1985 CAMS AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

THE EVENTS The 1985 CAMS Australian Rally Championship: 1 Fairford Stages Rally Tasmania Bell/Ellis 2 Western Mail Rally West Australia West Australia Car Club Dunkerton/McKimmie 3 Bega Valley Rally Bell/Ellis 4 Keema Classic Rally Queensland Sporting Car Club Coote/Stewart 5 Tile Supplies Rally South Australia Lowe/Pedder 6 Akademos Rally University Car Club Bell/Ellis

FINAL POINTS 1 Barry Lowe SA PRC 87 1 Kevin Pedder SA 87 2 Hugh Bell Vic G 84 2 Steve Ellis Vic 84 3 Peter Clark NSW PRC 61 3 Wayne Kenny NSW 61 =4 Brian Smith Vic G 48 =4 Ray Temple NSW 48 =4 Ron Cremen NSW PRC 48 =4 David McKenzie Vic 48 6 Graham Alexander Vic PRC 38 6 Jon Thompson NSW 32 7 Jim Middleton NSW PRC 32 7 Pip Welch Tas 31 8 Andrew Murfett Tas G 31 =8 Dave Boddy NSW 29 =9 Wayne Bell NSW PRC 29 =8 Dale Payne Qld 29 =9 Gregg Hansford Qld G 29 10 Phil Bonser NSW 28

Manufacturers Award Not awarded.

1985 Australian Rally Champions – Barry Lowe, Kevin Pedder and Subaru RX Turbo

142

SUMMARY

1985 was the first year that the new (PRC) category gained real support and credibility and the first time that a Group A car and crew took off the national championship – thanks mostly to the efforts of a lone manufacturer, Subaru, for getting the ball rolling. Subaru imported a batch of four-wheel-drive RX Turbo sedans and provided them at a subsidised price to some top privateers.

Barry Lowe/Kevin Pedder, from South Australia, took the plunge in taking on a Subaru (Pedders sponsored) and went on the win the series in the last of six rounds, leading from Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis in the also Pedders sponsorship Group G Mazda RX7 by three championship points.

Mazda started an association with the sport by providing a Mazda RX7 for Queensland’s Gregg Hansford/Dale Payne. Their best result for the year was a second in their home round, mixed with a series of did-not-finishes, but Mazda was happy enough with the exposure to think about doing what Subaru did, by using the 323 4WD in 1986. The company’s enthusiasm was also ignited by a sparkling win in the Queensland round by Murray Coote/Iain Stewart in a 323 4WD, ahead of Hansford.

1985 also saw the lack of big name drivers from previous years. Greg Carr had only two starts in borrowed cars for two failures, George Fury made one appearance in South Australia, and there was no sign at all of Geoff Portman nor defending champion David Officer.

Hugh Bell was favoured to win but, although his driving matured enormously to enable him to stay on the road and finish most events, he had offs in the RX7 in Queensland and in South Australia which cost him time, and as he elected not to go to Perth, he was overtaken by Barry Lowe’s consistent outright and Group A results. Although Bell won three events to Lowe’s one he didn’t quite do enough to take victory.

Ron Cremen and Wayne Bell provided some variety with their Toyota Corolla GT’s. Cremen, with Ray Temple, placed three times in the top ten and Bell, with Dave Boddy, showed that the Subarus could be beaten by producing some quick times but he was always struck by problems just when he seemed on course for a Group A victory.

The only driver to really arrive at the top level in 1985 was Tasmanian Andrew Murfett, with Pip Welch, who did well in an elderly Mazda RX2 and made his presence felt as a top contender, crashing in Perth when he was in the lead.

Although the year provided some close and varied competition it was as difficult and disappointing as any in recent years. Two events were cancelled, there were trouble with others, and although Subaru was present there were not enough Group A cars to provide a viable championship once the Group G cars became ineligible for national championship points, as was being suggested by CAMS.

There eventually were six events in the series, with South Australia returning to Adelaide after a five-year absence and this meant there would be a round in each state for the first time. Tasmania provided the opener and was the most popular event of the year, Bathurst withdrew and was replaced by the returning Bega Valley Rally, and the Alpine Rally also withdrew, replaced by the Akademos, which was badly affected by wet weather and was shortened beyond any reasonable competitive length, but it still counted for championship points.

Both the Queensland and South Australian rounds fell short of the standard required for a national event, the former badly affected by rain and the latter by accusation of jumped starts, shortcutting and pacenotes.

