Ross Dunkerton, five times Australian Rally Champion and winner of the final Southern Cross Rally in 1980 has put in the first entry application for the Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally.
The rally, to be held from 8-19 November is being run to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Southern Cross Rally, Australia’s first truly International rally run in 1966.
Dunkerton with wife Lisa navigating won the 2015 State Bank Discovery Trial re-run in South Australia in a Datsun 1600, commenting that “the camaraderie was beyond anything I have seen in recent times, and the mix of stunning scenery and social engagement was second to none. Overall, it was the best rally I have ever been in.”
The Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally is being run by the same club, the Historic Rally Association, with the same road director.
Other high profile entries are expected from rally legend Barry Ferguson, who won the Southern Cross in 1967 and 1970 and finished second behind marathon master Andrew Cowan on three occasions, and 1984 Australian Champions Dinta and Kate Officer.
Planning of the course for is well under way. Road Director Graham Wallis has completed his first survey of the route, which will take competitors from Albury south through Victoria with overnight stops in Mansfield and Sale, and then through Gippsland and across the Great Dividing range to the ski resort of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains.
The course then heads through the Snowy to Cooma, Canberra and Sydney for the end of the first segment.
After Sydney, the rally heads north to Newcastle and Port Macquarie before finishing in Coffs Harbour, where the final heat of the World Rally Championship Rally Australia is being run from November 17 to November 20.
Cars in the Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally will participate in the spectacular night Super Special stage of Rally Australia around the streets of Coffs Harbour.
Competitors will travel over roads used in the three Southern Cross rallies that travelled between Sydney and Melbourne, and the course north of Sydney will include the famous stages in the mountains used in the rally when it was based at Port Macquarie. The event will stay in Port Macquarie for two nights.
Entries for the Southern Cross Gold Anniversary Rally will open in March. Further information can be obtained from the event director Bob Watson 0427 201158, email admin@southerncrossanniversaryrally.com.au
Photo: Paul Hogie
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