Book review: The Great Alpine Contest
- 21st September 2021, 4:03pm
- by Peter Whitten
- Photos by Dallas Dogger
The Alpine Rally may have been postponed until next year, but fans can still get their fix with a new book on the rally’s history.
Written and produced by long-time competitor, and 1970 Australian Rally Champion Bob Watson, the 254 page hard-cover book chronicles the story of the Alpine Rally from 1921 until 2021.
Starting in the 1920s when the event was more a tour than a full-on rally as we know it today, the rally was originally supported by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria.
It wasn’t long before the winner’s list became a who’s who of rallying: Harry Firth, Frank Kilfoyle, Doug Stewart, Greg Carr, Geoff Portman, Dinta Officer, Ian Hill, George Fury, Murray Coote. The list goes on and on.
Events in each decade are well covered with a brilliant catalogue of period black and white photos, and later, with colour images that go up to more recent times.
Many of rallying’s great names are attributed with stories in the book with their own thoughts and memories of the Alpine Rally, including Bruce Keys, Greg Carr, Geoff Portman, Harry Firth, and importantly, long-time director Stuart Lister.
Lister directed an incredible 12 Alpines, in two stints: firstly in the 1970s and 1980s, and then from 2003 until 2011.
The book includes original Alpine Rally documentation, results, and a full list of rally stats that include the rally winners and the directors.
Clearly 100 years in the making, ‘The Great Alpine Contest’ is a fantastic read, whether you want to read it from cover to cover in one go, or pick and choose whenever it takes your fancy.
It’s available now for just $40 from RallySport Magazine. CLICK HERE to order your copy.
Recent feature cars:
IFK250: Just another Datsun 1600? – Part 6
They claimed the Australian Rally Championship in a Datsun Stanza as a fully fledged member of the Datsun Rally Team; the Victorian Rally Championship, driving John Armitage’s Datsun 200B and the Victorian
IFK250: Just another Datsun 1600? – Part 5
For 1979 IFK looked really smart. Its first big rally in ‘79 was the Castrol, but first it had to get to the start control… Read Part 4 HERE
IFK250: Just another Datsun 1600? – Part 4
Another present (a really big one this time) arrives from Datsun Rally Team just prior to the 1978 Alpine Rally. And a new name for IFK 250 is created. Read Part 3
IFK250: Just another Datsun 1600? – Part 3
During the hot months of the 1976/1977 Victorian summer Geoff made contact with Hugh Venables (one of his mates from Eltham High) and asked if Hugh could, with his mate Joe Basset-Smith,