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Shannons Adelaide Rally, South Australia

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Shannons Adelaide Rally, South Australia, 24-27 March 2021

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Originally planned for the second half of 2020, the Shannons Adelaide Rally, like many worldwide, was another casualty of the pandemic. Towards the end of the year, when the lights at the end of the tunnel were shining again in South Australia, late summer seemed an ideal time to run the postponed event. Over fifty entrants came from interstate, braving the uncertainty of lockdowns or quarantine. As it turned out, not all the roads were dry during the four-day meeting, but this didn’t deter competitors and results were in doubt until the final stages on Saturday.

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The Bend Classic, South Australia, 2020

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Grant Perryman, 1968 Lola-Ferrari T70

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

The Bend Classic, South Australia 5-6 Sept 2020

Scheduling a race meeting for local entries only, on a Fathers’ Day weekend, along with distancing and state border restrictions due to Covid19, would seem to be a recipe destined for limited success. The pandemic had meant car racing had been on hold for six months at South Australia’s ‘The Bend Motorsport Park’, a hundred kilometres south-east of Adelaide, but the state’s impressive record in managing the virus saw restrictions being gradually eased. Over seventy entries in six categories signed up for two days of timed sprints on the 3.41 kilometre West Circuit, and the public took full advantage of free spectator admission.

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Adelaide Rally, South Australia, 4 – 7 Dec 2019

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Mike & Kerry Lowe 1990 FSM Niki 650, Modern Comp. Anstey’s Hill

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

December’s annual motorsport festival in South Australia’s capital kicked off on the 4th with the Adelaide Rally scrutineering and drivers’ briefings. Parc Ferme was at the Wayville Showgrounds and competition cars left on Wednesday for seven closed-road special stages south of the city. Entries in the Competition category were split into classic and modern classes. Within the Classic Competition class, crews also competed for the Heritage Trophy, with a handicap system based on each car’s actual engine capacity and the vehicle’s standard, unmodified weight. [Read more…] about Adelaide Rally, South Australia, 4 – 7 Dec 2019

Barossa Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb, South Australia

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Robert Balfour 1909 Stanley Steamer Model Z 9 passenger Mountain Wagon

By Vince Johnson
Photos by Vince Johnson unless othewise marked

It’s been sixty-seven years since the first cars went up the hill at Collingrove in the wine country north-east of the state capital. They’ve been doing it ever since and it doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon. Not even when the morning is wet, cool and windy.

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30th Classic Festival of Motorsport, Phillip Island, Australia

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Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Over four hundred and fifty cars and drivers from across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Germany descended on the Phillip Island circuit, south of Melbourne, to help the Victorian Historic Racing Register celebrate their 30th Classic Festival of Motorsport. They weren’t the only ones commemorating milestones.

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Adelaide Motorsport Festival Part 2

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Story by Vince Johnson
Photos by Vince Johnson and John Lemm
Read Adelaide Part 1

Adelaide Motorsport Festival 28 Nov – 2 Dec 2018— Saturday morning saw the Rally cars head up to Mt Lofty, highest point in the hills behind the city, for the first of the final day’s 10 stages. Back in town the Victoria Park Sprint circuit was alive all day. While each of the fifteen sprint categories was on the 1.5km lap chasing class wins for fastest time, the next group was ready and waiting at track entry.

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Adelaide Motorsport Festival Part 1

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Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Lead image: Guy Standen/Andrew Coles 1962 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint

The Formula Ones were back in South Australia for the Adelaide Motorsport Festival which took place from November 28 to December 2, but they weren’t the only machines making a noise. Adding to the decibels was a rare Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo 2.

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Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb, South Australia

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Story and photos by Vince Johnson
Lead image: Richard Creasy, 1985cc Amilcar

Barossa Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb, South Australia, 7 October 2018 The oldies were back (the cars, not the drivers) in the wine country north-east of Adelaide for the Sporting Car Club of South Australia’s annual vintage hillclimb near Angaston. Entries had come from across the continent and while most took less than a minute to get to the top, the narrow track is challenging and there’s little room for error.

