 

grow, I think we have many 

more to come. 

It was pretty surreal to be 

able to race against Simon 

Evans – someone I grew 

up watching, but not ever 

imagining for a moment that 

I would be fighting him for a 

championship. 

Competing against both 

Simon and Harry (Bates) 

taught me a lot. I learnt 

that championships are not 

won or lost in one moment. 

They are built over a season 

and there are hundreds of 

moments throughout that 

season, which ultimately lead 

to the eventual result. 

It’s something that we 

never lost sight of, and whilst 

it did hurt to hear some 

people’s negative opinions, 

I am so grateful for all the support I’ve 

had over the last 11 years to reach this 

point. 

To the people who truly understand 

what has gone into my career and what 

it has taken as a team to achieve this – 

thank you! 

Now we have a new season and a 

new challenge ahead of us, so it’s heads 

down and back to work . 

- Molly 

Photos: Geoff Ridder, Peter Whitten 


we 

don’t 

imitations 


WRC STATS WRAP 

IMPRESSIVE RALLY TALLIES 

There are 256 different drivers 

who have won a WRC stage, but 

only 102 drivers have won 10 or 

more WRC stages over their career. 

The number of drivers to have won 

stages on consecutive rallies would be 

far fewer. Taking a look at the years 

2002 to 2016 reveals just eight drivers 

who have stage wins on 12 or more 

consecutive rallies. 

Richard Burns won stages on 12 

consecutive events in 2002. Marcus 

Gronholm went better and won stages 

on 15 consecutive events in 2007, his 

final full season before retirement, 

including 17 stage wins at home in 

Finland. 

Burns 12, Gronholm 15 

A year later two other flying Finns 

began to build their own tally of rallies 

with stage wins. Could they challenge 

Gronholm’s rally tally? 

For Mikko Hirvonen it began in New 

Zealand 2008, two events later Jari- 

Matti Latvala began his own streak 

with a stage win on Corsican tarmac. 

Hirvonen would continue taking stage 

wins on 15 events up until Australia 

2009. 

By this time Latvala had achieved 13 

and had both countrymen in his sights. 

Just one rally later, Latvala’s streak 

came to an end in Catalunya. 

Burns 12, Latvala 13, Hirvonen 14, 

Gronholm 15 

You cannot have a WRC party without 

Petter Solberg being involved. In fact he 

had already been dancing across the 

stages a few years earlier. 

The Norwegian claimed stage wins 

on the final three rounds of 2003 in 

Corsica, Catalunya and Wales as he 

wrapped up his only WRC drivers 

crown. 

As defending champion, Solberg took 


Story: GARY BOYD 

@KiwiWRCfan on Twitter 

stage wins on the first 14 events of the 

2004 season to achieve a total of 17. 

Something that would stand as a record 

until the Sebs came along. 


Gronholm 15, Solberg 17. 

From Germany 2004 until Cyprus 

2006, Sebastien Loeb amassed 35 

consecutive events with stage wins, 

including Corsica 2005 where he won 

each and every stage. The streak only 

ended when a mountain biking accident 

meant Loeb did not start the final four 

events of 2006. 


Gronholm 15, Solberg 17, Loeb 35 

Having secured three drivers titles 

already, Loeb returned to action for the 

2007 season opener in Monte Carlo. 

He claimed six stage wins on his way to 

victory. 

El Maestro would win stages on every 

event in 2007 and 2008. While he won 

stages on the first six events of 2009, a 

crash early in the Acropolis Rally of the 

Gods stopped Loeb’s incredible run. 

Superhuman, yes. God, not quite. 

Loeb had eclipsed his own mark and 

had posted 37 consecutive events with 

stage wins. 


Gronholm 15, Solberg 17, Loeb 35, 

Loeb 37 

There are many Ogier versus Loeb 

debates, so how does the younger 

Seb compare to his compatriot in this 

particular statistic? 

From Rally Japan 2010 Seb Ogier 

claimed at least one stage win on every 

rally until the end of 2011 season, a 

tally of 17, equalling Solberg, but far 

Sebastien Loeb winning 

another stage - Rally 

New Zealand 2005. 

less than Loeb. 


Gronholm 15, Solberg 17, Ogier 17, 

Loeb 35, Loeb 37 

During 2012 Ogier then took his 

“sabbatical” year before joining VW. 

Driving a Skoda Fabia S2000, stage 

wins just were not in the reckoning. 

From Portugal 2013 to Wales 2014 

Latvala was back to post a tally of 23 

events with stage wins, thereby setting 

a new best of the Flying Finns. 

Burns 12, Hirvonen 14, Gronholm 

15, Solberg 17, Ogier 17, Latvala 23, 

Loeb 35, Loeb 37 

Sebastien Ogier took a historic SS1 

stage win at Monte Carlo 2013. This 

would begin an incredible streak of 52 

consecutive rallies where the lead VW 

Polo driver would take stage wins. That 

is every rally for four entire seasons. 

This year began with three stage wins 

on Monte Carlo. Sweden 2017 was 

the first time since 2012 that Ogier’s 

name had not featured on the stage 

winners’ board. The streak was over at 

53 events. 


Gronholm 15, Solberg 17, Ogier 17, 

Loeb 35, Loeb 37, Ogier 53. 

So that resolves it then, Ogier is 

greater than Loeb by this measure. 

Well, it is not quite that simple. If we 

look at consecutive rallies started in a 

WRC car with stage wins, what do we 

find? 

For Ogier it becomes 17 + 53 = 70. 

For Loeb it becomes 35 + 37 = 72. 

I will let you decide which is the more 

impressive tally. 

The current longest streak as we 

head to Mexico 2017 is 13 rallies and is 

held by Thierry Neuville. How long can 

Hyundai’s Belgium star extend his tally? 

Only time will tell.

ARC PREVIEW 

EUREKA: ARC GOLDRUSH 

By LUKE WHITTEN 

March 17-19 marks the first 

round of the 2017 CAMS Australian 

Rally Championship, 

and brand new for this year, the Eureka 

Rally marks the season opener. 

Based in the Victorian goldfields city 

of Ballarat, the rally will be tough and 

well fought out. 

Over 220km of brand new special 

stages means a level playing field for all, 

sure to throw up plenty of action and 

excitement. 

An intriguing change for this season, 

too, is the introduction of a new tyre 

supplier, MRF. 

Teams will be madly testing these 

tyres to see how they perform, as they 

aim to get the best out of them during 

the opening round. 

Headlining the ‘Eureka’ entry list is 

reigning champion, Molly Taylor. Armed 

with her brand-new PRC spec factory 

Subaru WRX STI, Taylor will be looking 

at maintaining her championship 

winning form from 2016. 

A recent test session in Tasmania 

ironed out some early teething 

problems, and Taylor will be hoping for 

good pace from the outset. 

LEADING ENTRIES 

Eli Evans is set to debut a brand AP4 

machine - his weapon of choice being a 

Mini Cooper. 

The three-time champion, a previous 

winner of Rally Victoria, can start the 

year off well with a victory in his home 

state, although a the Evans Motorsport 

team face a season of unknowns with a 

brand new, and unproven, car. 

Harry Bates, initially looking at an AP4 

car himself, will campaign the same 

S2000 Toyota Corolla that he took to 

third in the title last year. 

The experience gained last season 

will put him in good stead for an even 

stronger championship fight this 

season, and the ‘neutral’ stages in 

Ballarat could play in to Bates’ hands. 

West Australian Brad Markovic will 

come off a challenging 2016 season, 

better prepared for a title run. 

Nathan Quinn has also entered his 

Lancer Evo IX, and while he’ll be a real 

threat for victory, he isn’t registered for 

ARC points. 

Tony Sullens could be a real dark 

horse in his PRC Subaru Impreza, after 

several years steering a front-wheel 

drive Citroen. 

Eli Evans new AP4 Mini Cooper will 

be on the start line in Ballarat. 

DRIVER CO-DRIVER VEHICLE CLASS 

Eli Evans VIC Glen Weston QLD Mini Cooper AP4 AP4 

Molly Taylor NSW Bill Hayes WA Subaru WRX STI P5 

Harry Bates ACT John McCarthy QLD Toyota Corolla S200 S2000 

Brad Markovic WA Toni Feaver WA Subaru Impreza WRX P5 

Tony Sullens NSW Kaylie Newell NSW Subaru WRX STI P5P 

Marcus Walkem TAS Scott Walkem VIC Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X P5P 

Craig Brooks TAS Steve Glenney TAS Subaru WRX STI P5 

Mal Keough NSW Pip Bennett NSW Audi Quattro S1 E2 C3 

Nathan Quinn NSW Dave Calder NZ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo P5P 

With a season under his belt, Harry Bates 

will be a real threat to claim the ARC title in 

2017. 

The former Targa Tasmania winner 

has plenty of experience under his belt, 

and could well be pushing hard for a 

top three finish. 

Marcus Walkem is also a welcome 

addition in his Mitsubishi. Although 

not ARC registered, he is part of the 18 

strong ARC field – only 10 of whom are 

registered for championship points in 

the first round. 

The flame-throwing Group B Audi 

Quattro of Mal Keough will also be 

present – sure to wow the crowds once 

again. 

Andrew Penny, Chris Higgs, John 

O’Dowd and Adam Kaplan all have 

registered for ARC points, and will be 

on the start line at in Ballarat. 

As has the youngest of the Bates 

family, Lewis, who will make his ARC 

debut in the front-wheel drive Corolla 

that gave brother Harry his rallying 

start. The eyes of the rally world 

will be on Bates Jnr Jnr. 

Headlining the Victorian 

Championship section of the field 

is Brendan Reeves, who will be 

co-driven by the experienced Ben 

Searcy, but won’t be eligible for 

points or the podium in the ARC 

event. 

The rally will start with a 

ceremonial start at Bridge Mall 

on Friday, March 17, in the heart 

of Ballarat. 

CLICK HERE for more info on 

the 2017 Eureka Rally. 


O 

JA 

REPORT: RALLY SWEDEN - WRC 2 

Toyota’s suprise win as 

Neuville crashes from 

the lead again! 

By MARTIN HOLMES 


UT OF THE BLUE, 

RI’S YARIS WINS 



Eighteen years after their last 

WRC victory, Toyota was again 

winning a World Championship 

Rally, and the winner was Jari-Matti 

Latvala, exactly nine years after his first 

WRC victory when he became the WRC’s 

youngest victor. 

Now he is the championship’s most 

experienced driver, and during this time 

he has won this specialist event in three 

different makes of car. 

The 2017 event started with a great 

battle between Hyundai’s Thierry 

Neuville and Latvala, but on the final 

stage of the Saturday, just like in Monte 

Carlo, Neuville went off the road when 

leading. 

Ott Tanak overcame mechanical 

troubles and finished second, while his 

M-Sport teammate, Sebastien Ogier, 

suffered from road conditions and 

scored no fastest stage times for the 

first time in four years, and struggled to 

finish third. 

Citroen drivers again had a 

disappointingly inconsistent 

performance, not helped by technical 

problems. 

Pontus Tidemand dominated the 

WRC2 category through days two and 

three, winning 11 of the 17 stages. 

After pre-event worries, the weather 

provided classic conditions and created 

To the victors, 

the spoils. 

a unique show. 

As at Monte Carlo, Thierry Neuville 

was the pacemaker in the early stages, 

making full use of disadvantageous 

running conditions for rivals further 

in front. Suffering especially were 

Ogier, Latvala and Tanak, but Latvala 

and Tanak (despite more gearshifting 

problems) impressively defied form and 

gave chase. 

The later running Citroen of Kris 

Meeke spent time in a snowbank and 

Disaster again for Thierry Neuville 

who was on track for victory. 

he misjudged his tyre wear, but was still 

not far behind the leaders. 

By virtue of a major attack on the 

penultimate stage of the first day, 

Friday evening saw Neuville nearly a 

half minute in front. A big surprise 

after three stages was the privately run 

2017 Fiesta WRC of Mads Ostberg, lying 

fifth ahead of the three official M-Sport 

cars. 

Later that afternoon, however, 

Ostberg suffered a frightening moment 

when the whole rear wing detached 

itself at a jump. Happily the car stayed 

on the road, but it is the first really 

worrying moment in the new aero rally 

car era. The car was withdrawn so safe 

repairs could be effected. 

On the Saturday the new rules 

changed the top driver running 

order, and it was less significant. 

On the penultimate Saturday 

stage, Latvala dropped back with badly 

wearing tyres, and was now 43 seconds 

behind. 

But then on the short publicity 

stage Neuville broke his steering and 

suddenly Latvala was in the lead, 3.8 

seconds ahead of Tanak, with Ogier 

close behind. It was suddenly ‘game 

on’, with three drivers within sight of 

victory, with three stages of the event 

left. 

This was where nerves had to turn 

to steel. Latvala publicly said: “Even if 

I cannot win, second place would be 

Find us at: www.chicane.co.nz 

Call us o 


A second good points haul for 

Sebastien Ogier in Sweden. 

WRC2 winner 

Pontus Tidemand. 

Toyota’s 

Juho Hanninen. 

Another fifth place for 

Citroen’s Craig Breen. 

HJC MOTORSPORTS 

n: AU 1800 CHICANE or NZ 0800 CHICANE 



very good for me and the team”, a neat 

wind-up line, which revved up Tanak 

and Ogier beautifully! 

Ogier spun on the first corner of the 

first stage on the Sunday and fell out 

of contention, and Tanak found the 

handling of his Fiesta a handful, saying 

“the car is always trying to spin”. 

Meanwhile, Latvala walked away with 

the 17th victory of his career. 

The first WRC win for Toyota since 

China 1999 was impressive. At Monte 

Carlo their second place came from 

consistency, and they scored no scratch 

times. In Sweden, Latvala was fastest 

even on the very first stage, scoring a 

total of six fastest times. 

On Monte Carlo they did not lead 

the rally, but Latvala led at the start in 

Sweden, before his battle with Neuville 

began. 

Like Toyota, Hyundai had reliability 

on their side, but needed more driver 

consistency as Hayden Paddon had 

power steering troubles and tried hard 

to understand how to get the best out 

of his central differential, and Sordo 

found consistency difficult. 

Reliability continued to plague 

M-Sport. Tanak’s drive was remarkable 

considering the repeat of his gearshift 

and handling troubles, which cost him 

his final day fight for the lead. 

Inexplicable and worrying was the 

detachment of Ostberg’s rear wing, and 

it was surprising that Ogier could not 

fight his way through the running order 

handicap on this occasion. 

This brings us to Citroen, a team in 

trouble. It was interesting to see that 

Craig Breen, on his first ever event in 

a 2017 car, was able to drive through 

a variety of technical troubles with 

the car, problems that also affected 

Meeke’s. For Meeke, the mantle of 

team leader was proving heavy to wear. 

WRC 2 

14 entries were registered for 

WRC2 points that included one car 

from Skoda Motorsport for Pontus 

Tidemand, while M-Sport had entries 

for both Eric Camilli and Teemu 

Suninen (pictured above), and Tommi 

Makinen Racing entered Fiesta R5s for 

Takamoto Katsuta and Hiroki Arai. 

