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SOTICO
Safari Rally - 2004 |
Sotico Mini
Safari Rally - Final Results
Sotico Safari
Rally - Final Results
Safari Rally Review
Clubman Entry List
WARC Entry List
Full Entry List
Safari
Rally 2004 - Supp Regs
(includes late changes 15-5-04)
Further
Supp Regs
(2-6-04) |
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Safari Rally Review |
With Wendy Walker at the reins and a myriad of revisions to the event,
the 2004 Sotico Safari Rally promised a lot for competitors and spectators alike. Run on
the June long weekend through the massive Sotico Tree plantation, the Safari rally was
again hosted by the Light Car Club of WA. On a historical note, the Safari rally is also
one of the longest running rallies in the world. This year's event was round three of the
WARC and Round 2 of the Clubman Cup. Only the second of two pace noted events in the WARC,
competitors took full advantage of the day of recce on Saturday. Two passes were allowed
on each of the stages to allow competitors the chance to write and check their pace notes
before competing on Sunday. Saturday's weather looked threatening all day, however rained
little. Those accustomed to the Safari knew to expect rain and that a little extra caution
would be required if the heavens did open during competition.
After Saturday's Recce a street parade was held through the town centre of Boddington. For
spectators, it was a chance to see the competing cars up close and have a chat to teams in
the hotel carpark afterwards.
This year's Safari brought out several competitors the championship hadn't seen for a
while. Notably Ross Mackenzie (WRX) Co driven by Paul Vandermey and Nigel Bombak with Matt
Clements beside him, who hasn't competed since he rolled his Charade into retirement on
last year's Safari Rally. Still missing from competition were Tolley Challis (Evo VII) and
Rob Herridge (WRX) after having major incidents with the scenery in the Forest Rally
earlier this year. Wanting to further extend their lead in the Championship, Craig Bignell
and Joan Percival (Evo III) were out to do well. Alex Stone and Dianna Madlener (WRX) were
hoping for a good result after a run of bad luck. At the top end of the field
"Chucky" John Macara (Evo II), Doug Tostevin (Legacy RS), Brad Markovic (WRX)
and The Dunlops (Evo VII) were all entered. Mick Steele running his new WRX would be a man
to watch as well.
The first few kilometres of one section of the Sotico forest was used for three stages.
SS1(Xtreme Racing) kicked off along this route for a good warm up of some 33km. the stage
started twisty, opened in the middle, weaved through the pines and finished as it had
started, tight through the trees. Sections of the stage were sandy, even on the first
pass, there were some well defined ruts in places. Only several km into the first stage,
disaster struck for two teams. Derek Reddie/Andrew Percival (Galant VR4) and Rob
Stuart/Adam Maguire (Hyundai Coupe) were in trouble. The cogs in both gearboxes decided
they would both rather be out of the casing than in, and had speedily exited leaving holes
in the gearboxes of both cars. Bignell/Percival took the stage win by 23 seconds to
nearest rivals Stone/Madlener.
SS2 (KLB Systems) was a short transport from SS1. This Stage was very open in places, a
chance for competitors to find the legs of their cars. The stage was also the first chance
for spectators to get a look at the cars competing in the forest. 2004 is also the first
time spectators have been able to view competing cars running through the forests of the
Sotico plantation. In the past spectators have been restricted to the Super Special Stage
only. The spectator point was situated facing a 90 degree left corner with a good view of
a long straight heading away from the corner. Despite the open roads, some competitors
were in trouble, suffering with tyres. Simon Lowther and Jeremy Coleman (Legacy RS) were
limping through part of the stage with a flat tyre. The second flat for them in two
stages, it would later cause thier retirement. Nigel Anderson and Mike Rowston also had to
stop and change a tyre in their Corolla FX. Bignell/Percival again took the stage win with
Chris Anderson/Joel Lithgo (Evo IV) in second.
A short regroup after SS2 brought competitors together for the
first run around the Boddington (Better Sprouts) Super Special stage. On recce, the stage
was quite muddy especially on the bottom corners. The steep climb on the long
circuit was an easier run for some too. Cars accelerating on all four wheels with a hair
dryer boosting the engine had a distinct advantage over their naturally aspirated, 2 wheel
drive counterparts. Being a short stage, there was a mere handful of seconds between most
of the places. Bignell/Percival earned their third win in as many stages.
