Clouded by scepticism, particularly in view of Max Stahl’s failure to get a similar event off the ground a few years ago, the organiser’s of the event stumbled initially. Failure to get some critical ‘official’ approvals resulted in the event planned initially for September, 1999 being replaced by "The Prelude" and the main event postponed until March of this year. Against this background there is little wonder that many felt somewhat apprehensive about this event and its chances for success.

Not so Steve Knox the Event Director of the East Coast Classic. His determination and that of his team saw them successfully stage NSW’s first closed-stage tarmac rally conducted over four days in March on race circuits and closed-road sections of public roads between Sydney, Bathurst and Orange. A team of 300 officials staged the event which was supported by the NSW Motor Accidents Authority (naming rights sponsors), the Penrith Panthers ARL Club (sponsor); the local councils and of course the NSW Police.

The rally itself consisted of two events: a competition section and a tour. In the Competition section there were some familiar faces: Mike Batten (Volvo PV544); Hans Spits (Datsun 240Z); George Bevan (Volvo 122S); Bryan Taylor (Porsche 911T); Blair Hayden (Jaguar MkII) and club member Glenn Read in his 1976 Torana LX. There were a total of 25 entrants who lined up for this section of the event.

The Tour attracted 21 entrants and among them was Chris Harvey in his 1971 Ferrari 365GT 2+2.

This inaugural event was held in March starting on the 19^th and running for four days. It is a special stage event conducted on closed roads in and around the Bathurst area of New South Wales. Stages included the hill climb sections of the Mount Panaroma circuit. The event was open to vehicles manufactured before 1978 and attracted a field of quality vehicles – the most notable being a Bristol Arnolt in superb condition. This is the only example of this model in Australia.

Day one started with a send off from the Panthers Football Club in Penrith (a major sponsor) to the first stage at Oran Park circuit. Five laps of Oran Park was used as the prologue and seeded car and driver for the remainder of the event. The day followed with five stages ranging in length from 2km to 8km on roads around the Blue Mountains and finishing in Bathurst . These stages offered a mixture of very tight sections to some fast and flowing runs.

Day two started with a short hill climb up through the dipper (reverse of the normal race direction) of the Mount Panaroma circuit. This is a great run but early in the morning with cold tyres and cold everything else makes it that little bit more interesting. Seven stages in all for the day ranging from 1km to 14 km. One of these included part of the old racing circuit at Gnoo Blass and proved to be very challenging. The last stage of the day was a 11km stage called ‘The Pinnacles’ and offered a good tight hill climb in the first half which led into a fast and flowing second half through an apple farm area.

Day three started again at the Mount Panaroma circuit with a hill climb up through the esses in the normal race direction and probably a little more exciting as mountain was in fog and we had to wait until the fog lifted. Seven stages in all for the day ranging in length from 2km to 15km including a motorkhana slalom and serpentine test in the town of Oberon. Not a good event for the bigger cars but loved by the smaller sports cars. A day of interesting stages that included some tight twisty road and some fast flowing sections.

Day four had five stages scheduled ranging from 2km to 5km. Again the roads were similar to those of the previous days and could be quiet challenging. Of course the last day saw some more serious driving to consolidate positions especially at the front of the event. The most interesting contest was between Mike Batten/Tony Best in their 1961 Volvo PV544 and Chris Symonds/Alf Bargwanna in their 1971 Torana XU1. They started the day just two seconds apart and continued this close until the Volvo suffered a breakdown with its fuel pump and was unable to get it going again for the remainder of the event. The last stage of the day and event was a few circuits of the old Catalina Park circuit in the Blue Mountains. Unfortunately a severe storm descended and closed the stage.

The ultimate winner was Vaughan Stibbard/Colin Wilson in a Porsche Carerra RS with Bryan Taylor/Nicholas Taylor in a Porsche 911T second and the XU1 of Alf and Chris third. We finished fourth outright and first in our class. This turned out to be a great event and despite a lot of teething problems at the test event the previous year it was extremely well run and organised. It flowed as smoothly as one could expect and on a par with Targa Tasmania. The social side was also very well done with dinner included with the entry fee and offered at a different venue each night. This turned out to be a great way to relax and enjoy a rerun of the day’s highlights. A most enjoyable rally and one to put on the calendar for the future.