Days before the start of the rally, 

Henning Solberg cancelled his entry 

for a 2017 specification Fiesta WRC 

and gained permission to replace this 

with a Fabia R5. The first full day of 

competition on the Friday soon turned 

into a battle between the Skodas of 

Tidemand and Veiby. Suninen was 

lying third at midday ahead of Eyvind 

Brynildsen and Camilli. 

Solberg stopped with suspension 

damage after hitting a stone, Jaroslaw 

Koltun lost five minutes having to 

change a tyre, Alexey Lukyanuk lost 

four minutes stuck off the road, 

tantalisingly close to the end of the first 

stage of the day. 

Camilli stalled and lost time trying 

to restart his engine, while Hiroki Arai 

and non championship driver Simone 

Tempestini punctured. 

After the second run in the afternoon, 

Tidemand finished the day with a 45 

second lead, ahead of Suninen, while 

Veiby had dropped to third after a spin. 

Tidemand continued his domination 

and was in controlling mode. Nonchampionship 

scoring Henning Solberg 

was in action again, this time rolling, 

but lost only a couple of minutes, 

but had to continue with a cracked 

windscreen. Bynildsen lost five minutes 

with a puncture. 

WRC3 

There was only one entry in WRC3, 

but Louise Cook withdrew on the 

Saturday afternoon. Of the two entries 

in WRC Trophy, Lorenzo Bertelli had 

engine trouble, while Valeriy Gorban 

finished to gain maximum points. 

65th Swedish Rally (2017 FIA WRC, round 2): 

1. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 2h36m03.6s 

3. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Ford Fiesta WRC 2h36m32.8s 

2.Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 2h37m03.1s 

4. Dani Sordo / Marc Marti Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2h38m15.1s 

5. Craig Breen / Scott Martin Citroen DS3 WRC 2h38m54.8s 

6. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC 2h41m30.2s 

7. Hayden Paddon / John Kennard Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2h41m34.8s 

8. Stephane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau Citroen DS3 WRC 2h43m18.3s 

9. Pontus Tidemand / Johnas Andersson Skoda Fabia R5 2h45m14.7s 

10. Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta R5 2h46m06.5s 

Leading retirements: 

Lorenzo Bertelli / Simone Scattolin Ford Fiesta RS Engine 

Rally leaders: Latvala stage 1, Neuville stages 2-3, Latvala 4, Neuville 5-14, Latvala 15-18. 

Weather: Snow and ice, 0 to minus 15 degrees C. 

Winner’s average speed over stages: 115.39km/h (record). 

Leading positions in World Championship for Rallies (WCR): M-Sport 73 points, Toyota Gazoo Racing 53, 

Hyundai Motorsport 40, Citroen Total Abu Dhabi 26. 

Leading positions in World Championship for Drivers (WCD): Latvala 48 points, Ogier 44, Tanak 33, Sordo 

25, Breen 20, Evans 18, Lefebvre 10, Neuville 8, Paddon 7, etc. 

Leading positions in WRC2 (Best 6 of 7 scores count): Mikkelssen & Tidemand 25 points, Camilli 24, Kopecky & 

Suninen 18, etc. 


Team boss Tommi Makinen celebrates 

Toyota’s first win for 2017 with Jari- 

Matti Latvala and Miika Anttila. 



Elfyn Evans blasts through 

a picture perfect Swedish 

landscape. 


THE KEY MOMENT ... 

This time something different. No 

need to talk about Neuville’s error on 

the final Saturday stage. Nothing new 

there. He had made a mistake on the 

final Saturday stage on Monte Carlo and 

also lost the lead on that occasion. 

For me the key moment was the 

battle of wits on the Sunday morning. 

This was classic stuff. 

Any one of three drivers could expect 

to win, the strongest willed would 

succeed. 

Ogier spun and threw away his 

chances. “A stupid mistake on the first 

corner; I cut it, caught some fresh snow 

and spun. I struggled a bit to restart the 

car. Afterwards I took it easy because 

I knew it was over. It’s a shame. I 

wanted to push this morning. It would 

have been difficult, but that’s life.” 

Time to save his tyres for the final 

stage. 

Tanak noted that Latvala had said 

publicly that second for him and Toyota 

would be acceptable, but as soon as he 

started off he found the handling was 

bad. 

“The car wants to spin all the time. 

We need to speak to the engineers,” he 

said. 

Too late for the engineers 

now. Latvala had out psyched his rivals, 

admitting it was all down to the team 

boss, Tommi Makinen. 

“He told me to forget all about set-ups 

and things like that, just concentrate 

and drive the car. This morning the car 

felt amazing. The feeling with me and 

Miikka (Anttila), we were both relaxed.” 

All things together it was a most 

impressive win, exactly nine years 

after his first ever WRC victory – also in 

Sweden. 

- MARTIN HOLMES 


COLUMN: HAYDEN PADDON 

Well that was one tough Rally 

Sweden – in more ways than 

one, but to come away with 

a finish and some points has a lot more 

significance than what some people 

may think. 

Going into the rally I always knew it 

was going to be tough. However, our 

preparation and test went well and I 

was positive we could try and repeat 

our performance of last year (second) 

on a rally I enjoy. 

But those hopes were dashed almost 

from shakedown, as straight away 

back in competition everything felt 

foreign and unnatural. We worked on 

a few things at shakedown to try and 

make it feel comfortable, but it became 

apparent that once the rally started on 

Friday morning we were a long way off. 

At Friday midday service, my engineer 

and I sat down to discuss what was 

happening with the car. As I was lacking 

general confidence, I was not driving 

the car in the normal way. 

With these cars, to extract the most 

of the technology and the set-ups, you 

have to drive the car to a certain level – 

otherwise it doesn’t work. 

So, for Friday afternoon we reverted 

to a set-up that I would not normally 

drive – but was focused on making the 

car easier to drive. Straightaway two 

top three stage times brought back a 

lot of confidence and enjoyment, and 

it’s at that point that our rally really got 

HAYDEN 

PADDON 

COLUMN 

started. 

Unfortunately, some other things 

did not quite go our way throughout 

the rest of the event, with a wrong tyre 

choice (taking five instead of six tyres) 

and power-steering failure for the 

whole Saturday morning loop. 

From there on we used the rest of the 

event as a live test session, gathering 

data and trying new things. Despite a 

good test before the event, there are a 

lot of new things to learn and develop 

with the new car – especially with the 

new centre differential. 

I have always been a driver that 

gains a lot of confidence from a good 

diff balance, so this is now a key focus 

moving forward to get the car working 

better for my driving style. 

By rally end – despite recent events - 

things started feeling normal again and 

we were feeling relaxed. Of course, the 

nerves were high before the event, but 

I feel completing all the stages, setting a 

few top three times and generally being 

back in the competitive environment 

helped a lot moving forward. 

It’s clear the new Hyundai is a fast car 

(as demonstrated by our team mate 

Thierry), and now we just need to get 

the car working more for my style. A lot 

of people are helping me behind the 

scenes, so I’m confident we will be back 

to the level that I expect of myself soon. 

I will take this chance to sincerely 

thank everyone for the overwhelming 

support we received since Monte Carlo. 

Throughout the rally everyone was 

understanding and helpful, and that 

helped to make the event easier for us. 

I’ll have two weeks back home 

in NZ before Mexico, which we are 

really looking forward to. While it 

will be a busy time in NZ with many 

commitments, it will be a good reset 

Seventh place for Hayden 

Paddon was a solid result after 

a tough start to the season. 


after what can only be described as a 

bit of a disaster start to the season. 

But onwards and upwards, and we 

are still upbeat. 

Until Mexico, 

Hayden 

“I’m confident that 

we’ll be back to the 

level that I expect of 

myself soon.” 

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INTERVIEW: GARRY CONNELLY 

THE INNOVATOR 

Queenslander Garry 

Connelly is the man 

who brought world 

championship rallying to 

Australia in the 

late 1980s, and started 

something very special. 

As the chairman of 

the Rally Australia 

organising committee 

for the first 15 years 

of the event, Connelly 

oversaw (and instigated) 

many innovations that 

transformed the way 

WRC events are now run 

- from the Langley Park 

Super Special Stage to 

“Eye In The Sky” safety 

procedures. 


Since 2009, however, Connelly has 

been absent from the rally scene 

and now spends his ‘spare’ time 

sitting on a number of FIA committees 

and acting as one of four Stewards for 

the Formula 1 World Championship. 

RallySport Magazine caught up with 

Connelly to get the low-down on what 

he’s been up to, and whether we’re 

ever likely to see him back involved 

in rallying, the sport that gave him his 

motorsport start. 

We haven’t seen much of you in Australian 

rallying since Rally Australia in 2009 as 

you’ve spread your wings much further afield. 

You now sit on many committees for the FIA - 

how did these roles come about? 

I have been involved in the FIA since 

1989 after the first Rally Australia, when 

I was invited by the (then) President 

of the FIA Rally Commission to join 

that Commission. Later I also was 

appointed to the WRC Commission. 

Then, in 2004, I became the Deputy 

Delegate for 

Australia 

to the FIA. 

With the sad 

passing of 

John Large in 

April 2006 I 

was elected 

by the FIA 

General 

Assembly to 

join the FIA 

World Motor 

Sport Council, which is essentially the 

sporting board for the FIA. 

Over the years since, I have been 

elected or appointed to other FIA 

bodies such as the FIA Institute for 

Motor Sport Safety and its replacement, 

the Global Institute for Motor Sport 

Safety. 

Perhaps your biggest role at present is 

Chairman of Stewards for Formula 1. Does 

this involve going to every race in the F1 

season? 

No, there are four permanent 

chairmen and we rotate because to do 

20 or 21 events, plus all the preparatory 

meetings, debriefs etc., and other roles 

at the FIA, as a volunteer, would really 

be a full time job. 

How do you enjoy F1 after so many years 

involved in rallying and the WRC? 

I enjoy it immensely. 

Are the people in F1 similar to work with, 

or are rallying and F1 a bit like chalk and 

cheese? 

When you first go to an F1 event, 

it does seem like chalk and cheese 

compared to rallying. But at the top 

level, both sports are comprised of 

very professional, highly skilled drivers 

and engineers, led by very clever team 

principals and managers. 

So really, now, I have to say that they 

are not that different – except obviously 

F1 budgets are much greater than WRC 

and the media and public focus is more 

intense. 

But the people in F1, including 

the drivers, are just as friendly and 

courteous as they are in rallying. 

Obviously at times there can be 

differences of opinion, and because the 

stakes are even higher sometimes in 

F1 than in rallying, things can get very 

tense, but at 

the end of 

“Being a voluntary role, 

it certainly is not a “nice 

little earner” and it costs 

one a considerable amount 

financially each year.” 

the day, my 

view is that 

people in all 

disciplines 

of motor 

sport are 

good people 

who are 

passionate 

about their 

sport. 

Underneath that sometimes “remote” 

public persona, they are genuine, well 

intentioned people. 

Many would say working for the FIA is a 

nice little earner where you get flown around 

the world for free. 

Well - being a voluntary role, it 

certainly is not a “nice little earner” and 

it costs one a considerable amount 

financially each year to be involved, as 

there are some costs that you simply 

can’t claim back. 

How do you fit it all in around your day-today 

job in financial services? 

My voluntary work in motor sport 

occupies at least 50% of my life 

(including weekends). 


? 

WHERE 

are they now 

GARRY 

CONNELLY 



Thanks to technology I still manage to 

do a lot of my “day job” remotely, and I 

have very good (and younger) business 

partners who have taken on a lot more 

of the responsibility for the day to day 

operation of our main company. 

Your own rally career started as a codriver, 

most notably in Southern Cross 

Rallies in the factory Mitsubishi team. 

What are your memories of those days, 

and those rallies? 

Fantastic. I actually started as a 

driver in my own cars, then did a 

bit of co-driving which led to the 

invitation to join the Mitsubishi 

team. 

It was an incredible experience, 

to co-drive for my heroes – people 

like Barry Ferguson, Joghinder Singh 

and Kenjiro Shinozuka. 

It taught me a great deal about 

professionalism, and Barry Ferguson 

taught me so much about how to deal 

with people. 

The ‘Cross was probably ahead of its time 

in the late 70s. Is that how you saw it? 

In many ways yes, in that it had great 

appeal to both competitors (because 

of its length and great roads), and to 

spectators (because of the international 

involvement and the atmosphere). 

But in other ways, it was not ahead 

of its time compared to other parts 

“That was why, in my 

view, the ‘Cross was never 

able to make it into the 

WRC, whereas Rally New 

Zealand did.” 

of the world: it being a blind rally, 

the roads were frequently not really 

“closed” to the public (we had a number 

of occasions where we came across 

oncoming traffic on stages) and it 

wasn’t pace noted. 

Don’t get me wrong, it was exciting, 

challenging and enjoyable to compete 

in, but it was run in the “traditional” 

Australian rally style of the 60s and 

70s (and I am not being critical of that) 

when at the same time, European 

rallying was going ahead in leaps and 

bounds with special stage rallying. 

That was why, in my view, the ‘Cross 

was never able to make it into the WRC, 

whereas Rally New Zealand did. 

Moving forward to 1988, you were 

the instigator in bringing the WRC to 

Australia and setting up Rally Australia. 

How difficult was it to bring the WRC to 

a country that had never hosted a round 

before? 

The answer to the previous 

question actually is also partly the 

answer to this one. We had to 

change the mindset of everyone in 

Australia who was going to be involved 

in the WRC bid. 

We had to basically say “forget about 

the way we run rallies now – like it or 

not, if we are going to secure a WRC 

round for Australia, we are going to do 

it the FIA way, not the traditional Aussie 

way!” 

Carlos Sainz in action at 

Langley Park in Perth in 2000. 


Garry Connelly co-driving for 

Japan’s Kenjiro Shinozuka in a 

factory Mitsubishi Lancer in the 

1976 Southern Cross Rally. 

This caused a lot of dissent from 

officials and competitors, the best 

example being the change to A to 

A timing. I had so many people 

(some very senior in the sport, and 

in CAMS at the time as well) tell me: 

“You do it the traditional Aussie way 

and make the FIA understand that’s 

how it is”. 

Well, you can imagine how that 

would have worked! 

Did the FIA (or FISA, as it was back 

then) and the factory teams accept Australia 

from the outset? 

Unquestionably yes! And the reason 

for that was we said “Look – tell us what 

you want out of a WRC round – what 

are all the things that you would want 

us to do, so that when we demonstrate 

them to you at our 1988 candidate 

event, you will be unable to say ‘no’ to 

us coming into the WRC the next year, 

and not having to do the customary 

two year candidature”. 

Then we “reverse-engineered” 

everything the FISA (FIA) and the teams 

wanted and we delivered. 

So, it was virtually impossible, even 

considering the politics (which were 

significant), for them not to put us in 

for 1989. 

Rally Australia was always a trend-setter 

in the WRC, from clover-leaf routes, to super 

special stages and eye-in-the-sky safety 

methods. As a result you won many ‘Rally of 

the Year’ awards. Was it always a brief for 

the event to keep pushing the envelope and 

staying ahead of other rallies? 

“Being so far from 

Europe, we had to make 

it impossible for them to 

say ‘no’ to us being in the 

championship.” 

Yes! We were passionate about 

being at the top of the game, especially 

because, being so far from Europe, 

we had to make it impossible for 

them to say “no” to us being in the 

championship. 

