Laughter, Tears Farewell Possum Bourne

Laughter, Tears Farewell Possum Bourne
Courtesy of the New Zealand Herald
At first it did not seem like an occasion for grieving. The stage glowed with flowers,
fathers played with their children, and people laughed.
The following news article courtesy of New Zealand Herald
An order of service chirpily announced the occasion to be "Possum's Prize giving".
The sound system belted out Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling and Jimmy
Barnes' Working Class Man.
But hanging from the corners of the hall were chequered flags - reminders that
Peter "Possum" Bourne's final race was over.
And then the hearse pulled up. Silence fell as a brave boy clutching a blue helmet
took up his position in front of his father's coffin, finished in the same blue and
yellow colours as his rally cars.
The funeral was the chance for 1200 people packed inside the Pukekohe Indian
Association Community Hall and the crowds outside to bid farewell to Possum
Bourne.
The 47-year-old died last Wednesday after crashing on April 18 during a
reconnaissance drive for the Race to the Sky hill-climb near Cardrona in Central
Otago.
Yesterday, his wife, Peggy, his family, his Subaru racing team, old colleagues and
fans watched as Bourne's coffin was greeted by a haka from the Pukekohe High
School kapa haka group.
With 8-year-old son Taylor leading the procession, the coffin was carried into the
hall to Midnight Oil's King of the Mountain.
Harold Amstutz, Peggy Bourne's father, offered a prayer of affirmation and comfort.
Family tributes followed, with Possum's brother, Geoff, and sisters, Deb Bourne
and Kristine Game, speaking of Possum's love for his family, and his energy and
enthusiasm.
"The thing I'll always remember about Peter was when I brought Linda up to meet
the family," said Geoff.
SPOKES – June 2003
1
"Peter turns up and says, 'Gees, I'm so hungry, I could eat the arse off a dead
skunk'. That's Peter. It doesn't matter if he's known you one day, one year or 20
years."
Family friend Pat Rawle read out letters written by Taylor and Possum's other
children, Spencer and Jazlin, on the day the decision was made to turn off the life
support.
"To Daddy," wrote 4-year-old Spencer. "I love you. You crashed. Please God help
Possum. Please keep Possum safe. Please keep Possum happy. Please get better
soon. We want you back. So does Mummy."
"To Dad," wrote Taylor, "We are very, very sad. We want you to come back but it's
too late now. We are just going to have to pray God keeps you safe in heaven.
"Why did God choose you? ... Why does He keep some bad people on Earth but
you in heaven? He must need you right now. We wish you didn't crash because we
really miss you."
Perhaps the most emotional moment came from Taylor when he read out a
message he had written for his father. "Dad, you were a great man ... I love you
Dad, I miss your smile..."
SPOKES – June 2003
2
"I want you to know that we really miss you and we really want you to come back...
You are in my heart, I love you to infinity."
Bourne's co-driver on this year's world rally circuit, Mark Stacey, also spoke of the
unique experience of racing with him.
Possum had a huge number of fans and would sacrifice precious seconds to wow
crowds with a touch of flamboyance behind the wheel.
"You had to be in the rally car competing to see where that support came from.
There'd be 'Go Possum' signs everywhere. They would be on trees, on fences,
attached to woolsheds, engraved in the dust on car windows, and flags would fly.
There were times you would think Possum was the only person in the race..."
"It was as if it was a privilege, something special, and his passion for it never
ended."
But it was Possum himself who ended his own farewell, with words from an old
television clip giving the mourners something to draw hope from.
"If you don't get anything out of the bad then what the heck are you doing here,
because the bad things make you realise how good the good things are."
And then he flashed that big smile - the smile that was almost as famous as his
antics on the road.
Then he was gone on his final road trip, from Pukekohe to Pokeno cemetery.
SPOKES – June 2003
3
Spokes
magazine
June
2003
Contents
1
5
7
8
9
10
12
15
20
23
26
31
32
35
36
Possum Bourne
BMSC Committee Directory
Editors Dribble
President’s Piece
Club Reminders
Captain Bazaar Returns
Rookie Heads Home
Jenny does Bathurst
Tara Tasmania Wrap
Ben & Lyndall - RoC
Doug Wright - RoC
Jem @ LCCC Kanacross
WRC Wrap
BMSC Help Page
Classifieds
Photos courtesy of : Rally.com.au, Peter Norton,, www.wrc.com, Ryan Lahiff,
Unkown.
Front Cover : Possum Bourne. Much thanks must go to the team at
Rally.com.au for there assistance.
Club Meetings: First Tuesday of every month (except January) from
7.30p.m. at Royals Rugby Football Club, Liardet Street Weston.
VISITORS MOST WELCOME
Spokes is the official journal of the Brindabella Motor Sport Club Incorporated,
PO Box 115, Civic Square A.C.T. 2608.
All copyright to original articles herein reserved.
Individual opinions expressed herein need not necessarily reflect those of the BMSC as
a whole.
