wheelspin vol 48 no 3
DESCRIPTION
Sporting Car Club of South Australia MagazineTRANSCRIPT
Sporting Car Club ofSouth Australia Incorporated
Share the Passion
July 2009Volume 48 Number 3
..
SpoSouth AJuly 2009
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ANNIVERSARY FUN
THE SPORTING CAR CLUB OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, INC.
Founded 22nd May, 1934ABN 67 -853 093 023
51 King William RoadUnley, SA 5061
Telephone: 08 8373 4899Fax: 08 8373 4703
e-mail: [email protected]: www.sportingcarclubsa.org.au
PATRONHis Excellency
Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AO CSC RANRGovernor of South Australia
Offi ce Hours:Wednesday to Friday
9.00 am to 4.00 pm
Monthly Meetings: Club General Meeting 1st Wednesday Historic Racing Register 2nd Tuesday Classic Section 1st Friday HQ Section 3rd Wednesday Vintage Section 2nd Friday Veteran Section 3rd Friday Vmax Motorsport Section 4th Friday Competition Section Meetings held quarterly Please note: the bar is open only on General Meeting and Section Meeting Nights
The Sporting Car Club Library hours: Club General Meeting Night
(1st Wednesday of the month, excluding January);
All designated Section meeting nights;Wednesdays 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
Fridays 10.00 am - 12.00 noon
Wheelspin Production:Published once every quarter
Publishing dates:(1st January, 1st April,1st July, 1st October)
Please submit all articles eight weeks prior to publishing date.
Editorial Team: Paul Murrell
Michael Wapler
All material sent into the offi ce for publishing should be typed in font Arial 9 point. Photographic images should
either be paper prints or on CD in 300 d.p.i. quality when-ever possible. Please note that older type storage media,
e.g. fl oppy discs or zip-discs are no longer acceptable.
It is always appreciated when items submitted for publica-tion will be handed in not later than the above quoted
deadlines.
IGNITION 1
A Word From The A Word From The PresidentPresident
“In a family car there is the driver, the front passenger who irritatingly plays with all the knobs and gives instructions, and a back seat full of complaints”.
It is the season of AGMs. The Club Newsletter for May called for nominations to the Board and some sections of the Club have given notice of their AGM and positions vacant.
In keeping with a commitment to my family and my employer, I will not be nominating to be President at the September poll. When I was appointed it was understood that I would be President until the next election. As I assumed, the position and workload is signifi cant and has me often wondering if it is all going to get done.
This is not to say that being on the Board, or a Section Committee or even being the President is not a valuable and enriching experience. It is – but it is also a position that demands time, family support (you are a volunteer) and a capacity to commit to continue any given task to its conclusion.
The Club is a unique, sprawling and complex organization; it is maintained by committed and cheerful volunteers and a dedicated staff. It is also a diverse and very challenging organization with its own personality. It is full of people who know things, have important things to say and who want to be part of the action and who should be acknowledged in some way for what they have done and do. All the stuff I am supposed to do at home to keep number one volunteer cheerful.
Having said that, it is a good time to be a President of the Club. Hopefully by September, the Board will have in place some governance infrastructure that will permit the work to be done more effi ciently and will provide bridges between the members and Board. There will be a new General Manager which means that a partnership can be forged that will lead the Club and shape it for years to come. Even the present hiatus between the General Managers offers an opportunity in that there is a bigger chance to build without a lot of “baggage” tripping up the incumbent.
As is said with every election – this is a defi ning moment, the most important since the last most important election. Yet it is. One can see from the sad case of the SAJC that leadership is critical to a Club’s success. The type of leadership is that of good people, with good will who want to make things happen and do things properly – and they have the time to do so. In a Club, the old adage, “give it to a busy person and it will get done”, is true for many things but it is not true for leaders of people. This is because we all like to be liked and appreciated and busy people don’t do that too well – they are too busy.
I have met many in the Club who are just the calibre to be a section chair, the Club President or a committed Board or committee worker. Some haven’t thought about it, others are too self effacing to put their hand up and some lack confi dence, nominees should remember that as the Club has survived 75 years, it is highly likely to survive you.
I have no unused steak knives to offer as an incentive but I can commit to assist the next President and will help any other leader within the Club if asked. As I have found, there are also other interested and participant members who will do the same and help you drive the family car club.
Michael Keenan
Disclaimer: The articles printed in this magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the Sporting Car Club of S.A., Inc. nor the Editorial Team. All opinions, technical tips and methods are the views of the person submitting the article/s, and the
Club cannot accept any responsibility for these whatsoever.
2
OUR COVER
John Lemm’s great photograph taken at Mallala during the Easter Historics. Kevin Shearer (left in the photo) locking wheels with Trevor Dunsford on the last lap of the Group K & L handicap. Kevin’s tenacious drive earned him the
Driver of the Meeting award.
Book Review ,The Leyland P76
Page 6
CONTENTS 3
Where it all starts - the home of the Sporting Car Club in Unley
The National Veteran Car and Motorcycle Rally
at NaracoortePages 9, 10
Easter Historics at Mallala and
CollingrovePages 15-18
S.A. State Racing Championships, Rounds 1 and 2
Pages 28, 29
Out and AboutRoute 66,
The Mother Roadpages 22,23
IGNITIONA Word From The President ………. ...……..…………1
TOOL KITNames And Addresses Of Club Contacts, Updated ...….4
UNDER THE BONNETA Word from your Editor ..………………..…………..5
BARRY’S QUESTIONAnswer To “Barry’s Question” Of January …..….........5“Barry’s Question” For April ......………………..…....5
FROM THE SPORTING CAR CLUB LIBRARYOn our Library Shelves …...……...…………..……...6Historic Lotus Magazine ……………………………...6Gems Discovered – Book Reviews ………………6, 7Formula One Names Consigned to History …………..7Australia’s Most Skilled Racing Driver ………………7Now On The Shelves –Summary Of New Books Available To Members .....…...7
PETROL FUMESVeteran Section News Veteran News and Events …… ….................8 Di Pyle’s report on the National Veteran Car and Motocycle Rally at Naracoorte ...9, 10Classic Section News…… March ‘09 Meeting ………………..……….11Fleurieu Group May Day Run to South Lakes Golf Club ….12Vintage Section News Collingrove Preview……….….…….....…..13HRR News Mallala Easter Historics ............15, 16, 17, 18 John Blanden’s Climb to the Eagle ……….19HQ News Emerging Talent ………………………..….27Competition Section News S.A. State Motor Racing Championships Round 1 and 2 ……….....…………….…28, 29
OUR VOLUNTEERS AT WORKEncounters of the Special Kind ……………………….14
OBITUARYVale Jeffrey Laurence Parsons ……………………...21
LADIES’ QUESTION TIMEAnswer To April’s Ladies’ Question ….………..........21Ladies’ Question For July ... ..………..……………....21
FOUR CORNERSOut and About …………….………………….…22, 23
AT THE SHARP ENDRaising the Bar .……………....………..…...………24The Onus is on the Driver ..…..……………………...25Magna Steyr trying for Opel? ..………………….….25
MICHAEL GASKING’S RACING SNIPPETS ……...……..29
YOUR CLUB CONTACTS
TOOL KIT4
President Michael Keenan ……….(M) 0413 449 635 [email protected] Past President: John Burt ……...………..(M) 0418 832 824 [email protected] Presidents: John Bryant ……..……...(B) 08 8362 8860 (M) 0418 818 998 [email protected] Mark Goldsmith ……......(M) 0412 671 671 (W) 08 8424 5597 [email protected]
Treasurer: Sean Wheelan ………...(M) 0412 618 122 (W) 08 8431 4700 [email protected]
Secretary: Colin Bourner …………..(M) 0417 801 381 (H) 08 8337 3190 [email protected]
Board Members: Rodney Gibb …………..(H) 08 8284 7543 (M) 0412 835 385 [email protected] Ann Ozgo …….….........(M) 0417 847 329
(H) 08 8336 6114 [email protected]
Tony Parkinson ………..(M) 0408 805 518 (H) 08 8383 0481 [email protected]
Lyndon Punshon ………(M) 0417 826 284 (H) 08 8536 8236 [email protected]
CAMS Delegate: John Bryant ………...…..(B) 08 8362 8860 (M) 0418 818 998 [email protected]
Classic Car Section: Gordon Taylor (M) 0417 818 556 (Chair)…...……………..(H) 08 8278 3242 [email protected]
Classic Section, cont´d: Allen Morris (M) 0408 826 324 (Secretary)…………..(H) 08 8263 2485
Competition Section: Lyndon Punshon (H) 08 8536 8236 (Chair)………….……(M) 0417 826 284
Historic Racing Register: Ann Ozgo (Chair)… (M) 0417 847 329 [email protected]
John Bryant ………..(B) 08 8362 8860 (M) 0418 818 998 [email protected]
Historic Registration Offi cers: Colin Bourner …… (M) 0417 801 381 [email protected] Ray Mossop ………..(H) 08 8258 9295 Rex Howard ………..(H) 08 8278 5337 John Wien-Smith - (Log Books) (B) 08 8373 4899
HQ Racing Register: Greg Goding………..(M) 0418 807 437 (Chair) .......………....(H) 08 8387 3118 [email protected] Alison Bennett (Secretary) (H) 08 8387 3118 [email protected]
Veteran Car Section: John Ellis (Chair)…(H) 08 8362 3230 Christine Chennells (Secretary)…(H) 08 8278 8465 [email protected]
Vintage Car Section: Ruth Day (Chair)…….....(M) 8278 6563 [email protected] Graham Treloar (Secretary) (M) 0418 824 768 (H) 08 8332 7437
Special Events Mallala Offi ce: Penny Gordon ….. (B) 08 8271 5689 (M) 0408 842 363 (Fax) 08 8272 5396 [email protected]
(alternative) [email protected]
Facilities Manager: Alan Caire…………(B) 08 8373 4899 [email protected]: Sandra Brooker ....(B) 08 8373 4899 [email protected]
STORE YOUR PRIDE AND JOY …short or long term storage…safe, secure, convenient …basic storage to bespoke
maintenance packages
Your car can be ready for you to drive and enjoywhenever you want it. For the rest of the time, it
is safely stored in the Adelaide Hills, minutes fromStirling, just up the freeway, secure from damage,
vandalism, theft, or deterioration.
