Shannons Adelaide Rally, 17-19 November 2023

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Perfect South Australian spring weather greeted teams, officials and spectators for the 2023 Shannons Adelaide Rally. As last year, the capital was already in motorsport mode with preparations for the following weekend’s V8 Supercars races on the city’s street circuit. The rally cars had more room to move, heading out each day to closed road stages in the surrounding hills.

Following Motorsport Australia’s recent review of tarmac rallying, competition cars were grouped into Modern and Classic (pre-January 1986), with a maximum 200km/h speed limit, while the two Challenge classes were limited to 120 or 130km/h. A third group, the TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) entries, also had a 120km/h maximum limit but had to match a set target time for each stage, earning penalties for speed infringements and early or late arrival.

Untimed Tour groups were first out on Friday. Those in the Spirit Tour were given a 120km/h limit, with helmets required, while the other Tours were less restricted but limited to 100km/h. The Adelaide hills are alive with drivers’ roads and the organizers had plenty to select from that would still allow spirited driving within these limits. Several of the state’s new car dealers and their customers were out in force, along with private entries, enjoying the chance to use both sides of the road.

Lunch stops in hills towns gave the public the chance to get close to the cars and crews, and after Saturday’s stages they all converged on the city’s Gouger Street cafe strip for the street party. On Sunday they headed south, arriving for lunch and a special stage in the historic town of Strathalbyn on the River Angas. The visit coincided with the local Rotary Club’s annual charity Duck Race (plastic, not feathered) so the action was on the water as well as above it. Many took the opportunity to see the life-size memorial sculpture to local motorcycle racer Ken Blake (1945-1981). Its unique style represents him winning the 1976 Australian 500 Tourist Trophy on his Suzuki RG500, a race where he beat Giacomo Agostini home.

Throughout the weekend VeloceToday contributor Mark Duder gave his Alpine Renault A110 some healthy exercise in its role as one of the Main Tour follower cars. French others included the Peter Bogatec/Kevin Jones Peugeot 405 M1-16 racing in Modern Competition, the William Dodson/Jason De Innocentis Citroën C4 VTS (Challenge) with the Joseph Vitagliano/Jaryn Grear Peugeot 207 GTi and Chris Oldaker/David Greaves Renault Megane both entered in TSD. Rally regulars Roger Buratto and Jeremy Browne returned in Roger’s Fiat 131 Mirafiori, consistently running mid-field in the Challenge category.

It’s not often you see two crews finish with identical times after battling for 3 days over 180km of special stages, but that’s what happened in the Modern Competition category. The Mitsubishis of Matthew Selley/Hamish McKendrick and Oscar Matthews/Naomi Tillet spent the weekend leapfrogging each other until arriving at the final stage on Sunday with matching times. They kept it all square here too and shoulder-room was at a premium on the top step on the podium.

Jack Monkhouse and Neill Woolley took the Classic Competition honours in their 1973 Datsun 180B SSS. They also picked up the Heritage (Handicap) Trophy, their daily times only beaten by the winning Mitsubishis. In the closely-fought Challenge category Nigel Joyce and Justin Perkins (Subaru WRX) were victors, while Oldaker and Greaves brought their Renault Megane home first in TSD.

They weren’t the only winners the Rally created. Spectators of all ages flocked to the stages and lunch stops, the Gouger Street Party was the place to be, and the cafes, pubs and restaurants had all stops out. With summer just days away and more racing in the city next weekend, the state’s long history of motorsport showed no signs of slowing down.

Full results

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