Justin Friedrichs is behind the wheel again in his Classic Datsun 1600 Rally car, and a seven year hiatus from the mud and gravel and a first time navigator, has not slowed him down. Friedrichs’ return was the Southern Rally, the opening round of the 2015 SA Rally Championship on May 3.
Competitors were offered a variety of surfaces and featuring fast sweeping, numerous crests, muddy creek crossings and some tight technical sections amongst the pines. Additionally, the inclusion of an ‘Intro Rally’ category gave rally crews the opportunity to compete over six selected stages using road books without having to undertake reconnaissance and take pace notes. Competitors were given a target time window to achieve and crews outside of that time were given time penalties.
Although a previously successful driver, taking class victories in 2008 and outright first place handicaps in 2007, Friedrichs and budding co-driver Matt Clarke entered the Second Valley Introductory event to give Clarke a feel for the sport and hopefully trust in the driver. The intro division did not have the same safety requirements such as expensive racing suits or neck restraint devices, so this was an excellent event to try the teams luck.
That being said the class even drew the likes of two-time Australian Rally Champion and multiple South Australian Champion, Barry Lowe, to the field, Friedrichs notes, “It was an honor to race with Baz, a real rally legend, who was one of my major sponsors’ (Barry Burns from Datsports) major rivals decades ago.”
New navigator Clarke was looking quite pale after the first few stages as Friedrichs was driving at a very competitive pace, especially for not having seen or driven the course before, and without pace notes . This resulted in a very wild ride for the aspiring navigator.
By the time the end was in sight smiles were on the faces of the crew, having incurred no time penalties and setting some competitive times with the top teams who had the benefit of a day for pace noting. The Friedrichs/Clarke team took first prize in their first rally together.
Friedrichs states he was “very happy with the car, Matty did well, the course was a fantastic mix of terrain and a real test on drivers skill. “Running on old tyres from 2007 made traction a serious issue, but probably a little more fun and better for photographers!”
Both Friedrichs and Clarke are now looking forward to competing in the Robertstown Rally in August 2015 to get a taste of a fully pace noted event.
Photo: John Kol
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