An ongoing maintenance programme can bearranged, or make a phone call and your pride andjoy can be prepared to your requirements ready for
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Safe storage is the worry-free way to classic orperformance car ownership. Call today for complete
details, to discuss your specifi c requirements, toarrange a confi dential inspection and for a special
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BARRY’S QUESTION FOR JULY
Name the three cars and respective drivers in this photograph.
Barry Catford
BARRY’S QUESTION 5
Answers please to: Michael Wapler at:[email protected]
A WORD FROM YOUR CO-EDITORTo wear two hats is at
times a bit onerous, but there is hardly anything more satisfactory when the time in life has arrived where one is one’s master of it and able to pursue hobbies and follow inclinations which had to take second or – mostly – third place after a busy workday at
the grindstone of offi ce or factory.So, while my library time is sometimes a bit curtailed by
Wheelspin editorial duties, it is never the less most satisfying to belong to this dedicated team of library volunteers who bring to you a selection of books and magazines, surely unrivalled by any other club in Australia and likely much further afi eld.
Reading is a wonderful pastime in its own right, but being able to choose from a huge range of books of what is our mutual hobby – cars and motorcycles – must appeal to a wider audience than the regulars we are seeing in the library these days.
I know, you are reading Wheelspin, and very satisfying this is for your editor, but there is much more to be learned and read once you step through the library door …and of course, there are all these motor magazines to read for which you would pay a small fortune had you bought them at the newsagent’s.
Please take the time during one of the meetings you are attending and register as a reader. You would be surprised about the scope of books we offer you on our shelves and there are some real gems and rarities. They range from historic travel tales in old, or then new cars, to detailed instructions of how to fi x this blessed Zenith or Weber carburettor which has given you a headache for so long. Whatever it is, if it’s about cars, their history, maintenance, or their sheer beauty, there is a book for you. Come in and join us!
Michael Wapler
UNDER THE BONNET
Answer to ‘BARRY’S QUESTION’ FOR “APRIL”
In the April issue, Barry asked you: `What type of com-petition car was the Inaltera” and which name was added a year later to the Inaltera designation?
The Inaltera company manufactured wall cov-erings and the president, Frenchman Charles James, sponsored a Cosworth DFV powered racing car which was called an Inaltera.
Three were built and two raced at Le Mans in
1976. Drivers on that occasion were Henri Pescarolo and Jean-Pierre Beltoise in one car and Jean Rondeau/Christine Beckers/Jean-Pierre Jaussaud in the other one.
Pescarolo/Beltoise won the GT Prototype category and Ron-deau/Beckers/ Jaussaud were third in the same category.
Three cars ran at Le Mans the following year. Drivers were Rondeau/Jean Ragnotti who fi nished fourth overall and fi rst in the GT Prototype category. Beckers/ Lella Lombardi who fi nished 11th and Beltoise/Al Holbert 13th.Rondeau had raced in a handful of Le Mans events as a guest driver before forming the Inaltera team in 1976. After the wallpaper company withdrew its sponsorship, Rondeau went alone with his Ford-powered GTP cars in 1978, now under the Rondeau name, scoring a coup by hiring Henri Pescarolo for his team in 1979.Rondeau and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud took victory in the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans after fi ghting hard against the Porsche 908/80 of Jacky Ickx and Reinhold Joest. Rondeau remains the only man to win the race in a car bearing his own name and design. Having watched teammates Pescarolo and Jean Ragnotti retire with engine problems during the night, Rondeau and Jaussaud fought the elements, Ickx’s abilities, and the backmarkers to take overall victory by two laps.Jean Rondeau was killed in December 1985 at a level crossing where the boom gates were down. He had been following a police car crossing the closed boom gates. He was struck by the approaching train.
Barry Catford
ON OUR LIBRARY SHELVES
Edward Eves writing in the Autocar of 5 March, 1983 gives a very detailed description of a P3 Alfa Romeo and its considerable history.
Considerable it may be, but that doesn’t apply to his account of the car’s sojourn in Australia. One almost gets the impression that Eves considers it humbug to even
mention it.Here is the full extent of his description of the Alfa’s Australia
history.‘Postwar, the Alfa went to Australia and was raced by Lex
Davison and Steve Ames and is rumoured to have won the Queensland Grand Prix. Restored in England it was rebuilt by Laurence Rolfe and sold to D.H. Jarvis’.
As pesky as it may have been it wouldn’t have taken too much effort to establish that, yes, Steve Ames defi nitely did win the 1955 Queensland Grand Prix.
Contrary to Eves’ belief, the car was restored in Melbourne. Readers of his article would have been led to think that D.H. Jarvis resided in England.
This, of course, is not the case at all, for Doug Jarvis resided here in Adelaide, was a member of the Sporting Car Club of South Australia and campaigned the car in historic events into the late 1960s.
Only in 1968 was the car returned to the UK.Ian Smith
THE HISTORIC LOTUS MAGAZINE
HISTORIC LOTUS magazine is published four times a year by the Historic Lotus Register in the U.K. It’s a rare copy that doesn’t throw new light on some aspect of history (and not necessarily confi ned to that of Colin Chapman’s Lotus Engineering).
When the latest copy arrived I was pleased to fi nd an article by author Graham Gauld, a visitor to our city a number of times and indeed to our Library. He is highly respected motor racing historian and, needless to say, we have a number of his books on our shelves including two recent biographies of Cliff Alison and Reg Parnell.
In his article in the Lotus magazine he reveals that Jim Clark’s fi rst ever race was at the Crimond Circuit in Scotland and it was at the wheel of the two-stroke engined DKW Sonderklasse saloon.
Who could have guessed what was to come?Another article in the magazine is by editor Peter Ross, a man
most knowledgeable of Lotus history (he was there at the time), titled “Early Lotus History - Errors in Books”. He points out that there are three publications written before 1987 on which others have relied for the early history of Lotus. It was not until the publication of Mike Lawrence’s book “Colin Chapman, Wayward Genius” that many earlier errors were corrected.
Ross highlights a number of them – too many to deal with here – but one involving Adelaide identity, Derek Jolly, I will mention.
It concerns the de-siamesed ports (see foot note) of the Austin Seven engine. Here, I should pause for a moment, and go back to Derek Jolly’s early exploits in his outrageously fast Austin Seven Special as described in the 1950-51 Motor Racing Year Book “Australian Motor Racing.” “Mr Derek Jolly’s Austin 7 has had an aura of mystery around it. The fact that [it] can circulate in company with all but the very hottest TC MG’s…”
Now to revert to Ross’s article concerning Jolly’s part in Chapman’s Austin Seven engine modifi cations. He says that “we will never be sure whether the secret of Derek Jolly’s Austin Seven was revealed to Colin before he decided to de-siamese the ports of the Lotus-Austin, or whether this just re-enforced [his] idea… but whatever you care to believe, you will not fi nd any mention of what was actually done, nor will you fi nd any mention of Derek Jolly’s part in in the Lotus Mk 111 story in Colin Chapman’s own story (Motor Racing magazine 1954), “Lotus - The First Ten Years” by Ian Smith or Jabby Crombac’s “Colin
Chapman - The Man and His Cars”. To quote Ross again, “there is a very good reason for this…
the 750 Motor Club decided to ban de-siamesed blocks from 750 Formula races and Chapman wanted to sell his Lotus-Austin Mk 111 (that had such an engine), so he thought of a way to de-siamese the block without the block itself being de-siamesed. They modifi ed the manifold, not the block, so that it achieved the same result when bolted onto the engine block”.
Colin Chapman, smart man that he was, was never backward in accepting a bit of good advice when proffered.
HISTORIC LOTUS magazine is a valued Library subscription.Come in and read it.
Ian SmithFootnote:SIAMESED PORTS is a porting system in which the inlet or exhaust ports
of adjoining cylinders share a common intake or outlet at the face meeting the manifold. This reduces the number of such passages connecting with the manifolds.
BOOK REVIEWS
The Last Road Raceby Richard Williams
This book is about the 1957 Pescara Grand Prix. Actually, it is about much more than that. Williams delves into the history of the Pescara races and the drivers who were involved down through the years.
While Pescara was certainly not the last Grand Prix to be held on public
roads, Williams puts a very convincing case for Pescara being the last true link with the open road races and the heroic circuits of the early days of motor racing.
The author draws numerous unfl attering comparisons with the present-day world of Formula one racing. Williams interviewed some of the drivers who took part in the 1957 event and their comments make most interesting reading. Stirling Moss, talking of his rivals at that time said, ‘Musso was a clean driver, quite fast, very comparable with Peter Collins and (Eugenio) Castelotti. Musso, Collins, Castelotti and Hawthorn were all comparable. Hawthorn on his day would probably be a little better, but overall not’.
It is a beautifully written book which captures the atmosphere of the times and leads the reader into a completely different world of motor racing.
For those who can remember and, as well, for those who wonder what Grand Prix racing was like all those years ago, Williams’ well researched book is highly recommended reading.
Ian Smith
Leyland P76 – Anything But Averageby Gavin Farmerlibrary code: 13.4.0013.2008
The book covers the history of the Leyland P76 from its conception as Model B of the Advanced Model Group in 1968 to the end of Production in 1974.