SPOKES – June 2003
4
BMSC DIRECTORY
PRESIDEN T:
Stephen “Fro” Horrobin
29 Clancy St.
Evatt ACT 2617
6258 2222 (h)
0428 972 481 (m)
president@bmsc.com.au
EDITOR :
James Elliott
74 Sturdee Cresent
Monash ACT 2904
6293 9220 (h)
6242 2368 (w)
0438 277 305 (m)
VICE PRESIDENT:
Dougal Wilson
21 Maconochie Circuit
Oxley ACT 2903
6231 3599 (h)
0412 653 908 (m)
E-mail TBA
PUBLICITY
OFFICER :
Greg Lemmon
Mark Kelly
36 Abercrombie Cct
Banks ACT 2906
6294 5029 (h)
6272 5485 (w)
0411 317 762 (m)
secretary@bmsc.com.au
David Ecclestone
15/33 Hargrave St
Scullin ACT 2614
6278 3307 (h)
0419526242 (m)
treasurer@bmsc.com.au
ASSISTANT
PUBLICITY
OFFICER
Matthew Harriott
3 Wolfingham Place
Isabella Plains ACT
6292 8420 (h)
0422 374 138 (m)
SOCIAL
SECRETARY:
Peter Kobold
18 Jameson Cr
Kambah ACT XXXX
6296 3510 (h)
0422 001 242 (m)
social@bmsc.com.au
Nick Vardos
12 Cobar Pl
Fisher ACT 2611
6288 5978 (h)
0422 301 406 (m)
E-mail TBA
W EBMASTER
Karl Willett
17 Cochrane Cr
Theodore ACT 2905
6292 6626 (h)
TBA (w)
TBA (m)
SECRETARY:
TREASURER :
CLUB CAPTAIN
TBA (h)
TBA (w)
TBA (m)
publicity@bmsc.com.au
webmaster@bmsc.com.au
: MEMBERSHIP
SECRETARY
Stephen Mee
13 Hewlett Circuit
Florey ACT 2615
6258 1654 (h)
6121 5425 (w)
0412 317 338 (m)
membership@bmsc.com.au
PROPERTY
OFFICER :
SPOKES – June 2003
5
John Malycha
24 Biraban Street
Macquarie ACT 2615
6251 2912 (h)
6121 6607 (w)
GENERAL
COMMITTEE:
gencomm@
bmsc.com.au
Lyndall Drake
13 Dixon Place
Jerrabomberra NSW 2619
6299 9088 (h)
6266 5469 (w)
0408 242 223 (m)
Andrew Richards
TBA (h)
TBA (m)
lyndalldrake@ozemail.com.
au
Fiona Willett
17 Cochrane Cr
Theodore ACT 2905
6292 6626 (h)
0418 961 415 (m)
Ray Baker
5 Kingham Pl
Charnwood ACT 2615
6258 0212 (h)
6253 5660 (w)
0417 057 361 (m)
PATRON :
Neal Bates
C/- Neal Bates
Motorsport
37 Sheppard St
Hume ACT
CLOCKS AND
RADIOS:
David Ecclestone
15/33 Hargrave St
Scullin ACT 2614
6278 3307 (h)
0419526242 (m)
CAMS STATE
COUNCIL
DELEGATE:
Adrian Dudok
34 Harper Street
Macgregor ACT 2615
6254 7555 (h)
6254 7178 (w)
0417 251 011 (m)
PUBLIC
OFFICER :
Wal Pywell
9 Keys Crescent
Wanniassa ACT 2903
6231 6143 (h&w)
ALTERNATE
CAMS STATE
COUNCIL
DELEGATE:
Fiona McCubbin-Mee
13 Hewlett Circuit
Florey ACT 2615
62581654 (h)
62483340 (w)
0429 801 404 (m)
NSW RALLY
PANEL
MEMBER
Adrian Dudok
34 Harper Street
Macgregor ACT
2615
6254 7555 (h)
6254 7178 (w)
0417 251 011 (m)
SPOKES – June 2003
6
EDITORS DRIBBLE
Hello again,
Well firstly let me apologize for missing the May edition of Spokes. With
work & personal commitments finding the time was hard. I’m sure you’ll
understand.
Moving on in this packed edition we have the basic Kanacrosses to the
superior World Championship reports, and everything in between.
I must also thank the crew at www.rally.com.au for allowing me to slightly
modify their work for use on our front cover. It’s a said time for the sport,
but no doubt many will carry on his dreams and passion throughout the
years to come.
It’s also great to see that we’ve got some personal reports coming from
many members of our club, it’s fantastic work, keep it up!
Thanks and enjoy,
James
editor@bmsc.com.au
R ALLYSPORT
australian
news
Australia’s ONLY dedicated rally newspaper
Available Monthly by Subscription or from your local newsagents
SPOKES – June 2003
7
F R O S ’ S P R E S I D E NT’ S P I E C E
Another month has past but a full month it has been.
We’ve had kanacrosses & meetings going on, but most importantly we’ve
actually had rallies.
The peter Rodges Bathurst Real Estate rally was an experience, although
it’s raised questions in my mind about what rallying is about. It was, as
most supp regs describe, a test of speed & reliability of crew & vehicle.
Many BMSC crews, had trouble of there own, which led to some unique
experiences all round.
