Adelaide Motorsport Festival, South Australia, 2016 Part 1

Classic Adelaide Rally, 17-19 November

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

The four day Adelaide Motorsport Festival in the South Australian capital combines Classic Adelaide closed road rally stages in the hills with circuit sprints at the original Formula One pit lane section in the city’s Victoria Park.

First run in 1998 the Classic Adelaide Rally rapidly gained an enviable reputation, particularly with overseas crews, for its challenging road stages in the hills surrounding the South Australian capital. It now forms part of the annual four-day Adelaide Motorsport Festival, along with the Victoria Park Sprints that celebrate when Formula 1 cars raced on the city streets.

Following a display of F1 cars in the city center on Wednesday, rally entrants began the Festival’s competitive proceedings with a Prologue on Thursday evening to determine starting order. Appropriately, this was held on the pit lane and paddock section of the original F1 circuit in Victoria Park, on the eastern edge of the CBD. The following day they headed up Anstey’s Hill via Chain of Ponds to the twisting 5km Corkscrew Road stage, run three times to give co-drivers plenty of practice calling the corners.

The untimed Tour categories led the way. F1 drivers Stefan Johansson, Ivan Capelli and Pierluigi Martini were at the wheels of a Ferrari 488 Spider, Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and BMW M4 GTS. Ferrari Australasia CEO Herb Appleroth was in a 488GTB and Aston Martin had 1983 Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan in their DB11, the only one in the country. A dozen Prancing Horses filled out the Ferrari Tour, including Geoff Burgess and Ruth Croft’s 308 GTB, 360, 458 Speciale, 488 GTB, California T and FF examples and a recently arrived F12 TDF. In the main Tour Steve & Jill Coombe (2005 Peugeot 206 GTI 180), Roger & Georgia Buratto (1994 Lancia Delta HF Integrale) and Simon Rohde & Simon Gibbs (2016 Renault Megane RS) joined the McLarens, Porsches, Nissans and AMG Mercedes.

The TSD (time-speed-distance) category required mathematical as well as navigational and driving skills. Will Abel-Smith & Andrew Seaton (1987 Ferrari 328GTSi), Mark Hoffmann & Adam Shaw (1997 Ferrari F355), Simon Lambert & Alistair Cavill (1973 Maserati Merak) and James & William Harding (1992 Peugeot 205 GTi) tested themselves against the others.

Evergreen Thoroughbred Trophy competitors David Currow & Colin Carati had the 1961 Steyr Puch TR Europa straining at the leash up Corkscrew. The 1976 Alpine Renault A110SX of John Henry & Greg Humphries had a few more horses available. This year Mike Lowe & Kerry Chevis had left the Fiat Abarth 750 ‘double bubble’ at home, entering their 2009 Abarth Assetto Corse in the GT Sports category. In the Early Classic category the immaculate 1962 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint of Guy Standen & Andrew Coles had speed as well as timeless looks. A ‘Late Classic’ running with the competition cars but only on demonstration duties was the ex-works 1981 Lancia Rallye 037 Group B of Gerry Duyvestyn and Lauchlan Cook.

After the lunch break it was south for four more stages through the Fleurieu peninsula to Strathalbyn, finishing with the 10km Paris Creek stage. The clock might have stopped then but in the city the festivities were just beginning. As the rally cars came into town they joined the F1s and other Sprint cars in Gouger Street, creating a motorsport museum for the public while their crews relaxed over dinner.

Recent road repairs following floods had seen two of Saturday’s stages deleted. Lunch was at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood and the last country road timed section was a run to Mt Lofty, highest point in the hills behind the city. Before results could be announced there were still two stages to go, in the twilight at Victoria Park.

When Saturday’s sprinting was done the rally cars started their final two twilight stages. With a healthy lead after the Mt Lofty stage Michael Busby & John Caldicott played it safe in their 1985 Mazda RX7, but still finished half a minute outright in front of the 1979 Triumph TR7 of Craig Haysman/Julie Boorman and Oscar Matthews/Darren Masters’ 1983 Toyota AE86, which took Late Classic handicap honors. In Early Classic the Standen/Coles Alfa Romeo 2600, only recently finished from a bare shell, showed what a well-prepared Italian is capable of, finishing a very creditable third and 14th outright, behind Roger Lomman/Annie Bainbridge (1971 Datsun 240Z) and Glenn Dean/Jacob Streckeisen (1970 Ford Escort).

The Lowe/Chevis Abarth came home third in GT Sports behind the Farkas/Catford 2001 BMW M3 and Downing/Webber 2011 Subaru WRX Sti. In TSD Chris Waldock and Christine Kirby scored the first Australian win, and what is possibly the first win on the planet, for Jaguar’s new F-Type SVR AWD.

Next week more Adelaide!