Perhaps the event’s most memorable 

feature was the Langley Park Super Special 

Stage. Whose idea was this, and how difficult 

was it to implement, from idea to reality? 

In the beginning we said “We have to 

take rallying to the people, because it is 

not as popular here as in Europe”. So 

even for our candidate event we had 

stages close to Perth city. 

Then our advertising agency (303 

Advertising) came up with the idea 

of doing something right in the city – 

that resulted in the Northbridge stage 

around the restaurant district. But we 

realised that this was not sustainable. 

I recall I was in Adelaide for the 

Grand Prix with Shane Crockett (our 

CEO) and one morning I drew up this 

diagram of the Langley Park Super 

Special on the kitchen table of Mal 

Hemmerling’s home (Mal was the 

AGP CEO at the time, and also on the 

RA Board), showed it to Mal and 

Shane, who said “Okay, it’s crazy, 

but let’s do it!”. 

Thanks to Shane’s amazing 

ability to talk governments and 

authorities into just about anything, 

and the logistical skills of Rob Van 

Leeuwen (our Ops Manager), it 

happened – sure with a lot of effort, 

but it worked and it worked within 

budget. 

** See our Langley Park feature 

on page 28 of this issue. 

As the key figure behind the event, was it 

a surprise when the WA Government withdrew 

their funding after 2006, which saw the end 

of Rally Australia in Perth? 

Not at all. I could see it coming 

from around early 2000, when there 

was a change in the structure and 

management of Tourism WA and 

EventsCorp, and especially late 2001 

when I took the decision to try to exit 

the event following its 2002 edition. 

There was pressure from certain 

tourism operators, especially those 

who did not benefit from the rally, 

for the government to spend more 

money on direct advertising rather than 

events. 

It was a shame really, because the 

support we had from the various 

Premiers, to the Ministers and the 

heads of Tourism and EventsCorp in 

the years prior was outstanding. 

People like former Premiers Carmen 

Lawrence and Richard Court, and 

Ministers Graham Edwards and 


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Norman Moore (from both sides of 

politics) were exceptional in their 

understanding of the benefits of the 

event to the state of WA, and their 

enthusiasm for it. 

Australia then lost the WRC for three years, 

eventually seeing it relocate to northern NSW 

in 2009. Was it a hard slog to get the event 

back to Australia, given the pressures of 

other countries wanting rounds? 

Very! It was touch and go and we 

really had to rely on our previous 

reputation, and a lot of favours called in, 

to achieve it. 

The event is now well established in Coffs 

Harbour, but New Zealand are pushing hard 

to get a WRC round back. How do you see 

this playing out, and can we ever get back to 

where both countries are hosting a round? 

Sadly no. New Zealand’s event was 

always a good one and it was great 

when both countries could host a 

round. 

Frankly, with the desire for rounds in 

India, China, Korea, Japan (again), Africa 

and the Middle East, I think that Rally 

Australia will need to pull out all stops, 

invest and innovate more, and ensure 

it keeps up its high level of organisation 

(which it demonstrated again in 2016) to 

remain in the championship. 

There won’t be an appetite from the 

teams, the WRC Promoter or the FIA 

to increase the number of rounds, so 

simple maths will tell you that Australia 

needs to be careful if it wishes to retain 

its spot. 

The chance of seeing an event in both 

Australia and New Zealand is zero – 

despite how much both countries may 

deserve it. 

What’s next for Garry Connelly? Do you see 

yourself remaining in roles with the FIA, and 

could we see you back involved with the WRC, 

or even with Rally Australia? 

I would like to continue in my work at 

the FIA, but in relation to me being the 

FIA Delegate from Australia, it is up to 

CAMS to decide. 

In relation to my role on the World 

Motor Sport Council, I will be up for 

re-election this December by the FIA 

General Assembly, so that will depend 

on whether all the federations around 

the world (the “ASNs”) want me, and 

the F1 role is at the discretion of the FIA 

President. 

I don’t think a return to rallying in on 

the cards! 

Finally, how do you think Australian rallying 

and the ARC are tracking at the moment? 

Rally Australia is doing a great job and 

we need a WRC event here to act as the 

“locomotive” for rallying in this country. 

I must confess that I lost track of what 

was happening in the ARC for a few 

years there, but Molly Taylor’s success 

Garry Connelly bio 

Current positions: 

Director of Australian Institute of Motor 

Sport Safety (AIMSS) 

Director of Australian Road Safety 

Foundation 

Member of the FIA World Motor Sport 

Council since 2006 

Deputy President of the Global Institute for 

Motor Sport Safety 

FIA Environmental Delegate (Ambassador) 

Garry Connelly with 

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen 

(above) and Mitsubishi’s 

Andrew Cowan. 

in 2016 really grabbed my attention. 

I do think the ARC needs some 

“re-vitalisation”, and I am sure the 

Australian Rally Commission working 

with the competitors can achieve that. 

Member of the FIA Land Speed Record 

Commission, Statutes Review Commission 

and International Sporting Code Review 

Commission 

Chairmen of Stewards for Formula One 

CAMS’ FIA Delegate 

Observer at all CAMS board meetings 

Former positions: 

Chairman of Rally Australia Organising 

Committee, 1988 - 2002 

Chairman of Rally Australia Organising 

Committee, 2008 - 2009 


FAMOUS STAGES: LANGLEY PARK 

For 11 years, Rally Australia’s Langley Park Super 

Special Stage set the standard for which all future 

WRC stages would be judged on. 

Many will argue that it’s never been bettered. 

LANGLEY 

PARK 


Juha Kankkunen (Lancia Delta) and 

Carlo Sainz (Toyota Celica) face off at 

Langley Park at Rally Australia in 1992. 

Story: JEFF WHITTEN 

Photos: MARTIN HOLMES 



From 1992 to 2002 it was easily 

the most well-known Super 

Special Stage in the World Rally 

Championship. 

Langley Park, at the foot of Perth’s 

central business district, provided 

unforgettable images of the Perth 

skyline to millions of rally fans right 

around the world, and set the bar so 

high for WRC spectator stages that 

many believe it is yet to be beaten. 

Nowhere else in the WRC calendar 

had such an easily-recognisable venue, 

thanks to the foresight of the event’s 

organisers many years ago. 

But five other venues were used as 

Rally Australia’s “showpiece” before 

Langley Park came about. 

In the event’s first year, 1989, when it 

was sponsored by the Commonwealth 

Bank, Rally Australia commenced with 

stages at Richmond Raceway in East 


Fremantle, just a few kilometres to the 

east of central Perth. The venue proved 

to be a great introduction to rallying for 

the huge crowd who attended, despite 

the wet weather. 

Although it may not have been ideal, 

it did at least bring special stage rallying 

to Australians. The now-famous Langley 

Park stage was still just a pipe dream 

for the organisers. 

Richmond Raceway, the city’s popular 

trotting track complex, was used again 

in 1990, but it was becoming obvious 

that there was insufficient room there 

for not only the huge crowds, but the 

increasingly-large contingent of service 

and support vehicles that followed the 

World Rally Championship. 

A major step forward in bringing 

rallying to the people occurred in 1991 

when the cosmopolitan suburb of 

Northbridge, to the city’s north, played 

Francois Delecour jumps his Ford 

Escort Cosworth with the Perth city 

skyline in the backgroun in 1993. 

host to a Super Special Stage. 

Northbridge, with its trendy cafes 

and bars, was an ideal location in which 

to showcase rallying’s excitement, 

appealing as it did to the young and 

impressionable people who frequented 

the area. 

With the co-operation of the Perth 

City Council, the streets of the suburb 

were transformed into a life-sized slot 

car track where the world’s best cars, 

drivers and co-drivers were let loose on 

the stage. It proved a huge success, but 

there were immediately concerns about 

the possibility of cars careering into 

the barriers, and of spectators being 

injured. 

As a consequence, popular though it 

was, the Northbridge Super Special was 

never repeated. 

However, the idea of a Super Special 

at Langley Park still looked like the 

ultimate option. Here was an area 

within walking distance of the rally 

headquarters at the Sheraton Hotel, 

offering huge scope for a purpose-built 

super stage, room for scrutineering, 

servicing and a host of other support 

activities, such as rock concerts, 

car shows, sideshows and ancillary 

activities. 

But best of all, it afforded some 

great images of the city skyline 

and business district, by day and 

by night, that could be beamed into 

millions of homes across the world. It 

was the perfect venue – loads of space 

for spectator parking, a controlled area 

that could be easily and quickly isolated 

from mainstream traffic, and all on the 

fringe of the CBD. 

For 11 months of the year, Langley 

Park was reserved as a passive 

recreation area, a haven where the 

public could escape from the hustle and 

bustle of the working week and enjoy 

peace and quiet on the lawns. 

For that one other month though, 

Langley Park was transformed into a 

huge motorsport complex. Thousands 

of truckloads of sand was transported 

in and laid, rolled, compacted and 

watered into the shape of a two-at-atime, 

2.2km. circuit. 

A cross-over bridge was installed 

in the middle of the layout so that 

competing cars could change sides 

during the 2-lap sprint. Finally, 

the adjacent Riverside Drive was 

incorporated into the scheme of things 

to give drivers an end-of-stage blast 

down the bitumen to the finish line. 

Add grandstands for spectators, 

corporate hospitality tents for patrons, 

a seriously-big lighting system and a 

booming public address system, and 

the whole complex took on a carnival 

atmosphere. 

The drivers loved it, the spectators

“For one month a year, 

Langley Park was 

transformed into a huge 

motorsport complex.” 

An artist’s impression of Langley Park 

(below), and how it looked from the 

roof of the Sheraton Hotel (above). 

Prevot co-driving for Aussie Chris 

Atkinson in the 2008 Acropolis Rally. 



“Gloucester Park was fun 

and provided excitement, 

but it was no Langley 

Park.” 

It’s 1993 and Ari Vatanen (Subaru 

Legacy) battles with Francois 

Delecour’s Escort at Langley Park. 


went into overdrive and it was a 

resounding success. 

Some remarkable battles were 

played out at Langley Park over the 

ensuing 10 years – wheel-to-wheel 

battles, roll-overs, crashes and 

exciting finishes, all adding to the 

excitement that pervaded the event. 

And the post-event fireworks displays 

were legendary. 

Minor track layout changes were 

made from time to time, the start/ 

finish location was altered and the 

use of Riverside Drive dropped in 

2001, much to the disappointment of 

spectators. 

But, unknown at the time, 2002 was 

to be the last time that Langley Park 

would be used as the venue for Rally 

Australia’s famous Super Specials. 

It was always known that the cost of 

building and removing the track and 

its infrastructure, plus the restoration 

of the area after the event concluded, 

was nowhere near cost-effective, 

despite its popularity. 

Although the reasons given for a 

change of venue were because of the 

area’s unsuitability for post-winter 

events (the area is basically reclaimed 

land that borders the Swan River), it 

is reasonable to suggest that the real 

reason behind the decision was one 

of cost. 

Moving the stage to the Gloucester 

Park trotting track, where most of the 

infrastructure such as grandstands, 

toilets, parking facilities and the like 

are already in place, made greater 

commercial sense, with (presumably) 

huge savings in cost. 

Gloucester Park was fun and 

provided the excitement of side-byside 

rallying in the heart of Perth, but 

it was never Langley Park. 

With Francois Duval in the 

2004 Rally of Germany. 

Bruno Thiry and Stephane 

Prevot in the works Skoda on 

the 2001 Safari Rally. 


FEATURE: RENAULT ALPINE A110 

QUIRKY, BUT QUICK! 

Unbeknown to many, 

the tiny Renault Alpine 

A110 won the World Rally 

Championship in 1973, 

winning famous events like 

Monte Carlo, Sanremo and 

the Acropolis rallies. 

A few months later, in 1974, an Alpine 

A110 came to Australia and contested 

the Don Capasco Rally (later to become 

the Castrol International), in the hands 

of 1970 Australian Rally Champion Bob 

Watson. 

The quirky car was not only fast, it 

won the rally convincingly. 

Bob Watson takes up the story …. 

Bob Watson and Jeff Beaumont 

in action in the 1974 Don 

Capasco Rally around Canberra. 

When 1973 Australian Rally 

Champion, Peter Lang, 

announced the running of 

a true European-style special stage 

rally to be held in the forests around 

Canberra in 1974, every rally driver in 

Australia wanted to be there. 

The event was sponsored by Don 

Capasco, a brake lining manufacturer, 

although it sounded more like a 

Spanish toreador. 

I had a deal to drive for Nissan in 

1974 with Jeff Beaumont navigating, 

and we had already run two events for 

them. I spoke to Nissan team manager, 

Bruce Wilkinson, about running a car 

in the Don Capasco, but the response 

was negative, even though Mitsubishi, 

Holden and others were fielding strong 

teams. 

Then journalist and Renault publicist, 

Michael Browning, contacted me to say 

that Renault Australia was bringing a 

factory Alpine A110 rally car to Australia 

for a tour of displays in dealerships 

and motor shows. Alpine had won the 

World Rally Championship in 1973. 

This was a fortuitous coincidence. 

Michael convinced Renault that running 

the Alpine in the Don Capasco would be 

a great opportunity to capitalise on the 

car’s presence in Australia. 

Although Renault had withdrawn 

from rally competition in 1973, the 

team’s main mechanics, Enzo Dozzi and 

Bruce Shepherd, were still available, so 

Renault agreed. There were no spares 

for the Alpine, not even wheels and 

tyres, so we had to scratch around 

finding bits and pieces, mainly from our 


Rallycross program. 

The history of Alpine 3698 HK76 was 

unknown, although the presence of 

Moroccan coins under the seats gave 

a clue to its past. It was loaded on to a 

trailer two nights before the start of the 

event, along with a few spare wheels 

and tyres, and towed to Canberra. 

Jean-Pierre Nicolas driving a 

works Alpine A110 on the Monte 

Carlo Rally. (Photo: Holmes) 

Near Yass the tow car and trailer hit 

a big bump and several of the hardwon 

spare wheels and tyres launched 

themselves into the night countryside. 

Some farmer probably still has them in 

his shed. 

Fifty kilometres outside Canberra we 

unloaded the Alpine from the trailer so 

that I could drive it a little way before 

the rally. 

When the engine was started it ran 

on three cylinders, and it had the 

performance of a tired VW. I began 

to question the wisdom of the entire 

exercise. I drove the car in to Canberra, 

and we had a few hours sleep before 

the car was due to be scrutineered. 

Fortunately the engine problem 

was a dislodged spark plug lead and 

after scrutiny and hastily fitting some 

driving lights, the cars were lined up 

for the start. 

Jeff Beaumont and I found the car 

terribly cramped, and the pedals 

were very difficult to operate. They 

were impossible to see and the low 

seating position meant that my feet 

were actually higher than my bum, 

so it all felt very strange. 

Being left hand drive, the gearshift 

was also a problem – instead of 

knowing instinctively which gear I 

was in, it took a lot of concentration 

to select gears. 

The inlet for the twin double choke 

Weber carburettors was inside the 

cabin to prevent dust entry, so on 

hard acceleration it felt as though 

your ears were being sucked inside 

out, and the noise was incredible. 

