A talented flying squad of Australia’s fastest tarmac rally drivers promise spectators an exciting introduction to a new Modern Competition category at the 13th Classic Adelaide international tarmac rally starting next week.
An entry list of more than 25 crews and cars features the winners of every other major tarmac rally run this year in Australia and New Zealand.
Boasting the latest performance technology, in some cases including all-wheel-drive, the Modern Competition cars are expected to set record times and bring an exciting new experience to spectators lining the Classic Adelaide course.
Starters for next Wednesday’s Prologue event and four following days of special-stage competition include Queenslander Tony Quinn, who will drive a new example of the Nissan R35 GT-R supercar that has taken him and South Australian co-driver Naomi Tillett to victory in Targa New Zealand and twice in Tasmania this season.
Quinn also finished first in Targa West in Perth but was excluded later over a technical infringement. The winner, Steve Jones, is entered for his first Classic Adelaide in another GT-R.
Bathurst and targa legend Jim Richards leads the Porsche pack after switching from the Late Classic category to run his turbocharged Porsche GT2 with co-driver Barry Oliver.
Bathurst 1988 and 2001 winner Tony Longhurst will drive a Subaru Impreza STI, as will Victorian Simon Gillett, husband of the late Australian team track cyclist Amy Gillett.
Recently-crowned Asian Le Mans GT2 sports car champion Alan Simonsen, from Denmark, will be one of nine Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drivers.
Television motoring journalist Samantha Stevens, with co-driver Simone Bachmann aboard a Nissan Pulsar GTi-R, will be the only all-woman crew in Classic Adelaide.
Competitors will be timed over the 32 closed-road special stages but their performances will not count for outright victory, which in the spirit of Classic Adelaide will continue to go a crew in the pre-1991 Late Classic category.
However, Quinn is confident the leading Modern Competition cars will be the fastest on the event.
“There will be a big decrease in times and it will be a great contest,” Quinn said.
“Alan (Simonsen) is a bloody good driver and he’ll go hard. Hopefully he and Steve Jones will distract each other and Jim (Richards) and I will sneak in behind and steal the spoils.”
Around 180 cars will run in Classic Adelaide in either competitive or speed-restricted touring categories.
Adelaide driver Kevin Weeks, who drives a 1974 Porsche 911 RS, is the defending Classic Adelaide outright winner.