The club has had a coup with Woden Tradesmen’s Union Club coming on
board to sponsor the Back In Black rally, in late June. Thanks to Marc Kelly,
Matt Dyne & Greg Lemmon for there efforts in organizing it. Part of the flow
on for that has been a proposed move to the Woden Tradesmen’s Union
Club for club meetings. Most of the committee check it out and it seems
newer, nicer and more rally friendly. It’s on the agenda for our club
meeting, so if you’re a die hard Royals fan, come along and let us know.
Alternately if your keen to move to somewhere new and different, we
wanna hear your opinion too!
The ACT series is shaping up to be a cracker this year, on many levels.
With Bega & WTUC Back in Black rally in the near future, I’m sure there’s
plenty for everyone to do.
See you out there.
Fro
Contact him via email: president@bmsc.com.au
SPOKES – June 2003
8
General Meetings
7.30 pm Tuesday, 3 June, 2003
7.30 pmTuesday 1 July, 2003
Spokes Article Deadline
5 p.m. Friday, 20 April, 2003
Rallying helps with a good car & plenty of fuel..
Courtesy of Targa Tasmania
SPOKES – June 2003
9
Captain Bazaar Returns
– Jigger at his best
Nick has been busy in recent times, and as such was unable to enlighten
you all with his friendly words. I’m sure if you come to the club meeting, he
will be able to fill you in!
Ed.
(Because of Jiggers case of techniphobia, any correspondence to him can be sent in the more
traditional format, post or via the editor @ editor@bmsc.com.au )
Ahh the dust, without it it’s not the same!
Photo: Peter Norton
SPOKES – June 2003
10
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10% Discount to BMSC Members upon presentation of Membership Card*
*Excludes sale items
SPOKES – June 2003
11
Rookie Heads Home.
A rundown from novice & club member Paul
My first event, and my Nav's first event, made for an interesting learning
experience.
The whole day passed in a bit of a blur but I will try and remember bits.
SS1 We didn't know what to expect, at the top of the hill it became obvious
that we didn't know how to make or listen to calls. Without the red flags we
would not have made it. We did though.
SS2 Still trying to call and listen, the fact that there were only 3 calls should
have made it easier but we still stuffed it.
SS3 Mike suddenly decided on a calling technique that worked for him
(mainly just became confident in calling), and we started to have fun, had a
few brown pants moments, but a lot better. Near the end some dust
appeared. I was surprised on how bad it can get, you almost need to stop
its so hard to see.
Lachlan Valley
Meat Co.s
ACN 000 125 495
Providers of the ever popular
BMSC raffle Meat Trays
Wholesale Butchers supplying Prime quality Beef,
Veal, Pork and Lamb
Full Range of Carton Meats
6 Hume Place, Griffith ACT
Phone : 6295 3410 Fax : 6295 6468
SPOKES – June 2003
12
SS4 Probably went a bit silly here and paid for it, there was a few humps around,
and in our inexperience we didn't know how to handle them. The car got pounded a
lot and so did we. Both of us need to pay more attention to caution and double
cautions. At the end of it we found we had blown a front tyre. 15 minutes is not very
long to service, we changed the front tyres and filled up on fuel and were still late
away.
SS5 The new tyres were really old ones and I think I could tell the difference (we
lost it a couple of time anyway). We also started to realise that if the road bends it
is not always in the book, so we started to get more cautious. At the end we had
blown another front, we changed it on the side of the road which left us all out of
spares, and a silverstone on one front and a dunlop on the other.
SS6 I was exhausted by this stage, and the prospect of 50km was daunting. About
7km in we started to hit dust, and then we hit a hump, *HARD* It looked pretty
small from the front and only had a single caution, but when we went over it the
front went off the ground then the back hit in a way to force the front down. The car
felt a bit funny after that, but we continued. The dust became so bad that we had to
almost stop. Unfortunately I sometimes just drove through without thinking, making
for some scary moments. Then at about 23km's in the car started chugging and
died. We looked under the bonnet, saw a pool of oil and immediately assumed we
had blown the engine.
SPOKES – June 2003
13
There were only 2 cars before the sweep, so he was there pretty quick.
When he arrived we had just started trouble shooting to see how bad it
was. He arrived and we wanted to ask about what happens with the service
crew, namely which direction would they get sent in from etc. But the guy
just waived a time card at us, so we went "Oh, OK" and gave him ours, then
he was gone.
We continued troubleshooting and pretty quickly figured out there was
plenty of oil in the engine. the problem was that the jack had bent itself out
of the bracket and disconnected the fuel pumps. With that back in the car
started fine. *WHAT DO WE DO NOW* We decided that if we continued
Dad (my service) might come in from the start and then we would miss him,
so we waited for 40 minutes. It got dark and cold so we gave up and started
driving, we then met some VERY helpful service guys looking for a
commodore, they sold us some oil (which was only half full by then), and
told us how to get out. We started driving and met Dad coming the other
way.
Turns out he was left at the Service point all alone without any clue to what
was happening, it was pure luck that he saw a 4wd pulling a car trailer and
decided to follow him, which is when we met.
Overall we learnt heaps, in future I think I will try to err on the side of
caution, I went in thinking that rallying is more about speed, but now I think
it's more about not killing the car. The DNF taught me a bit about
troubleshooting, and I will Be more thorough next time. Most importantly I
will organize a plan of action with the service crew BEFORE the stages.
