Dunkerton, who was a force in the sport in the 70s and 80s, is excited about the promise of the classic category and encourages anyone who’s had half a mind to give classic rallying a try, to venture out at the first round.
“I would encourage Australian competitors to get behind this concept. It is a medium of rallying that will be somewhere for today's champions to go after they no longer wish to compete at the pointy end,” Dunkerton explained of his rationale behind the series.
“People really identify with these cars. Let's face it we all grew up with some form of a Datsun, Toyota or even a HK Monaro sitting in the family carport.
“Our plan is to deliver a category of cars that complements the excitement of the cars in the Globalstar ARC. We don’t intend the cars to be the main show in the forest but rather be one hell of a supporting act to the outright series.”
The move to bring Classic Rallying to the Australian fans follows similar moves around the world. The cars ran in Australia in 2003, and Dunkerton hopes interest will grow further in 2004.
The best thing about Classic Rallying is that it’s not only attracting people who always wanted to ‘give the BDA a go’ but also bringing rally names we grew up with back into the sport.
“Classic Rallying is gaining in popularity around the world. In other international locations, drivers the likes of Rod Millen from the USA and former World Champions Juha Kankkunen, Timo Salonen and Bjorn Waldergaard have come back to compete in Classic Rallying.
“I don't know of any other medium of rallying where Joe Average can run in a field on equal terms with the calibre of these men,” Dunkerton explained.
The category is open to pre-1986 rally cars and Dunkerton says it is designed to attract the best possible examples of cars from this bygone era. He says with just 15 spots available for each round, a starting position will be highly sought.
Dunkerton’s intention is that there is at least one former Australian Rally Champion at each round and says he’s already had interest from four former champions all keen to relive their glorious pasts, as well as enquiries from several competitors from New Zealand to attend some eastern states events.
Entries are now open for the classic division of round one, the Respect Yourself Forest Rally on March 27-28. Last year, the series had four eastern state entries and Dunkerton hopes to see more competitors venture across the Nullarbor this year.
As an added incentive this year, the winner of the Forest Rally classic division will earn a Rally Australia package, including a place in Decades of Rallying. This was a new concept last year where each decade starting with the 1950's, was represented by two cars from that decade that ran off against each around the Gloucester Park track.
Classic Rally Cars will need to meet the relevant CAMS technical and safety regulations in order to be eligible to compete. These are framed to ensure cars remain true to the specification of such cars in the period, yet allow a degree of freedom for modification. Dunkerton asks that interested competitors contact him on 08 9279 6250 in relation to the Respect Yourself Forest Rally or ensuing events.