SS4 (ARB 4x4 Accessories) was another fast stage through the Forest. The stage was the
second run through the jumps and water splash made famous by Rally Australia. Most took
the jumps quite easily. Chris Anderson was not one of those competitors. He launched the
Mitsubishi high into the air, landing heavily on the nose as the Lancer touched down. The
exit to the water splash was also extremely muddy, making traction up the hill to the
finish difficult. With 4 stage wins in a row, Bignell/Percival were on a role. Second
place honours went to Dennis and Jacquie Dunlop. SS4 was to also see the retirement of
Michael Anderson/Anthony Chudleigh in thier Lancer EVO VI with mechanical problems.
SS5 (West Coast Alarms) Was one of the fastest stages on the rally. The last kilometres
being a flat out run to the finish. Spectators were able to see the last kilometre or so
of the stage and watch rally cars in full song blast by trying to gain every second
possible. Paul Feaver/Glenn Martinovich were certainly one of the uarol treats for
spectators. The unmistakable sound of a naturally aspirated Escort could be heard long
before the red rocket appeared over the last brow and into view of the spectators. Lee
Mcilroy/Steve Vass had decided to stop swearing at their usual Subaru mount(s) before the
Safari and bring out one of their Charade GTTi's. Lee had the car wound out along the last
straight, bouncing the three cylinder turbo charged engine off the rev limiter. A little
further back Karl Drummond/Trevor Brewer (Mazda 323) nearly had a huge moment in front of
the spectators. The outside of the Mazda's wheels had a lot of mud stuck to them. The
result was a terrible vibration throughout the whole car, it was so bad, at high speed the
car became unstable. The resultant wandering nearly brought the crew unstuck and off
into the bushes. Dennis & Jacquie Dunlop took their Evo 7 to their first stage win for
the rally, with Bignell/Percival in second.
SS6 was a second run around the Better Sprouts Super Special Stage. The Dunlops and
Bignell/Percival set an equal fastest stage time. Alex Stone showing his appreciation to
Bignell/Percival at the end of the stage, taking second place (anyone having seen the in
car footage will understand). With only 4 seconds separating the top 10 places, it
showed how competitive the rally was. Shane Eather/David Burton (Legacy RS) were driving
hard all day, setting 58 seconds through the SSS to place seventh on the stage.
SS7 & SS8 were to be a repeat of SS4 & SS5. The twisty start of SS7, already used
on SS1 and SS4 had become well rutted and quite rough in places. Anyone with a weak
bladder was in for a work out on the first couple of kilometres. Just as Matt Green/Brian
Darcy (Corolla FX) were into SS7 and Drummond/Brewer were at the start line, the heavens
opened. The rain had threatened most of the day and fell with a vengeance for a short
while. Some of the looser corners immediately turned to slush with the sudden rain. In
places even 4WD wasn't helping. The well swept straights had taken on a slippery gleam
too, making the going interesting.
The Dunlops took the two final stage wins for the day with Bignell/Percival taking 2nd for
SS7. Mackenzie/Vandermey showing form after a long time away from competition took second
in SS8, just seven seconds adrift from the Dunlops. Along the fast straight at the end of
SS8, Boddington's friendly police officer used his radar gun for good. The opportunity was
taken to clock rally cars running at full tilt, the fastest speeds around 200km/h.
Nick Box/Todd Payne (Toyota Sprinter), flying in earlier stages retired in SS7 with
suspension damage, however managed to win the Clubman Championship points. Mark Travers
and David Jenkins (Toyota Corolla) were the first Clubman only entrants home. First 2WD
honours went to Feaver/Martinovich in the State comp. with Kevin Sleep/Alex Kirkhouse
second in their Honda Civic. After 145km of Special Stages the results told thier own
story. Eather/Burton brought their Legacy home in 10th place. Another top 10 finish for a
team competing in thier first state season and in a 4WD car. Ninth went to Graham Furness
and Peter Lindsay (WRX), The Evo III of Gavin Morgan and Chris Parish slotted into eighth
place, Chucky/Tierney with another fast drive were home in seventh. Mackenzie/Vandermey
pulled their WRX in sixth, Anderson/Lithgo drove hard to reach the finish in fifth. In
equal third place with a time of 1:27:39 was the crews of Dunlop/Dunlop and Brad
Markovic/John Mortimer (WRX). Stone/Madlener had a trouble free run and brought their WRX
into second place. This crew more than some were happy to see the finish line, of late
Stone/Madlener have had some terrible luck with mechanical troubles. For the third time in
as many rallies, Craig Bignell and Joan Percival won the event. Thier lead on the
championship well and truly cemented. With just two rounds remaining in the 2004 WARC,
serious championship contenders will have to work hard on the next two events if they are
to topple Bignell/Percival from the top spot.