As to the car, I have not been game to look at the damage I have done, I
know the oil cooler is all bent and the hoses cracked, but the suspension is
still an unknown. It also doesn't start anymore
PHEW that was almost longer that the rally
Paulie
SPOKES – June 2003
14
Rally Gear
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See Reliance Automotive Services for all your rally requirements from
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interface), Halda cogs and repairs, triangles, harnesses, polyurathene
products, mudflap material, etc.
Reliance Automotive Services, 9 Isa Street Fyshwick
Phone: (02) 6280 5972
Jenny Does Bathurst
A brief report from Jenny Austin
Having been up past midnight every night for the last 3 weeks, I was feeling
pretty tired and stressed before Bathurst. Thanks to Spac for doing all the
hard stuff (rewiring, most of the painting, gearbox shuffling, getting the
clutch to work etc), I'm sorry for taking up all your time! Fortunately Tamsey
had stepped in to nav for me at short notice after my regular nav couldn't
make it.
SS1. I hate tar, and with an attitude like that, you know how fast I was!
Changed to rally tyres at the service and was very glad to be getting back
onto dirt .
SPOKES – June 2003
15
SS2. For someone who hasn't been in a car for 6 months this is not the
stage to start with. WAY too fast for my liking, and I think the times reflected
that too.
SS3. This was definitely a stage more suited to my driving and I had fun,
except that the engine started to get hot about halfway through the stage
and wouldn't cool down even when I backed off for a bit.
SS4. Another fun stage, although I was still having temperature problems.
Don't know about the time, probably quite slow again - it's hard to
concentrate when you're thinking about whether or not the new engine has
died already . Got to service to have Sam tell me he just put 2L of water in
it! ****!! The tiny leak in the radiator doesn't appear to be where all the
water is going and the engine is sounding bad already (water seals most
likely ).
SPOKES – June 2003
16
SS5. Doddle off from the start thinking I've killed it already, have a bit of a
go (it's still cool from the transport and water added at service). Come
round a left hander up hill about 6 kms in, car feels a bit funny, think I might
have a flat. Get over the crest and touch the brakes as I'm about to go
through the dip on the other side and BANG, it's sounds like I'm running on
just rim and the tyre has completely disintegrated. Stop about 50m later,
get out, say **** a few times as I see that the whole wheel is missing and
all 4 wheel studs have sheared off. Disc is now ******too. Today really is my
day for finishing, not . Tamsey and I go looking for the wheel, after about 30
minutes Aaron finds the wheel spacer, so I go wandering off up the hill into
the pine trees and find the wheel (with it's tyre still looking very new) about
80m from where it came off.
The fast sweep was a d#ckhead - he just took our time card, told us to wait
for the other sweep and drove off while we tried to tell him we needed to
contact our service crew.
Miss and the other start controllies turned up to keep us company (and
supply lollies and a beanie ) then when the other sweep arrived the start
controllies went off to find Sam and Plasto to come and rescue us. Sam
and Plasto arrive about 40 minutes later and we thread through some new
wheel studs, put the wheel back on, fill up the radiator and drive back to
Bathurst (about 80kms). Then on the way back (still about 40kms to go)the
clutch slave cylinder sh1ts itself and I now have to change gear without it.
That's all good until we hit a 50 zone, and Plasto slows down to about 40. I
can't get into 3rd and decide to stop. So Sam (the master of clutchless
changes) drives the car back to Bathurst for me with surprisingly few
crunches.
So to sum up: 1 ****** engine, 1 ****** disc, 4 sheared wheel studs, 1 totally
rooted slave cylinder, 1 disappointed Tamsey and 1 VERY annoyed Tweety
.
Now the most important part, the thankyous (a VERY long list):
Spac for everything
Tamsey for jumping in the silly seat at very short notice
MadDog for saying he'd nav if I couldn't find anyone else and the fire
extinguisher
Sam and Plasto for servicing and getting parts at short notice
SPOKES – June 2003
17
Fro for giving me his trailer ride for the 180B back to Canberra
Tom Lunney, Russell Battison and Jem (and Naomi, Fro and Karl) for pushing my
useless car onto the trailer
Karl and Girlie for actually bringing it back to Canberra
JW for building me an engine in time and helping out with the dyno. Unfortunately
I'll be back to see you very soon
Miss and the start controllies at SS5 for finding Sam and Plasto for me
JS and Gary's Motorsport Tyres for organising some new Dunlops for me
Lyndall and Tim for your time, all the Mazda stuff and the driving boots
Naomi for lending your little sander
Jason for lending your compressor
Barry Smith Motorsport and Gavin Mosher for the brake pads and Peltor connector
Simon Leigh for a little bit of welding help
Bede, Renee, Mum and Dad for your continuous support
The BMSC and the ACT rally community - your support has been great and is
really appreciated.
Overall I thought the rally was really well run, so thanks to all the officials who put
in their time, and anyone I've forgotten thankyou too (I'm still suffering from lack of
sleep).
Matt Harriott in the Fully Sick Gemi.
