Resto Country Spares Standard Car Class Update – June 2022

Competition Report and Scores after 6 rounds

We’ve had two Regularity Rally events recently.

First was the Camcrusher run by FFCC in conjunction with the Marysville Stages – a Victorian Rally Championship (VRC) round and a Victorian Club Rally Series (VCRS) round: a mighty effort by John Roberts and his very capable team. The parking and service areas were almost full to capacity at Gallipoli Park, possibly the most picturesque area anywhere for rally service.

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Guest Speaker to lift the lid on the Portman book at June HRA meeting

Cover of the Book, "For Tonight We Ride"

Author and rally fan Bruce Keys will be our very special guest speaker at the June HRA meeting.

Bruce Keys
Bruce Keys

Bruce will talk to us about the stories behind his book, “For Tonight, We Ride”, the rally biography of champion rally driver Geoff Portman. 

Bruce will reveal how it came to be and who we can blame for it!  The stories of the people who contributed, those behind the scenes who “saw the light and got with the program” and how Geoff was enthusiastic to see the project come to fruition, which sadly was not to be. 

Continue reading Guest Speaker to lift the lid on the Portman book at June HRA meeting

HRA June Meeting – Wednesday June 8, 2022

HRA June Meeting – Wednesday June 8, 8:00 pm
Come for a meal and stay for the meeting, “For Tonight We Ride…”

Come along this Wednesday and catch up with other HRA rally tragics and maybe have a laugh.

We are fortunate to have Bruce Keys as our guest speaker. He will be giving us a behind the scenes look at the making of the book on Geoff Portman, “For Tonight We Ride” and possibly relating a few stories that just could not be put down in writing! It’s a terrific read and Bruce is excited to share the experience with us in the HRA.

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Competition Report – May 2022

Luke Sytema and Tracey Dewhurst standing next to their car

If you left the car in the shed, here’s what you missed

The Marysville Stages on 7 May was the biggest rally since the last report with VRC, VCRS and the Camcrusher Regularity Rally all starting from Gallipoli Park on another cold, wet day.

Whilst the VRC probably had the worst of the weather, they did it all in daylight whereas the VCRS and Camcrusher had night running in some pretty thick fog. The fog led to the cancellation of one stage which unfortunately reduced the competitive distance of both events by 11km and the Camcrusher from an originally advised 90km to just 63.4km.

Continue reading Competition Report – May 2022

The Experts Trial – Tough in the Old Days

Originally published with the Supp Regs for the 2022 Experts Trial Re-Visited Navigational Tour

The first Experts Trial was run in July 1947. It was the brainchild of Alan Watkin, an experienced trials competitor who suggested to anyone who was interested “that a really hard trial should be staged”. He was as good as his word and started a traditional event that became the Experts Trial and has always challenged competitors to the full. Those who entered Experts Trials expected no mercy from the Director and received none.

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Standard Car Class news – April 2022

Some very entertaining events in the next few months, so a clean of the headlamps and windscreen is in order.

Autocross 17 April – maybe?

In the Autocross series there is a round scheduled for April 17. However, this is still not confirmed. All those registered for the Series will receive confirmation one way or the other very soon.

Camcrusher Regularity Rally, 7 May

Entries are now open for our next regularity rally on Saturday May 7th: the Camcrusher Regularity Rally run out of Marysville by FFCC.

Continue reading Standard Car Class news – April 2022

HRA 30th Anniversary Dinner details confirmed

The Organising Committee for the HRA 30th Anniversary Dinner have announced details for this fabulous celebration and you are invited to celebrate with us.

It will be held on Saturday 30th April, 2022 from 6:30 pm, at the Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club, 129 Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park. Complementary pre dinner drinks followed by a formal dinner and a very special guest speaker.

Click to see your Invitation

Full event details and an entry form can be found in these Supplementary Regulations:
30th Anniversary Dinner Supp Regs and Entry form (pdf)
30th Anniversary Dinner Supp Regs and Entry form (MS Word)

Breaking News…

Matt Bryson, pictured here with his Father, the late John Bryson.

The organising Committee of the HRA 30th Anniversary Dinner have just confirmed that Matt Bryson will be our Guest Speaker.

Matt is an endurance rally champion, winning three Peking to Paris rallies (2010, 2013, 2019), coming second by narrow margins on the Trans-American Challenge (2012), the Road to Mandalay (2015) and the Road to Saigon (2018).

Matt is inextricably linked to the Leyland P-76.

Yes, it was his late Father John Bryson that co-drove with Evan Green in a P-76 in the 1974 World Cup Rally, also the subject of the popular book “A boot full of right arms”. Two of Matt’s three Peking-Paris wins were in a P-76 in tribute livery of the Green/Bryson 1974 car.

Matt is a popular and sought after guest speaker at many international and local sporting clubs, with many amusing and hair-raising stories of rallying through remote and wild country, some friendly and some less so.

L, Matt Bryson and the P76 at the HRAs Rally Retro Festival. R, Matt and the late Gerry Crown celebrate the win in the 2019 Peking to Paris. Pics from Rally Retro Festival by B Team Rally Media. (Click for larger images.)