|
Grand Prix Rally |
|
|
||
"The Grand Prix Rally has become one of the true icons of
Australian motorsport and the benchmark for touring rallies" says
Jeff Dutton. That's hard to argue with. Since its inception in 1988 the Grand Prix
Rally has become Australia's leading touring road event, with competitors collectively
travelling more than 3.5 million kilometres without serious incident.
The event has become synonymous with Dutton over the past decade as his
company has been the naming rights sponsor. However 2001 saw major
changes in the Grand Prix Rally with its Event Director John Blanden
deciding to call it a day and coincidentally Dutton withdrawing its
support from the event.
When John Blanden decided to relinquish his role as
Event Director of the Grand Prix Rally earlier this year there was some
concern as to its future. The
Grand Prix Rally although owned by the Grand Prix Corporation (the GP
Rally is an official event of the Australian Grand Prix) is the brainchild
of John Blanden. With
assistance from Reg Sparks and the Sporting Car Club of SA, Blanden got
the GP Rally off the ground in 1988 and the event has grown to become one
of the best known and most highly regarded events of its type in
Australian motor sport. Since
its inception in 1988 the event has involved selected motor manufacturers,
celebrity drivers, current racing personalities and of course support from
car club enthusiasts of all generations.
Coincident with Blandens withdrawal, but apparently
quite independently, Jeff Dutton, elected to change marketing strategy and
withdraw the support of his highly respected organisation Duttons as
naming rights sponsor after a 10 year association with the event.
The GP Rally has become almost synonymous with the Dutton
name. By the end of September 2000, both the person who conceived the
event and its principal long term sponsor had withdrawn from their pivotal
roles in the event. Quite a
change!
In response the Grand Prix Corporation sought tenders
to manage the event and selected Octagon
Worldwide or specifically Octagon Motorsports to conduct the event
on its behalf. The year 2000 proved a busy year for Octagon, previously best known for The
Australian Safari, who at
years end not only had Targa Tasmania under their wing, but also
another major event in the Grand Prix Rally. THE TRADING POST IS MAJOR SPONSOR Acting quickly Octagon secured The Trading Post as principal sponsor for the 2001 event and it is now known as The Trading Post Grand Prix Rally complete with a new logo and colour scheme. Trading Post are again the principal sponsor in 2003. At the centre of all three events motor sport events
operated by Octagon Motorsports is Tom Snooks.
A founder of the Australian Safari and Clerk of Course of Targa
Tasmania with a history of involvement in rally events in Australia going
back over 30 years, Snooks has with the creation of the 2003 Grand Prix
Rally created an event that is reflective of his experience in generating
interesting and challenging events that operate efficiently and smoothly
for competitors. Key
personnel engaged in the event are Octagon Motorsports General Manager, Craig Fletcher,
Peter Lewis-Williams as Deputy Clerk of Course and a host of other
officials. Michael Browning continues to handle the publicity and promotion. As an official event of the Australian Grand Prix, the Grand Prix Rally is designed to tie in with the AGP. Accordingly, the even gets underway in Shepparton on Saturday, March 1 and concludes on Wednesday, March 5, 2003. The Presentation Dinner, which is a formal Black Tie affair is schedule for the Grand Hyatt on Collins on the evening of Thursday, March 6. Octagon
took a leaf from the Targa Tasmania
concept and introduced a new competition to the event.
From 2001 there are now two equal competitions,
Winners of each competition is recognised in their own right. The handicap system developed by John Blanden
continues to be used in both competitions. The Grand Prix Rally has always run a modified class,
and to coincide with Targa Tasmania and Classic Adelaide, the Targa
Tasmania Limited Modified Specification (LMS) will be the limit of
modifications permitted before a vehicle is placed in the modified class.
The adoption of this classification caused some initial
concern to some of the GP Rally stalwarts, who have not had this hurdle
before, but it will certainly level the playing field in the GP Rally.
Documentation and scrutiny will take place as previously in Shepparton on
Saturday, March 1, 2003 with Scrutineering
a week before the event at a location to be named. DAY ONE: SATURDAY EVENING: Cars will be lined up, perhaps following some earlier exposure to the DECA facility, in the centre of the city from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm, prior to the start of the night navigation sections. The first car will leave at 8.00 pm and the remainder at 30 second intervals. DAY TWO: SUNDAY After completing four auto tests at the DECA complex,
Sunday will take in navigation tests via Wangaratta to the Winton Circuit,
where 2 or 3 timed laps will be conducted.
The afternoon navigation run will, in the main, move away from the
flat country and provide drivers with some twisty and undulating roads,
albeit within the normal speed limits. Mangalore airfield will host a
couple of tests, before the navigation run back to Shepparton.
The traditional Breakfast and Concours will be held
prior to the restart on Monday. Following
the breakfast Monday will take the field to Bendigo, again with navigation
tests between auto tests. The first test most probably will again be at
Mangalore, and plans are being put into place to have a couple of tests at
the army training grounds at Monegeetta. Then it will be on to the Heathcote Sprints for a standing
quarter and afterward into Bendigo, with a test at a new location away
from the traditional airfield. The
traditional function will be held in Bendigo.
Some good driving sections will be combined with
navigation on Tuesday as the course heads for tests at the Calder Raceway,
Avalon Airfield and the Ford Proving Grounds. Overnight will be in
Geelong. DAY FIVE: WEDNESDAY After a morning navigation exercise to the west of
Geelong, The Trading Post Grand Prix Rally heads towards Melbourne, with
auto tests at the Laverton and Point Cook Airfields. Snooks and
Lewis-Williams are keen to have a final auto test in Melbourne.
It is rumoured that the final auto test will take place on the main
straight at the Albert Park circuit - which would no doubt be a fitting
and somewhat spectacular finish for what will undoubtedly be labelled the
new look Grand Prix Rally. Thursday may see some promotional activities in Central
Melbourne as part of the Grand Prix Week, and the feature of the event
will be the grand presentation of trophies, which will take place as
mentioned earlier on the Thursday evening at the Grand Hyatt on Collins
Street. Then follows the
traditional parade laps of the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on the
Friday and Saturday with the presentation to the winners of the Classic
and Modern sections of the event on the actual Grand Prix Podium.
There will also be a display of some of the GP Rally vehicles
during the Grand Prix. An Entry
Form can be downloaded from this site, when
available. For
further information concerning this event, contact: Craig Fletcher e-mail: sandy.nichols@octagon.com
A report on the 1998 Grand Prix Rally is provided on this site as is the new Trading Post Grand Prix Rally of 2001. |
||
 |
||