LCCC Kanacross 1
SPOKES – June 2003
18
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SPOKES – June 2003
19
RICHARDS WINS TARGA TASMANIA FOR
SEVENTH TIME
Event release
Porsche driver Jim Richards won the Targa Tasmania tarmac rally for the
seventh time after turning back a strong challenge from South Australia's
Steve Glenney in today's fifth and final leg.
Richards and Tasmanian navigator Barry Oliver won the 12th annual Targa
event in a turbo Porsche 911 with the lowest penalty time of 22-mins 30secs. They finished 1-min 10-secs clear of second-placed Glenney and his
navigator Clayton Lang, also from South Australia, in a Nissan Skyline
GTR.
Next best in the six-day rally were Victorian Rex Broadbent in third place,
Tasmania's Greg Garwood, and Queenslander Tony Quinn, all driving
Porsche 911 cars. Nine-times Bathurst 1000 winner Peter Brock was sixth
in a Motorola V8 Holden Monaro.
Richards went into today's leg leading Glenney by 15-secs and they
appeared poised for a close battle. There were nine stages from Burnie,
down through the west coast region, before the finish in Hobart. Richards
proved 55-secs quicker than Glenney, including a 20-secs advantage
through the 47km Mount Arrowsmith stage.
Assessing the result, Richards said the mostly dry weather today had been
decisive. Yesterday Glenney was 70-secs quicker on the fourth leg, which
was held in wet conditions.
"The day went very well," said Richards. "I always said rain wouldn't suit us.
It was damp in a few places, but there was no rain which suited us down to
the ground."
"Both Glenney and Broadbent put in fantastic drives. It's always satisfying
to win Targa and this year is no different. It's such a tough challenge –
that's what makes it so good."
Glenney, who crashed when in second position in his Targa debut in 2002,
said he was pleased with his result.
SPOKES – June 2003
20
Jim Richards in the consistent Porsche
Photo Courtesy Targa Tasmania
"Everything went to plan for most of the week," said Glenney. "Today we
dropped a little bit of time to Jim (Richards) in the first four stages, and then
he took quite a lot off us at Mount Arrowsmith."
"I'm delighted to be second. It's great to do so well, especially in the
company of a driver such as Jim Richards."
Broadbent, winner of the Classic Competition in 2002, began the leg 56secs behind Richards, and eventually finished 1-min 39-secs adrift.
"We did the best we could," said Broadbent. "I didn't make up enough time
on Glenney for second, but we protected our position from Garwood."
Garwood said his chances would have been boosted by wet weather on the
final leg.
SPOKES – June 2003
21
"If it had rained it would have suited me better," he said. "I went as hard as I
could go to try and get on the podium. In the end we came up one place
short, but that's the way it goes."
V8 Supercar driver Cameron McConville finished a superb 13th outright in
his Targa debut in a Motorola Holden Astra SRi turbo. McConville
consistently bettered the stage times of more powerful cars throughout the
event.
Ex-Formula One commentator Murray Walker finished his Targa debut 44th
as navigator in the Toyota Camry Sportivo raced by former Bathurst 1000
champion Colin Bond.
The Tarraleah stage today was downgraded to touring because of oil
dropped on the road by the Caterham Blackbird of NSW's Vijay Angelo.
American Martin Hancock crashed his Alfa Romeo during the stage.
RESULTS (Provisional)
MODERN COMPETITION:
POSITION
DRIVERS CAR TIME (mins/secs)
1. J. Richards (Vic)-B. Oliver (Tas)
Porsche 911 22:30
2. S. Glenney-C. Lang (SA)
Nissan Skyline GTR 23:40
3. R. Broadbent-M. Goedheer (Vic)
Porsche 911 24:09
4.
G. Garwood-M. Perry (Tas)
Porsche 911 25:01
5. T. Quinn (Qld)-K. Wenn (Tas)
Porsche 911 25:52
6. P. Brock-A. Gigney (Vic)
Motorola Holden Monaro 29:04
7. L. Rattray-T. Jackson (Tas)
Subaru Impreza WRX 30:00
8. K. Burke-N. Botha (NSW)
Porsche 911 30:28
9. P. Blackie-I. Ranson (Vic) Porsche 911 30:41
10. S. Hoinville-R. Williams (Vic)
BA Ford Falcon XR6 32:13
SPOKES – June 2003
22
BEN AND LYNDALL ROCK THE ROC
Having just perused the BMSC Forum for news of our club member’s exploits at
the Bathurst state round, I am a little daunted at writing a requested RoC event
report for a three-day event now that I’ve seen everyone’s detailed analysis of a
one-day event. It appears the RoC was a cruisey “soft” event – the longest RoC
stage was East West at 23 kms, which pales into insignificance in comparison with
Bathurst’s 50 km epic (did the Killer Mullet’s have a double-shot Latte and No-Doz
bar at the long stage mid-point?).
Being 7 months since Ben’s last pacenoted event and 8 months since we first/last
competed together, we slipped in a few hours of testing over the Easter weekend
prior to RoC. This was just enough to ensure the rapport was still there without
wanting to “life” the componentry in the old Evo III too much (the Three Bears
approach to rallying).