It was a very warm weekend, 

and with our full driving suits and 


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FEATURE: RENAULT ALPINE A110 

TECH SPEC 

Body: Unitary all glassfibre, central 

steel tube with subframes front and 

rear. 

Motor: 4-cylinder in line, pushrodoperated 

valves, rear-mounted 

1596cc. 155bhp at 7,000rpm. 

Gearbox: 5-speed. 

Suspension: Wishbones in front, swing 

axle with diagonal radius rods in 

rear, plus double dampers 

Brakes: Discs. Weight: 680kg 

helmets, the heat inside the tiny cockpit 

was almost unbearable. 

Those were the bad things. The good 

things more than outweighed them. 

The car was absurdly easy to drive, 

just like a go kart. The steering was very 

direct and responsive and on gravel the 

car felt so precise it was like no other 

rally car I have driven, before or since. 

In spite of the pronounced rear 

weight bias, oversteer was only present 

when provoked, either by flicking the 

car or using lots of power. 

The engine was superb - crisp and 

flexible and with lots of medium range 

torque. The rev limit was 7000rpm, but 

the car was so quick I realised early 

in the event it was not necessary to 

stretch it that far. 

The traction, even on the skinny 165 x 

15 Michelins fitted by the Alpine factory, 

was exceptional, better than our 1970 

championship-winning R8 Gordini. 

It was obvious that barring incidents, 

the car was easily fast enough to win 

over the XU1 Torana of Colin Bond and 

the Datsun 260Z of Stewart McLeod. 

The Don Capasco was a long, hard 

rally, with many of the competitive 

stages being run three times over the 

weekend. I think we did the Mineshaft 

four times. 

There were some minor dramas, 

including a failed starter motor that 

forced Jeff and I to both get out and 

push when I nosed off the road and 

stalled the engine on a stage, and a flat 

rear tyre on the very last competitive 

section. 

We arrived at the final control with 

the rear tyre flapping about, to the 

delight of the assembled TV crews. We 

won the rally by over nine minutes. 

Jeff Beaumont had his own problems, 

which became my problems too. The 

event was the first in Australia run to 

kilometre distances instead of miles, 

and the usual “point two, turn left at T” 

became very exciting with the speed 

of the car and the braking distance 

reduced by a factor of 0.62. 

We went very close to “straight on at 

T” a few times before we realised the 

problem! 

Considering the late start, limited 

service and lack of spares, the win was 

unexpected and all the more satisfying 

for it. Great car, great event. 


FEATURE: HOLDEN BARINA AP4+ 

PROJECT BARINA 

With a massive resurgence 

of interest in New Zealand 

around the AP4 category and 

a seemingly unending willingness to invest 

in the new class, it is not surprising 

that a local manufacturer’s representative 

has joined the fray for 2017. 

The combination of Holden New 

Zealand and Kiwi former V8 Supercar 

driver, Greg Murphy, was a logical one 

to take on the NZ Rally Championship 

under the new rules. 

With the new two-car team looking 

capable of challenging in what is a very 

competitive class, Murph and local rally 

driver, Josh Marston, promise to put 

Holden up in lights during the 2017 

NZRC. 

RallySport Magazine spoke to Josh 

Marston in Christchurch to get the 

low down on the new team and the 

brilliantly-prepared new cars. 

Josh explained that there were a 

number of interested minds looking 

at the new AP4 class at the same time, 

and this project progressed from there. 

“Murph has a great relationship with 

Holden and they are excited about the 

AP4 class and how the Barina fits into 

that,” Marston said. 

While the small to medium car 

market in New Zealand is very 

competitive, the Barina was the only 

Story: TOM SMITH 

Photos: GEOFF RIDDER 

option considered. 

“The AP4 platform requires a car of a 

certain size and the Astra is too large, 

and the Spark is too small. The engine 

is actually from the VXR Astra.” 

Josh expanded on the 

technical specification: 

“The engine is 2.0L 

Ecotec de-stroked to 1.8 

litres, with direct injection 

and a Garrett turbo.” 

To date the team has 

only run the standard 

engine, which makes 

around 300bhp in factory 

trim. This was the setup 

used at the Leadfoot 

Festival in February, and 

Murphy recorded a very 

good sixth overall. The 

team was obviously impressed with the 

performance straight out of the box. 

“The Barinas run the Sadev 6-speed 

gearbox and Sadev rear diff with 

Supashock dampers, and the R5 

Brembo brake package, including 

calipers and discs.” 

While this is a new car built to a nowproven 

formula, and with some Holden 

money behind 

them, unfortunately 

the team is not big 

enough to have 

invested in a test 

mule. 

“I wish!” said Josh. 

“Unfortunately with time and budget 

that wasn’t an option. As it is we will be 

right down to the wire to get the second 

car ready for Otago. 

“We are lucky that we can get the 

set-up work done with the first car 

and then transfer those settings to the 

second car. Having the cars run in the 

same spec will save time and money.” 

The Barinas will be running in the 

AP4+ category with the 1800cc engine, 

so competition weight will be 1300kg. 

Josh confirms that set-up will be the 

biggest development area to get these 

cars right. 

“Most of the cars are relatively similar 

in spec due to the rules and items 

like the geometry being controlled, so 

getting a happy driver is going to be 

key.” 

With a development cost in excess 

of NZ$200,000, these are certainly 

not the cheapest cars in the field, but 

with rumours abounding about the 

money being spent on both sides of the 


Greg Murphy debuted 

the Barina AP4+ at the 

Leadfood Festival. 

Tasman, this is a genuine ground-up 

build, and the Barinas will need to be 

on the pace from the first round. 

Along with Holden, RDL Performance, 

which is part of the 

Marston family business Rubber 

Developments Limited, has put a 

massive amount of work in to produce 

some truly amazing cars. 

With more cars being built through 

the North and South Islands, at the 

start of the season there are likely to 

be around eight AP4 cars on the scene, 

and by the end of the year the numbers 

will be approaching 12. 

With two Holden team Barinas, 

two Toyotas, three Mazdas, a Suzuki, 

a Skoda, a Mitsubishi, a Ford Fiesta 

and a Volkswagen Polo already being 

completed, plus rumours of other 

manufacturers like Kia and Audi joining 

the fold, the AP4 class has reinvigorated 

the New Zealand Rally Championship. 

Josh admits that it’s a very exciting 

time to be involved in rallying. 

“I think it goes to show that Motor 

Sport NZ has got the formula right with 

this new class of car. We’ve received 

some really positive feedback from all 

over the world after we had our launch, 

which is very humbling,” he added. 

Forty-four year-old Murphy will not 

be on the starting line at the Rally 

of Otago, due to a conflict in his TV 

commitments for the Supercar series, 

however, for the remainder of the year, 

the racer will carry his trademark racing 

number #51, and will be co-driven by 

Mark Leonard. 

2017 New Zealand Rally Championship 

April 8 

April 29 

June 4 

August 26 

October 14 

November 25 

Rally Otago 

Rally of Whangarei 

Rally Canterbury 

Rally of Coromandel 

Rally Waikato 

Rally New Zealand 


BOOK REVIEW 

NEW BOOK A CLASSIC READ 

There are few books on sale at 

the moment that are as visually 

attractive as the recently 

released commemorative storybook 

entitled “2016 Classic Outback Trial”. 

This new book, as its name implies, 

is a collection of breathtaking images 

from a unique event that was 

conducted in central Australia in 2016, 

and will be repeated incidentally, again 

in 2018. 

The hard-covered book features 200 

pages and 350 images that not only 

tell the story of the event in words and 

pictures, but describe the event with 

daily wrap-ups of the competitors’ 

performances, maps of the route and 

comprehensive day-by-day results. 

By far the book’s biggest attraction, 

though, is the range of wonderful 

images of the Alice Springs area 

and Central Australia and all its 

grandeur, recorded by some of the 

best photographers in the business 

including Ian Smith, Craig O’Brien, Chris 

Brown and others. 

Every vehicle in the event is shown 

in full colour at least once, plus there 

are several hundred more pictured 

in action against a background of the 

Outback’s extreme beauty and in all 

conditions. 

Alan Baker’s daily narrative tells a 

story of success, heartbreak and a 

fight against the odds and Australia’s 

inhospitable terrain. 

This is the sort of book that would 

make a wonderful gift for any of the 

crews, their service teams, officials and 

others, not to mention any motorsport 

fan that is looking for a quality 

publication. 

It is beautifully presented, printed 

in a coffee table style that just begs to 

be opened more than once. Readers 

will be in awe of the carefully-chosen 

images. 

Thoroughly recommended. 

Copies are available at $77 each plus postage, 

and the Classic Outback Trial organisers can 

quote you on freight for additional copies, or you 

can pick up a copy or two from Classic Outback 

Trial Pty Ltd, 1/533Whitehorse Road, Surrey Hills, 

Vic 3127. 

Download the order form HERE. 

TAILOR-MADE PACKAGES TO 


Sloan Cox 

Topping the most competitive 

10-driver line-up for the King of 

Millen’s Mountain title in the 

Leadfoot Festival’s history, was the 

supremely talented Alister McRae in his 

Vantage Motorsport Subaru WRX STi. 

Rocketing up the 1.6km (mile-long) 

driveway in 49.43 secs, the Scottish 

rally star beat Rotorua’s Sloan Cox in 

his 2004 Hill Climb Special Evo 8, who 

clocked 50.83secs. 

McRae was consistently fast all 

weekend at the Coromandel Peninsula 

event held on Rod and Shelly Millen’s 

ocean-front ranch and was the only 

driver to go under 50secs, in the 

meticulously-prepared Subaru. It was 

running a whopping 850hp (633kW) 

engine and full tarmac specification, 

with bigger brakes, rims and tyres. 

It was the first time the winner’s 

trophy has gone to anybody other than 

a Millen family member and McRae 

says he “managed to get a great run at 

the end there.” When asked if it was the 

perfect run, however, he laughed and 

says “no because Rod’s gone quicker 

than that.” 

His solution – “I’m coming back next 

year!” 

Cox also vowed to return and 

expressed his desire to continue his 

pattern of going one place better each 

year, referencing his third placing at the 

2016 Leadfoot Festival. 

Dean McCarroll, of Mount 

Maunganui, was third in his sports 

prototype 2008 Juno SSE in his second 

time attending the Leadfoot Festival, 

with a time of 51.60secs. He described 

the driveway as “probably the most 

technical, demanding and fear-inspiring 

driveway I’ve ever driven up.” 

In a testament to the event’s 

popularity, the spectator numbers 

doubled from last year’s 14,000 fans. 

While Leadfoot Festival founder and 

ranch owner Rod Millen did not make 

MCRAE TAKES TITLE 

the Top Ten Shootout this year – 

due to his thunderous Toyota Celica 

being out of action – his 1975 Mazda 

RX3 won the 1960 to 1975 category. 

The visiting star drivers had 

nothing but high praise for the 

Leadfoot Festival. Two-time 

Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser 

Junior, of the United States, was 

thoroughly enjoying his debut not 

only at the event but also his first 

visit to New Zealand. 

Top Ten Shootout times 

1. Alister McRae – 1998 Vantage 

Motorsport Subaru WRX Impreza – 

49.43secs 

2. Sloan Cox – 2004 Hill Climb Special 

Evo 8 – 50.83secs 

3. Dean McCarroll – 2008 Juno SSE – 

51.60secs 

4. Ian Ffitch – 2002 BRM 1000 Super 

Quad – 51.72secs 

5. Andrew Hawkeswood – 2016 

Mazda 2 AP4 – 52.22secs 

6. Greg Murphy – 2016 AP4 Holden 

Joe McAndrew 

Alister and 

Jimmy McRae 

Barina – 52.25secs 

1960 – 1975 Category 

1. Rod Millen - 1975 Mazda RX3 - 

52.75secs 

Pre 1960 Category 

1. Robert McNair – 1931 Riley Nine 

Special – 63.33secs 

Best in Show 

1. Al Unser Junior – 1915 Stutz 

PHOTOS: Geoff Ridder 

SUIT YOU 

To advertise in RallySport Magazine call Dominic on 

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


FREQUENT FLY 

INTERVIEW: GLENN MACNEALL 

Perth’s Glenn Macneall is one of Australia’s 

most experienced and decorated co-drivers. 


After stints in the WRC with Toshi 

Arai and Chris Atkinson in the 

Subaru factory squad, Macneall 

still travels the world calling pacenotes. 

When he’s not reading notes for 

Gaurav Gill in the APRC, he’s in Europe 

calling the corners for promising 

Japanese driver Hiroki Arai, or sitting 

beside Brad Markovic in the ARC. 

RallySport Magazine caught up with 

Macneall after Rally Sweden to take a 

look back over his astonishing codriving 

career. 

You have a career going back to the early 

1990s with drivers such as Leigh Hynes and 

Greg Carr. Was co-driving always your first 

choice, and did you ever consider driving? 

Co-driving was always my first choice. 

I’m not sure exactly why but I suppose 

it was my way to get involved from an 

early age. Dad was also a co-driver, so 

perhaps that influenced my thoughts. 

I never considered driving other 

than in something like karts, probably 

because I have had the opportunity to 

work with so many talented drivers. 

You quickly gained a reputation as one of 

the best in your trade and were picked up by 

drivers such as Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima 

and Kiwi Greg Graham. Did you specifically 

chase international rides, or is that just the 

way things worked out? 

I was fortunate in my early career to 

have the help and advice of some great 

Glenn with Chris Atkinson 

in their Subaru WRC days. 

people. Right from the start my dream 

was to become a professional co-driver, 

although I’m not sure my parents were 

so impressed with my career choice. 

To keep them happy I did do a 

university degree, although that was 

more about having more time to go 

rallying. 

As mates, Leigh Hynes and I ventured 

off to the UK in 1995 to do some events 

in the British Championship to see what 

was possible. 

A few months after we arrived, the 

owner of the workshop where we were 

based in Wales received a phone call 

from a team based in Taiwan, looking 

for a driver to do the Asia Pacific 

Glenn Macneall 

DOB: August 4, 1972 

WRC starts: 95 

Best result: 3rd, Rally Japan 2005 

APRC starts: 67 

APRC wins: 12 

First APRC win: Queensland 2010 

Asia-Pacific Rally Champion 2013, 2016 

Championship. One conversation led 

to another and we got the ride, so it 

was certainly a case of right place, right 

time. 

Whilst driving a SanYong (Taiwanese 

built Honda) may not have been the 

professional career move we were 

dreaming of, it was a paid gig and one 

that really kick started my career. 

I met a lot of good people whilst 

doing the APRC program that first year, 

people like Wayne and Erica Bell who 

were running the Hyundai program, 

and Yoshio Fujimoto, who was the boss 

of Tein Suspension and driving a factory 

supported Toyota. 

The following year Wayne and Erica 

gave me the opportunity to co-drive 

for my childhood idol, Greg Carr, and 

Yoshio took me under his wing and 

would help me to get rides in future 

years. 

After a year spent in the various 

ditches of the Asia Pacific, Leigh decided 

to temporarily hang up his helmet and 

became a mechanic with Possum’s 

team in NZ. When Subaru needed a 

new co-driver for Greg Graham, Leigh 

threw my name in the ring, and so 

started my relationship with Subaru. 


