Sydney rally driver, Brad Goldsbrough, has issued a strong warning to drivers of hi-tech 4 wheel drive turbo cars, not to discard him in the upcoming Bathurst RSL Club Rally of Bathurst, despite competing in an ageing two-wheel drive Datsun 1600.
This follows a strong win in the 120km AMSAG Jenolan Rally in the Datsun, the opening round of the 2008 AussieDuct Southern Cross Rally Series, held on Saturday, April 26 in the Jenolan State Forest.
The Jenolan Rally was conducted in two sections, one for the Modern, the other for Classic such as the 1600's, but in the end no-one could match “Goldy's” times, as he won the event outright, and the Classic section, in the highly-modified 2400cc Datto.
Best of the Modern cars was an Evo 5 Mitsubishi, well driven by Scott Kuhner and navigated by the vastly experienced Frank Neale, splitting the times between Goldsbrough and second placed classic, Richard Galley, in a Datsun 260Z.
The Bathurst RSL Rally of Bathurst will be the opening round of the AASA Australian Rally Championship, conducted on May 24/25 by AMSAG with Event Director David Aitchison more than happy with the roads he's chosen for the rally.
"The two-day event is to be held in the Sunny Corner State Forest and will feature a lengthy competitive distance of 240km, with only 140km of liaison stages. It features a unique central service with a spectator point at the rear of the service area," Aitchison said.
"This is a traditionally, tough rally with little relief between competitive stages. We have done our utmost to keep the competitive driving and endurance as the focus of the event and because of its low costs, has been a great entry level into rallying and has produced several champions."
Goldsbrough is a product of AMSAG, having won the AMSAG Southern Cross Rally Series in a Datsun 1600, before switching to a Subaru WRX STi, which saw him win a NSW Rally Championship. In 2004 he won the Australian Privateer Rally Championship and was runner-up again the following year.
He then gave the national championship away and returned to AMSAG events, citing the increasingly high costs of chasing an Australian championship. He was therefore one of the first to enter the new AASA ARC when it became available to run on a much smaller budget.
Despite the Bathurst RSL Club Rally of Bathurst attracting a quality field, Goldsbrough is expected to be one of the drivers to beat in the event, particularly because of his knowledge of the Sunny Corner State Forest, which he calls his home event whenever he competes in it.
The AASA championship contains three separate Championships covering 4WD, 2WD and Classics, and is currently attracting entries from several states around Australia.
"A lot of competitors who have not tried an AMSAG event before will be interested in running in a rally that is run by competitors, for competitors," Aitchison said.
"We have a unique style of rally that offers a friendly atmosphere and tough competition and includes a three-course dinner at Bathurst RSL Club on the Saturday night for everyone in the event, as well as a presentation lunch on Sunday."
There are also several very good vantage points to watch the action and they are all contained in a free rally spectator guide available the week of the event.
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