Pacenoting is a very civilized affair at RoC compared to the grueling pacenoting
schedule set at every other ARC and WRC event I know. Recce spread over two
days, 80 km speed limit compared to the usual 60, compact loops, all-day sausage
sizzle hosted by friendly controllies and mid-afternoon finishes both days – what
more could you want for? Well … perhaps a rally-prepped Group N Evo or WRX
recce car instead of Ben’s trusty Group N Toyota Hilux ute? I shouldn’t be so
greedy. A slow flat just as we finished recce’ing the last run of the last stage in
Kowen was a good sign – a flat in recce means no flats in the rally itself.
Ben commented during pre-event testing that he had a really good feeling about
the RoC. I hope Ben continues to get these really good feelings during the rest of
the year and his whole career! We were quietly confident we could put in some
good stage times compared to some of the Australian’s and especially the
internationals that were seeded above our Car 24 starting position. However we
th
were stoked to get a 9 outright stage time on the first SS Tidbinbilla, and to
essentially keep achieving similar stage times throughout the whole event without
risking the car at all.
th
th
Greenhills on Saturday saw us getting some 5 and 6 fastest stage times which
were really pleasing, especially given we weren’t pushing that hard and the top
guys didn’t have any problems (okay, Kangas excepted). Neal and the boys from
NBM were out spectating in the forest throughout the weekend, and claimed we
had the fastest split times to their point. Wasn’t sure whether to be ecstatic, or
th
disappointed that we had slowed to be only 5 fastest by the flying finish point.
Scott Pedder, who you would think would be focused on his own battle for the
SPOKES – June 2003
23
outright lead, came over to congratulate Ben on how impressive his stage times
were. Encouragement like this is especially appreciated with Scott’s first-hand
knowledge of the limitations of a ten-year-old Evo III compared to the array of Evo
V/VI/VII’s and WRX’s we were keeping up with.
Ben and I were happy with our rhythm, and not interested in trying to match the
frenetic activities of the Neale brothers given the endurance nature of the RoC.
The Neale’s were progressively damaging both their Group A Evo V car body and
also their human bodies with big jumps (eg. at the Warks Road off-set cross road
early on Day 2) and an increasing attraction to stumps, fences and roos. We
alternated stage wins with the Neale’s throughout the whole event, but dropped
significant time when slowed by NZ’s Andrew Hawkswood’s dust in East West.
th
We continued our consistent pace in Kowen on Sunday morning, including a 6
fastest time in Mountain Road I. The second run through the Kowen stages saw a
driveshaft break on the second corner of the challenging (polite understatement!)
River Road, meaning Ben had to battle the car through both that tough stage and
the following stage before reaching service.
Forced to replace the broken
driveshaft with a less-than-average second-hand spare didn’t improve the handling
much and consequently another slow stage time but luckily the time buffer we had
built meant we didn’t drop any outright positions.
th
th
nd
st
So … 9 outright, 6 Australian, 2 privateer team and 1 all-BMSC crew to finish
the 2003 Rally of Canberra. An excellent result amongst tough competition that
th
Ben should be proud of, and a belated present to celebrate his 25 birthday two
weeks prior to RoC. Roll on the Premier State ARC in Sydney and the Central
Coast in early July!
Stephens, Hayes &
Associates
25 GEILS COURT, DEAKIN WEST
Phone : 6232 5225
Mobile: 0413 024 563
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24
?Secretarial Support
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Many thanks to all the BMSC members (and some from THAT other Canberra rally
club) who were integral senior officials of the RoC with many weeks and months of
planning leading up to the event, and to all those club members who put in huge
hours to make recce and the rally the success that they were. Whilst getting to
know the volunteers at the various interstate events contested, there is nothing
more comforting and reassuring than seeing a sea of familiar faces in HQ and at
every control and regroup throughout RoC. The smiles and encouragement go a
long way to boost flagging energy and morale. As Marc would say … gold.
Karl Willett – Subaru Impreza WRX Rally of Canberra Photo by: Peter Norton
SPOKES – June 2003
25
Rally of Canberra 2003 - Post Event Report
By Doug Wright
FRIDAY
Three Stages two of them ran twice and then the super special stage
Sounds like an easy day!
The day started with overcast weather that turned out to be full on rain just
prior to out first run of a competitive stage.
The first stage of the 2003 ROC was the Tidbinbilla. This is very much the
same as previous years with the recent bush fires not having had an affect
on this stage. These are lovely sweeping left and right corners as you climb
a gentle slope and them down the other side were it opens up to some fast
straights. It's a real nice stage, but suited to more powerful rally cars. We
had no problems through this stage except the lack of horsepower
(something
that
would
dog
us
all
weekend).
The famous Mineshaft Stage was the next to be contested. This year the
stage had been shortened from it's usual 25km to a 9km stage, as a result
of the bush fires. It was strange to pace note as all the trees that you use to
help with reminders were gone and mineshaft it’s self looks far more
daughting when you go over the edge, I also thing that the forestry had
widen the entry to mineshaft which has totally changed the approach that
you once had. The traditional bits still remain, all the crests and Mineshaft
jump that you expect in this stage. We had a good consistent run through
this stage, not setting the world on fire as it was raining and the gravel does
become slippery.
After these it was off to service, as we drove to service the sun was shining
but on arrival the rain began to pour (typical), the service crew had a muddy
car and in the rain to service.
