2023 Phillip Island Classic March 9-12

[E.B]

PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC FESTIVAL OF MOTORSPORT
MARCH 9-12 2023

Phillip Island this weekend for the annual PI Classic.

What a great track and location. Certainly my favourite must go event of the year.



Ill be there of course. Looking forward to it. We have some interesting cars including a number of Historic F1 cars coming over from Europe.... Hesketh, Shadow DN8, Surtees TS16, Tyrrell 012 (Benetton livery) Ensign, Lotus 81

A lot more than just F1, hundreds of wonderful cars entered.... we will see F5000, other open wheelers, big Sports cars from Kaditcha to McLaren and T70, plus, Ernie Nagamatu coming from the US with his Old Yeller 11, a range of Historic Touring Car events from Group A through to the Camaros and Mustangs, Lotus Cortinas, Minis and a lot in between, and of course a host of Australian Specials mixing it with more well known marques.

I think we have 10 categories of cars running. Link follows for all the events, cars and entries.

I know Iain had thought of coming over this year but he and Dr Bob have European adventures planned in the near future which got in the way.

I did notice in the entry list Andy Newall of this parish is once more attending, with his Chevron B6.
Another Tenther is David Towe with his BMW M3. Im sure there are more.

Meeting overview with many of the notable entries mentioned: https://vhrr.com/wp/phillip-island/

Events / Categories and full entry list : https://vhrr.com/Competitor%20List&%...20Schedule.pdf

I'll be there with camera so hopefully have some photos to post. Any other local tenthers attending, with or without cars?

Weather forecast is not to bad, low to mid 20's with a 10% chance of rain.

Sadly it seems no live streams mentioned which surprises me. If I hear of anything whilst there I will post details.

[GreenMachine]

Not this year, sadly.

Looking forward to many photos to scratch that itch though ...

[bludvl_x19]

I'll be there, no car. If you're driving, hopefully you don't see me all weekend,

Only bit of news from today was the Lotus 81 of Steve Brooks managed to destroy an engine in an early session. Driver and car fine, engine.....not so much.

The remainder of the F1 brigade is impressive. Some seriously beautiful cars there this weekend.

[E.B]

We have another non-starter for Phillip Island. The reason is quite weird and in the hands of the Police.

Peter Williams and his ex Sir Jack Brabham BT21 were all loaded up Thursday night ready to head off to PI Friday morning.....He. was entered in M&O Sports and Racing, F.Junior and Invited class. Unfortunately.....

Police investigate theft of 'extremely rare' 1960s race car driven by Jack Brabham

An extremely rare 1960s race car has been found damaged and unable to be driven, after it was stolen from a property in the wealthy Melbourne suburb of Toorak.

Police are investigating the theft of the Brabham BT21, which is believed to have occurred on Hill Street in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The race car is very rare, with only five others like it in the world.

The vintage vehicle was discovered on Grange Road by officers on patrol and police said It had been abandoned just streets away from where it had been taken.

"I don't think they knew how to turn on all the switches to be able to start it properly," owner Peter Williams told ABC Radio Melbourne this morning.

A green and gold race car with the number five on it, sitting stationary on a concrete road.



Police have released an image of the stolen vehicle to assist in the investigation.

Mr Williams was set to be competing in the car at the Phillip Island Classic this weekend — a five-day event which draws hundreds of historic race cars from across Australia and abroad.

Mr Williams said the rare car was driven by Australian racing legend Sir Jack Brabham.

The damage done to the clutch has put the vehicle out of the game for now, but Mr Williams said he had high hopes he would be able to get it back on the road.

He said he feels "very lucky" it was found....

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-...urne/102078300

As he said it was fortunate he got it back but just goes to show there are some pretty lowlife types out there.

[GreenMachine]

Bizarre!

Wasn't there another theft of a significant type/example a few years back - maybe a Renmax? Subsequently recovered damaged but whole IIRC?

[justracing]

The mind boggles, what on earth could the would be perpetrators hope to do with such a prestigious racecar?

[drbob]

Hello EB. Looking forward to your PI report and any photos and video links of the action.
I’m off today to join delta in Old Blighty for another Summer Boys Own Adventure.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by drbob

Hello EB. Looking forward to your PI report and any photos and video links of the action.
I’m off today to join delta in Old Blighty for another Summer Boys Own Adventure.

