Exclusive Club Set To Continue?
One of the great enduring traditions of Rally Australia’s rich history in Western Australia was the membership of an exclusive club, a club of drivers who had competed in each edition of the World Rally Championship Round since its debut in 1988. With the move to the East coast of Australia two drivers remain the exclusive domain, Ryan Lahiff caught up the stalwarts to gauge their chances of continuing the tradition.
When Rally Australia’s future in Western Australia drew to a close in 2006, the debut event run in 1988, it marked the end of a rich eighteen year history in the WRC. And with it closed a chapter on Australian motorsport which had put rallying in this country on the map and with it had produced one of the finest events the World Rally Championship had ever witnessed, full of innovation, drama and a plethora of memorable moments.
For local drivers the event may have been the domain of names like McRae, Makinen, Sainz, Gronholm and more recently Loeb but it had been their chance to mix it on a level playing field with the sports greats. And in the process the event had provided a canvas of memories, both good and bad, which would stay with competitors for ever more.
Down the field, amongst the hardest working local privateers, a tradition of competing at each and every edition of the event was worn as a badge of honour. Early on the ‘club’ quickly dropped to a list of five. Possum Bourne, Jackie Dines, Ed Ordynski, Bob Whyatt and Tolley Challis.
The tragic death of Possum struck the group hard; each had battled each other over the years, not only in Perth but at local and international events throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Then Dines and Ordynski dropped out in the mid-2000’s. This left just 2.
“Technically I retired from driving at the last Rally Australia (2006),” begins South Australian Bob Whyatt.
“I’m in a slightly different position to Bon in that I haven’t retired, although some have said I probably should have a long time ago!” laughed Tolley Challis.
Each Whyatt and Challis has an amazing track record, not just in entering Rally Australia, but in over coming the trials and tribulations of competing at the sports highest level on one of the most demanding events to have featured on the World Rally Championship calendar.
But at the start, way back in 1988, neither driver would have been quite aware of the path they were each about to head down and the amazing memories they would have of those early days almost twenty years later.
“Back in 1987 I was the deputy clerk of course for a local event, the Wirrina Rally Sprint, in South Australia,” explained Whyatt. “At that time I was trying to attract a few of the West Australian drivers to come across and compete and we were fortunate that a guy by the name of Rob Herridge showed interest. I was speaking to Rob during the event and he mentioned to me that the car I was driving as a zero course car, a Subaru RX Turbo, would be eligible under the international regs for this new event that was getting up and running in Perth with the view to be a Round of the World Rally Championship.”
Meanwhile Challis, who as a Perth local has long had a history competing in the State Championship as well as on an international stage, admits that he raced straight down to the local Suzuki dealership when he originally learnt of Rally Australia’s debut running in ‘88.
“I remember I bought a Swift GTi, straight off the floor, and we built nothing much more than a pretty standard roll cage, put some harnesses on the factory seats and put on some mudflaps. It was back in the day when you could take a very standard car and drive straight over the ramp at a WRC event!” Challis chuckled at the memory.
Never in outright contention neither driver ever entered the event to challenge the established names at the top of the entry list, but that was never the inspiration for taking to the demanding gravel roads outside of Perth.
“I’m a competitor, always have been, in rallying and in other sports,” explained Whyatt. “Rally Australia was always a challenge I really enjoyed. It was always an incredibly tough event just to finish, so it was certainly never a disgrace for any driver to finish last because they always would have outlast an awful lot of much better drivers.”
Challis agreed, particularly with the challenge of just making it to the finish although for the local the lure of the event was as important as winning the State title. “My aim was always to win the State title, and while Rally Australia was a separate event to that, we always put just as much effort into securing a strong result in those early years,” he said.
“It was such a big event that I know everyone, ourselves included, always put a huge amount of effort into the preparation to ensure that we were in the best position to get a good result,” added Tolley.
For Whyatt, a self-admitted perennial back marker, the objective each year was to halve his start number. “It was always a personal objective to get to the finish line in a position half the number that we started with. As a competitor though I always looked at five or six guys to challenge and I always looked forward to those battles across the three days of the event.”
Asked for a personal highlight, somewhat tongue in cheek Whyatt replied with: “In ‘89 I was the first person to cross the start ramp! Ok it was reverse field order over the ramp, but I still maintain I was the first over the start ramp at Australia’s Round of the World Rally Championship.”
Challis too looked back fondly at the good times. “We had a farm that a lot of locals used for pre-event testing throughout the year, but it was always very busy prior to Rally Australia. I always used to brag to people that Subaru and Mitsubishi had spent time at my farm!”
“I think one of the great things about the event though was the camaraderie between the locals and the international teams and drivers. Because of the testing that went on out at the farm I remember the rally office would ask us to help out a quite a few of the internationals who hadn’t been to Australia before,” continued Tolley.
“One year, back in the very early ‘90’s I received a call from the office to see if we’d assist some Finn with the funny name of Tommi Makinen. Sure I said, without even thinking, who would have known at that stage he’d go on to become one of the most successful rally drivers of all time!” he added.
The event though was marred with tragedy, a moment both drivers brought up without prompting, when midway through the 1993 edition of the event Possum Bourne crashed heavily resulting in the untimely death of his co-driver and long time friend Roger Freeth.
“I remember it like it was yesterday, it was a diabolical time for everyone at the event,” expressed Challis.
“I think everyone was affected by that incident,” added Whyatt. “It was a terrible moment for the event and something that we will all remember for many years to come.”
In the end though both Challis and Whyatt reflected on the huge task of competing at Rally Australia year after year and the huge personal reward of completing the final stage.
Tolley, who during the early 90’s was also competing in Malaysia, explained the huge effort his team often went to get his Mitsubishi Galant VR4 ready in time. “For a couple of those years we’d be competing in Malaysia the weekend before Rally Australia. So during the very early hours of Monday morning, straight after we’d finished the event, the guys would be pulling the car apart from squeeze it into the cargo hold to get it back to Perth to be ready.”
“That effort that went into just one week always made competing at Rally Australia immensely fulfilling, to push the limit so far and get through it,” added Challis.
“I think for me the great thing about competing at Rally Australia for almost twenty years was to play against the top boys. In other sports you don’t get that opportunity, you certainly can’t front up to a tennis or golf tournament as a relative amateur and expect to compete against the stars. But in rallying you can do that, to compare yourself and see where the differences lie,” explained Whyatt.
So the big question though is will either continue their membership in this exclusive club next October? Or will the move to the East coast usher in an opportunity for a new breed of drivers to take their place?
“You wouldn’t believe how many people have asked me that question since the event was confirmed for NSW,” laughed Whyatt. “Even though I’ve announced my retirement I think I can maybe make the exception to do one more. I’ll have to look at a few options next year but the chances are fairly reasonable.”
“I think the continuation of Rally Australia will definitely be a boost for rallying as a whole, only problem is it’s now a long way from my home town,” added Challis. “I’d definitely like to keep the tradition going!”
The 20th staging of Repco Rally Australia, the first instance on the East coast of Australia, will take place next year between 3rd - 6th September.