One issue arose during the year – whether to allow pacenoting. The events in South Australia and Victoria raised the question in supposedly ‘secret’ course events and whether events are to be open to such activity.

ROUND ONE: FAIRFORD STAGES - Tasmania

It was the first time a Tasmanian event had been included in the Australian rally championship series, a move which, despite only 39 entries, was a resounding success, with the organisation as good as established events on the mainland and the roads said by competitors to among the very best they had ever tackled.

The event was never expected to provide a classic battle for victory, and it was strange to see most of the leading contenders of recent years absent – there was no Officer, no Portman, no Fury, no Wayne Bell, and no Dunkerton. But Greg Carr turned up with a replacement navigator, Mike Harker, in a borrowed Group A Datsun Stanza and stated he was only chasing points while he finalised constructing a new Group A challenger – widely rumoured as being an Alfa Romeo GTV6.

The rally was based at Burnie and the two-day format included 400 kilometres of special stages run in three divisions. Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis (Mazda RX7), after years of trying and several near misses, won the event, leading from start to finish and were never headed. They scored by more than four minutes to Ian Hill/Phil Bonser (Ford Escort RS 1800) and Tasmanians Andrew Murfett/Pip Welch (Mazda RX2) two minutes further behind.

The new Subaru RX Turbo scored its first Group A victory in the hands of Barry Lowe/Kevin Pedder, who finished fifth overall. Group A cars took half the top ten placings.

143

There were several other quick mainland drivers in the field, including Peter Glennie (ex-Murray Coote Datsun 1200), Jon Waterhouse (300 horsepower Mazda RX2) and Gregg Hansford (Mazda RX7). The side interest in the field, although it was to take on much greater importance as the event unfolded, was the rather strong Group A field, including Barry Lowe and Peter Clark (both giving their Subaru RX turbos their championship debut, Rex Muldoon (Toyota T18, Ron Cremen (Toyota Levin), Jim Middleton ( V8) and Rob Worboys (Ford Laser).

At the end of the first division at the end of daylight on the first day Bell was leading Carr by 59 seconds, with a further 36 seconds to Murfett. Hansford wrote off the RX7 in a high-speed collision with a tree, well above ground level, Hill was struggling with a puncture and the clutch of Jim Middleton’s Commodore failed – luckily it was the last stage of the division and he and navigator Jon Thompson were able to push the car to the end of the stage and effected emergency repairs.

Ron Cremen/Ray Temple – Toyota Corolla Sprinter

At the start of the action on Sunday it was a foregone conclusion that Bell would take his first championship event. Hill moved ahead of Murfett and began to apply pressure on Carr when the tailshaft failed on the Stanza and the crew could only stand and watch as Hill roared by into second place. A local crew, Andrew Lawson/Paul Kettle (Datsun 1600) moved into fourth place, after being 13th at the end of the first division.

Barry Lowe hung onto the Group A leadership ahead of Ron Cremen and Rex Muldoon/Noel Kelly (Toyota Corolla) and Peter Clarke/Wayne Kenny in the Subaru RX Turbo. A total of eight Group A cars completed the event, many embarrassing the more powerful Group G machines.

So, Bell and Lowe (although fourth outright) led with 20 points each in the series, being awarded equal points for Groups G and A wins.

1 Hugh Bell Steve Ellis Mazda RX7 G 236:57 2 Ian Hill Phil Bonser Ford Escort RS 1800 G 243:19 3 Andrew Murfett Phillip Welch Mazda RX2 G 245:24 4 Barry Lowe Kevin Pedder Subaru RX Turbo A 255:34 5 Andrew Lawson Paul Kettle Datsun 1600 G 258:59 6 Ron Cremen Ray Temple Toyota Sprinter A 259:28 7 Rex Muldoon Noel Kelly Toyota Corolla A 259:32 8 Peter Clark Wayne Kenny Subaru RX Turbo A 260:02 9 Jim Middleton Jon Thomson Holden Commodore A 261:24 10 Guy Dunstan Terry Bracken Datsun 180B G 262:16

144

ROUND TWO: WESTERN MAIL RALLY – Western Australia

Making his now cameo appearance in the series, fives time national champion driver Ross Dunkerton provided Subaru with its first outright win in an Australian Rally Championship event when he won the Western Mail Rally in a Subaru RX Turbo, with Steve McKimmie as navigator. The win also ushered in the new Group A era in the sport with the first outright victory in a national championship event in a Group A car.

