Dunkerton to compete in Adelaide Rally

It’s the same car he drove in the Australian rounds of the World Rally Championship in the early 1990s.

Dunkerton is one of most successful rally drivers this country has ever produced, claiming five Australian Rally Championships in a career that spanned 33 years.

With 114 wins and 18 titles to his name, Dunkerton is one of only two Australian drivers to stand on a WRC podium, with a third place at Rally New Zealand in 1992.

He’s also one of three Australians to ever hold an international ‘A’ seeding, placing him in the top 15 rally drivers in the world when he retired in 1994.

Even after retirement he continues to rack up wins, claiming five class wins from five starts in the 2004 Australian Rally Championship, along with wins at Targa West and Targa Tasmania. In 2018, aged 73, he claimed second outright at Targa Great Barrier Reef and followed it up with third place in 2019.

Dunkerton will be joined in the VR4 by his wife Lisa, who is an accomplished navigator with more than 15 years of experience and a string of wins and podiums at national, state and international level events.

At 76 years old, Dunkerton is a full 60 years older than his youngest rival, Max McRae, who is heading over from Western Australia. McRae is the son of former WRC driver Alister McRae, who drove in the Adelaide Rally in 2018, and the nephew of WRC champion Colin McRae.

They are sure to face stiff competition, with top teams from around the country lined up to take part in November.

Last year’s winner Ben Calder is back in a new car, with 2020 runner-up Jeff Morton keen to take one more step up the podium this time around. Tony Quinn, Eddie Maguire, Angus Kennard, Adam Kaplan and Peter Rullo are also venturing to South Australia with an eye on the trophies.

The Shannons Adelaide Rally takes place from November 25-28.