Wendy Walker, Sotico, The Light Car Club, the officials and the Town of
Boddington should all be commended for the well run, proffessional event this year. The
many, many hours of hard work had paid off. By all accounts, competitors and spectators
thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Round 4 of the WARC is due on Saturday the 17th of July. The Experts Cup Rally is run
around Wellington Dam in Collie and hosted by the West Australian Car Club. Details will
be published shortly.
For info on all rounds of the WARC and Clubman Cup, photos, results and contact details go
to: www.rallywa.com www.lightcarclub.com.au or www.wacarclub.com.au
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Safari Rally Preview
This year
competitors are in for a treat on the Light Car Club's Sotico Safari Rally.
Wendy Walker has taken over the reins of the Safari as Clerk of Course this year. With her
new appointment, the event has been extensively revised for 2004. Wendy has been running
the Light Car Club Darling 200 rally for the last few years and won the Rally Director of
the year award in 2003 for her efforts.
The Safari Rally forms round three of the State Rally Championship and round two of the
Clubman Rally Championship. It is the only other fully pace noted event besides the Forest
rally, giving competitors the chance to Recce the roads prior to competition.
This year's Safari will again be run within the Sotico Plantation, utilising the jumps and
water splash made famous by Rally Australia for one of the stages. The event will be
conducted on the Foundation Day long weekend, Sunday the 6th of June. Saturday the
5th of June has been reserved for competitors to Recce the stages and write pace notes.
Most of the stages have been
revised on the Safari this year. State competitors will complete eight stages with a
competitive distance of 145km whilst Clubman competitors will compete on 99km over five
stages. Surfaces will range from mostly gravel to sandy in places, with a mixture of
twisty and open sections.
Spectators will be well catered for on the Safari this year too. Saturday afternoon will
see the traditional street parade around the Boddington town site. Sunday morning
will see competitors start from the Boddington Hotel Carpark before heading out into the
Sotico Plantation. The first car will start at approximately 9:00 am. For the first
time on the Sotico Safari, spectators will be able to view competing cars in the forest.
Five spectator points have been designed, including a Super Special Stage in Boddington
where competitors will compete side by side around the short course.
Spectators will also to able to watch rally cars being serviced between stages in a
central service & camping area, located at the old school site near the town centre.
With the advantage of full pace notes from the Saturday Recce, speeds are
expected to be high. Being the half way point in the state championship, competitors will
be looking to secure maximum points, ensuring plenty of sideways action and fierce
competition.
The
finish to this year's Safari has also been altered. The first five state and first three
Clubman competitors will be directed to a ceremonial finish in their provisional order,
held at the Boddington Hotel on Sunday afternoon. Remaining competitors will then also be
directed to the finish at the Boddington Hotel, again allowing spectator interaction with
crews and competing cars.
This year the Sotico Safari rally will
have another innovation. A teams award will be offered to competitors. Three competing
crews in the rally may form a team and nominate themselves to be eligible for the
teams award. The team with the best overall result at the end of the rally will take the
trophy.
Not only will there be a
ceremonial finish on Sunday afternoon, officials on the event are invited to the
Boddington Hotel with competitors for the Officials' Thankyou party. It will be an
opportunity to mingle and share stories from the rally.
This year the Safari's presentation
dinner has changed too. The dinner will held 7:30pm on Saturday the 12th of June at
Mulberry Farm. Competitors will receive two tickets with each entry and additional tickets
may be purchased for $40.00 per person. The dinner will be a buffet style affair with a
selection of dishes on offer. Drinks are also available at the bar. Being a weekend
night, the organisers expect a big turn out. If you wish to reserve extra dinner tickets,
it is advised to book early.
With
so much on offer for competitors, officials and spectators why not get involved?
Volunteer officials are also required, so if you'd like a private spectator point or to
help in another way, please see the web sites.
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