The fi rst three chapters tell the story of Austin, Morris, British Motor Corporation and British Leyland in Australia and the relationship the Australian brand had with the UK head offi ce.
From this story it is amazing that the P76, a genuinely all Australian car, ever saw the light of day. For these chapters alone, detailing all the cars on the Australian market, the book is well worth reading.
6 FROM THE SCC LIBRARY
7FROM THE SCC LIBRARY
The real meat is of course the P76. The author has managed to fi nd and publish the in-house as well as Michelotti design studies for the car. He has further found details of the design and development of the V8 all-aluminium engine from its ancestry in Buick through its progression via Rover to the P76 engine. In short, the book is a comprehensive story of the car, including its competition history. It includes the development of the sister two-door coupé, the Force 7.
Gavin Farmer is to be commended for writing this history, before the main contributors to the car become too old for reliable memories. The P76 was a valuable addition to Australian motoring history and Gavin has done it full justice.
I bought a P76 from Taylors of Medindie just after cessation of production was announced in 1974. It was an Aspen Green Super V8 automatic and was chosen because it did not wander all over the road like the then current Holden, you could see all four corners of the car from the driving seat, unlike the then Ford, and according to road test reports the Chrysler was the worst of the three.
The P76 was bought mainly for business and proved to be brilliant in its secondary role as a family camping vehicle. Everything went into the boot - tent, sleeping bags, cooker, lights, picnic tables etc.
John Taylor once let me have a short drive of Tom Barr-Smith’s de Luxe V8 4-speed manual in which he won the South Australian Rally championship in 1974. That car was a real rocket ship.
Thank you Gavin for fi lling in many gaps in my knowledge of Austin, Morris, Leyland and bringing back so many good memories of a much under-rated car.
Alan Carter
Formula One Names Consigned to History
The Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne on March 29, 2009 saw the appearance of yet another new Formula One team. With the demise of Honda and the end of the 2008 season, the new team that has appeared, Phoenix-like, is Brawn.Honda has now joined the list of teams that have fallen by the wayside since the 1980s. Many of them will be familiar to those of us who attended the Australian Grand Prix in those halcyon years when it was held here in Adelaide:
AGS Alfa Romeo Arrows Brabham Coloni Dallara Forti Jaguar Lamborghini Larrousse Ligier Lola Lotus March MinardiOnyx Osella Pacifi c Prost RAM RIAL Simtek Spirit Toleman Tyrrell Zakspeed
Ian Smith
Australia´s most skilled Racing Driver
‘Jack Brabham was a master… combining a fi ne brain with great experience, he would only have to drive a car around one or two corners to decipher what component area was preventing him from making the car do what he wanted. I often saw him complete a single out lap and then come back to the pits to make the necessary adjustments, thereby saving time, preserving the tyres and brakes and keeping his mind fresh. His genius was a rare ability to cut through the nonsense, pin-point the core problem in a car and solve it.’
Jackie Stewart
‘Looking back on Longford in Tasmania, I can still recall the thrill of having my foot hard down with plenty of power on a fast circuit. It was a good road circuit, about 4½ miles round and very fast, with speeds of over 110mph, doing 170mph down the straight… Apart from the long straight, Longford [had] some interesting twisty sections, some uphill and some downhill. Extremely interesting, a real challenge to a driver.’
Jack Brabham
Needless to say, the library has a number of books about Jack Brabham as well, Jackie Stewart’s most interesting book ‘Winning is not Enough’ is available. His quote was taken from this source.
Ian Smith
NOW ON THE SHELVES
Winged Sports Cars and Enduring Innovations, Wimpffen 2.3.00.47.2Spyders and Silhouettes 1972-1981, Wimpffen
2.3.00.47.3Australian Motorsport Annual 2007, No. 3 6.4.00.37A Boot Full of Right Arms, Evan Green 6.1.0011Journeys with Gelignite Jack, Evan Green 4.1.00.08The Top 100 F1 Drivers of all Time, Alan Henry 4.1.01.64
Trucks, A Vintage Collection. New Zealand 2.13.00.12Warbirds over Wanaka. Easter 2008 2.14.00.16You Can’t Get There From Here, Barry Lloyd 2.2.00.07Great Motoring Stories From Australia and New Zealand
2.13.00.12Classic Car Bodywork: How to Restore it, Martin Thaddeus 2.6.00.41SAAB Turbo 1976 - 1983, Brooklands Books 14.7.00.03 Autobiography: Holden’s All-New VE Commodore, Peter Robinson 16.5.0.05Wheels Galore! Motoring Curios and Inventions, Pedr Davis 2.4.01.14Jaguar 2004 16.4.00.02Mitsubishi Magna TM Series Service Manual 14.2.00.15Lucas CAV Equipment and Spare Parts 11.3.00.32Mitsubishi TP Series Service Manual 14.2.00.11Mitsubishi GJ Series Service Manual 14.2.00.01On Great White Wings, Fred E.C. Culiok and Spencer Dunmore 2.14.00.17Toyota 3K Engine Repair Manual 13.2.01.00Three Pointed Star: 1885 - 1965. The Story of Mercedes -Benz, David Scott-Moncrieff 2.4.01.13Duncan and Frazer Ltd: Legacies Left Untold, David Chantrell 2.2.00.08The Rolls-Royce Motor Car, Bird and Hallows 2.4.01.24Ferrari Cars 1969-1973, Brooklands Books 13.7.00.15Ferrari Cars 1977-1981, Brooklands Books 13.7.00.17On Ferrari, 1975-1981 Road and Track 13.7.00.18World Cars 1982 2.1.0189.2Ferrari: Sports and Gran Turismo Cars, Fitzgerald, Merritt and Thompson 2.3.02.31The Bentley S3 Handbook 12.1.01.44
opposite page: The winner, Stirling Moss in his Vanwall in 1957, the only World Championship GP in Pescara in the post war years,
fi nishing three minutes ahead of Manuel Fangio.
FROM THE ERIC RAINSFORD LIBRARYSpecial thanks must go to all the hard-working members of
the large rally committee and those who helped as back-up and morning tea crew and Glen Dix who came to leave his fl ag-waving skills in the minds of all.
Chris Chennells
8 PETROL FUMES
COMING MEETINGS
July 17 – Noggin and NatterAugust 21 – Debate – American versus English Cars
Coming Events
July 5 – Foggy Dew RunAugust 23 – Watch the Waves on the Bay BreakfastOctober 25 – London to Brighton Run – an invitation run organised by the VSCC
Past EventsOld Crock’s Run and Historic Vehicle Day, March 15
Thirty veteran and vintage vehicles from the SCC and other clubs joined in to mark the 75th anniversary of the car event which led to the formation of the SCC in 1934. Thanks to all those who took part and made this such a success. Most vehicles continued on to Historic Vehicle Day in the South Parklands where approximately 150-180 pre-1931 vehicles from many clubs were on public display.
Both of these occasions are likely to become annual events.
RAA Trophy Day, April 19Five veterans and eight vintage vehicles competed on the
two chosen hills in the Mitcham area, with a total of 19 vehicles present.
RAA President’s Trophy was won by the Mullins family in their 1908 Darracq.
RAA Anniversary Trophy was won by Ray & Jeannette Mossop in their 1914 Minerva.
National Veteran Rally, Naracoorte, May 3-8Knowing that this was our 75th year, SA arranged to swap
our rally year with NSW who were happy to agree. To host such a large rally to celebrate our club’s birthday is very much an honour.
The 140 veteran vehicles present made this one of the largest veteran rallies in recent years. With vehicles representing all years from 1902 to 1918, there was a wonderful variety of machinery showing the development of the motor car on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It drew good crowds of locals as well, especially for the night-lights parade through town.
It is always good to see the motorcycles in these events. Some were the rocket ships of their day and the open country roads gave them a chance to show their pace.
There were 21 SCC entrants from an SA contingent of 38. It was wonderful to see and hear so many unusual vehicles from such a large number of manufacturers. Hopefully it will encourage more SA veteran vehicle owners to become regular attendees at these national rallies. Next year’s National Veteran Rally is in Tasmania in October and entry forms are at the SCC offi ce.
A special piece of history was seen with Peter Allen’s 1905 Pope Tribune and Arthur Mullins 1912 Ford T on the rally. Both of these vehicles took part in the original Old Crock’s Run in 1934. John Wien-Smith’s De Dion Bouton, “Daisy Belle” was still undergoing engine repairs at the time and so was not present, although John himself rode in various cars as a “Swaggie” through the week.
from left to right (above, top):1912 MW IHC of Roger and Glenys Mahan (N.Z.); 1917 Maxwell of John and Jan Brumby; 1911 Hupmobile of Bob and Jenny Dunk
(N.S.W.); 1912 Cadillac of Scott and Craig Emmerson (VIC.); 1913 Talbot of Michael and MarilynTrethowan.
from left to right (above, centre):1916 Studebaker, Manny and Jim Coomblas (SCC of SA);
1913 Sunbeam,Daryl and Marion Willison (VIC); 1913 Talbot, Greg and Jill Roberts (NSW);
1905 De Dion-Bouton (ex George Brooks), John and Lynne Prentice (ACT); 1915 Ford ‘T’, Rob and Glenise Moors (VIC)
from left to right (above, bottom): 1918 Studebaker, Richard and Jan Bransgrove (NSW);
1911 ‘FN’, Stan and Maggie Bone (VIC);1913 Talbot, Michael and Marilyn Trethowan (NSW);
1912 ‘FN’, Rick and Heather Thege (VIC).
DI PYLE REPORTING ON THE NATIONALVETERAN CAR AND MOTORCYCLE RALLY
3-8 MAY NARACOORTE S.A.
