Stewart Reid will head the field away in his potent Escort RS1800. Reid is on his home turf and has to be the favourite for classic honours.
Jeff David will press him in his Porche 911. David was the man to beat last year and the battle between Reid and David will be epic.
Banana farmer Wayne Hoy will be spectacular in his Datsun 180B. Ross Dunkerton and his team have spent hundreds of hours “tidying up” his Escort RS1800 after stripping it back to bare metal. It has been totally rebuilt and can be expected to give the front-runners some stiff competition.
Dunkerton, a past multiple ARC Champion, has won 33 international rallies over a career that started in 1962. His wife Lisa navigates for him. He is the most awarded driver in the entire field of 96 cars.
Barry Lowe and Dave Thompson will excite the Ford versus Holden rivalry. Lowe has a VH Commodore and Thompson a XY GTHO Falcon that was previously owned by Lowe! Stand back as these cars throw rocks a plenty and are very sideways!
David and John Hills will drive Escort RS1600s. The AussieDuct team are strong supporters of classic rallying and John has driven his RS1600 in many countries.
Paul Darroouzet will drive his Capri V8 Perana – one of the rarest Capris.
Locals Chris Harbeck in a Celica, Ketih Fackerall in another RS1800 and Richard Galley in his Datsun 260Z will all impress with their sideways commitment.
The front of field classic competition is an initiative of ACRA and its members cars all comply with the CAMS Classic regulations.
The International Rally of Queensland gets underway on Friday, May 13.
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