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Australia’s Clipsal 500: Lamborghini Rising

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Tony Bates in the Mercedes AMG GTS GT3 succeeds but the Lambos are in hot pursuit.

Story and Photos by Vince Johnson

Italians at the Clipsal 500, South Australia, 2-5 March 2017

It was up to the Lamborghinis to fly the flag for Italy in the first round of the Australian GT Championship on the Adelaide street circuit during the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercars weekend. Last year’s sole Ferrari, Brenton Griguol’s 430GT3, had been replaced by his Reiter-engineered Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX, joining six others that had been breathed on by the Bavarian company. With the Huracan of Jim Manolios/Dean Canto, Sant’Agata cars were the most numerous in the 26-car field. [Read more…] about Australia’s Clipsal 500: Lamborghini Rising

Adelaide Motorsport Festival, South Australia, 2016 Part 2

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Stefan Johansson, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, Ferrari F156-85, turn 7 entry, Wakefield Street Adelaide.

Stefan Johansson, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, Ferrari F156-85, turn 7 entry, Wakefield Street Adelaide.

Victoria Park Sprints, 19-20 November
Read Part 1

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

The F1s were back in Adelaide in November, recreating the sights and sounds of the glory days of 1985 – 1995, when the Australian Grand Prix had come alive in the streets of the South Australian capital. Shoppers and city workers on their lunch break found four of them displayed in the centre of town on the Wednesday before the festival. Alongside the Ferrari 156 turbo that Stefan Johansson had driven in the 1985 race and the Ferrari 412 T1 that Gerhard Berger scored second place with in 1994 were Ivan Capelli’s 1989 Leyton House March CG891 and the most powerful F1 car ever, Berger’s 1986 Benetton BMW. Johansson, Capelli and Minardi driver Pierluigi Martini were on hand, posing for photos and signing mementoes from Adelaide’s F1 decade. After the media interviews, the 412T1 was fired up for several minutes to give the public a taste of what was in store.

Christmas in the City.

Christmas in the City.

[Read more…] about Adelaide Motorsport Festival, South Australia, 2016 Part 2

Phillip Island Classic March 11-13, 2016, Australia

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Mick Stupka 1954 Citroën 11D, Rod Wood 1953 Holden 48/215, turn 4.

Mick Stupka 1954 Citroën 11D, Rod Wood 1953 Holden 48/215, turn 4.

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Cubic inches certainly had the headlines at the 27th Phillip Island Classic, south of Melbourne, recently. Not only were there more than two dozen Formula 5000 open wheelers racing during the three day meeting, the Group Q & R ‘big banger’ sports car grids included five McLarens, (three of them 8 liter Chev-powered), several Lolas, a six liter E-Type Jaguar and a pair of V8 Elfins. [Read more…] about Phillip Island Classic March 11-13, 2016, Australia

Italians at the Clipsal 500, South Australia, 3-6 March 2016

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Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto Lamborghini R-EX turn 11.

Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto Lamborghini R-EX in turn 11.

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

March sees the official start of autumn in Australia but no one had told the city of Adelaide. In the near-century (38C) temperatures, the Holden, Ford, Nissan and Volvo V8 Supercars rolled into town for their opening event of the year. Annually, the streets and parklands on the eastern edge of the South Australian capital are transformed for four days, with a full program over seven classes of racing.

The meeting is also the first round of the Australian GT Championships. Germany and Great Britain had the numbers over the Italians. With six Audis, two BMWs, five McLarens, five Mercedes and three Porsches lined up against four Lamborghinis and a sole Ferrari, it was no surprise that at the end of qualifying they occupied the first five places on the grid for Friday’s race. [Read more…] about Italians at the Clipsal 500, South Australia, 3-6 March 2016

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