Almost three years of planning has taken place to organise the Veteran vehicle Rally to coincide with the 75th Year of the SCC. There were more than 150 entries, which included volunteers and “Swaggies” who join in the event but do not drive their cars. The oldest car was a 1902 Thomas from N.S.W., as well as a 1912 International 12 HP Highwheeler from New Zealand driven by Roger and Glenys Mahan. Twenty four motorcycles also participated and there were Entries from all States.
Glen Dix was our Offi cial starter each day and his involvement added much enjoyment to participants and spectators. At the fi nal Dinner people lined up to get Glen’s autograph and of course he was always obliging. John Hancock owner of the 1912 Gregoire also assisted with publicity for the Rally and this was very much appreciated. The Club’s 1917 Dodge was driven by Club Member Jim Scammell.
The Committee and its Members:Chairman, Julian McNeil
Secretary, Diane PyleTreasurer, Jon Pyle
John Ellis, Kevin Fagan, Lynnear Fagan, Rory Hope,
Phil Keane, Leon Mitchell, Iris Mullins, and Peter Mullins.
Sporting Car Club members also assisted with the smooth running of the Rally. They were:
Chris Whittall, Break Down Assistance. Chris had everything in his trailer to assist Rally entrants who had “trouble” with their vehicles during the days’ runs. He also attended rally meetings over the two years or more and his expertise was invaluable during the Rally.
Tony and Sheena Beaven towed a Trailer for the entire Rally to pick up disabled cars. They were also ‘Tail End Charlie” collecting the direction signs. They were always busy and Sheena’s help in other areas was appreciated. Tony also collated photographs of the Event, shown at the Rally Dinner.
Peter and Chris Templer were the Marshalls, who put the direction signs out each day and then returned to the Rally Start to direct the cars out of the area. The Templer’s assistance in all areas of the Rally was more than we could ask for. They were always busy and we are very grateful they have returned to Adelaide recently, after living in Canberra.
Dianne and Greg Strike were the Morning Tea organisers and each day it took three and a half hours to set up and clear up after morning tea. With over 250 entrants this was a mammoth task and they were ever reliable and always willing to assist when ever there was a problem.
Without the above Club members the Rally would have been impossible to hold. Their involvement was integral to the success of the event.
Monday’s Run to Bool Lagoon and Struan House was organised by the Mullins family. There is no water in Bool Lagoon, but the BBQ lunch and home made cakes at the local CFS were excellent.
Tuesday’s Run to the Naracoorte Caves was arranged by Rory Hope. As well, Rory organised the “Night Drive” through Naracoorte’s main street, when more than 50 vehicles paraded before a huge crowd of excited locals. A highlight of the event. At Morning tea at the Kybybolite Oval the children, parents and teachers from Frances School joined us and SCC members were delighted to see Jean Macdonald who now lives in Naracoorte. Her daughter and son in law Heather and Nick Laycock were entrants in the1918 Buick.
Wednesday’s drive to Penola was organised by Jon and Di Pyle. Lunch at the “Poplars” winery and then to Graeme and Heather Smith’s home to see their collection of stationary engines and memorabilia. The Afternoon tea was “to die for” and with encouragement from Glen Dix many entrants enjoyed the feast. Some people travelled to see the beautiful Yallum Park mansion on the Millicent road and were very impressed by it. As Penola is where Mary McKillop was during some of her lifetime, entrants were able to visit the Museum and school she
was involved in.Thursday’s drive to Lucindale was organised by John Ellis,
with Morning tea at Lochaber Hall, lunch at Lucindale Country Club and then to the local Museum. The Lucindale Area School invited us to drive on their School Oval and the children enjoyed rides and asked questions of all rally goers. The look of delight on the children’s faces made the Rally very worthwhile. The local Naracoorte Car Club hosted us in the evening for a memorable Dinner at their Clubrooms.
Friday’s run was organised by Leon Mitchell to Edenhope in Victoria, with Morning tea at Apsley where the local school children had rides and enjoyed the great atmosphere. At Edenhope College, the students had prepared lunch for us and had stalls organised as fundraisers. The local Car Clubs had their cars on display and it was a good fi nale for the fi nal day of motoring.
The Rally Dinner in the Naracoorte Town Hall was attended by almost 300 people and was catered by the Kybybolite ladies. It was a Committee decision not to have trophies and only long distance awards were given out in acknowledgement of entrants who had driven their cars to the event.
Saturday morning a display of veteran vehicles in the main Square of Naracoorte fi nalised the week of motoring. Many spectators enjoyed looking at the cars and motorcycles and asking questions of the owners and reminiscing about the cars they had owned.
The Rally was a huge success and next year Tasmania will host the 2010 Event. South Australians who attend can relax and enjoy this Rally and the SCC can be very proud of the Naracoorte 2009 event which celebrated the 75 years of our Club’s existence.
Diane Pyle
PETROL FUMES 9
Two unusual cars amongst the other rarities: a 1916 Benz belonging to John and Sue Wards (above) and a
1913 Stoewer (ex Reg and Jean McDonald, SCC) now owned by Stoewer enthusiast John Stanley (below).
continued on page 10, photographs by Diane and Jon Pyle, Chistine and Geoff Chennells
10 PETROL FUMES
11 PETROL FUMES
MARCH MEETING OF THE CLASSIC SECTIONLeyland P76 Night
The car selected for the March meeting was the Leyland P76, a car with an interesting history and we had an authority to speak to us, Gavin Farmer, who has written a book about the development of this particular car (refer to book reviews in
the Library section). Gavin was able to debunk some of the myths surrounding the car, in particular that it was defi nitely not the lemon it has sometimes been described, nor was its demise caused by commercial factors alone but rather by political ones heavily infl uencing the commercial side of things.
On stage we had three cars which were introduced by their respective owners, Wayne Filner, Geoff Cutting, and David Newman.
Suffi ce to say that all of the speakers emphasized the build quality and the excellent ride in contrast to what is sometimes said about the P76 and all were enthusiastic owners, one of them owning his
P76 from new.The background to the car was that historically BMC, and later
British Leyland, supplied small saloons whereas the Australian car buyers from the late 1960 on harboured a preference for large family saloons which could cope with the climate and road conditions of the 5th continent better than some of the smaller European cars at the time. It was the era of Holden, Ford, and Chrysler whose American parent companies were able to adapt their large American designed saloons easily to the Australian conditions.
As BL’s sales declined year after year, the remedy was not only to develop a large family saloon along the lines of their American rivals but endow it with better handling and road holding than the other three competitors were able to build into their cars.
Given the miserly budget the Australian development team was provided by the English parent company, they did a remarkable job creating a car which would outperform and outclass their American derived
competitors due to a more European style platform, steering, and suspension lay-out.
The desired power plant for the car, a V8, came to Australia via the UK. BL had acquired the manufacturing rights to a compact Buick V8 which was fi rst used
in the Range Rover. The Australian engineers, not satisfi ed with its performance, re-worked the engine by increasing the cylinder displacement and ended up with a power plant that satisfi ed the intended market sector.
Political troubles in the UK caused the demise of BL already weakened by poor management and even worse labour relations. A report to the Australian government on streamlining the Australian motor manufacturing industry was interpreted by the press to mean the
shutting down of BL’s Sydney operation – wrongly as it turned out later – but with disastrous effects on sales of the P76, eventually leading to the company’s demise.
Nowadays, the Leyland P76 has a loyal following, organized in clubs spread across the nation. The three cars on stage certainly were a credit to their owners as they were immaculately turned out in every way, but they were as well a fi tting example of Australian engineering prowess.
Michael Wapler
FLEURIEU GROUP MAYDAY RUNAs on previous May Days, the Fleurieu Group staged a three-
course lunch, this time forming part of the 75th Anniversary
celebrations of our Club.Untiringly, Ali Roscrow and her team organised the event which
took place at the South Lakes Golf Club at Goolwa (above) with
12 PETROL FUMES
Ray Pank, our great Club benefactor, as the guest speaker.There were two starting points for the run to the golf links
with the Adelaide group setting off from the Clubhouse and the peninsular drivers from Goolwa Yacht Club.
Meeting point of the groups was the town park in Strathalbyn (above and bottom left), always a popular stop-over for morning tea when runs in the Fleurieu peninsula are staged by the Sporting Car Club.
The brilliant weather and the hospitality enjoyed at the South Lakes Golf Club made it a memorable day.
The Fleurieu May Day run is now a traditional event to be enjoyed every year. As are all runs staged by the Club, the May Day run is open to all Members of the SCC.
The South Lakes Golf Club now replacing the previous venue of the large marquee at
Currency Creek Winery which had proved to be not quite water tight in inclement weather conditions on previous occasions.
13 PETROL FUMES
VINTAGE COLLINGROVE ATTRACTS A VISIT FROM THE DELAGE CLUB
Initial enquiries from the Delage Club of Australia have cul-minated in arrangements for a club visit to Vintage Collingrove 2009. It is expected that approximately ten cars will make the journey from Victoria for the two day gathering. Regulars at Vintage Collingrove are looking forward to seeing this interest-ing and rare marque present at Collingrove.
The vintage tour this year will take drivers over an entirely
new route to Lobethal. This will give participants an opportunity to drive around the GP circuit and to see two sessions of the Lobethal Grand Carnival. A catered lunch will be served after which cars will return to the Barossa Valley via Mt. Pleasant.
Well known rally driver Ed Ordynski will be the guest speaker at the Vintage Dinner to be held this year at the Peter Lehmann Winery on Sunday the 4th. October. Vintage Collingrove partici-pants and friends will be joined by participants in the Lobethal Grand Carnival.
The Hillclimb on Monday the 5th of October will again be open to historic racing classes and as usual Come and Run en-trants will be most welcome. Spectators are assured of another day of relaxed competition at the club’s historic and beautiful Collingrove Site. The successful Partners’ Program will again fo-cus on places of inter-est around the Barossa valley.
