Long time Victorian rally competitors, Gerald and Chas Mammi, from Mammi Motors, have made the step up into the Australian Rally Championship by becoming involved with the Raymond Partners Accountants Rally Team.
Using their combined industry and motor sport experience, they will undertake all of the vehicle preparation on the team’s Toyota Corolla Group N (P) rally car.
Both Mammi brothers began circuit racing in 1989, using their engineering skills to build a Datsun 1000 running a Holden 6 cylinder turbocharged engine. However, the attraction of dirt rallying hit them in 1998 and with the speed and reliability of their self-prepared Datsun Stanza, driven by Gerald, the team was able to win the 2003 and 2005 Victorian Club Rally Series.
"We are passionate about our rallying," stated Gerald Mammi, "and because we rally, we understand the rigours that a car is put through to be competitive. We transfer this knowledge through to all the cars we service, be it race or road."
Glen Raymond is thrilled with the generous offer from Mammi Motors, who operate out of their factory in Somerville, Victoria.
"They did our dyno tuning when we ran our 1970’s Toyota Corollas, and now they do the preparation on our 2006 Toyota Corolla, proving their capable to work on anything new or old, or in between,” Raymond said.
Since taking over the mechanical preparation of the car, the team has been able to get rid of the mechanical gremlins that kept hanging over their head.
"We’re really excited about heading into the Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA," navigator Matt Raymond said. "The shire roads over there are brilliant. The fast nature of the roads should suit us well. Along with a well prepared car, we are hoping to be able to have a cracker of an event and finish both heats strongly."