ER 

Co-driving 

for Dean 

Herridge in the 

Australian Rally 

Championship. 

You’ve rallied in some interesting cars, 

including the early front-wheel drive 

Hyundais with Greg Carr, and even a 

Suzuki Baleno station wagon with Tajima. 

What are your memories of some of the 

good and bad cars you’ve sat in? 

I’ve had the privilege to sit in 

some very good cars and, more 

importantly, work with some great 

people. People involved in the sport 

seem to have an incredible amount 

of passion and that is translated 

throughout the teams, and I don’t think 

I’ve ever sat in a ‘bad’ car. 

The Subaru WRC car was great, 

however, in 2006 it seemed to have 

a mind of its own that neither the 

engineers nor the drivers could 

understand. One minute all was good, 

then suddenly it felt like a completely 

different car and it wanted to throw 

you off the road. 

We even spent a week in Sardinia 

testing the car during the season to 

try and understand the issues, but we 

finished the week with about as many 

questions as we started. 

The Skoda Super 2000 and R5 are 

two of the best cars I have sat in. The 

S2000 chassis is amazing and the R5 car 

is an impressive package, the engine is 

strong and the dynamics of the car just 

seem to work. 

Your WRC career kicked off with Toshi 

Arai in a WRC Subaru in 2001, after which 

“While it may not have been 

the career move we were 

dreaming of, it was a paid 

gig and really kick started 

my career.” 

followed factory stints with Dean Herridge 

and Subaru Australia, and then with Emma 

Gilmour in New Zealand. Did you have a direct 

link to Subaru, or were they just the rides 

that presented themselves at the time? 

There wasn’t any direct link with 

Subaru. Certainly once you establish 

a relationship with a sponsor / 

manufacturer it is nice to be able to 

continue it. 

My opportunity with Toshi came via 

his previous co-driver Roger Freeman. 

We were team-mates in 1999 doing 

some Asia Pacific events with a pair of 

Group N Subarus sponsored by Subaru 

Japan. 

In 2001 Toshi got the opportunity to 

compete as the fourth car in the World 

Rally Team and Roger was unable to 

commit to the program, so went into 

bat for me to get the opportunity with 

Toshi. 

Even before this I did a year with 

Greg Graham in the 1999 Australian 

Championship and a few events 

in NZ, supported by Subaru. 

This was my introduction to 

Subaru and I think the first thing 

that struck me was how much 

passion both the brand and their 

fans had for the sport. No matter 

where you are in the world, the 

philosophy of the people involved 

in the brand and the enthusiasm 

their fans have for the cars and 

the sport is constant. 

What are some of your memories with 

Subaru Australia, competing with Dean and 

being team-mate to Possum and Cody? 

I feel quite privileged to have been 

involved in the team during that era. 

Possum was undoubtedly the leader of 

the team and had surrounded himself 

with some equally passionate people, 

so it was hardly surprising that the 

team enjoyed so much success. 

It was also a great time to be involved 

in the sport back at home. Subaru 

faced some very stiff competition 

from Mitsubishi, Toyota and a host of 

strong privateers that made for a very 

competitive championship. 

To be part of such a successful 

and well organised team in a very 

competitive championship at home was 

something that I will always cherish as a 

career highlight. 

Fighting to be in the top 10 was pretty 

memorable, and to be able to compete 

together with a good mate of mine in 



Dean Herridge was unique. We had 

been friends from an early age when 

our parents were competing against 

each other. 

Winning Group N at Rally NZ and 

then winning the Rally of Canberra with 

Dean were two great memories from 

this time. 

The death of Possum was a massive shock. 

How did that effect the team at the time? 

Indeed it was an enormous shock. 

He was the driving force behind the 

team and his passion for the team and 

the sport was massive. 

At the time the whole team had 

to step up and collectively take on 

the responsibility of continuing the 

success that Possum had achieved. 

Cody did a superb job in the Australian 

Championship to continue the winning 

streak, and Dean backed that with 

some great international results and 

playing a great role as a team-mate, 

which at times helped Cody to achieve 

championship success. 

You first sat beside Chris Atkinson at 

Rally Australia in 2004, winning Group N and 

finishing fifth outright. Is this the event that 

kick-started your career even further, and 

how did the linking with Chris come about? 

Not many people know, but I actually 

did an Asia Pacific event with Chris in 

China prior to Rally Australia. Although 

that didn’t end so well, with us rolling 

the car on the first stage. 

Chris had spent the previous evening 

in a Chinese hospital, so perhaps wasn’t 

really in the best condition to be going 

rallying. 

Chris had a great group of people 

around him helping to plan and map 


L-R: Craig Vincent, 

Possum Bourne, 

Greg Graham and 

Glenn Macneall. 

out his career. They had a path in mind 

for him and they initially had a chat 

with me earlier that year, and as the 

year went on things got a little more 

serious. 

At the time it was a tough decision to 

leave Dean (Herridge) with one round 

of the season to go. 

Chris and his team had big things 

planned for the following season and 

they believed that a good result at Rally 

Australia was instrumental in helping 

to set that up, so in the end it was too 

good an opportunity to pass up. 

What actually happened the following 

year was far in excess of what they had 

previously proposed. The result at Rally 

Australia that year really caught the 

eye of the Subaru World Rally Team, 

and we were offered an exceptional 

opportunity that would see us in a WRC 

car for the WRC the following year. 

You then spent two and a half years with 

Atko in the factory SWRT in the WRC. Was 

this a dream come true? 

For sure competing in the WRC with 

a professional team again was pretty 

special. I had been there in 2001 so it 

was nice to come back to a place you 

know a little bit with some familiar 

faces around. 

And to do it with one of the most 

talented drivers to ever come out of 

Australia made it even more special. 

What was it like to sit beside a star driver 

in one of the fastest rally cars on the planet? 

Interesting! Chris is an immense 

talent, someone that is able to extract 

the most from a car and someone who 

is exceptionally committed. 

The first few years certainly had its 

share of interesting moments - there 

was never a dull moment. Winning 

stages and standing on a WRC podium 

are some very good memories of our 

time competing together. 

You took a podium finish in Japan with 

Chris in 2005. Was this the highlight of those 

years with SWRT? 

It was a great result to be standing on 

the podium in Japan, but I think for me 

the highlight was Rally Australia in 2005 

and 2006. We lead the rally both years 

early in the event. To lead your home 

WRC event was a great memory. 

In 2005 we had a mechanical issue 

which cost us two and a half minutes 

and we finished fourth, less than two 

minutes behind, so whilst it wasn’t the 

ultimate result, we were quick and we 

fought back, missing the podium by just 

six seconds. 

Glenn and Toshi Arai, 

Rally of Spain 2001.

“I had no doubt that 

Chris had the speed, 

just somehow he 

needed to tame the 

temperament.” 

The first time we set fastest stage 

times in NZ 2005 was also special. In a 

strange way, finishing fourth at Monte 

Carlo was one of the most rewarding 

results, particularly as it came by 

winning the last stage to beat Mikko 

Hirvonen into fourth by 0.2 of a second 

The partnership with Chris ended after five 

events in 2007. Why was this? 

Those first few years in the WRC for 

Chris were filled with incredible speed 

and quite a few incidents. 

After our Portugal accident I didn’t 

think I could help find a way forward at 

that time. I had no doubt that Chris had 

the speed, just somehow he needed 

to tame the temperament. It wasn’t 

an easy decision, I loved what I was 

doing, but when I didn’t believe I could 

contribute the way I wanted too, it was 

time to call time. 

I actually felt quite privileged in 2012 

(when Stephane couldn’t do some 

events with Chris) to be able to come 

back and compete with him again in a 

World Rally Car at the WRC. This was a 

great opportunity, and it felt like closing 

the chapter properly, rather than 

leaving the ending hanging mid-season 

in 2007. 

Although it was only two events, I 

really enjoyed being back in the car 

together and I remember thinking that 

it just felt like old times. 

Moving forward, you’ve won APRC titles 

with Gaurav Gill, who has been your main 

driver since 2010. How much has his driving 

developed over the past seven years - clearly 

he’s become one of the fastest drivers in the 

Asia-Pacific region in that time. 

Gaurav is a class driver, one that is 

often underrated. His success against 

some quality team-mates speaks 

volumes of his speed. 

I have seen him develop from 2007, 

when he was a young driver with very 

limited experience. Back then he knew 

how to drive fast, but at times that was 

achieved with very limited mechanical 

sympathy, something that gave the 

mechanics plenty of work. 

Over time he has matured into a 

class act and he is continually looking to 

improve. 

He has a great team around him with 

the Race Torque guys being amongst 

the best I have worked with. 

You’ve also kept your ARC resume up to 

Atkinson and Macneall on the 

2006 Monte Carlo Rally. 

date, sitting beside Brad Markovic and Mark 

Pedder. Do you still enjoy the ARC rounds, 

or do the overseas events offer more of a 

challenge for a co-driver? 

Absolutely, I enjoy any rallies that I 

do! The day that I stop enjoying it will 

be the day that I hang up my helmet. 

I love competing here and at home. 

Brad is a great mate and we have a lot 

of fun when we compete together. He is 

a lot better driver than he gives himself 

credit for. 

I think Mark is pretty similar to Brad, 

both great guys, both love their rallying 

and both very talented behind the 

steering wheel. 

I think any rally, no matter what 

level, offers a challenge for the crew. 

I did some club rallies with a young 

apprentice that worked for me in NZ 

when I was living there, and whilst at 

times he was ‘pretty loose’ shall we 

say, I get a real sense of satisfaction 

from helping to pass on some of the 

knowledge that I have been lucky 

enough to be able to gather over my 

years of competing. 

This year you’re contesting a WRC program 



“His hand speed in 

the car is something 

that is really quite 

impressive.” 

with Japan’s Hiroki Arai. You’ve done seven 

events together now - do you see a big future 

for the son of Toshi? 

Hiroki is a class driver who has an 

immense passion for the sport. He 

hasn’t got a lot of experience, but he is 

very talented and someone that learns 

very quickly. 

His hand speed in the car is 

something that is really impressive. 

The Toyota Challenge program that 

he is a part of offers the opportunity 

to gain the experience, so if he can put 

in the hard work, combined with doing 

the kilometres, I think he has a bright 

future. 

With the right people and budget in 

place, he has a great opportunity to 

develop into a world class driver. So 

yes, I see a big future for him. 

Japan doesn’t have a history of successful 

rally drivers. What’s the biggest challenge 

drivers from Japan face in the WRC? 

To be honest I’m not really sure. 

Hiroki’s father, Toshi, was quite 

successful as a Group N driver, but that 

success didn’t really carry over to the 

World Rally Car. 

Having said that, he was very 

competitive in Cyprus, finishing fourth 

overall in a WRC car. The roads on that 

event are the most similar to those 

found in Japan. 

Perhaps the style of rallies and roads 

in Japan limit the level of experience 

that drivers from Japan get at a young 

age. 

You were seventh in the WRC2 class in 

Sweden after a puncture. Was it a good event 

for you both, other than that? 

Sweden was all about gaining 

experience and we certainly did that! 

Several top five stage times in WRC2 

showed the potential and speed that 

Hiroki has. 

Macneall has seen Gaurav Gill 

(above)develop as a driver in the 

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. 


Japan’s Hiroki Arai (below) is a rising 

star in the Tommi Makinen Racing 

team and is showing good speed, 

as seen in Sweden (above). 

Fan favourite: 

Japan 2005. 

A broken suspension arm on the 

second last stage of Saturday also 

provided a few interesting moments. 

Given it was Hiroki’s fourth ever snow 

rally and first time using the wider WRC 

snow/ice tyre, the team were really 

impressed with his speed, which was 

similar to that of ex-Ford factory driver 

Eric Camilli. 

As part of Tommi Makinen Racing, you 

would have been involved in the team’s 

celebrations after Jari-Matti’s victory. 

What do you think this means for the team, 

and how much of a surprise do you think the 

win was for Tommi Makinen Racing? 

To be honest, whilst the team never 

expected to be winning events so early, 

I don’t think people in the team are 

surprised at the competitiveness of the 

car. 

A significant amount of work has 

gone into developing the car. Many 

comments have been made about 

the team being based in Finland, but 

one of the major benefits of this is the 

availability of testing locations close to 

the team base. 

Within the team there seems to be a 

good harmony. Some of the mechanics 

in the team I have known over the years 

from other big teams, and they are 

really impressed with the way the car 

has been conceived and developed. 

Finally, what’s left for Glenn Macneall to do 

in rallying? 

To keep enjoying it. I get the biggest 

kick out of working with people to help 

them achieve whatever it is they are 

looking for in our sport. 

I have had many great people help 

me over my career, so I would like to 

continue to pay that forward by helping 

the next generation as they come 

through. 

- PETER WHITTEN 


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5 MINUTES WITH .... 

5 

minutes with ... 

ERROL BAILEY 

Errol Bailey is a veteran of Australian 

rallying, and long-time Clerk of Course 

for the International Rally of Queensland. 

Story: TOM SMITH 

From memory, you’ve been an active Clerk 

of Course since the 4GY Queensland Rally 

Championship rallies that started in about 

1987. How does it feel to still be doing this 

nearly 30 years down the track? 

Actually my first event as Clerk of 

Course was the Armstrong Nissan QRC 

in 1984, so I’ve been involved for almost 

33 years. 

I’m still as passionate as ever – I 

love motorsport and the family that is 

involved in it. 

From your perspective, what’s been the 

greatest change from the ‘organiser’s point 

of view? 

Greater involvement with local 

stakeholders (police, forestry, local 

government) for permissions and 

compliance issues. 

You have established a key group of 

supporters and officials over the years who 

kept coming back year after year. What’s the 

secret to such a successful team? 

Mentoring them to become team 

players, and ensuring they enjoy being 

involved. 

You have also established great working 

relationships with a lot of ARC competitors 

over the years at the highest level. Who’s 

your favourite and why? 

It’s hard to go past the late and great 

Possum Bourne who, whilst being ultra 

competitive, never lost the common 

touch, and was always up for a chat 

with all and sundry. 

The lovely Coral Taylor comes a very 

close second for the same reasons, 

but she is under pressure from Simon 

Evans. 

What do you consider to have been a 

couple of your biggest successes with the Qld 

50 

Photos: | RALLYSPORT 

Red 

MAGAZINE 

Bull Content 

- MARCH 

Pool 

2017 

ARC over the years? 

The super special stage 

around the streets of 

Caloundra in 2011 is an 

obvious standout, and the 

super special stage at the 

Nambour Showground with 

two cars on the track at the 

same time was awesome to 

watch. 

Some nicknames stick…. 

you had one of the best when 

you were christened ‘The 

Barghwan’ thanks to the orange 

army during a couple of years of 

Coates Hire sponsorship in Qld. 

Do you recall that nickname 

with good humour? What 

nickname followed, if any? 

Yes, The Barghwan: 

“leader of the orange 

people” was pretty special, and also 

marked Coates’ first ever sponsorship 

of a national rally. 

Another nickname that has stuck is 

“B1”, which came from Jeremy Browne 

when I was his deputy for the early 

Classic Adelaide tarmac rallies. (FYI - 

B2 is my brother Rod, and B3 is the 

current Rally of Queensland Clerk of 

Course, Brian Everitt). 