Entry forms will be-come available on 1 June, either on the club website or through the offi ce.
ALL ABOUT VOLUNTEERS14
Encounters of the special kind at Clipsal 500
There are many volunteers in action at the Clipsal 500 Supercar racing circuit in Adelaide each year. As with so many motorsport events, the Supercar races would probably not operate quite so profi tably without them.
Faithfully, every year many volunteers of the SCC of SA attend Clipsal 500 and do their work; quietly, unassuming, and with great effi ciency.
A deep love of motorsport keeps them coming back for more each year, even though it can be hard and onerous work. But, there are compensations. Like Di Pyle, you bump into interesting people and that can make anyone’s day. Even more so when you can chat to ‘Mr. Motormouth’ , Murray Walker himself.
Murray needs no introduction, of course, having been part of the motor racing world for many years. His commentary covering F1 motor racing for auntie BBC and other British and overseas commercial stations are legendary, and so are his books, which you can borrow from your SCC Library.
Judging from the photo, Di and Murray got along like a house on fi re and that is a reward no volunteer would like to miss.
15PETROL FUMES
MALLALA EASTER HISTORICS Family Entertainment
Easter Saturday was one of those golden autumn days with which South Australia is so often blessed. Sunny, but not too warm, it proved to be the ideal day for motoring fun at the Mallala race track north of Adelaide.
At the Easter week-end owners with their historic racing cars traditionally meet at Mallala for some serious racing and the enjoyment that comes with it. A great many of the participants are Members of our Club and all d r i v e r s bring along a great variety of historic sporting and racing cars to make this a feast for motorsport enthusiasts – and not just these but for anyone who is a petrol-head – to enjoy.
Needless to say, the entertainment value of such a meeting – partly because of the wide variety of cars raced – is hard to beat. It is one thing to attend a race meeting like Clipsal 500 where, to all intents and purposes, two brands of cars chase around the city circuit, prompting some wags to call it ‘taxi racing’. It is quite another to see an historic scratch race or regularity event where there can be more than twenty cars in a group and hardly two or three share the grid with the same make or model. More often than not, every single car in a group is different to its competitors.
The difference this makes to the spectator is one of the major attractions of such a meeting. The more’s the pity that so few spectators make their way to Mallala on such an occasion. Perhaps we, as a Club, have failed creating enough publicity to pull in the numbers from outside. It is lamentable, though, to confi ne such an event into the strait jacket of what is almost a closed party. The Club, the owners and drivers who stage such an event do deserve better recognition and public acclaim.
Of course, there is hustle and bustle in the pits with the drivers, their families and friends, the mechanics and the inevitable hangers on swirling around the place but there are disappointingly few spectators crowding the stands. Yet, this is great family entertainment. It is safe, it is exciting, and there is hardly a dull moment with a packed programme from morning to afternoon spread over two days.
For the uninitiated, the Sporting Car Club is blessed with two of the most personable and well spoken commentators guiding the public through such events, Anne Ozgo and Tony
Grove. Both make the uninitiated or even your i g n o r a n t correspondent listen, soaking up the atmosphere created by the action on the track. Their c o m b i n e d knowledge of drivers and cars and their history is legendary.
One of the advantages of a compact track such as Mallala is the closeness to the action. The track can be seen in its entirety from the stands and this, together with the well informed commentary, keeps everyone’s interest alive throughout the day.
Of course, our Club Member racers acquitted themselves with aplomb. Whether it was Kevin Shearer whose spirited driving won him the ‘Driver of the Meeting’ award, Vice President John Bryant in his Monaro, or our capable Treasurer Sean Wheelan, who would drive his Ralt RT4 faster than he could crunch the numbers to adorn our balance sheet back at the offi ce, all
appeared to enjoy the thrill of driving competitively on the track. There were too many other
Club Members to mention but of them, Ian Brock, surely merits a mention. Now
in his eighties, he is still racing his Elfi n Streamliner with the enthusiasm of a
man seemingly many years younger and what is even
more remarkable, he only began his racing career in his retirement years.
Any of our Members not having joined in the fun of the
Historic Easter meeting of HRR in the past should mark this event
in his or her diary for next year. It is an event not to be missed.
Michael Wapler
16 PETROL FUMES
photos courtesy of John Lemm, except Kevin Shearer and Ian Brock
17PETROL FUMESNot to be outdone was Rory O’Neill with the Porsche, trying to find the spaces that were left, or not. John Bry-ant, in the Monaro, had a great weekend, spending most of it in a battle at the front end of the field with Graham Jarrett in the Camaro. The HTCASA asked that this year we include a longer race, so Race four was over 12 laps. John’s run from 11th up through a hard charging field to finish first certainly had him high up in the running for Driver of the Meeting. Roger Oliver, in the Falcon Rally Sprint, provided the most spectacular exit/entrance to the track for the weekend, losing it just past the Back Straight kink, creating a giant dust storm which descended around him as he sat, car unmoving on the exit of the Northern Hairpin. Amazingly, the oncoming field navigated through the dust and around each other to escape unscathed.
Round two of the Formula Ford 40 Year Festival was conducted over three of their five races. John Miles (Rey-nard) and Andrew McInnes (Lola) were certainly the men to catch across the weekend. Nick McDonald (Birrana) also did his share to keep them honest. Further down through the field Daniel Smith (Wren) and Greg Eva (Elf-in) provided great entertainment with plenty of close rac-ing between them. With 20 cars representing the Formula Fords the mounds were filled with spectators for each of their events. Daniel Smith was also the Scrutineers’ choice for best presented car of the weekend.
Group S had the misfortune of losing a number of com-petitors before the weekend started so after consultation
the four intrepid competitors started at the rear of the Group N field for most of their racing. The Barry Pritchett and Keith Ond-archie Triumphs also lining up to enjoy Regularity in the hands of Alistair Ond-archie and Ursula Weidenmuller, with Ur-sula proving a very consistent runner. For all the Group S competitors who haven’t visited Mallala, come on over. We’ve got five races and plenty of socializing wait-ing here for you!
Groups Q and R were well represented with the Handicap events providing the racing of the day. Bob Collison running his recently completed ASP Clubman fought valiantly to hold off the field only to be pipped at the post by fellow ASP driver Guy Chick. Sean Whelan had the Ralt run-ning sweetly as was the Simon Gardiner Lola, but unfortunately the Carrig car was chewing up gears at an alarming rate. It was good to see a new car out there – Darren Holiday in the brand new Prad. This car certainly looks to have some se-rious potential.
The Group M and O field had a strong representation of Formula Juniors, and many others lamenting the fact that their car was on a slow boat from China (or South Africa). Paul Orr (Austin Special) did not have the best of weekends with misfortune striking early and regularly. It may have had something to do with Orr-ful t-shirts being sported by our photogra-phers. Michael Shearer (Cooper T59) was also struck by little problems, including an escapee fire extinguisher. By comparison Tim Kuchel in the BT18 only finished out of the placings once, managing to pick up a second in great run from the rear in the final handicap event.
In Groups K and L John Virgo (Riley) tried in vain to chase down the agile Coop-er Jap of Fred Greeneklee, but to no avail. It was not until the last handicap of the day that John was able to get ahead. This final handicap event was to provide one of the highlights of the day. It is not often
PETROL FUMESPETROL FUMES
ALL HISTORIC EASTER MALLALA 2009
Good weather had been ordered and delivered, with glorious sunshine being the order of the day. Easter Bun-ny had been given special instructions as to where to find us and old and new friends brought their cars to meet in competition once more. Well, if you hadn’t heard, we had a fantastic weekend.
The Group N field was one under grid capacity as we went into the weekend, and provided some of the best runs through the field that I have been fortunate enough to see. Graham Stewart, in the beautifully prepared XU1, spent the first two races working his way toward the front of the field, having to fight hard for every position scored.
images on page 16:from top left (clockwise):
Graham Boulter, Holden FJ (No. 96)Sean Wheelan, Ralt RT4 (No. 32)
Ian Brock, Elfi n Streamliner (No. 85),talking with Phil Moore
John Bryant, Monaro (No. (No. 18)Malcolm Miller, Birrana 274 (No. 48)
Michael Shearer, Cooper T59 FJ (No. 59)Falcon GTs
David Armstrong, Cicada GMC Clubman (No. 75)Rory O´Neil, Porsche 911 (No. 13)
centre: Kevin Shearer and crew
continued on pages 18 and 19
1818 PETROL FUMES
Photographs courtesy of Bob Taylor
JOHN BLANDEN’S CLIMB TO THE EAGLE
The Tradition ContinuesThis Year Celebrating
25 YearsFriday, 6th November 2009
Whilst the Grand Prix is no longer in Adelaide, the memories remain. One of the most popular of the fringe events was the Climb to the Eagle held traditionally on the Friday morning preceding the Grand Prix.
The event commenced in 1985 and during its 11 years it attracted to the “Climb” Formula 1 World Champions Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Jack
Brabham, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Phil Hill as well as Stirling Moss and other champions. Among the cars that have taken part are some of the world’s most valuable and rarest sports and racing cars.
To commemorate the 11 years of Grand Prix in Adelaide, the Climb to the Eagle continues to be run annually on the Anniversary of the last “Climb” and in memory of Adelaide’s great Grand Prix Carnival. In 2004 the name was changed to the John Blanden ‘s Climb to the Eagle in recognition of John’s work in setting up this event. For the last 10 years we have added to the “Climb” the optional “Grand Parade” and for 2009 we will return to the Southern GP – a drive to Victor Harbor for Lunch.
Adelaide’s motoring community is being invited to be part of this celebration and to join in the offi cial ‘Climb to the Eagle’ while the public is encouraged to line the route to the Eagle on the Hill and to cheer the cars and their enthusiastic drivers and crew.
