Big torque and >quick recovery time= is an advantage on stages where many corners are unsighted or there is uphill work. But where this characteristic goes hand-in-hand with V8 weight and marginal brakes it may result in weak performance downhill, so it=s not a foregone conclusion which type of car will do well: In evidence, this year=s winner was a Porsche 911 RSR, followed by some hard-charging local lads in a Datsun 240Z; the well-campaigned Iso Grifo V8 was third; and the ditto Williams= Elfin Clubman fourth. Back in fifth place was an elderly couple in a Lotus Elan, very hard pressed by two local V8=s, the Rudajs and Growden Falcon GT and brothers Kent=s Mustang; then came a Datsun 2000, a really nice Alfa GTV from Queensland; and, quite remarkably, Stephen Sims, the local school bus driver, in an early Chrysler Valiant slant six with >three-on-the-tree= in tenth, thus humbling a lot of much more expensive machinery behind it - that, surely, was The Drive Of The Rally.

Also in the top ten most of the way was Brian Taylor and son=s Porsche 356 from Sydney, powered by an angry 2.7 litre six cylinder 911 engine. He was in seventh place when massive oil loss, which it eventually turned out was due a maddeningly small fault which could have been easily fixed, put them out.

Eligibility matters are doubtless a major headache for organisers - these people evidently no less than others, as they noted in one of their bulletins that they had been lobbying CAMS for greater standardisation and clarification. In this event the winning Porsche 911 RSR replica with its stupendously wide body and wheels, and megabuck exhaust note, seemed completely out of character with the rest of the pre-1976 classic field, even if it did comply with the letter of the regulations. Contrast that with Tony Beeston=s beautiful and very well driven MGB GT V8 - you could simply smell the goodness and originality of it from afar, yet it was summarily sent upstairs to the modified and modern section of the rally for reasons which were never explained to the entrants.

There was also an apparent anomaly in that Chris Stephen=s Iso Rivolta had a major excursion late in the rally, which must have cost at least 24 minutes, yet was only penalised, in effect, less than four minutes. The stage was stopped to tow it out after a further 13 cars had gone through, nominally on safety grounds even though the car was well clear of the road, which consequently saved it from exceeding the late time allowance. This was said by some of the more experienced competitors to have been inconsistent with the way in which the maximum time and tow-out provisions had been applied elsewhere in the rally (for example, earlier on a rolled Opel Monza from the >moderns= division was left on the side of the road in a much more dangerous position than that while the whole Lactos field passed through the contents of its sump). The Clerk of Course was consulted about this but declined to override, thus denying third place to the Williams= Elfin.

It must sometimes be very difficult to adjudicate such cases, but had these three >grey areas= gone the other way the Lactos Rally results would have looked completely different, namely: First Roger Brownrigg and Brendon Spurr in the Datsun 240Z, second Tony Beeston and Toni McNichol=s MGB GT V8, and third Ross and Ruth Williams= Elfin Clubman. Which is hypothetical, and not meant to indicate that the writer is familiar enough with the rules and precedents to suggest that this should have been the correct outcome.

His son, Matthew, had a less happy time in the Lotus Europa, due to brake and speedo drive problems, which put him back to 37^th. The only other Lotus(ish) car was Damian Faulkner=s Escort Twin Cam from Ballarat, which was 13^th. Melburnian John King=s Series Two Lotus Seven was entered again, but he had to scratch due to a knee operation, which was a pity because the unusually dry and mild weather for this year=s event made it a joy for open cars.

There were a number of memorable stages in this rally, including Isandula with its dramatic jump, and Leven Valley the brake melter. But perhaps it=s Hellyer Gorge - or should it be Hell Yeah Gorge - the 15 kilometre stage with its sweeping switchback corners and treacherous, often damp, moss patches, which is held in most awe. Interestingly, this is the only stage which is held twice, and the rookies who had never seen it before tended to achieve big improvements the second time through, even though it seems absolutely impossible to memorise so many corners.

And then there was The Fire: Reportedly one competitor=s car suffered an oil fire in the engine bay on the Nietta stage near the end of the rally. This, he perceived, would cause a delay which would make him late back to the mainland, and consequently miss a barbecue he was particularly looking forward to. So what did he do? Believe this. He ran from the car without even waiting to display the mandatory warning triangles or >O.K.= sign, leaving his navigator to do this and put out the fire. His parting message was that he might have to pay big money for one of the officials to rush him to Wynyard to catch the plane. The navigator put out the fire, but had to borrow to pay for various expenses including trucking the car. Must have been some barbecue back on the mainland. It all sounds highly improbable, but we heard the story from a sane and sober gentleman who claimed to have put up the money to help resolve the aftermath, so maybe it=s true!

Lastly, it is well understood that circuit racing is for real men, and rallying or anything else is for the more timidYbut come over a crest light to confront a sharper-than-expected bend with large trees on one side and a rocky ravine on the other and suddenly the stiffest resolve turns to custard. In these circumstances adrenalin sometimes gets a funny smell about it.

The Lactos Rally is a buzz. It=s well organised, and the basic entry fee of $600- is quite reasonable considering the effort and infrastructure needed to run it. As strangers to this part of the country, we found it, and the local hospitality, rather reminiscent of New Zealand.