With a pedigree over so many years at 

the highest level, and having seen the sport 

change in many ways (legal risks, social 

impacts, environmental requirements), what 

do you think we need to do to keep the sport 

alive for years to come? 

Whilst there are cars and roads, there 

will always be rallies, however, the sport 

must promote itself as being socially 

and environmentally responsible, whilst 

also being attractive to sponsors. 

Without increasing levels of 

sponsorship at all levels, the sport will 

find it difficult to grow as organisers 

and competitors face ever-increasing 

costs of being involved. 

Are you over it yet? 

Hopefully the only thing that will stop 

me is the politics – we are all trying to 

make something happen for the benefit 

of all involved. Why do those with egos 

think they have a right to spoil it for the 

great majority who are enjoying “doing 

their thing” for the overall enjoyment of 

others? 

Do you think you’ll keep going for some 

years to come? 

My eldest grandson has just received 

his licence and is enjoying his freedom, 

albeit on red ‘Ps’. He recently competed 

in his first khanacross under the 

watchful eye of his father Matthew, 

his uncle Michael, and of course his 

grandfather. 

Do you reckon I’ll keep going for 

some years to come? You betcha! (I’ve 

got nine more grandchildren to go!) 

What would Errol Baily do in retirement? 

Dave Wood and I have plans to 

terrorise rallies in hotted up mobility 

scooters – watch out for the old farts!

2017 OTAGO RALLY 

MÄRTIN RETURNS FOR OTAGO RALLY 

Estonian, Markko Märtin, will return 

to contest the 2017 Stadium Cars 

International Otago Classic Rally in a 

Ford Escort RS1800. 

Märtin, together with Belgian codriver 

Stéphane Prévot, won the 2016 

event and head back to Dunedin to 

not only defend their title, but renew 

acquaintances with friends made last 

year. 

Markko Martin and Stephane Prevot 

return to the Otago Rally for 2017. 

Driving the black and gold Rossendale 

sponsored Escort, Märtin was the star 

of the 2016 event, eventually taking 

victory by over two and a half minutes. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time in 

Dunedin last year, and to have the 

opportunity to return to the rally again 

is fantastic,” Märtin said. 

“I met a lot of great people last year, 

and having the chance to catch up with 

them again will be a lot of fun. 

“Of course driving the Rossendale 

Escort again on the wonderful Otago 

roads will also be something to look 

forward to,” he said. 

Markko won’t have it all his own way 

this year, with four-time Australian Rally 

Champion, Simon Evans, also on the 

Classic Rally entry list. 

Others, such as Marcus van Klink, 

Derek Ayson, Stewart Reid and Jeff 

David – all Otago Rally regulars – will 

also be in the hunt for victory. 

The 2017 Otago Rally is also the 

first round of the New Zealand Rally 

Championship. 

Starting at Dunedin’s Octagon on 

Friday, April 7, the event features 14 

special stages on Saturday and Sunday, 

with a competitive distance of nearly 

285 kilometres. 

A field of over 100 cars is expected. 

Markko Märtin was the star 

of last year’s Otago Rally. 

Photo: Peter Whitten 


FROM CARRERA PANAMERICANA 

FROM PANAMERICANA IT STA 

Story: 

MARTIN HOLMES 

Motor sport has a long tradition 

in Mexico. There were 

no fewer than 15 Grand Prix 

races held in the country, there were 

the legends of the racing brothers Rodriguez, 

the dusty endurance Baja 1000 

off-road race, the 1970 London Mexico 

marathon and its 1995 re-run, the 

American single-seater championship 

races run at Monterrey and Mexico City 

- and even an FIA World Production Car 

rally champion in Benito Guerra. 

Through all this history the Carrera 

Panamericana races were the most 

emotive. Run for five years from 

1950-1954, these events were a crazy 

amalgam of glory and tragedy. 

It was the occasion the great 

competition teams from Europe like 

Ferrari, Lancia, Mercedes, Gordini, 

Alfa Romeo and Porsche went racing 

head-to-head with the top teams from 

North America along the open roads in 

Mexico. 

The event was conceived as a way for 

proving to the people of Mexico that, 

just like similar events had earlier done 

in South America, arterial roads had 

now been built to allow people to travel 

from one end of the country to another. 

Roads were a way to unite the people in 

the country - and were there to provide 

the chance to race! 

Guy Lassauzet, a long time motor 

sport enthusiast, recalls how rallying 

first started in the country. 

“My father Rene was a course official 

in the Panamericana in the ‘fifties. It 

was quite an international occasion. 

Most of the competing cars were 

American, but the event also created 

considerable interest in Europe. 

“My father became friends with Louis 

Chiron, the Monagasque Grand Prix 

driver who came each year to the race. 

Chiron said it was first necessary to 

form a club before starting to organise 

a rally. 

“The first rally in Mexico was called 

the Rally Morelos and held in October 

1954. It was two days long and the 

drivers had to select a preferred 

regularity average speed suitable for 

the car they drove, even though they 

had no idea of the sort of roads they 

would have to take! 

“Of course the only navigational 

instrument in those days was the car’s 

standard distance recorder.” 

The French had started to influence 

Mexican motorsport. Regularity 

sections were the foundation of 

national rallying until 1988. 

One of a group of Frenchman who 

emigrated to Mexico was the rally driver 

Jean Trevoux, four times Monte Carlo 

winner in the days when regularity 

sections were the competition style of 

the event. He went to Mexico to watch 

the Panamericana, liked it and the life 

so much that he never went home! 

The French were not alone. Swiss 

born Franco Soldati, who later became 

President of the Mexican federation 

FMAD after becoming the country’s top 

rally driver, explained: 

“Mexico was a poor country and 

import restrictions severely limited the 

opportunities to import cars. Some 

foreign drivers were able to import cars 

to Mexico just for the race, if they then 

drove them to their home countries, 

even as far away as Argentina, 

afterwards. 

“In 1962 the commercial borders 

were completely closed to imported 

cars. Only cars made in Mexico 

Kristian Sohlberg pushing 

hard on the 2007 Rally 

Mexico in his Subaru 

Impreza. (Photos: Holmes) 


RTED 

Mark Higgins, Mitsubishi Lancer 

Evo IX, 2007 Rally Mexico. 

were available to buy, which limited 

sportsmen to GMs, Fords, Chryslers, 

Nissans and Renaults.” 

At that time, Ford were the greatest 

commercial supporters of rally sport, 

but only with large American based 

cars. 

“These big front-engined, rear-drive 

American cars were spectacular to 

watch, but tyre wear was a well known 

automotive problem in Mexico. Back 

in the Panamericana days, many of the 

foreign competitors found the Mexican 

roads so abrasive that they ended up 

by using tyres made for trucks, and 

they could not withstand being driven 

fast!” 

A 

few years after the first group 

of French racing enthusiasts in 

the ‘50s, the Suberville family arrived. 

They were about to play another 

major role in the evolution of Mexican 

rallying. 

It was in the ‘seventies and the 

‘eighties, when it became obvious that 

performance rallying was the only 

serious way to progress in the sport. 

Soldati: “I had seen in Europe what 

performance rallying was like and knew 

we needed to go the same route. The 

Subervilles felt the same way and they 

undertook to run special stage rallies 

for the national championship. 

“These became the standard style 

in Mexican rallies from 1993, and the 

brothers have worked all the time to 

upgrade the standard to such a point 

that Mexico was able to enter the world 

championship.” 

Things finally seemed to be pulling 

together. Juan Suberville admits he first 

had the vision of a world championship 

Franco Soldati 

rally in Mexico in 1999. By 2000 he had 

put on the first rally in the quest for a 

world qualifying event. 

“Money was, of course, the first major 

hurdle. Our family put personal assets 

into the project, and things finally seem 

to be going in the right direction, but it 

hasn’t been easy. 

“There are various specific factors 

we have to face. For example, to be a 

world championship rally it was better 

to be a gravel event. Here in Mexico 

drivers prefer asphalt events, because 

these are less damaging on the cars. 

“It is also a pity that Mexican drivers 

are not competitive with those from 

other countries, but a lot is due to 

the availability here of cars currently 

suitable for rallying. This, however, 

seems to be changing for the better.” 

Patrick Suberville 

“The next challenge has been 

achieving compatibility with 

international regulations,” continued 

Juan Suberville. “This has been a major 

hurdle in our work. 

“Our first major international rally 

was the Rally America in 2000 when 

the total number of cars completely 

complying with FIA rules was one. We 

have come a long way in the right 

direction in the next three years.” 

“In 2001 Ramon Ferreyros came from 

Peru and won in a Toyota Celica GT 

Four, the following year Peugeot (the 

factory team doubtless encouraged 

by the future world championship 

potential of the event) sent Harri 

Rovanpera with a World Rally Car. 

“For 2003 the organisers invited 

international Group N drivers, no fewer 


FROM CARRERA PANAMERICANA 

than five of whom (Daniel Sola, Ramon 

Ferreyros, Janusz Kulig, Marcos Ligato and 

Patrick Richard) were active contenders 

in the FIA Production Car World Rally 

Championship. 

“There was not only a good spread of 

talent, even more important, it was a very 

close run event. In the first six stages 

there were three different leaders. The 

rest of the story is well established.” 

The spirit of Carrera Panamericana 

is never far away. Silao, a town 

close to Leon, was the scene of 

the most distressing moment in the 

Panamericana history, when the Lancia 

works driver, Felice Bonetto, crashed to 

his death. 

Bonetto, even at 50 years old, was 

an accomplished Grand Prix driver and 

teammate to the great racing drivers of 

his day. He loved the Panamericana, 

even though it had been an unlucky event 

personally. 

On the 1953 event he was driving a 

works Lancia D24 sports car and entered 

the town flat-out. The car launched 

itself into the air when it struck a “vado”, 

a traditional washaway, which crossed 

the road at right angles. The racing car 

cartwheeled through the air for 75 metres 

before crashing into a roadside building. 

The driver was crushed in the impact 

between the car and the house and was 

fatally injured. Spectators then carried 

him nearby and laid his body on the steps 

of the town’s cathedral, where he passed 

away. 

Snr Carlos Patlan (left) 

and Guy Lassauzet at the 

Memorial to Felice Bonetto 

in 2003. 

Some days before the start of the 2003 event I drove to 

Silao to look for the place, without success. Two days 

later I went with Guy Lassauzet in the hope of being 

more successful. 

Our plan was to drive into Silao and look for anyone over 

70 years old. We soon spotted a gentleman talking to friends. 

We later learned he was 82. 

My colleague asked if he could help, and his face changed 

when he heard what we asked. Snr Carlos Patlan almost 

turned white. 

No, he didn’t live in Silao in 1953, but had travelled from 

Guanajuato (35km away) to watch the one and only event of 

any excitement in the area. Yes, he remembered the crash. 

He had in fact helped move the wrecked D24 out of sight 

so the later running drivers would not know what had 

happened. He took us to the place where plaques were 

mounted on the wall of the house. 

He described exactly how the car had impacted the house 

and why the washaway was there, to conduct rainwater to 

nearby ponds in an effort to control foot and mouth cattle 

disease. 

With tears in his eyes he recalled the scene as though it was 

yesterday, astonished that people 50 years later would ever 

want to know about it. 

In following years the Rally Mexico organisers located 

a holding control in Silao just round the corner from that 

fateful location. It was like the spirit of the rally could not 

escape the memories of those formative days, even if it tried. 

Where else but Mexico? 


FEATURE: JOCHI KLEINT 

By MARTIN HOLMES 

THE ALMOST 

FORGOTTEN 

GERMAN 

Ask the fans who is the most 

famous German rally driver and 

immediately the name Walter 

Rohrl, who twice became World Champion, 

springs to mind. 

After a pause, people will remember 

Armin Schwarz, and a little later, Achim 

Warmbold. 

Look down the list of rally champions 

and you will find there have been a 

surprisingly high number of German 

rally champions. In the first 10 years 

of the European championship, there 

were eight Germans. 

One name, however, keeps slipping 

away, only later to be suddenly and 

very fondly remembered. This is Jochi 

Kleint, who among his achievements 

was also a European champion. 

Although his rally successes were 

largely at the wheel of cars from the 

rival German team, Opel, Klaus-Joachim 

Kleint is engrained in the Volkswagen 

archives as being the driver who scored 

the first success for the legendary little 

Golf GTi, and then for something really 

dramatic, the fearless driver of the twin 

engined Golf at Pikes Peak. 

To honour his special position in 

the history of Volkwagen’s 50 years of 

motorsport in 2016, Jochi was one of 

the Guests of Honour at a company 

presentation last September in Berlin. 

Jochi is a spritely 68 year old, still 

enjoying a most exciting working life 

behind the wheel, teaching customers 

the correct way to drive the R8 V10 Plus 

supercar at the Audi Driving Experience. 

Supercar performance was a 

distant dream when Jochi and 

his older brother, Ernie, began 

work in their father’s garage in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. 

An incredible story 

emerged. 

“Our father raced motorcycles and 

Jochi Kleint on his way to third place in the 

1981 Monte Carlo Rally, and (above) with 

the twin-engined Pikes Peak Golf. 


FEATURE: JOCHI KLEINT 

Jochi Kleint on his way to a class win in a 

European Championship rally in 1977. 

with Ernie we set up a rally team. In 

1970 Ford invited us to run carburettor 

version 2.6 litre Capris, one for Ernie 

and one for me. 

“They were hardly a competitive 

match for the cars like the new Escorts, 

but for the contemporary long distance 

rallies they were very reliable and good 

to drive, even though the bonnet was 

very long! 

“A very special person then joined 

our team. This was Walter Rohrl. We 

signed him up for an annual fee of 250 

Deutchmarks...!” 

The Kleint team was Walter’s 

springboard to a professional career 

which started with Opel in 1973. Jochi’s 

life in Capris went on till the end of 

1974. 

Meanwhile, Jochi’s exploits with 

the Capri name also became 

internationally established 

when he finished 10th overall on the 

1970 RAC Rally in Britain, but this time 

his talent was noted not only in Europe, 

but also in Japan. 

This was bizarre. It seemed that 

Rauno Aaltonen, who had bravely been 

rallying the similarly long bonnet 240Zs, 

was talking with Datsun’s competition 

chief Takashi Wakabayshi about Jochi. 

‘Waka’ then arranged for Oda 

Dencker-Andersson, the drivermanager 

of the Datsun team in South 

Africa, to approach Jochi about rallying 

Datsuns in her country. 

Kleint’s evident expertise in secret 

route rallying helped start up the 

second chapter in his rally life, teaming 

up with the legendary Sarel van der 

Merwe as Datsun South Africa’s 

teammate for 1975 and 1976. 

Then the Volkswagen chapter came 

along. This was the first time that the 

Volkswagen factory, whose 10 previous 

years in motorsport had centred on 

Jochi Kleint - the almost forgotten German 

rally driver. 

Formula Vee racing round the world, 

officially went rallying. 

The 1977 Sachswinter Maktredwitz 

Rally was a major debut for VW. Only 

months earlier the company launched 

the Golf GTI, the world’s original “Hot 

Hatch” production car, and rallying 

was chosen as a way to develop the 

image. Jochi’s car won its class and the 

legendary story had begun. 