After service it was back out to do these two stages again, with no reel
problems and a desire to just get through them we didn’t do any thing risky.
The last stage of day 1 was the super special stage. This year the
organizers have made another change, and built a super special, complete
with the jump/tunnel format at Fairbairn Park which is located between
SPOKES – June 2003
26
Canberra and Queanbeyan near the airport. Friday nights runs where a
case of survival, with all the days rain and the fact that the track was brand
new, it was incredibly slippery. After the runs it was back for one more
service and yes it started to rain again!
Doug Wright at Rally of Canberra 2003
Photo by Peter Norton
SATURDAY
This was a totally different day to the Friday; for starters the sun was
shining. Today’s stages were to be Green hills run three times, East West
and New Lees Creek to be each ran twice and the new super special stage
to finish if the days rallying. Our first runs through Green hills, East West
and New Lees Creek were fairly non eventful, except loosing the front
number plate on the water crossing, with the car just not performing and
only been able to produce horse power at above 5800rpm, it was very hard
to drive. The next run through Green hills was attempted a little harder and
perhaps a bit more ragged, because on the transport out to the start of East
West we had a problem. The car began to handle very weird with the back
swaying all over the place, and a million things going through my head as
to what the problem was. We pulled over to inspect the rear and thinking
SPOKES – June 2003
27
that that was the end of our rally, I’ve never seen Marko so pleased to see
a flat tyre!, I was also pretty pleased as this was something easy fixed and
our rally wasn’t over with. At the end of East West we were reunited with
our lost number plate thank you to Steve Mee and John (stage
commander) and his son who spent hours looking after Steve had already
recovered it. We had another non-eventful run through New Lees Creek.
Green hills was ran after service and as it had been already been ran twice
that day it was starting to develop dusty spots, rutts and rocks! We came
around a corner which we noted as a 3 right and remembering that we
have ran this stage twice already today, nothing of note with this corner,
well in the corner in line with the right side wheels was a rock the size a
helmet which we some how managed to miss with the wheels and let it go
under the car letting the underbody work, do it’s job. We then head off to a
regroup for the entire field was reversed for the nights super special stage.
O/k now you would think that yesterday it was raining and last night it was
super slippery on the stage. Today it has been sunshine and dust on every
stage, so it would be fair to think that the super special will be dry, right?
Wrong, it wasn’t as slippery as the previous night but it was still slippery.
Stew and Paul in the little Suzuki fridge are who we were partnered up
against, I happy to say that stew whipped us both times but we did put on a
good spectator for the crowd with our last run been only .1 of a second in it.
SUNDAY
Saturday was the Kowen Forest Stages, Kowen North and two new stages
River road and Mountain road. These stages were long and rough with lots
of rocks on the roads, The organizers had built the tunnel and jump over
the tunnel as a spectator set up for last years rally and were again using
this year, near the service areas. Kowen North was the first stage of the
day and we had a nice steady run to get into the grove for the days rallying,
on arrival at the start of River road their was to be a big hold up as the
stage had to be shortened as some cows had got in to the staged area.
After a 20 odd minute delay we started the stage with rain falling, I went
wide on one corner and resulted in understeer and nearly ending the rally
stuck in a ditch, but we managed to power out of it (don’t know how with an
engine that has no hp!). Mountain road was the next stage and this was
very slippery, it was always going to be a slippery or a dusty stage as it had
only recently been graded and a lot of loose soil was at about every corner.
The day was a repeat of these stages, which by now I must confess I was
only driving for a finish and the last stage was a run of Kowen North, the
SPOKES – June 2003
28
stage with the tunnel/ jump set up. Leading up to the jump is a 1km straight
and as I was driving this I was thinking what can I do as a crowd pleaser I
thought about doing a donut after the jump but I didn’t have time to discuss
it with Marko so I thought I may as well cut the last corner a little, you know
let the inside wheel run up the bank, you should always look at these things
before you think about it, that bank gets quite steep! It’s about then that I
remember Brett Middleton rolled on this corner last year!! We finished the
stage without rolling and notched up another finish in the Rally Of
Canberra.
We finished the Rally of Canberra 2003 with a 2nd in Class A6
8th group A car home and 12th Aussie crew and 19th outright.
Doug & Mark at the finish ramp for Rally of Canberra
SPOKES – June 2003
29
Photo by Peter Norton
City
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OR
SPOKES – June 2003
30
6247 4532
LCCC Tri Series Khanacross - Take 2
Jem tells us about the 2nd round of the tri Series
I had an absolute blast during the day. Many thanks go to all the LCCC
guys who put the day together. Especially Dave...
I started the day off thinking I had no chance at winning, given the
competition that rocked up. So I decided I was going to be a bit more
adventurous with my driving. Be a bit more aggressive and not be as
worried about knocking flags over...
The first stage was awesome. I snuck in a handbrake turn that felt as good
as I have ever done. It still wasn't perfect, I bogged it down when I
"powered" out of it. Got very sideways in a couple of places... But, knocked
down 2 flags
Second stage, and a request for a massive power slide for a photo was
requested... I figured, with 2 flags down I didn't have much of a chance of
winning, so sideways was going to be the order for the rest of the day...