Their win did not come easily and they only battled their way to the front in the dying stages of the event to score by five minutes from Mark Anderson/David Baesjou (Datsun 1600) and John Macara/David Hatley (Datsun 1600) only eight seconds further back in third place. It was a local (West Australian) sweep for the first three places.

Hugh Bell, winner of the first round, was a noted absentee but there was no shortage of Eastern States hopefuls crossing the Nullarbor, led by Greg Carr with the same Holden Commodore he had driven in the Perth event in 1984. The rally started on a cold and blustery day in Perth and it took in six daylight stages on its way south to Manjimup. At the first break Clive Slater (Toyota Corolla) led Andrew Murfett/Phillip Welch (Mazda RX2) by eight seconds, followed by Mark Atkinson two seconds away and in fourth Macara another seven seconds down.

Ross Dunkerton/Steve McKimmie – Subaru RX Turbo

Dunkerton had the upper-hand with the Group A cars, followed by Lowe and Jim Marden/Steve Vanderbyl (Toyota Corolla) sharing second, then Carr in fourth.

As night fell, the rally moved into genuine forest country and the fast open trails allowed the leading quartet to maintain their lead, with Slater opening a solid lead. Carr, in spite of being much quicker than earlier, as he became accustomed to the big Commodore, could not match the Subaru cars in the tight stuff. Lowe lost his first place when navigator Pedder sent him up a wrong road for a time. The only major retirement was Gregg Hansford (Mazda RX7) when the gearbox broke after a rather lack-lustre performance.

In the third division Slater, with an ailing gearbox in the Corolla, replaced it but the swap took longer than expected and he ran out of late time, handing the lead to Murfett. But the big news was Dunkerton’s charge towards the leaders, while both Carr and Clark were moving up as well.

Then, as the fourth division started, Murfett’s lead did not last long as he hit a cautioned gutter very heavily and bent the Mazda’s front suspension too badly to continue. Now Atkinson was leading with a handful of stages to go but then he punctured, allowing Dunkerton into the lead. Carr fell by the wayside with a broken gearbox in the Commodore and Brian Smith/David McKenzie (turbocharged Mitsubishi Sigma) went into a ditch and they had to forfeit a maximum time on one stage.

Dunkerton’s win was a great boost for Group A, and Subaru’s fortunes, in the championship.

1 Ross Dunkerton Steve McKimmie Subaru RX Turbo 235:37 2 Mark Atkinson David Baesjou Datsun 1600 240:32 3 John Macara David Hatley Datsun 1600 240:40 4 Peter Clark Wayne Kenny Subaru RX Turbo 243:41 5 Brian Smith David McKenzie Mitsubishi Sigma 244:38 6 Rob Herridge Colin Ekert Datsun 1600 244:57 7 Gerry McGroaty Garry Roscoe Datsun 1600 246:57 8 Jim Marden Steve Vanderbyl Toyota Corolla 247:24 9 Peter Flood Ian Arbor Toyota Corolla 250:08 10 Graham Alexander Ian Stewart Toyota Corolla 253:28

145

ROUND THREE: BEGA VALLEY RALLY – New South Wales

The event counted for both the Australian and New South Wales Championships, so attracted a very strong and varied entry of 90 cars. The event, run over the June long weekend, consisted of six divisions.

Greg Carr decided to curtail his title effort and concentrate instead on organising a deal for 1986.

The Group G category was led by Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis (Mazda RX7) and Ian Hill/Phil Bonser (Ford Escort RS 1800) and any number of Datsun 1600s, as well as Gregg Hansford in a Mazda RX7. The Group A opposition included a horde of Subaru RXs led by Barry Lowe/Kevin Pedder, Ed Mulligan/Geoff Jones, John Atkinson/Geoff Jones and Peter Clark/Wayne Kenny, as well as Wayne Bell/George Shepheard and Ron Cremen/Ray Temple (Toyota Corolla Sprinters).

Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis in the Group G Mazda RX-7 passing through magnificent rally country near Bega

Very early on, Hansford’s RX7 broke a differential (for the second successive event) and Cremen was outed with a dead oil pump on the Sprinter. Hugh Bell proved quickest of the contenders by being fastest on all six daylight stages in the first division around Bega and at the first break was leading Mark Hankinson/Steve Owers (Datsun 1600) by 50 seconds.

