Classic Adelaide
November 18 - 21, 1999

- a report from Captain AvGas -

• Club Members in the Competition Event
• The Competition Event - the highs & lows
• The Competition Event - back in the field
• Club Members in the International Parade
• Some of the cars in the International Parade

It was my second visit to Adelaide for this event. But this year, as was the case last year, equipped with a 4WD, copious quantities of AvGas and my special cape and uniform I assumed my hidden identity as Captain AvGas - dispensing the requisite quantities of AvGas to Chris Stephen/Adrian Mortimer and Andrew Ogg/Mike Mier, where-ever and when-ever they might need it. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

Club Members in the Competition Event    

Club members participating in the competitive section of this year's Classic Adelaide included:

The Competition Event - the highs & lows up front    

One thing was for sure. It would be a competitive event. Cavalli would have to start favourite in view of last year's win, the fact that he was a local and not least, the rumoured increased investment in the car. The betting was also fairly solid that super-quick Peter Kyriakidis would break the car by lunchtime on the first day.

As to the event, well it was really a thrill a minute. Peter Kyriakidis amazed a few people and didn't break the car by lunchtime on Day One and that immediately cost a driver of a less potent Escort $100 and an embarrassed look! Over the first two and a half days the event seemed a bit procession-like at the front - Andrew Cavalli had shown everyone that good skills, local knowledge and a big budget was a good way of staying at the front of the field. Behind him and not that far away, though the competition was very fierce, was Peter Kyriakidis, Rick Bates and David McDonough in the Ford Capri/Perana fighting for second and third. Close behind were Richard Anderson, Scott Kent in the Mustang, Jeff Beaumont in the Porsche and John Spencer driving the Datsun 1600 as if it had a V8 in it.

Saturday afternoon, a little like Day 4 at Targa, sorted them out however. Andrew Cavalli had what his navigator Michael Dale described as 'brain fade' and Cavalli forgot to take a corner and instead did some sightseeing leaving the road through a gate onto a nearby farm. Must have been an important piece of real estate! This left the top spot wide open. Whilst all of this was going on Rick Bates decided he needed a new set of tyres and guess what - his performance improved immediately and with Cavalli's departure he took over first place ahead of a hard charging McDonough in the Capri/Perana.

Sunday morning finished all that however when McDonough's South African import decided it didn't like the climate and the electrics packed up, leaving the fight for first place between Rick Bates and Peter Kyriakidis.

Now Peter Kyriakidis's performance in this event was quite remarkable. Encountering problems with brakes that wouldn't stop on the first couple of days and a throttle that refused to close on another day - probably accounted for his high placing in the first two days - ran into further problems with a twisted axle. Despite all of this he was in contention all the way to the finish line. In the end however Rick Bates had built about a one minute margin and on a faultless Sunday afternoon drive that was enough to guarantee him first place. Peter Kyriakidis filled second place and Richard Anderson filled third for the second year in a row. Congratulations to all three, but in particular congratulations to Peter Kyriakidis on what was a great drive! Peter's strong finish is hopefully a sign of better things to come in view of a string of DNF's encountered previously.

The Competition Event - back in the field   

Back in the field there were also a lot of other great stories. Jeff Beaumont's drive from around 11^th on the first day of the event up to a strong 6^th place was also a highlight of this event. With Classic Adelaide under their wings it will be interest to see how both Peter Kyriakidis and Jeff fare in Lactos in a month or so's time.

Barry Finlay and Brian Reed had a more than eventful Classic Adelaide in Barry=s ex Harry Firth Gallaher 500 XR GT. It seems the pads for the car were specially manufactured and so Barry and Brian spent interminable hours sorting out brake problems of one form or another throughout the event ... often steaming into controls with fire, flame and steam accompanying them, much to the horror of the control officials.

Andrew Ogg and Mike Mier in the Escort Twin Cam were locked into a fierce battle with Andrew's brother David in the Ferrari 365 GT 2+2. As the results of the event were to show later, there was nothing in it at the end. The difference between them came down to the officials who had to impute a time for Andrew and Mike due to their stop on the Gorge Road to lend assistance to John Fitzpatrick and John Allison.