After two seasons with VW, Jochi 

moved on to the most successful part 

of his career at Opel, starting off in 

1979 driving both Ascona B and Kadett 

GT/E, before embarking on a mixed 

programme of WRC, ERC and German 

championship events with the Ascona 

400. 

It began well, Jochi winning the 1979 

European championship. 

“It was quite a different life for 

me. There were so many rallies that 

we were living from one suitcase to 

another. We had a lot of good results. 

In 1982 Walter joined Jochi in the 

team and they drove Rothmans 

Opel Ascona 400s. A German-driver 

dream team of old friends. Walter 

concentrated on WRC events and Jochi 

on German rallies. 

Traditional style cars were under 

pressure from the new generation 

of four-wheel-drive, turbocharged 

rally cars. Jochi’s best WRC 

result was on the 1981 Monte Carlo 

Rally, on his second year with Opel Euro 

Handler team. He and Gunter Wanger 

finished in third place after a quiet 

event, on the occasion when the focus 

of the sporting world was now on the 

revolutionary times of Hannu Mikkola’s 

Audi Quattro. 

The two-wheel drive mid-engine 

Renault 5 Turbo eventually won the 

event. 

“Then in the 1982 Monte Carlo Rally 

I was locked in a battle with Walter. I 

was in front, then he would be in front,” 

Jochi recalls. 

After the first leg the Asconas were 

lying 1-2, but then on the long second 

loop Jochi punctured and dropped 

down to fourth. 

On the last night he went off the road 

and eventually finished seventh, while 

Walter won. 

“For me the highlight memory was 

our good tyre decision at Burzet. I 

caught Walter and drove behind him 

for a long time, but he still continued 

driving fast. I knew I couldn’t overtake 

him!” 

After two seasons commuting to 

events in South Africa it was back to VW 

for Jochi from 1985 to 1987, competing 

initially in selected WRC events with 

eight valve Golf GTIs, then later in 1987 

and 1988 with 16 valve cars, upholding 

the interests of two-wheel-drive VWs 


in selected ERC and German 

championship events. 

And in 1985 there was something 

very special, perhaps the most 

exciting adventure of all, the 

special twin-engined Pikes Peak 

project Golfs. 

Each engine provided the power 

for its own axle. Three times Jochi 

competed on the Colorado state 

hillclimb. 

“The Pikes Peak car was 

something different, it was 

incredible, 0-100km/h in 3.4 

seconds. I finished third in 1985 

and was awarded ‘Rookie of the 

Year’, in 1986 I was fourth, and on 

the final attempt in 1987 I was up 

against our old friend Rohrl, now in 

an Audi Quattro. 

“Walter won the race and I 

stopped on about the last corner 

when a wheel fell off, so I had to 

complete the last few metres of my 

Race to the Clouds on foot! 

“Our car was terrible to drive. If 

you suddenly had even 200 fewer revs 

going through the rear engine, you can 

imagine the driving style was not so 

funny anymore, especially at Pikes Peak 

with all those drops. 

“At that time we had not so much 

aerodynamics, we don’t have the big 

high spoiler and we had not done much 

testing before. Anyway, it was good 

fun and the Americans, well they were 

really, really absolutely happy, the 

crowd was there to see our funny little 

car with its two engines. 

Jochi Kleint (standing, second from left) with other VW 

motorsport heroes in Berlin in 2016. 

“And the car worked. We had been 

just a little bit faster than Walter at 

halfway.” 

Nowadays, Jochi’s life is still full of 

horsepower, showing customers how 

to drive 500bhp supercars. Why give 

up old habits? 

RACE AGAINST TIME 

Richie Dalton’s Shamrock 

Motorsport team are 

in a race against time 

to have their new Ford Fiesta 

Proto ready for its first event in 

early April. 

Dalton and co-driver John 

Allen are entered in the first 

round of the New Zealand Rally 

Championship, the Otago Rally, 

from April 7 to 9. 

But wiring issues have 

seen delays in getting the car 

finished. 

“I hope we make it. We are 

under pressure with wiring, 

but fingers crossed. It will be 

tight,” Dalton told RallySport 

Magazine. 

A further spanner was thrown 

in the works when a cleaner 

not associated with the team 

accidentally threw out the flyby-wire 

throttle body for the 

car. 

Not only is the throttle body 

valued at $840, there are 

none available in Australia 

for six weeks. 

Luckily for Dalton, fellow 

Irishman, JJ Hatton, had 

one available, getting the 

Shamrock team out of 

trouble in the short term. 

The new Fiesta Proto, 

built in Poland before 

being shipped to Australia, 

is looking magnificent, 

with spectators eager to 

see the car in action in the 

Otago Rally. 

- PETER WHITTEN 

NEW MAJOR SPONSOR 

FOR ALPINE RALLY 

Toperformance Products have signed on as a sponsor 

for the Alpine Rally of East Gippsland, to be held on 

December 1-3 in Lakes Entrance, Victoria. 

The Australian distributors for Koni shock absorbers, 

Toperformance-Koni have been a long-time supporter of 

the Historic Rally Association and the Alpine Rally. 


HOW TO PROMOTE YOURSELF 

Lift your profile 

Every sportsperson has 

a profile. Do you? 

By DALLAS DOGGER 

When you start off competing, you 

don’t know where you are headed. 

The vast majority compete for fun, but 

what if you turn out to be really good at 

rallying? 

Take Harry Bates for example. We 

all know he is the son of multi ARC 

champion Neal Bates, but it would have 

been foolish to presume he would be 

good at rallying just because his dad is. 

Harry has the “knowledge”, the secret 

sauce that means you can hustle a car 

down a stage faster than most. The rest 

of us have varying degrees of talent, 

from pathetic to acceptable! 

Every sport needs these guys. We 

have them too. Harry, Brendan, Molly, 

and others. To succeed commercially 

you need to bring your profile and 

influence to the table for a team. 

It starts with social media. In the old 

days, press releases telling the world 

about your team were essential. With 

social media, it’s a lot easier to get your 

message out and read. 

Rallying is no different. The question 

is often asked: “Why is rallying not on 

the news”? Every sport that is on the 

news has participants and they all have 

a profile. 

Many of Rally Australia’s social media posts achieve reposts 

around the world. 


A good example 

is footballers. 

Every one of them 

is promoted by 

themselves and 

their club. They 

soon become 

household names. 

Drivers and 

co-drivers 

are notorious 

for keeping 

information about 

themselves and 

their teams a 

secret. 

Our sport will rank better with news 

outlets and the general media once 

individuals that participate lift their own 

profiles. 

Here are my top 5 tips to lift your rally 

profile 

• Fill in entry media information 

and provide the event media 

staff with professional images of 

yourself, navigator and car. 

• Have a Facebook page for your 

team, driver and navigator. Post 

about yourself and your team 

every day. 

• Save some funds and present 

your team at events properly. 

Team apparel builds your brand. 

• Build interest in your 

team by tagging media 

outlets on your posts. 

• Keep doing the four 

items above - always. 

Rallying’s future 

success will rely more 

and more on your 

efforts as a team. Event 

media managers often 

scrabble for information, 

photos, background 

material and more. Event 

commentators need your 

background information 

so they can make 

informed comment about 

you and your team. 

Hayden Paddon has 

over 310,000 followers 

on social media. Despite 

his obvious ability behind 

the wheel, Hayden has his 

own brand, and getting 

support with 300,000 

followers is a lot easier than with 10! 

Not everyone, of course, is like 

Hayden. There was a time not so long 

ago when he was like every other new 

kid who went rallying. He built his 

brand early and followed it up with 

results. 

Kennards Hire Rally Australia has 

not only 185,000 + followers, but reach 

around the world. When it posts, the 

rally world pays attention. Globally. 

Every WRC team reposts items the 

event posts. 

They post multiple times per day. 

Imagine if they shared just one of your 

posts, how your brand would be seen 

around the world? Australian rally 

teams, drivers and co-drivers have a 

lot of catching up to do compared to 

others around the world. 

Make no mistake, your personal 

brand is for you to develop. Don’t 

assume others will do it for you. Media 

Managers and events want your 

information. 

It does not matter at what level you 

compete at. Every time you promote 

yourself, your team and your co-driver, 

you help the sport gain profile and 

build your brand. 

I have said it before and I will say it 

again. It’s about you. Not your car. 

We all know the names Greg Norman, 

Steve Waugh and Jarrad Hayne, but I 

have no idea of the brand of gear they 

use. 

They all have a profile and a personal 

brand, and when they promote a brand 

it means something. 

Develop your personal brand and 

profile. You might be surprised what 

doors it may open. 

Note: You will need some results too!

INTERVIEW: ELFYN EVANS 

As the World Rally 

Championship 

heads to Mexico 

for its first round outside 

Europe, who better to 

ask than a globe-trotting 

rally driver for tips on 

how to travel smart. 

Elfyn Evans would 

probably like to spend 

less of his life in airport lounges. But 

as an international rally driver and 

Red Bull athlete competing in the 

FIA World Rally Championship, he’s 

sort of condemned himself to a life 

of departure gates, newsagents and 

baggage reclaims. 

So if travel is a necessary evil, what 

are Elfyn’s tips for making it as easy as 

possible? 

We sat down with the DMACK World 

Rally Team driver to talk suitcase 

essentials, his souvenir purchasing 

policy and, er, crocodile handling. 

So Elfyn, what are the things you always 

take with you on a flight? 

“I always have a ton of electronics in 

my hand luggage, because we take all 

the video footage from previous years’ 

rallies with us to every event. So my 

hand luggage is always a mess, because 

the cables are always tangled up at 

the bottom of my bag. I’ll usually have 

about five hard drives, six GoPros and 

all the rest of it. 

“I always have a training kit, too. I 

carry a TRX system around with me so 

that I can do that anywhere, hang it on 

a hotel door or whatever. 

“It’s easy to go for a run, but if you 

want to do anything else, if you’re away 

on a long-haul for a week and a half, 

you could end up doing no strength 

training at all. So I always take that with 

me. 

“I’ll always have headphones, too, 

because travelling is quite boring really. 

I’m not really a book guy, so I usually 

have some series on the go on the 

laptop just to have something to watch. 

“Before the rally starts, you often 

start your day at seven in the morning, 

come back off recce at four or five 

o’clock, review video footage flat-out, 

go for food, do some more video. 

“It’s nice to have something different 

to watch just before you go to bed. I 

don’t have anything on the go at the 

moment, but I’ve watched all of Sons 

of Anarchy, which was quite good. 

Breaking Bad was good too.” 

Have you ever rocked business class? 

“We’re lucky in that we get to fly 

business class for all the long hauls, 

and that makes a big, big difference 

when you’re going to events. I’ve never 

done first class though, just business.” 

Elfyn’s travel tips 

Do you try and see the sights in the places 

you visit, or can you only do that via PR 

events at the rallies? 

“It depends where it is, really. The 

problem is that the PR events are 

always the night before a rally starts, so 

you’re never really in the frame of mind 

to really enjoy yourself. 

“I think if it was on the Sunday or 

Monday before the rally, it would 

maybe be easier to enjoy it, but it’s 

always a bit of a rush. You’re looking at 

your watch thinking, ‘How much longer 

do we have to stay?’ because you’ve got 

loads of video left to check. 

“We did one with crocodiles and 

snakes though. I held the crocodile, but 

I didn’t go anywhere near the snake!” 

What about trying the local food? 

“To be honest, we get pretty good 

food in the hospitality area. I enjoy 

Italian food a lot, so if I get that I’m 

usually pretty happy.” 

What’s your best purchase from a trip? 

“I never buy anything when I’m away. 

I’m not tight with money, but I’ve got 

very little patience for shopping. I’m 

very much a boys’ toys kind of guy, so if 

I go and buy something, it’s more likely 

to be a motocross bike or something 

like that, rather than buying sh*t while 

I’m away! 

“Normally, I’ll only end up buying 

something if I’ve forgotten something.” 

What’s the favourite country that you’ve 

visited? 

“I like Mexico, just because it’s very 

different. There’s something old school 

about it, but in a good way, like people 

travelling around in the back of pick-up 

trucks. If you did that in the UK, you’d 

be locked up! 

“It’s just really laid back, very cool. A 

bit dangerous, but I think that adds to 

the atmosphere – although I don’t know 

if I’d just go cruising through Mexico 

City! 

“We actually transferred through 

Mexico City for the rally once. We went 

to get a taxi at the airport desk and this 

guy had no idea where the hotel was, 

even though it was just around the 

corner from the airport. 

“We ended up going down these little 

streets in Mexico City and it didn’t feel 

particularly safe. There were people 

standing in the middle of the road 

looking at us and then getting out of 

the way to let us past.” 

What about languages – apart from English 

and Welsh, of course, do you speak any 

others? 

“No I don’t. I was one of those typical 

kids at school who thought, ‘What’s 

the point of learning languages? I don’t 

need to do this’. 

“My Dad [former British Rally 

Champion Gwyndaf Evans] would 

tell me, ‘You should really be doing 

languages’, and obviously he’d travelled, 

been there, done that. But I was the 

14-year-old lad who knew everything 

and I’d decided that languages were 

hard and I didn’t enjoy learning them. 

“But definitely after travelling so 

much over the last few years, I now 

regret that I didn’t take the time to learn 

another language.” 

And finally, what’s your biggest travel tip? 

“I have very little patience, to be 

honest, so maybe I could give a tip to 

the people that take half an hour at 

security checks. Get everything you 

need out of your bags before you get to 

the desk!” 


GIRLS IN RALLYING 

GIRLS STRUTTING THEIR 

STUFF ON THE STAGES 

By TOM SMITH 

Australian co-drivers have 

performed consistently well 

on the world stage, alongside 

Australian drivers and local stars in 

foreign countries, and it’s no secret that 

Australian women are excelling in the 

sport at this time. 

Hot on the heels of the groundbreaking 

achievement of Molly 

Taylor taking her first Australian Rally 

Championship title in 2016, comes 

the recent announcement that for 

2017 Rhianon Gelsomino has signed 

a deal to sit beside Ryan Millen in the 

American Rally Association Series in a 

Toyota RAV4, backed by Toyota USA. 

After competing together in a oneoff 

test event that the new pair won, 

an offer was made for the US-based 

Gelsomino to join the team. 

Gelsomino’s credentials are without 

question, having co-driven for her 

brother Brendan Reeves for a number 

of years (amongst other drivers), and 

accumulating an impressive resume 

along the way. 

Rebecca van der Marel (top right), 

from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, will 

contest rounds of the 2017 European 

and World Rally Championships in 

the factory Opel Netherlands team, 

alongside husband Timo. 

‘Bec’ recently moved back to Australia 

with Timo, and will commute to Europe 

throughout the season. 

Making her name as a co-driver on 

the local scene, Rebecca sat beside her 


brother, Ryan Smart, in rounds of the 

ARC and from 2008-2010 competed in 

a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and a Toyota 

Corolla. 

But these high profile women are 

not the only ones currently competing 

and succeeding at various levels in 

the Australian series and across the 

Tasman. 

The list of female Queensland rally 

competitors is long and impressive, and 

while not exclusive, the following have 

excelled in recent years at all levels. 