Then came Andrew Murfett/Phillip Welch (Mazda RX2) by 26 seconds, John Atkinson by 16 seconds, with Ron McKinnon/David Kelley (Datsun 1600) fifth and Hill sixth. Atkinson was the fastest of the Group A cars, followed by Wayne Bell/George Shepheard (Toyota Corolla GT) and Lowe.

The rally then headed south towards the Victorian border for the night stages and Hankinson threw out a challenge on the longest stage of the event, 43 kilometres, and narrowed the gap to 26 seconds, but Hugh Bell hit back on the next stage and opened the gap again. Murfett’s efforts came to nothing when he ran the RX2 wide in a tight right-hander and parked the car on a bank. Then just four stages into the night Hugh Bell lost almost three minutes with a puncture and then set about chasing Hankinson and tore 50 seconds off him in the next stage, his powerful RX7 revelling in the tight forestry road conditions.

At the end of the night Hankinson led Hugh Bell by 8 seconds, then McKinnon (almost five minutes) followed by Atkinson, Hill and Lowe. Atkinson continued to lead the Group A contingent, followed by Lowe and Wayne Bell.

With only six short stages on Sunday morning the order seemed pretty set. Over the fast, smooth shire roads around Bega Bell was soon back in front and rebuilding his lead. Hankinson dropped back to an eventual fourth with tyre problems on his Datsun, letting through McKinnon and Atkinson. Hill was fifth and Lowe sixth.

Halfway through the championship series the driver’s points were Bell, 48, Lowe 40, Clark 36, Hill 28 and Dunkerton 24, with the navigators Ellis 48, Pedder 40, Kenny 36, Bonser 28 and McKimmie 24.

1 Hugh Bell Steve Ellis Mazda RX7 190:33 2 Ron McKinnon David Kelley Datsun 1600 194:46 3 John Atkinson Geoff Jones Subaru RX Turbo 194:58 4 Mark Hankinson Steve Owers Datsun 1600 195:01 5 Ian Hill Phil Bonser Ford Escort RS 1800 195:35 6 Barry Lowe Kevin Pedder Subaru RX Turbo 195:38 7 Nick Belfield Mike Taylor Datsun Stanza 198:19 8 Hanns Popolla Nick Vardos Ford Escort RS 2000 199:17 9 David Eadie Chris Shearer Datsun 1600 199:21 10 Jack Whiteman Jim Gleeson Datsun 1600 199:55

146

ROUND FOUR: KEEMA CLASSIC RALLY - Queensland

Unfortunately, the rally was struck by a host of troubles and was abandoned at three-quarter distance. It was affected by badly by rain holdup and logistical problems and only two-thirds of the almost 70 car field eventually made it to the finish, and those that did only covered some 200 competitive kilometres in 16 hours.

The Group A entry was easily the best to date in the series with 17 starters, including the Subaru RXs, and RX7 and a 323 Mazda, two Toyota Corolla GTs, a Holden Commodore, Honda Civic and Pulsar ET.

Murray Coote/Iain Stewart – Mazda 323 4WD

As usual, the rally started with a publicity blast around the Mt Coo-tha quarry and then the long transport run north from Brisbane to the traditional forests around Kenilworth and Imbil, and the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis (Mazda RX7) set the pace on the first stage at the quarry but were one of many to suffer problems in the first forestry stage as the result of less than accurate instructions and several of Australia’s top navigators found themselves on wrong roads as a result.

Bell’s troubles put him behind Murray Coote/Iain Stewart (Mazda 323 Group A), Gregg Hansford/Dale Payne (Mazda RX7) and Peter Clark/Wayne Kenny (Subaru RX) but he took some of the time back on a few of the short stages close to Imbil before the rain really started to come down, producing thick treacle-like mud in some places, dry roads in other and unpredictable greasy patches in others.

Special stage six was the downfall for several competitors. Clark slid off on a corner over a brow and just further on Peter Glennie (Datsun 1200) also slipped off the road and was stuck fast. Glennie could only stand and watch as some of the back-markers, many of whom did not slow down for the warning signs, began colliding with his car. Barry Lowe/Kevin Pedder (Subaru RX) were also in trouble as the car was without first, third and reverse gears and this ensured his times were well and truly off the pace in the adverse conditions.

