Th~

Roll Call sior erOI tem RA: ! a sp by CI Iace Eig drive their ::nile speed :.ng I ~ump ani ctiol :.acull . on, At ed ab crowe I f ate! Fo~

Top would 1ton the (

Left: grOUll .\faral Renaj u;ere Those Magnificent Men are at it again. Calder Country, where standard instrumentation includes ... AUTomOTI ALTimETERS

0 JOE"!. Quld wrote .u.p an unofficial got off the ground in big way at MelbouFR&~- Jump-up record WIth Renault Gor- Calder Raceway last month as a tight team of eight profes- dini, height-arove-sea-level estimat- , , , ed at 5 ft. David Withall soared slonals staged an almost too-brief display for a record his Datsun 1000 aircraft to equal ' f I reading. No cars were biDed. crow d 0 f we II over 20 ,000 pI us a TV au dlence 0 at east about being "cut-off" were the order tens of thousand's extra, of the day. RALLYCROSS literally got off to way around two laps of the multi­ However most of the drivers ilad a flying start in Australia with surfaced course after starting plenty of match-practice at Rally­ cross-type driving before the demon­ a special demonstration organised abreast on the circuit's regular start-finish line. stration. Bob Watson had won the by Calder Raceway at its August car George Derrick Trial - a heat of race meeting. Among the drivers in the demon­ stration were Bob Watson and Mal the Victorian championship - only Eight top rally cars and their five hours before the Calder demon­ drivers slid, bounced and splashed McPherson (each in Renault 16 TS cars), Harry Firth (Monaro), Tony stration. Mal McPherson had been their way around Calder's new one­ Roberts (Porsche 911), placed third and Harry Firth, mile Rallycross course, reaching (Austin 1800) and John Roxburgh fourth. speeds of around 90 mph and leap­ (Datsun 1600). SUPER-YUMPING mg high off the ground on several Before the demonstration began, Record leap for the demonstra­ jump-ups. there were mutterings that the tion was held jointly by John Ould And if crowd and television re­ course would favor power, as Firth in a Renault Gordini and David action to our newest and most spec­ did much of the design work. Withall in a Datsun 1000, who Ulcular motor sport is any indica­ soared an estimated five feet into tion, Rallycross is here to stay. PORSCHE POWER the air. At the demonstration, which last­ But it was the Porsche and 1800 Australia's first open Rallycross ed about 45 minutes, Calder's record that really looked at home in the meeting, to be held on crowd ignored the lunch-break to slippery going. Evan Green in par­ Cup Day, November 4, is hoped to watch five events. ticular gave the crowd plenty to attract ordinary car club members Four cars in each slithered their gasp at with his -like driving as well as rally drivers. of the BLMC "land crab" - the For this reason, the course will Top left: Right aileron u.p still Marathon 1800 which he is currently be "toned-down" a little to make it wouldn't save Evan Green's Mara­ rallying. easier on ordinary road cars, yet thon 1800 a twisty touchdown on Tony Roberts showed how Por­ will retain all the spectacle. the Calder iump-and-splash route. sches put power on the track when It is expected that a normal road the gOing gets tough. car will be able to run in Rally­ Left: Qne in the air, two on the Although officially just a demon­ cross with few modifications. ground. Tony Roberts' Porsche (ex­ Entries are being limited to the Marathon) bites earth ahead of a stration, there was a certain amount Renault 16TS and a Monaro. There of undeclared war between the first 60 for the November 4 meeting. were no winners - this was demo. drivers. Fist-waving and complaints #

WHEELS, November, 1969 17