Marysville, nestled in the foothills of the Lake Mountain alpine resort, played host to the Great Tarmac Rally, the second round of the 2019/20 AASA Australian Tarmac Rally Championship.
Fought over the weekend of October 12 and 13, the event attracted some of the best teams from around Australia.
Melbourne is known for the craziest of weather systems, and did not disappoint competitors, bathing them in sunshine, sleet and rain. On Saturday, the famed Crowded House song, ‘Four Seasons in One Day’ was embraced by the rally teams, but changed to ‘Four Seasons in One Stage’.
Although the elements and a top line up of rally competitors would throw everything, they had at the GTR Nissan of Angus Kennard and Ian Wheeler, nothing could stop them taking a hard-earned win at the 2019 Great Tarmac Rally.
John and Janet Ireland in “Rosie”, the Dodge Viper, winners of the Snowy River Sprint, the first round of the Championship, finished the event in second place, despite kissing the Armco in wet and tricky conditions on Saturday.
‘I couldn’t push any harder,’ said gravel rally champion, Michael Harding with navigator Lance Arundel. Driving their Subaru WRX Sti, they round out the top three.
Two times Bathurst 12-hour winner Dean Lillie with co-driver Steve Glenney, started strongly in their highly modified Monaro GTO HSV, and were in third place, however diff issues brought an end to their podium hopes.
They missed the last two stages on Saturday and, with repairs made returned Sunday, out of contention but is search of a stage win. They made it on the final stage of the day, beating the Dodge Viper by 0.9 of a second.
Like those competing for outright honours, a talented field of competitors lined up to contest the Classic competition.
Arch-rivals, but great friends, Peter Gluskie and Samantha Winter from Gluskie Motorsport in their BMW and the RS1800 Escort of Keith and Alex Morling, were pushing each other hard in the ever-changing conditions on day one. By the Saturday lunch break on Lake Mountain, Gluskie Motorsport were an impressive seventh outright with the Morlings’ in eighth. An off, on the first stage after lunch however, saw the retirement of the Escort.
Sunday, and day two of the competition, brought ideal rally conditions. The BMW of Peter Gluskie and Samantha Winter started the day with a commanding lead in the Classic competition.
As the saying goes: ‘To finish first, you must first finish’. Clutch problems on the second stage of the morning saw the retirement of the BMW, their first mechanical retirement ever, allowing the hard charging Michael Nordsvan and Marty Holden in their Mazda RX7 to take the lead.
A blown turbo before the start of the final special stage, the Lake Mountain descent to Marysville, could have ended their winning chances, however they limped home to take a well-earned victory in the Classic competition.
Long term competitors Robin and Peter Lowe in their Datsun 240Z were placed second with the 1600Gt Capri of David McCrow and Ingrid McCrow rounding out the top three.
The 2019 Great Tarmac Rally, with its tough weather conditions, long special stages and demanding 262 km of competition, lived up to its reputation as one of the most exacting and demanding tarmac rallies.
‘Competitive motor sport requires high levels of physical and cognitive performance, with rallying adding the unique partnership required between driver and co-driver. It is all these elements that makes the sport of rallying a fantastic and spectacular experience,’ said event promotor Peter Washington of Mountain Motor Sports.
The penultimate round of the 2019/20 AASA Australian Tarmac Rally Championship, is the Mt Baw Baw Sprint, which includes the famed 29km Porcupine Creek special stage with its 320 turns.
The event will be held over the weekend of February 22 and 23, 2020.
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