While it seemed everyone else around him was having trouble, Coote just got on and did the job with his 323 as in the mud the four-wheel-drive was ideal. Hansford, too, was going well in his RX7 in his first reliable run of the series. In the meantime, Bell’s attempts to comeback took another setback when he went off the road and took a maximum penalty for the stage and this ended any chance of a good points tally at the end of the event.

The rain proved to be too much and the organisers cut the event short by cancelling the last few stages, leaving Coote/Stewart as the surprise winners, over two minutes from Hansford/Payne. Ron Cremen/Ray Temple (Toyota Corolla) came in third, with Dennis Brown/John Hall (Subaru RX) fourth, David Adams/Chris Randell ( Pulsar ET) fifth and Mark Taylor/Noel Drummond (Ford Escort) sixth. The championship pointscore stood at: Bell/Ellis 49, Lowe/Pedder 48, Clark/Kenny 36, Cremen/Temple 36, Hill/Bonser 28, Dunkerton/McKimmie 24, Coote/Stewart 24.

1 Murray Coote Iain Stewart Mazda 323 4WD 92:49 2 Gregg Hansford Dale Payne Mazda RX7 95:23 3 Ron Cremen Ray Temple Toyota Corolla 121:01 4 Dennis Brown John Hall Subaru RX Turbo 122:12 5 David Adams Chris Randell Datsun Pulsar ET 123:21 6 Mark Taylor Noel Drummond Ford Escort 123:34 7 Barry Lowe Kevin Pedder Subaru RX Turbo 126:28 8 Geoff Briscoe Phillip Morley Ford Escort RS 2000 126:36 9 Barry Mann Ian Young Datsun 1600 127:27 10 Garry Marshall Ian Goldsworthy Ford Escort 129:00 147

ROUND FIVE: TILE SUPPLIES RALLY – South Australia

First he was first and then eventually he was fourth, but still Barry Lowe (with Kevin Pedder) moved a step closer to the 1985 Australian championship. He had taken a nine second lead over the turbocharged Mitsubishi Sigma of Brian Smith/David McKenzie, with Ed Ordynski/Lyn Wilson (Subaru RX) third, 26 seconds away. However, a Steward’s hearing into a jumped start eventually cost Lowe his win but he still scored enough points to go into the final championship event as favourite for the title.

After an absence of five years the event brought South Australia back into the championship trail. It was highlighted by the short, sharp stages on the Fleurieu Peninsula on shire roads on the Saturday, with the Sunday competition being in the Crawford Forest near Adelaide. 52 entries were received.

Barry Lowe/Kevin Pedder – Subaru RX 4WD

The Group A contingent was 10 cars, led by Lowe and Peter Clark in the Subaru RXs, whilst Ordynski debuted his RX; Ron Cremen/Ray Temple (Toyota Corolla) and joined by Graham Alexander in a similar car; series regulars David Adams (Pulsar ET) and Jim Middleton (Holden Commodore) also attended.

Group G competitors included Hugh Bell (Mazda RX7), Brian Smith (Mitsubishi Sigma), Gregg Hansford (Mazda RX7), Andrew Murfett (Mazda RX2), Phil Horan (ex-works Datsun Stanza) and Mark Tolcher (Ford Escort), and George Fury/Monty Suffern in the borrowed Barry Lowe Datsun 1600.

After a dozen daylight special stages Bell flew to build a lead of more than a minute over Fury, and Lowe third, Horan fourth and Smith fifth. In Group A it was Lowe, Ordynski, Clark and Cremen. In an early night stage Bell encountered a fast, unexpected and un-cautioned corner and left the road and stayed there for eleven minutes until Gregg Hansford towed him back to the road. He was now 17th! Ordynski was the star of the night scoring a series of fastest stage times over (to him) familiar roads (and probably pace-noted!).

At the end of Saturday’s competition Ordynski led Fury by 17 seconds, with a determined Barry Lowe only eight seconds further back. Behind this leading bunch was Smith, Horan, Murfett and Clark. Adams and Cremen were in the top ten. Bell was 18th and Hansford 12th, having lost time helping Bell.

On Sunday Bell was a man on a mission and his fastest time on the opening stage began a charge that saw him fastest on all but one stage and on the way back to a more respectable placing. Up front, Lowe was pulling in Ordynski, while Fury took the lead early in the division but his luck was about to depart when, just four stages from the finish, a driveshaft broke. Although he was able to continue the time lost was enough to hand the lead to Lowe and drop him down to equal 6th with Bell at the finish. Adams had an altercation with a bank which cost him a bundle of time and almost put him out of his late time limit, while Horan was sidelined with gearbox troubles.