The Sporting Car Club of SA is organising the event and is determined to maintain the Grand Prix tradition through the “Climb”.
The “Climb” has already become a ‘motoring classic’ and the public can see the cars at the start at Victoria Park Racecourse, or line the route along Glen Osmond Road to the “Eagle on The Hill”. Here is the opportunity for enthusiasts to be part of the experience. All makes and models are welcome, but all cars must be registered and road rules adhered to at all times.
This year, after the Climb to the Eagle, we shall continue to The Hahndorf Resort for morning tea where there will be a guest speaker who has a special connection to the Adelaide/Australian Grand Prix in this state. It is highly recommended to all enthusiasts.
25th Anniversary MerchandiseDon’t forget to place your order to secure a commemorative
medal, being produced to celebrate 25 years of the “Climb to the Eagle.”
There are also Polo Shirts and Baseball Caps available and this year will see a special 25th Anniversary Booklet produced, but numbers will be limited, so get your orders in.
Entry forms will have been posted to past entrants around the 1st of July. A supply of entry forms will be available from the front desk of the Sporting Car Club of S.A., Inc. and via the Club’s website.
Closing Date for entries will be Friday 4 September.John Blanden’s Climb to the Eagle Committee 2009
19PETROL FUMESthat you hear the Clerk of Course saying that all of Race Control was up on their feet to watch a race. Coming into the Northern Hairpin there was nothing but closing gaps between Ian Tate (Prefect), and leader for the last four laps, Trevor Dunford (Vauxhall), Ian Brock (Streamliner), Bill Schapel (TC) and Kevin Shearer (Ford). Somehow Kevin managed to work his way through this pack and take out first. This run, plus the fact that he had competed in regularity in his White 500, Michael Shearer’s Cooper and swapped with Ron Townley in the BWA earned Kevin Driver of the Meeting. John Payne had the honour of win-ning the DG Fraser Memorial trophy.
During our presentations, Kevin’s achievements across the weekend earned him much applause and congratula-tions. As his daughter I must say his family is immensely proud of him and his determination.
It is not often you see a standing ovation at a post race meeting trophy presentation but when Glen Dix presented Ian Brock with a magnificent photo of Glen and Garrie Coop-er in honour of Elfin’s 50 years there was no one left seated. It was certainly a most fitting tribute to all three men, and acknowledgement of Ian’s love of Historic racing.
On Monday the hardier (or more foolish) souls went to Collingrove Hillclimb to continue their competitive week-end. Kevin Shearer managed to get into another two cars – a Formula Vee belonging to son Michael and Rod Mc-Mullin’s Indy Ford. Six cars in one weekend is not bad go-ing! Rod won the West End trophy for fastest Group J/K, breaking the 40 second barrier and achieving 39.34.
From the SA HRR – we wish you strong engines and look forward to you joining us at Mallala, Easter 2010.
Ann Ozgo
◊◊◊◊
‘The Climb’ a l w a y s attracts the bold, the old, and the beautiful - cars that
is…
2020
21LADIES’ QUESTION TIME
VALE ‘JEFF’ LAURENCE PARSONS
7th June 1942 - 14th May 2009
Following his career in the RAA, Jeff joined the Sporting Car Club in 1992 where he made his mark after his retirement. His first major Club event was the year 2000 Sun-seeker Rally to the Yorke Peninsula. Thereafter he immersed himself in Club activities where he was Chairman of the Classic Section from 2000 to 2002. He played a major part in the organisation of the SCC’s 2003 South Australian Auto Festival held at Goolwa in April of that year. At another time, after the Club’s General Manager had resigned, Jeff took on this role as a caretaker manager for several months until a replacement had been found.His commitment was always 100% and he remained on the Classic Section committee until 2006. When Jeff joined the SCC he brought with him a lovely Austin A40 Sedan. However, Jeff had han-kered after something with a more prestigious name and he eventually acquired a beautiful black Jaguar MkII 3.8 which had red leather upholstery and wire wheels and this became his pride and joy. Next in line was a 1977 silver BMW 633 Coupé which he drove with panache.Jeff and his wife Julie became Club stalwarts regu-larly volunteering as well as attending meetings and events. All of us will miss his cheerful nature and ready smile. Our condolences go out to Julie. G.T.
ANSWER TO LADIES’ QUESTION TIME FOR APRIL
Incredibly gifted, many of our readers instantly recognised Peter Ustinov, born Baron Peter von Ustinov, of Russian, German and Ethiopian descent. His father had served in the German Air Force in WWI and later worked as a press offi cer attached to the German Embassy in London where Peter was
born. In 1935, father Ustinov saw the signs of the time and switched sides to work for MI5, thereby avoiding internment during the war.
Who could forget Peter Ustinov’s role as Nero in Quo Vadis and - interestingly - he could be considered the fi rst man of known African descent to have won an Oscar.He was a keen tennis player and yachtsman and later in life
dedicated most of his time to supporting UNICEF for which he was Goodwill Ambassador and fundraiser.He was an author of books and worked as a conductor with the support of Sir Georg Solti.Despite emigrating to Switzerland to avoid the U.K.’s confi scatory taxation rates at the time, he was knighted for his achievements.Thank you for your correct answers: Judy Burke, Daryl Warman, Kay and Colin Bourner, Joy Grant, Meg and Denis Basson, and Robyn and John Muirhead.
LADIES’ QUESTION TIME FOR JULY
The question may not be that easy to solve, but this may jog your memory: the gentleman in the photo above, starred in a fi lm that will be remembered not just for the idealism in the main actor’s role but for its theme music. ‘Rock Around The Clock’ by Bill Haley and his Comets sold 25 million copies world wide. But who was the actor, and what was the movie’s title?
Michael Wapler
A n s w e r s please to: M i c h a e l
Wapler at:m i w a p @o z e m a i l .
com.au
OBITUARY
MICHAEL GASKING’S RACING SNIPPETS
Wealthy sportsman (Motor Racing and Yachting) Briggs Cunningham was fit, fast, and clever, and set out in 1950 with modified Cadillacs, which finished 10th and 11th at Le Mans to show the world that Americans could build and drive cars to match the Europeans at their own game. By the 1952 race, he had designed and built his own cars, one of which, in a herculean effort, he drove for twenty out of the twentyfour hours to finish fourth! In 1953, Cunningham won the Sebring 12 Hours and his cars finished third at Le Mans in 1953, and third and fifth in 1954.
22
TRAVEL BUG
ROUTE ‘66’ THE MOTHER ROAD
Few, if any roads, can stir up as many emotions as this road does, and not just for Americans. As a young lad, having just escaped the strictures of East German c o m m u n i s m , arriving in Frankfurt/Main, then Western Germany, was exciting enough. But there was an added attraction, not particularly enjoyed by my parents, in the form of a radio station called
AFN (American Forces Network). It was like a beacon in the wilderness among the then stodgy offerings of post-war German radio stations. Quite apart from its predictable scheduling – every show was strait-jacketed into 15 or 30 minute slots, with fi ve-minute news on the hour – it offered music which I had never heard before.
The AFN played Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and something unusual – at least to this innocent 14year-old – country and western. There were special programmes aimed at the coloured American servicemen, heavy with country blues and jazz. I could soon sing along to the sounds of “Sixteen Tons” long before I knew what the words meant. There was even the odd programme of classical music, the only programme slot approved by my father who considered anything else as noise out of the Congo’s jungles. But then, of course, we came from Leipzig, the city of Bach, Mendelssohn and Wagner and the world famous Gewandhaus and its orchestra.
My friends and I soon discovered a vaulted cellar club in the centre of town, above it still stood the ruin of a bombed out
four-storey building, where fl edgling German jazz musicians and American servicemen would mix to play together – to me, it was sheer bliss. But I should not divert too much from the chosen theme.
Of course, a substantial portion of what the AFN offered was called popular music, and while I was much less interested in the crooning of Dino Martino or Paul Anka and his contemporaries, there was this song which captured the imagination. For a non-English speaker it was easy to comprehend as it mainly listed geographical places like town names and States, had a nice up-tempo pace – it’s all too obvious – “I got my kicks, on Route 66”.
It was written by composer-song writer Bobby Troup (top) who, after leaving university in 1941, had been working as arranger and song writer for Tommy Dorsey until war broke out after Pearl Harbor. Bobby was a native of Pennsylvania where his parents ran some music businesses in Lancaster and Harrisburg, but after being de-mobbed in 1946, he decided to marry and later to take his wife and two daughters to Los Angeles where he was hoping to make his mark as a songwriter.
They took off in their 1941 Buick convertible, fi rst on highway 40,
soon to join highway 66, when his wife Cynthia whispered into his ear ‘…get your kicks
on Route 66’. That was enough inspiration for Bobby to put together
the lyrics, simply stringing together the towns and States through which they proceeded on their way to L.A. Elated from this exciting journey, once in L.A. Bobby put music to the words and a few days afterwards went to see Nat ‘King’ Cole to whom he offered his new song. Nat was enthused, and after a few minor changes, he recorded it and the rest – as they say – is history. The simple little song became one of the all-time hits, being recorded by artists like the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode and many others. Nothing has captured America’s love affair with the road more than this song.
Due to the song, there can be little doubt about anyone not knowing its termini, Chicago and Los Angeles. The road has a long history all of it connected with the automobile. To everyone’s surprise, Henry Ford in 1926 decided to lower the selling price of his automobiles. The subsequent surge in sales meant the Federal Government found itself under pressure to create better roads for its citizens, after all, drivers were voters. Back in 1916 Congress had passed the Federal Aid Road Act providing federal funding for road building to the States of the Union. Yet in the early twenties, of the 36,000 miles of roads in the US, most were fi t for travel only by horse and buggy.