The result of the stage was the above picture, some video footage (thanks
Tim) and another 2 flags down.
Third stage... Backed in and gassed with more sideways action... Another 2
flags down
Fourth stage... What a shocker... After letting Fiona and Jen know where it
will be easy to WD, I nearly do it myself. A bit of the reverse gear and a few
seconds lost and I'm still going... Only to stuff the end up. A total of about
15-20 seconds lost, plus another 2 flags down.
Unofficial results had me in last place I think, which put a bit of a downer on
the day. I'm sure I could have been a minute faster if I had been driving like
I would normally drive, and stayed away from the flags. Regardless, the
smile on the face is still there.
Jem
SPOKES –June 2003
31
The difference is. . . Marcus
Rally Report – www.wrc.com
Argentina · Peugeot · Marcus Grönholm · 11/05/2003 19:09:05
Marcus Gronholm rolled into his service area, killed the engine, got out of
the car and shook the hands of each of his mechanics, one by one. That’s
just what he’s like and that’s just why he’s so popular. You could probably
hear the chants of “Marcus! Marcus! Marcus!” from Paraguay. It was a bit
like the ampitheatre scene in Gladiator.
Marcus had it sewn up by the end of yesterday after closing to within 15
seconds of Markko Martin. Markko did a stunning job, but realistically he
would never have held off the charge of Gronholm.
Peugeot Sport boss Corrado Provera says he wasn’t especially surprised
by Marcus’s ability to charge back up the field after losing nearly two
minutes with an off on stage nine.
“I still thought he could win, of course,” said Corrado. “OK, hitting the rock
was unfortunate, but it’s just one of those things that happens occasionally
if you’re pushing hard.”
And the fact is Marcus was pushing hard. Ford, Subaru and Citroen have
been making big steps recently and were often beating the other two
Peugeots of Richard Burns and Harri Rovanpera. It’s only Marcus himself
making the difference.
Whether or not Marcus would have had Carlos had it not been for his
penalty is more of a moot point. The final gap between Marcus and Carlos
was 26.6 seconds, so it would have been very touch and go.
Nonetheless, Citroen have proven a point. Despite no experience of
Argentina they have come in and are capable of winning. The only
remaining ‘unknown’ rally for them is Cyprus, so the other red cars are a
force to be reckoned with as well. It’s interesting though that Carlos Sainz
seems to have got to grips with the car faster and better than Colin McRae.
It’s a pity that Sebastien Loeb wasn’t able to finish either. He was doing
another incredibly solid job and would have been in the top five but for a
very atypical indiscretion at the end of day two.
SPOKES –June 2003
32
Sebastien’s capacity to learn quickly is even more impressive than his
outright speed, which is something we saw again in Argentina.
Championship-wise, the next round in Greece will be very interesting.
Richard Burns is hanging onto the lead by two points thanks to his
phenomenal consistency – he’s been on the podium on four out of the last
five rallies.
Peugeot has told Marcus not to comment in public about the new scoring
system anymore, but he does have a point. It’s slightly odd that you can win
three out of five rallies and still be second in the championship. Although
the scary thing about Marcus is that it could easily have been five out of
five.
Consistency is also what has kept Skoda afloat on this rally, despite a
catalogue of small disasters. But Didier Auriol and Toni Gardemeister
finished sixth and seventh, despite Toni starting the rally with a minute’s
penalty.
“The result was OK – something like what we expected,” said Toni. “But the
times were actually slower than everyone else compared to New Zealand.
It’s not so much progress.”
SPOKES –June 2003
33
Skoda started the rally on New Zealand settings, as testing of the Octavia WRC
has stopped entirely in preparation for the launch of the new Fabia WRC. No
wonder Didier Auriol replied “now” when he was asked at which point he’d like the
Fabia to be ready.
Hyundai looked to have had the measure of Skoda in Argentina, and the squad’s
new-found prosperity was evident in their brand new team fleeces. We’ll never
know about Freddy Loix, as he was gone before the first service halt of the entire
event Armin Schwarz was on for a sure sixth though before the engine died on the
final loop of stages. It was definitely an opportunity missed.
But Rally Argentina 2003 will be remembered above all for making organisational
history. Nobody can remember the last time some stages were postponed and
tacked onto the following day – probably because it’s never happened.
The organisers did well to take this bold step, but they also fouled up on the first
day by not supplying the drivers with accurate stage times.
Robert Reid made a valid point. “It just seems a bit harsh that people like Toni
Gardemeister get slapped with a minute’s penalty for a transgression – there’s no
quarter given – but the same standards don’t apply to rally organisers. It seems
they can get away with what they like.” A point to ponder?
Anyone for a Citroen? Driven by Colin?? Anyone…
SPOKES –June 2003
34
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SPOKES –June 2003
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BMSC Classifies
Have you got something to sell or something you need. Place
your add here free of charge. Simply contact the Editor for
further details.
Datsun 260 Z, 2 seater.
original condition no mods, 5 speed, drives well, straight body, minimal
rust, no rego, original mags new tyres, regretful sale as I have no room to
keep it. 3,000 ono, ph. 0401 400 711.
SPOKES –June 2003
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