Lowe had his first victory, at least temporarily, in a championship event, edging out Smith and Ordynski. Murfett drove conservatively for fourth while Clark filled fifth and third in Group A. It was a month before Lowe’s jump-start penalty was decided but both he and Bell knew what they had to do in the final round later in the year.

1 Barry Lowe Kevin Pedder Subaru RX Turbo 147:42 2 Brian Smith David McKenzie Mitsubishi Sigma 147:51 3 Ed Ordynski Lyn Wilson Subaru RX Turbo 148:17 4 Andrew Murfett Pip Welsh Mazda RX2 149:48 5 Peter Clark Wayne Kenny Subaru RX Turbo 151:41 =6 George Fury Monty Suffern Datsun 1600 153:56 =6 Hugh Bell Steve Ellis Mazda RX7 153:56 8 Ron Cremen Ray Temple Toyota Corolla 155:30 9 Jim Conaght Kevin Atwood Datsun 1600 156:30 10 Gregg Hansford Dale Payne Mazda RX7 157:07 Lowe was delegated to fourth after a Stewards hearing.

148

ROUND SIX: AKADEMOS RALLY - Victoria

The Akademos Rally was only added to the championship after the cancellation of the Alpine Rally and the organising team from the University Car Club were faced with some gigantic problems in organisation the event at short notice and their difficulties were compounded by heavy rains in the days leading up to the event, leaving just 100 kilometres of competitive stages, well short of the distance usually required for a title event and the original two-day format was shortened to just a Saturday run.

There were only 50 entries and in only 100 kilometres it was going to be hard to bear the ferocious combination of Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis in their Mazda RX7, seeded at the head of the field. Beside Bell, the Group G cars were Andrew Murfett’s Mazda RX2, Brian Smith’s Mitsubishi Sigma, Peter Thompson’s Datsun Stanza, David Jones’ Holden Commodore, Peter Glennie in the Datsun 1200 and a rotary-engined Ford Escort of Terry Harris. Group A included Subaru RXs of Barry Lowe and Peter Clark, Ron Cremen in a Toyota Corolla, as was Wayne Bell, David Adams Nissan Pulsar ET, with Jim Middleton and Bruce Robertson in Holden Commodores.

Hugh Bell/Steve Ellis in the Mazda RX-7

From the start Mazda power was proving overpowering with Bell, Terry Harris/Brian Oliver (Mazda powered Escort) and Murfett taking the lead, with Bell edging away from his pursuers. At the meal break Bell was somewhat confident of winning the event and the championship, with Lowe positioned ninth overall and fourth Group A. Bell’s nearest threats were Harris, 14 seconds behind, Wayne Bell, Glennie, Clark and Smith.

The second division provided a tougher challenge, particularly with a deep creek crossing which was tackled twice and drowned many machines. The first time through Bell’s Mazda dropped a little time and allowed Clark’s Subaru to take fastest time. The tight forest roads in the hills behind Bairnsdale were challenging and Lowe was moving up through the field to ensure his national title. Middleton slipped back when he went off the road, Robertson’s Commodore blew an engine in the aftermath of the creek crossing, and Ron Cremen was out with a broken engine in the Corolla, and so too was David Adams in the Nissan ET. Wayne Bell then lost his advantage in Group A with a puncture and when Peter Clark miscued on the final stage Lowe was able to move back to second overall and first in Group A.

Lowe earned his result when he stormed to the fastest time over the last stage and even Hugh Bell’s event win was not enough to deny Lowe and Pedder their national championship wins.

1 Hugh Bell Steve Ellis Mazda RX7 77:12 2 Barry Lowe Kevin Pedder Subaru RX Turbo 78:32 3 Wayne Bell Dave Boddy Toyota Corolla 78:39 4 Peter Clark Wayne Kenny Subaru RX Turbo 78:43 5 Terry Harris Brian Oliver Ford Escort Rotary 79:12 6 Brian Smith John Birrell Mitsubishi Sigma 79:44 7 Peter Glennie Iain Stewart Datsun 1200 81:48 8 David Jones Peter Curtain Holden Commodore 83:39 9 Andrew Martin Phillip Martin Mitsubishi Galant 84:31 10 Jim Kennedy Jim Davis Mazda 626 Turbo Rotary 84:45 149