There was no East-West highway in the US at the time and it was due to the untiring lobbying and efforts by an Oklahoman, Cyrus Stevens Avery (right) that Route 66, as we know it, took shape at all. Cy,
OUT AND ABOUT
GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66
If you ever plan to motor westTravel my way, take the highway that´s the best.Get your kicks on Route Sixty-six!It winds from Chicago to L.A.More than two thousand miles all the way.Get your kicks on Route Sixty-six!Now you go thru Saint Looey and Joplin, MissouriAnd Oklahoma City is mighty pretty;You’ll see Amarillo; Gallup New Mexico;Flagstaff, Arizona; Don’t forget Winona;Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.Won’t you get hip to this timely tip:When you make that California tripGet your kicks on Route Sixty-six!
Bobby Troup
It was said that Dwight D. Eisenhower, when Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Europe, was impressed by the network of Autobahns in Germany, appealing to him as military leader for the possibilities they offered to fast movement of troops and supplies. When ‘Ike’ was elected President of the US some years later it was during his administration that a similar road network was planned for the US. The Cold War had started in the early post-war years and it was felt the US
lacked a network of strategic roads. These considerations led to a new network of Interstate highways. They were entirely federally funded and strategically planned with no regard to lobby groups having the result that the ‘Interstates’ often ran well away from the small towns and villages that had been the life blood of Route 66 and that of the other cross country highways.
Gradually, sections of the Mother Road were disconnected, others became mere service roads for the Interstate network that was developing around it. Consequently, service stations, motels and whole communities were abandoned,
some hanging on for dear life, but many succumbing and becoming ghost towns. You can still travel extensively on sections of Route 66 thanks to preservation societies along its course and you will meet many enthusiasts that keep the tradition alive. Other sections of road have been abandoned or are entirely impassable. Some bridges have been dismantled, but with a good set of maps, you will be able to travel substantial distances on that famous ribbon of road which has become a legend. ‘Hit the road, Jack…’
Michael Wapler
23OUT AND ABOUT
as he was known, had become Highway Commissioner of Oklahoma in 1923 and was Chairman of a new three member State Highway Commission. He emerged as a member of another infl uential body, the American Association of State Highway Offi cials, and it was on that commission’s annual meeting in San Francisco that a landmark decision was made to create an East-West highway which would eventually become Route 66.
Cy Avery, experienced lobbyist that he was, ensured the planned East-West national highway would run through his native Oklahoma in preference to the traditional Santa Fé trail to the North or the Butterfi eld Stage line to the South.
Originally, Cy had wanted the designation No. 60 but there was fi erce competition from other highway interests in Kentucky and Virginia for that number and eventually Cy gave in and accepted No. 66. The Mother Road was born.
On 11th November 1926, a committee of federal and state highway offi cials met in Pinehurst, N.C. and signed off on interstate routes for all 48 continental states.
No. 66 would wind out of Chicago, traverse Illinois, cross into Missouri where it would track closely the old Osage Indian Trail. It would briefl y touch Kansas before marching across Oklahoma’s ranch lands and oil fi elds and on across
New Mexico, Arizona and into California. In 1926, only 800 of the total of 1648 miles to L.A. were paved and it took until 1937 before the last sections were sealed, mainly with concrete slabs.
Route 66 is deeply ingrained into the history of the US, not just music was written about it, the road saw the exodus of farmers and their families from the Great Depression and the dustbowl conditions that developed in 1935, seeking a better life in California, immortalised by John Steinbeck in ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. Woody Guthrie sang about the huge
cloud of dust that enveloped western Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle … ‘So long it’s been good to know yuh …’ After the second world war it was the Beat Generation
travelling to California and a hoped for life free from East Coast conventions and strictures. It was Jack Kerouac who put this into words in ‘On the Road’.
But the end was nearing for the Mother Road.
i
p
A Cadillac Coupe de Ville at the Coral Court Motel, St. Louis, Missouri. (page 22)
Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi at St. Louis, now open for pushbikes and pedestrians only (top left).
End of the road, workers dismantling road signs in Chicago, Illinois (centre left)
The Mother Road in western Oklahoma, next to the Interstate highway (left)
Out of gas at Hackberry, Arizona (top, right)Closed section near Depew, Oklahoma
1424 AT THE SHARP END
RAISING THE BAR
Having recently re-turned from Europe, I am once again remind-ed just how defi cient are the driving skills and road manners of Australian, and in par-ticular, South Australian drivers.
In Europe, coaches are limited to 100 km/h, even on the unrestricted autobahns. Large trucks are even further restrict-
ed to just 80 km/h and are forbidden from using the fast lane. Cars, of course, are free to travel at whatever speed the driver deems comfortable and appropriate. Interestingly, this particular stretch of autobahn was two lanes in either direction, and not
as good a roadway as the Southern Expressway or the South Eastern Freeway (at least, when the interminable roadworks are completed). A moment’s thought makes it obvious that when a coach travelling at 100 km/h gains on a large truck travelling at 80 km/h, both in the slow lane, with cars whizzing past in the fast lane at speeds of 160 and 180 km/h, there is a large speed discrepancy between the bus that pulls out to pass and the traf-fi c coming up behind. Repeatedly, I observed car drivers in the fast lane who, aware of their surroundings and other road us-ers, recognized that the bus would have to pull out around the slower truck, and that it would be travelling at only 100 km/h, or up to 80 km/h less than themselves. In every case, they slowed down to allow the bus into the fast lane ahead of them, waited patiently while it overtook the truck and when it pulled back into the slow lane (very quickly after completing its overtaking ma-noeuvre) resumed their previous speed. No headlight fl ashing. No closing the gap so the bus couldn’t get into the fast lane. No abuse. No blaring air horns and single fi nger gestures.
Compare that to the utterly ignorant and inconsiderate driv-ing behaviour on our own roads. Perhaps part of the German
25AT THE SHARP END
Stop on a painted road island – $54. Lead an animal from in or on a motor vehicle – $60. Lead an animal from a bicycle – $25 (there goes one of my options for exercising the dog). And radar detectors? There’s a $280 fi ne for “having possession of radar detector while travelling in or on vehicle or trailer”.
According to police traffi c support branch Oberfuhrer, sorry, Superintendent Mark Fairney, the “overwhelming message from the changes is that good drivers just drive”. Oh, really?
The fog light issue is still not clear. Fog lights are defi ned as a pair of white or yellow low-beam lights operated independently of headlights at the front of the vehicle and not refl ecting into the driver’s eyes, and a red light of less than 27 watts at the rear of the vehicle. Now, many of the press vehicles I have driven lately have the fog lights wired into the light switch, so they only operate with the parking lights and, in some cases, only with the headlights on. So they aren’t “operated independently of the headlights”… If the lights refl ect back from, say, a bull bar into the driver’s eyes, are they exempted from the legislation? And if, as is occasionally the case, the car is fi tted with one driving light and one fog light, then they aren’t, by defi nition, “a pair”…
As for the cyclist penalties, how do you apply demerit points to someone who is not required to hold a licence? Are licensed drivers to be penalised more severely than non-driving (unli-censed) cyclists? And the same thing applies to fi nes and de-merit points for passengers in motor vehicles.
However, the main bone of contention is the way these new fi nes and rules were introduced. The changes were printed over ten pages of the South Australian Government Gazette No. 56 on 25 September 2008 (a publication we all read religiously, of course!) and a further 50 pages in No. 57 but neither the Gov-ernment nor the police made any further effort to publicise the changes.
Too busy telling us in heavyweight advertising campaigns to “stop creeping over the speed limit” and what a wonderful job they were doing with the Tour Down Under, I suspect.
To check out the changes for yourself, go to www.govern-mentgazette.sa.gov.au/archives/” www.governmentgazette.sa.gov.au/archives/ You’ll find what you’re looking for on pages 4592-4601 (sic) of Gazette No. 56, and pages 4650-4699 of Gazette No. 57.
Paul Murrell
drivers’ good behaviour is because they know they can quickly and legally resume speeds suitable to the conditions once the bus returns to the slow lane, so the overall effect on their travel time is minimal (they could even go a little faster, to make up for lost time). Not so here, of course. Passing a bus or truck supposedly speed limited to 100 km/h without exceeding the posted limit is a slow, painful and extended process. Once past, the same truck is liable to tailgate you down the next hill or even overtake you, forcing you to repeat the procedure on the next uphill stretch.
Current policy seems to be ever more Draconian road rules supposedly enacted to “protect” the most abysmal drivers from themselves. A better alternative might be to improve our driv-ing standards and skills. If drivers were more skilled and more alert, more aware of the overall motoring environment, it could be argued that they could make better, and better informed, de-cisions, appropriate to the situation at hand. They could travel faster when conditions warrant and slower when they don’t. In other words, they would be aware of the consequences of their decisions and make them accordingly.
But why would lawmakers want to improve our driving stand-ards when enforcing lowest common denominator road rules and speed limits raises billions in revenue every year?
Paul Murrell
THE ONUS IS ON DRIVERS
On 25 January, 99 new and revised on-the-spot fi nes were introduced. Some make existing infringements more specifi c while others are aimed at making cyclists more responsible on the roads.
It is now an offence to use fog lights in clear conditions – pen-alty $160. Fail to use slip lane when starting left turn on multi-lane road – $201, 2 demerit points. Start a left turn as a bicycle rider on a multi-lane road from the incorrect position in the bi-cycle storage area (huh?) – $25, 2 demerit points. Cyclists who proceed through a bicycle storage area before a red traffi c light or arrow – $231, 2 demerit points. Fail to give way when diverg-ing right or left within a marked lane – $208, 3 demerit points. Drive with a person or animal on your lap – $95. Ride a motor-cycle and sidecar with passenger not seated safely – $83 fi ne for both rider and passenger. Run a red light on a bicycle – $231 (fi nally!!!) Drive on a safety ramp or arrester bed – $231, 3 de-merit points. Make a U-turn across certain dividing lines – $248, 3 demerit points. Drive in a tramway – $158, 3 demerit points.