Erin Kelly (below right) has one 

Queensland Rally Championship title 

to her name, and has amassed an 

impressive resume in recent years 

sitting beside drivers of the calibre of 

Matt van Tuinen, Adrian Coppin, and 

Mike Young in a Cusco-Proton Satria at 

the Rally of Whangerei in 2014. 

Erin expanded her horizons last year 

by sitting beside Clay Badenoch for two 

successful events in his classic Toyota 

Celica RA40. 

Like Mother, like daughter – and 

Erin’s mother, Cate, is an exceptionally 

skilled and successful co-driver who is 

rarely without a ride in Australia during 

the competition season. 

Cate’s list of drivers is impressive, 

from her husband Keith Fackrell’s 

Escort BDA, through to a number of 

events with Gerald Schofield in his 

Lancer Evo, a seat alongside Kiwi 

hotshot Derek Ayson, and a regular ride 

with Ed Mulligan, including numerous 

NZ events in Ed’s BMW. 

Brisbane driver Kim Acworth (below 

right) occupies the driver’s seat of her 

pretty Team Acshon Subaru Legacy 

RS, notable for its ‘Rothmans’ paint 

scheme. As a regular competitor on 

the Queensland rally scene, Kim is a 

consistent performer. 

Melinda Bergman is another female 

driver who came to local notice under 

her maiden name of Melinda Both, 

and competed with her sister Jasmine, 

achieving success at Targa Tasmania, 

along with a supported Mazda entry in 

2007. 

Margot Knowles (left) is a formidable 

co-driver in Queensland, and has 

achieved success in the Queensland 

championship over many years and 

contested off-road events as well. 

Adding to an impressive competition 

record, Margot has long been active as 

an event organiser and member of the 

Queensland Rally Advisory Panel. 

As one of the stalwarts of rallying 

in Queensland and in much of the 

country over many years, Del Garbett 

is one of Queensland’s most successful 

co-drivers and the holder of four 

Queensland Rally Championship titles. 

Other winners of the Queensland 

Rally Championship co-drivers’ title

DANI’S 

AWESOME 

4-SOME 

in recent years include Jo O’Dell and 

Stephanie Booth, while one of the 

most resilient co-drivers in memory 

must surely be Nikki Doyle, whose 

record beside partner, Dave Gaines, 

in the ‘Fat Lady’ – Australia’s quickest 

Datsun240K – is long and also 

successful. 

To drive home the success of 

women in Queensland rallying 

over recent years, the Queensland 

Clubman Series lists Kylie Smart 

(nee Evans) as the winning driver 

in 2013, while winning co-drivers 

followed in 2014 (Cathy Byrne), 2015 

(Annette Davidson) and 2015 (Annette 

Dragona). 

In 2016, third generation rallyist 

Jennifer Garth took the co-driver’s title 

in the Novice Rally Series. 

While those listed above are 

Queenslanders, every Australian state 

has its own impressive list of ladies 

who have bucked the trend and made 

rallying ‘their’ sport – and with some 

success. 

The number 4 seems to be 

cropping up a lot recently for 

Dani Sordo and Marc Marti. The 

Hyundai crew finished fourth in both 

Monte Carlo and Sweden 2017. 

As we head to Rally Mexico they sit in 

P4 on the season’s points table. From 

his 184 WRC event starts, Dani has 

amassed 894 WRC points. 

Is this a recent thing or has the 4 

always been there? Let’s take a look 

back at Dani’s career to date using 4 as 

a focal point. 

The first time Dani entered Rallye de 

Espana, his home WRC event, was 2003 

driving a class N4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 

VII. He finished 18 th overall, one place 

ahead of Kris Meeke. 

During 2004 Dani ventured outside 

of Spain to gain further experience on 

WRC stages. In total he did 4 events 

with Carlos del Barrio as his co-driver. 

When Rally Mexico joined the WRC 

in 2004 it was Marc Marti sitting in car 

number 04 calling notes for Carlos 

Sainz. They finished third in Mexico 

and would end the season 4 th overall. 

2005 was the year Dani and Marc 

won the FIA’s Junior WRC. During the 

year they had 4 class victories from 

seven starts. Their Citroen C2 S1600 

had number 41 on the door. 

In 2006 Dani moved into a Citroen 

Xsara WRC car, again with Marc Marti. 

Rally RACC Catalunya was round 4 of 

the year and on Spanish tarmac Sordo 

took his first WRC podium. By the end 

of the year he had 4 podium places. 

Mexico was a P4 finish 

In 2007 Citroen introduced the C4 

to WRC competition. Dani would take 

seven podiums, including 4 second 

places. He would finish the season in 

P4 on the points table. Mexico was a P4 

finish. 

By GARY BOYD 

Sordo and Marti would go on to 

achieve 4 Mexican finishes from 4 

Mexican starts in a C4. 

Dani Sordo has 40 WRC podiums 

in his career so far. It consists of 15 

third places, 24 seconds and a single 

win. The victory came in Germany in 

2013 driving a Citroen DS3 WRC. The 

winning car had the number plate 

BN404MW. When Dani left Trier that 

weekend he was fourth on the season’s 

points table. 

In 2014 Dani returned to Trier driving 

a Hyundai i20 WRC bearing the number 

plate ALZ WR 44. He would take the 

first of his 4 podiums with Hyundai. 

The Spanish crew were in car number 

4 for the majority of the 2016 season, 

which included 4 consecutive P4 

finishes in Mexico, Argentina Portugal 

and Sardegna. Dani has now finished 

fourth in Mexico 4 times. 

Dani has driven WRC cars from 4 

different manufacturers, Citroen, Mini, 

Hyundai and a one-off appearance for 

Ford at Argentina 2012, covering for an 

injured Jari-Matti Latvala. 

And to save you counting, the 

number four appears 40 times in this 

article! 

Sordo, Italy 2005. (Photo: Holmes) 


REPORT: PORT HILLS PEAKS 

Port Hills Peaks 

provide 

perilous 

playground 

David Kirk, Lancer Evo 

Story: ROSS TEESDALE 

Photos: KEVIN CORIN 

The Autosport Club’s first gravel 

sprint for 2017 was held in 

February at Piper Valley Road on 

Banks Peninsula. 

Starting at sea level, the gravel road 

climbs gently along the valley for the 

first 1.5km, before becoming very steep 

for the second 1.5km and reaching 

around 400m altitude at the finish. 

The road becomes narrow as it climbs 

and has wonderful views back down 

into the valley, the huge drops making 

it a perilous place to be reaching high 

speeds in a rally car. 

The event was also the second 

qualifying round for the 2017 NZ 

Hillclimb Championship, attracting 34 

entries. A few of Canterbury’s regular 

sprint and rally teams were missing 

though, with season rebuilds yet to be 

completed by some. 

From the outset, Mike Tall set the 

pace in his turbo Mirage which uses 

the running gear from his Evo 4. The 

lightweight and big horsepower car is 

ideally suited for the steep road. 

Matt Penrose was three seconds 

behind Tall after run one in his Impreza, 

with Job Quantock third initially. Keith 

Anderson was also on the pace in 

the 2016 NZRC winning Evo 8 he has 

acquired from David Holder. 

In the 2WDs, Jeff Judd turned up 

in the Evo powered KE70 Corolla 

developed by the Buist brothers some 

years back. The Evo engine has its turbo 

removed, but works well and less the 

turbo sounds quite like a BDA. Judd set 

the pace in the first run, but was chased 

hard by Dave Quantock, who dragged a 

1990s RX7 out of the garage. 

Brent Rawstron and Garry Hawkes 

were also on the front pace in their Mk2 

BDAs. 

Times would drop dramatically for 

some in run two. Matt Penrose took 


Mike Tall, Lancer Evo 

11 seconds off his time and hoped to 

move ahead of Tall, but Tall had found 

nine seconds, which was enough to 

keep his nose in front. 

Job Quantock and Anderson had 

some work to do in the last run, having 

not found the same gain, while in the 

2WDs Dave Quantock had spun, which 

conceded second in 2WD to Garry 

Taylor Judd, Corolla 

Hawkes. 

Jeff Judd held a six second lead in 

Open 2WD, while his oldest son, Taylor, 

had the 1600cc class in hand. In the 

1300s Grant Goile’s initial lead had 

evaporated with electrical problems 

slowing the car in run two. 

All the drivers were eager to make 

the most of the third and final run up

the road. There were friendly battles of 

egos in progress throughout the field. 

It would be Mike Tall’s weekend. 

He had won the Tar Seal Sprint 

contested across the valley the day 

before and would win the Piper Valley 

Road event by three seconds. 

Matt Penrose was reasonably pleased 

with his second place on both days, 

while Keith Anderson was happy to 

take third, the first of the NZRC spec 

cars home. Job Quantcok was narrowly 

pushed back to fourth, while Jason 

McConnell took home one of his best 

results since moving from stock cars, 

with fifth. 

With 15 4WDs in the field the rivalry 

ran deep. A personal battle raged hot 

all day between friends Garret Thomas 

and Hamish Dykes, along with Garrets 

father-in-law Dave Ollis. Garet and 

Hamish are both recent rookies, while 

Dave has been in pause mode with his 

rallying for a couple of decades. 

Garet had their measure going 

into run three, with Dave second and 

Hamish a wee way back, even after 

Hamish found eight seconds in run 

two. To finish it off, Garet made sure of 

bragging rights by going seven seconds 

quicker in run three to take sixth 

outright behind McConnell. 

Meanwhile, Dave was lost for words 

when Hamish found another 13 

seconds to end up three seconds ahead 

of him in seventh. Motorsport NZ 

organiser, David Kirk, also finished in 

the top 10, ahead of Ollis. 

Things went wrong for Jeff Judd in the 

last run up the hill in the Corolla, with 

an off song engine blunting his attack. 

Dave Quantock put in a clean run in the 

RX7, but Judd kept his nose just in front 

with his run two time, to win the 2WD 

Open Class from Quantock. 

Brent Rawstron jumped ahead of 

Hawkes to take home third in his 

BDA, Hawkes ended just half a second 

behind for fourth place. Richard Towse 

took a pleasing fifth of the 10 Open 

Class 2WD entrants, in the Datsun 

Sunny Coupe that he has competed 

in largely unchanged since the early 

1990s. 

Taylor Judd won the 1600cc Class in 

his KE70 Corolla, 6.5 seconds ahead 

of second placed Kevin Knowles in a 

similar car. Only two 1600cc Class cars 

took part, but there was an upsurge in 

entries in the under 1300cc Class with 

seven starters. 

Chris Herdman again won the class 

in his Starlet, helped by Goile’s KE30 

Corolla running sick. Having 

decided against parking the car 

after run two, Goile’s car again 

coughed and stuttered its way 

up the hill, but it was just quick 

enough for him to hold onto 

second in class. 

Third was a great result for 

young rookie Jayden Tainui, who 

had his first proper go in his KE70. 

The newly acquired car’s engine 

had blown up in run one at his last 

attempt to start his driving career. 

Peter Murch achieved fourth 

in class in his Starlet, ahead of 

Johnathon Taylor, who missed the 

Jeff Judd, Corolla 

last run in his Hayabusa powered KE30. 

Things are going in the right direction 

for Canterbury’s Autosport Club, with a 

new breed of younger drivers making 

their presence felt and challenging the 

old hands who continue to compete. 

Fathers and sons are competing in 

the same events and a few daughters 

too. The 2017 season has begun with 

things in a good place. 

Job Quantock 

Brent Rawstron, Escort 

Kevin Knowles 


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PHOTO OF THE MONTH 


ON THE LIMIT: Jari-Matti Latvala gets the 

most out of his Toyota Yaris on the way to a 

surprise victory in the Rally of Sweden. 

Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing 


RALLYCROSS 

ORDERS TAKES THE HONOURS 

Will Orders stormed to victory 

in the opening round of 

the 2017 RXAus series at 

Marulan, while Michael Coyne and Troy 

Dowel also starred. 

The Mitsubishi Lancer EVO driver 

edged out multiple Irish RallyCross 

champion Michael Coyne’s two-wheeldrive 

Mazda 2 to win the six-lap Super 

Final that capped off a thrilling opening 

round of the all-new series. 

Orders also won the 4WD Open 

class, while Troy Dowel won the 4WD 

Production Class and Coyne the 2WD 

battle. 

The three class final winners finished 

1-2-3 in the 6-lap Super Final to cap off 

a strong day. 

Orders’ remarkable performance 

came despite completing almost no 

laps in practice and various struggles 

across all three heats thanks to an 

array of technical issues on his newlydeveloped 

Mitsubishi. 

With the Super Final grid determined 

by the fastest overall times from the 

preceding finals, Orders started on 

the pole for the six-lap race, Irishman 

Michael Coyne starting alongside in his 

rapid two-wheel-drive Mazda 2. 

The race was a straightforward fight 

between the pair, Order clearly quicker 

on the front straight and Coyne closing 

in through Marulan’s technical sections. 

In a pressure-cooker six laps, Orders 

won by a narrow margin in a classic 

all-wheel-drive versus two-wheel drive 

fight. 

Orders said the opening round of 

the series was a positive start for the 

category this year. 

“It’s been a really positive weekend. 

Everyone has been very enthusiastic 

and supportive of what we’re doing 

and there’s a lot of interest moving 

forward,” he said. 

“Everyone has come here and the 

only real damage inflicted to the cars 

was self-inflicted! There was no panel 

rubbing and really close racing so I 

don’t think you can get much better 

than that.” 

Troy Dowel finished third after an 

epic race-long battle with fellow VW 

Polo driver Sean Bolger, the pair evenly 

matched across the day both in their 

class and the final. 

It was only late in the race that saw 

Dowel solidify himself into the final spot 

on the podium. 

Dowel also won the young driver 

award for round one thanks to his 

consistent weekend-long performance, 

though 14-year-old Bolger continued to 

impress with his speed and racecraft. 

A giant-killing performance saw Mike 

Conway fourth in his classic Ford Escort 

Mk. II, Andrew Murdoch’s Subaru, Sean 

Bolger and Michael Harding completing 

the runners. 

Conway’s stunning Escort won the 

Production 2WD class in a giant-killing 

weekend for the classic racer. 

A notable non-finisher was Justin 

Dowel, who despite winning three heat 

races and placing second to Orders 

in the 4WD Open final, was unable to 

complete the Super final, parking his 

Hyundai I30 on the side of the circuit 

before half-race. 

16-year-old Troy Dowel won a thrilling 

4WD Production Class final, edging out 

Sean Bolger and Andrew Murdoch after 

a race-long three way dice. 

Will Orders defeated arch-rival Justin 

Dowel in the 4WD open final, despite 

failing to finish all three preliminary 

heats with mechanical issues. 

Irish RallyCross champion Michael 

Coyne won the 2WD Production / Open 

final, beating home Mike Conway’s 

screaming Ford Escort RS. 

The next round of the exciting 2017 

RXAus series will also be held at the 

Marulan circuit in New South Wales on 

May 14. 

PHOTOS: Richard Craill, Joel Strickland 

Will Orders (Mitsubishi) leads Justin 

Dowel (Hyundai) in the 4WD Open final. 

L-R: Troy Dowel, Will Orders 

and Michael Coyne.

RallySport Magazine March 2017

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