For John Fitzpatrick and John Allison things went along smoothly until the Gorge Road Stage on Saturday afternoon. John Fitzpatrick who was driving the Delage at the time signalled a quicker Porsche to overtake him. The Porsche did eventually. The problem was the driver picked an unfortunate piece of road to conduct the manoeuvre. Passing John at speed into a tightish left-hander the Porsche driver lost it and spun in front of John blocking the road. Confronted with T-boning the Porsche driver or going left into a cliff-face or risk trying to get by on the right (which happened to be a virge with a 15 foot drop to the edge of the river), John, as ever the gentleman, went to the right. The gorgeous 1936 Delage D6/70 tried momentarily to resist the pull of gravity, but then slowly rolled and fell the fifteen feet to the base of the escarpment and the river edge below. The car landed upside down trapping both driver and navigator beneath it. First car on the scene was Geoff Graham and Rod Anderson in the BMW 2002. Acting calmly and quickly they summoned help from the following cars. It took six strong men to lift the Delage and free the occupants. The special intervention units responded rapidly and were quickly on the scene to transport both John Fitzpatrick and John Allison to hospital. Fortunately, apart from some broken bones and a heap of bruises, both were OK and managed to be released from hospital later that night. John Allison's account of this story appears elsewhere on this site.

For club members Peter Eames and Vic Spiteri the 1999 Classic Adelaide was one of those events we all dread. Following a problem with the Jaguar XJ6 in Targa Tasmania 1999, Peter decided to submit the car to a major overhaul, so it would be 'spot-on' for this event. Indeed so conscientious was Peter in the preparation of the car he 'mothballed' it for the intervening club track days at Winton and Sandown. But alas it was not to be. Following a strong showing in 1998 (17^th place), Peter's 1999 Classic Adelaide proved to be another DNF due to mechanical problems - cruel sport this motorsport.

Club Members in the International Parade  

Some of the Cars in the International Parade    

Kevin Bartlett in David Bowden's 1965 Ford GT 40 drove it absolutely flat-strap at just about every opportunity, much to the delight of the Adelaide crowd. Win Percy in Stephen Coffey's 1985 Ford Cobra (replica) drove in an equally rapid manner and succeeded in getting the tail out at every opportunity.

There was the beautiful 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C of Matt Spitzley a genuine Grand Prix car of the 30's whose original 'pilots' included Nuvolari. The absolutely immaculate 1968 Austin Healey SR2 of Tom Barr-Smith, designed as a one-off for Le Mans looked totally at home in the Adelaide hills just as it did at Aruthur's Seat last year. Then there was (Lord) Paul Vestey accompanied by famed Ferrari chronicler Doug Nye in the ex Stirling Moss and much photographed 1960 Ferrari 250 GT. SWB Unfortunately for Paul Vestey, the beautiful SWB dropped a valve shortly into the event so a 1963 Ford Lotus Cortina was quickly drafted as the replacement car.

Amongst the club's contingent of members there was the odd problem as well. Scott Shearman was unable to make the event until the presentation dinner on the Sunday night. He arrived to find the DB4 much in need of a new front end. Sir Jack Brabham who drove the car in the International Parade had some trouble on the afternoon of the third day negotiating a right-hander and parked the car into a tree, rather heavily. Looking at the amount of 'bog' on the front end, seems like Scott has got the best side of the deal as the rumour is the organisers will repair the damage for him. So it seems Sir Jack's presence in the car has probably not only increased its value, but led to an improvement in its quality as well!!

Then there was Reg Kenny ostensibly navigating for the famed Roy Salvadori in Reg's Jaguar. Whether it was the news of Salvadori's famed accident record, or just tiredness on Roy's part, Reg did most of the driving ensuring however that Roy was behind the wheel whenever crowds or cameras looked likely.

The 1999 Classic Adelaide was a great event. Even in my role of Captain AvGas that was readily apparent. If you have a car that qualifies for this event, then make a point of entering the 2000 Classic Adelaide - it's a decision you won't regret.