MAGNA STEYR MAKING A BID FOR OPEL
Frank Stronach, born as Frank Strohsack in Austria in 1932, is the personifi cation of the American Dream. After migrating to Canada in the 1950s, the trained toolmaker is said to have been washing dishes after arriving in Canada with $200 in his pockets. Today, his two main companies Magna International and Magna Steyr are the world’s third
largest car component manufacturer after Denso and Robert Bosch, turning over €18 billion (A$32,7 billion), employing some 74,000 workers. The customer list is a Who’s Who of the world’s automobile manufacturers.
While Karmann of Osnabrück, manufacturer of the famous Karmann Ghia coupé and lately the folding metal roof for the Mer-cedes’ SL models is now history, Magna has gone from strength to strength.
Other than Denso and Bosch, Magna Steyr actually builds complete cars for other manufacturers already. Valmet of Finland lost the Porsche contract to build the Boxster, which was awarded to Magna Steyr where the Boxster will run off the production line from 2012. Likewise Aston Martins will be built at Magna’s Graz (Austria) facility from this year. The Mercedes “G” class all terrain vehicle – a 4wd used by several NATO forces - and some of the BMW “X” series SUVs are likewise Magna built.
Enter the GM saga and its subsidiaries Vauxhall and Opel, both of which are now fi ghting to survive the looming Chapter 11 prospect of their parent GM. First off the mark was FIAT’s charismatic chief execu-tive Sergio Marchionne who is pres-ently in tripartite negotiations to take over moribund Chrysler and has now made an offer for Opel/Vauxhall. How
AT THE SHARP END26
FIAT, itself strapped for cash, was going to raise the funds was always in doubt. Now FIAT has dropped out of the bidding.
Quietly, Frank Stronach has put in a bid for Opel/Vauxhall and, con-trary to FIAT, Magna does have money in the bank and with 35 fac-tories in Germany alone, Magna is well poised to become a fully fl edged mass producer of cars. An Opel/Vauxhall acquisition by Magna is, in the fi nal analysis, good for the Magna order book as well. Opel is a major client of Magna.
But, there is a catch. The consor-tium put together by Magna includes Moscow’s Sberbank which will take a 35% stake in partnership with GAZ, Russia’s second largest automobile conglomerate, makers of the infamous ‘Volga’ barge in Soviet days. Sberbank, on the other hand, is said to be close to the political circle around Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
GM is said to retain a 35% shareholding with Magna taking 20% and Opel employees the remaining 10%. Under the new GM structure, the US government will be its largest shareholder with some 70% of the shares. That, and the Russian connection, will make an inter-esting combination.
The whole deal is backed by a multi-billion € fi nancial guarantee by the German govern-ment, seeking to safeguard 20,000 jobs there and in the rest of Europe.
Michael Wapler
“EMERGING TALENT”
Like most categories of motorsport, HQ Racing sees a regular ebb and fl ow of drivers as the seasons roll on. Some competitors take longer than others to master the vagaries of controlling the unique qualities of the HQ race car while some it seems are born to it.
As the seasoned and successful drivers move on, it is often just a matter of climbing the ladder and fi lling the vacant spots, however on occasions there is a driver that achieves success earlier than expected
It is probably not entirely fair to single one person out…but we will do it anyway.
To get a good launch into the front group it is wise to buy a good car. That is what Darren Jenkins did in securing the ex Championship winning car of Wayne King
27PETROL FUMES
Darren had come along for a road trip with the boys to Bathurst in February 2008 and was immediately hooked. Being a friend of Daryl Crouch and Mike Pratt he was probably already on the brink.
Darren or “Danny” as he prefers to be called, at forty years of age, and having not previously raced in any category, maintains “consistency” as his byword. With consistency comes improvement.
In just over twelve months of racing he continues to run new personal best lap times, and broke into the 29s at the recent meeting, picking up two second and a third place for the weekend
The self employed panel beater (gee that’s handy) has an easy manner on and off of the track and claims that “if you stay out of
trouble and stay focused on going fast, but staying on the track, the opportunities just come along”
Well folks there is no doubt… ”Danny” Jenkins the 40 year old in car # 40 will be getting a great offer from his sponsor Forty Winks next time around.
And an invitation to all SCC members… come to Mallala and say hi to our boys, they are always pleased to see you and glad have a chat… especially “Danny”.
You can also fi nd Darren at Old Noarlanga Crash Repairs.
Graham Boulter
SA State Racing Championships
2009
The 2009 SA State Racing Championships will again be run over 4 rounds at Mallala Mot-orsport Park. At time of writing we have had 2 rounds of highly com-petitive racing.
Round 1 – 28 FebruaryRound 1 was run to
the now familiar season opening twilight format and good sized fi elds turned out to face the starter.
It was 3 wins out of 3 for Asher Johnston in the Formula Vee 1600cc class with Neil Richard-son taking 1200cc hon-
ours in race 1 and Phil Wilkes class winner in races 2 and 3.
Jim Doig (Motorlab Asp) won both scratch races in Historic Sports and Racing with Ian Ashford (TAD) the winner of the two handicap events. Melissa Ford (Mallock U2) and Dave Smith (Westfi eld) shared Clubman honours with two wins each.
Wayne King won all three Saloon Car races in his Ford EA Fal-con. MGFs ran in the same races with Gary Baxter coming out on top in two heats and Hamish Gibson class winner in race 3.
Graham Mason dominated HQ Holdens with victory in all 3 races while Tony Wallis did likewise in his Mazda 808 in Im-
proved Production.Lyn Punshon (Robnell 302 SCR) won two Sports, Sports Se-
dan and Tarmac Rally races with Andrew Taplin (Lamborghini Gallardo GT3) taking out race 3. Steve Knight (Mitsubishi Lanc-
er Evo 6) was the only Sports Sedan runner with 6th and 7th outright followed by a DNF in race 3. Ben Stack (Nissan 200SX) was the top Tarmac Rally competitor on all 3 occasions.
Peter Hall (Datsun 240Z – Sports) won 2 races in Historic Touring and Sports, also fi nishing 2nd to Graham Stewart’s His-toric Touring Holden Torana XU1 GTR in race 2. Stewart was best Historic Touring driver in race 1 with Kirk Davis taking the class win in a Mazda RX2 in race 3.
Aaron Steer (West WR 1000) scored 2 wins in Super Sports with Greg Steer winning race 3 in a similar machine. Formula Ford Duratec saw 3 different winners – Roger I’Anson, Caleb Rayner and Daniel Ramerman each winning a race. Bo Jensen was best of the Formula Ford 1600 runners in all 3 heats.
Round 2 – 2-3 MayRound 2 was an all daylight affair held over 2 days with 5
races per category.Tony Wallis continued his form from round 1 with another per-
fect weekend – 5 out of 5 wins in Improved Production in a Mazda 808. Graham Mason nearly did the same in HQ Holdens with 4 wins, Dean Nicolo narrowly beating him in race 1.
Wayne King (Ford EA Falcon) won race 1 in Saloon Cars but then fi nished the other 4 races in 2nd behind the Holden VN Commodore of Peter Holmes. Christopher Aberley won 3 races in MGFs with Adrian Akhurst and Graham Stewart taking one MGF win each.
Graham Stewart had a busy weekend also racing his Holden Torana XU1 GTR in Historic Touring and Sports. He won 3 races while Graham Jarrett (Chev Camaro) won the other two. Peter Hall was the only Historic Sports driver but mechanical problems including needing to replace the head gasket on his Datsun 240Z plagued his weekend.
Lyn Punshon won the opening two Sports, Sports Sedan and Tarmac Rally heats in the Robnell while Mark Krashos (Porsche GT3 Cup) won the other 3. Mark Papendell’s Holden VC Commo-dore was the only Sports Sedan and averaged 6th outright. Chris Frost (Holden Torana LJ) was best of the Tarmac Rally cars.
Scott Blake won 2 Formula Vee 1600cc races with Asher Johnston also winning twice. Cameron Waters took the win in race 5. Wes Young was the top 1200cc driver in 2 heats with Rhys Newman, Phil Wilkes and Neil Richardson each scoring a class win.
Super Sports driver Luban Trbovic (Radical SR8) scored 5 wins with Roger I’Anson fi nishing 2nd to him each time and win-ning the Formula Ford Duratec class. Jason Ratsch and Bo Jensen each scored 2 Formula Ford 1600 wins, with Gerrit Ruff taking class honours in race 1.
Andrew Ford (Reynard 893 Honda) won both scratch races in Historic Sports, Racing and Clubman with Keith Williamson taking out the fi rst handicap race in his Farrell Clubman. Rob-ert Smith (Westfi eld – Clubman) won the other two handicap events.
Thank you to all the volunteer helpers and offi cials. We hope to see you for round 3 on 12 – 13 September.
David Langfi eld
28 PETROL FUMES
illustrations:centre left, Tim Knappstein, Morris Cooper S
bottom left, Andrew Taplin, Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
r/h page, clockwise from top left:
Asher Johnston, Formula Vee 1600Lubin Trbovic, Radical SR8
Melissa Ford, Mallock U2-Clubman defends against Jim Doig, Motorlab ASP
Graham Stewart, Holden Torana XU1 GTR holding off John Bryant, Holden Monaro
Tony Wallis, Mazda 808Kirk Davis, Mazda RX2 narrowly beats
Graham Stewart, Holden Torana XU1 GTRMichael Rooke, Honda Civic - trailing exhaust
Caleb Rainer leads Roger l’Anson and Daniel Ramerman - Formula Ford Duratec
Mark Krashos, Porsche 997 GT3Lyn Punshon, Robnell 302 302SCR
29PETROL FUMES
