Two Australian crews were in the thick of it at the recent Midnettssolsrallyt, or Midnight Sun Rally, held around Orebro, approximately 200km west of Stockholm in Sweden.
Darryn Snooks, partnered by Tracey Dewhurst, and Jeff David, with Grant Geelan, are thought to be the first Australian crews in this iconic rally.
The Snooks Motorsport Team have gone to Europe to compete in six historic rallies events starting with the Midnight Sun Rally, where they would be joined by fellow Australian crew Jeff David and Grant Geelan.
Jeff and Grant are campaigning their 911 Porsche in which they won the Alpine Rally, while Darryn and Tracey are in their immaculate Datsun 160J, better known as the 710SSS.
Jeff David slides his Porsche through the Swedish countryside. Photo: Paul Mollison
Based out of Orebro, the rally has been run as one of Europe’s premier historic rallies since being reinvigorated in 2006. Previous winners have been Bjorn Waldegard, Stig Blomqvist, Kenny Brack and Mats Jonsson.
This year would see over 200 competitors converge on Orebro for a titanic three-day battle. 29 cars would compete in the regularity section, while a staggering 180 competitors would vie for the crown of Midnight Sun winner.
The first division would be run north of Orebro, the second division would see the crews venture south, while the final division would see the crews run to the east and south east of Orebro.
Spectators walk into a stage of the Midnight Sun Rally. Photo: Paul Mollison
Utilising the fantastic roads the area is renowned for, the field would be led off by guest driver and Orebro’s own World Rally Champion, Stig Blomqvist, in a Porsche 911, and he would be joined by fellow guest driver, former multiple English Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae in a Vauxhall Firenza.
The best historic crews from all over Europe were added to the mix, plus the two Australian crews.
Starting Car 40, the Snooks/Dewhurst team made a cautious start on the unknown roads while getting comfortable with the event. This would be the first of four events within a month and the first time the car had been campaigned since the 2017 Alpine Rally.
Meanwhile, Jeff David and Grant Geelan were also feeling their way. The roads were extremely fast and caution was exercised while learning these technically demanding roads.
The 710 would have a hiccup when on SS6, a rare driver error saw Darryn select second instead of fourth gear, causing an over-rev, breaking the rotor button and causing a frustrating 16 minutes to fix. The 911 suffered fuel supply issues which eventually saw the fuel pump fail.
Days two and three saw both crews come to grips with the challenging roads while having an absolute ball.
“These roads need to be seen to be believed and are a fantastic challenge,” Snooks said.
Both teams soldiered on with David and Geelan finishing an excellent 39th outright. Snooks and Dewhurst would be competitive for the rest of the event, but would finish 112th while having the most enjoyable event both he and Tracey had experienced for a long time.
It’s interesting to note that if the distributor problem had not happened, on their times they probably would have finished in approximately 56th position. But far from having their spirits dampened, the crew loved the event and would happily return to this excellently run rally.
The variety of the roads, the professionalism of the organisation and especially the warmth that the Australians were greeted with by the organisation and fellow competitors, as well as the many interested spectators, made the event an incredibly enjoyable one and one that the whole team would recommend to anyone likely to be able to possibly attend.
The plan is to compete and complete four iconic Historic events over the six week period, so stay tuned for more news as the team competes further.
Their next event is the Eifel Rally in Daun, Germany, starting on July 25.
"The real Stig" – Stig Blomqvist. Photo: Paul Mollison
Photo: Paul Mollison
Photo: Paul Mollison
Photo: Paul Mollison
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Meanwhile, Jeff David and Grant Geelan were also feeling their way. The roads were extremely fast and caution was exercised while learning these technically demanding roads.
The 710 would have a hiccup when on SS6, a rare driver error saw Darryn select second instead of fourth gear, causing an over-rev, breaking the rotor button and causing a frustrating 16 minutes to fix. The 911 suffered fuel supply issues which eventually saw the fuel pump fail.
Days two and three saw both crews come to grips with the challenging roads while having an absolute ball.
“These roads need to be seen to be believed and are a fantastic challenge,” Snooks said.
Both teams soldiered on with David and Geelan finishing an excellent 39th outright. Snooks and Dewhurst would be competitive for the rest of the event, but would finish 112th while having the most enjoyable event both he and Tracey had experienced for a long time.
It’s interesting to note that if the distributor problem had not happened, on their times they probably would have finished in approximately 56th position. But far from having their spirits dampened, the crew loved the event and would happily return to this excellently run rally.
The variety of the roads, the professionalism of the organisation and especially the warmth that the Australians were greeted with by the organisation and fellow competitors, as well as the many interested spectators, made the event an incredibly enjoyable one and one that the whole team would recommend to anyone likely to be able to possibly attend.
The plan is to compete and complete four iconic Historic events over the six week period, so stay tuned for more news as the team competes further.
Their next event is the Eifel Rally in Daun, Germany, starting on July 25.