Hi drbob.... safe journey and enjoy your adventure. Look forward to updates and news of what events, and of course when / if you will be playing with the new car.... all the best with that one and hope you have as much enjoyment with that as with the Lotus (I will leave you to give others here the details on the new one in due course ).
Will be following from afar. Cheers, Chris

As for PI, a brief report.... sadly as is always the case I didnt get to watch all the racing getting sidetracked with club things (we had our big 2022 awards night function on the Saturday night)

What a great weekend! Got back home late Sunday night. Weather was kind, Saturday was perfect, although a bit windy and a bit nippy at 8am in the morning on Sunday. Wind was pretty blowy Sunday but the threatened rain didnt happen.... we got a very light spit but nothing that made any difference to racing or spectating. As usual run with military timing and precision by the VHRR.... just minutes between events and ran pretty well on time all weekend so congrats to those at the VHRR.

From a spectator pov some stunning cars. Sorry we didnt get to see the Essex Lotus 81 in action but we did get to see all the other F1's that came over plus the local ones we have all slugging it out for 4 races over the weekend, and one event I am sure will feature in pub or online Trivia in the future..... we had an F1 cars only 2023 Phillip Island Grand Prix. That was won in commanding style by the ex James Hunt Hesketh Racing liveried Hesketh 308 of current custodian James Hagan, who I know has been to PI before in other cars so has a bit of local knowlwdge... Was not a huge long race, just a few laps but the spirit was there and they were running hard. And oh did I mention the sound.... a nostalgic mix of DFV, the BMW in the Benneton and Ferrari. Sadly the latter were not from the flat / v12 era and were turbo.

I say the F1 cars ran on their own for the PI GP..... for the rest of the weekend they ran in a combined field with F5000 and F2 type stuff. (There was an ex Cevert March running as well not seen before by me.

I spoke very briefly to Andy Newall, commenting that his gorgeous little Chevron looks lower and more nimble every time I see it.

For those who like cars with roofs we had 80 entries in the Historic Touring cars, Group N (Pre 1974)split into two races, one for the Minis, Cortinas Escorts and up to 2 litre, the over 2 litre catering for the Camaros, Mustangs, Valiants, Toranas etc. A good number of cars from interstate, and we gave them a good welcomePlus we also had races for car from the Group C and Group A era most of which as Heritage cars are genuine period machines not modern day replicas as many of the Group N are..

A sign of old age is the fact that so many 'modern' cars are now historic....there were a number of Nissan GTR 'Godzillas; down there including the Fred Gibson run Jim Richards driven car he dominated our local touring cars with, maybe the original Godzilla. Nice to see his son Steven (of 5 times Bathurst winning fame) driving that car with fellow Kiwi and Supercars legend Greg Murphy driving another..... Greg was on board the HR31 GTS-R, previously raced by five-time ATCC winner Mark Skaife, as well as George Fury and Win Percy. Good to see a number of the old Gibson crew of the day were there running the cars and also Fred Gibson himself (now in his eighties) was there one day at least.



Steven Richards, Greg Murphy, Anthony Alford each raced a Nissan Skyline out of the Gibson Motorsport stable

There is a short clip on Instagram of the Nissan's going out.


https://www.instagram.com/p/CpkY54MOBVs/. (make sure the sound is on.)


Oh in the racing it seems the Nissans continued their winning ways..... Richo topping Qualy over second-placed Murphy, with the latter returning serve in Race 1, claiming victory from Chris Stillwell (Ford Sierra RS500) and Richards. FYI Chris Stillwell is the son of the late great Aussie racing identity from the 50's and 60's Bib Stillwell.... Chris is a member of our Historic Touring Cars Victoria Club .... he also runs an Escort BDA Group N (pre '74) in that. Oh and he also runs the Stillwell Motor Group that Bib set up way back when.

Murphy made it back-to-back wins in Race 2, as Richards moved up to second, with Stillwell completing the podium.

Edward Sansil (BMW E30 M3 Evolution) picked up the victory in Race 3, with Anthony Alford (Nissan HR31 GTS-R) second and Stillwell third, while Richards and Murphy finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Richards capped off the outing with victory in Race 4 as Murphy and Stillwell rounded out the podium.


Here should link you straight to the Natsoft results for the various categories running over the weekend (Note F1 were part of the F5000 headed list and ran as Group R under 3 litre. Friday Saturday and Sunday all there split by day.

http://racing.natsoft.com.au/results/#2

EDIT RE RESULTS. It seems that link does not go direct to the PI page so click the link abovethen click the Circuit Racing option on top left of that home page.... you will then see a list of events listed, the, PI Classic is 4 or 5 down.... click on the date in the left column or the "View" in the right and it will open up the results page showing all 3 days



Not many videos posted yet but my good mate Jervis Ward has posted a clip from race 4 of the Historic Touring Cars.... on board from his Falcon Sprint. (The Rally Sprint basically uses Mustang running gear, Windsor 289 cubic inch etc but is lighter than a Mustang). Unfortunately he had a troubled weekend from a blowout in the first race from a body rub, and not running at 100%. Shows the size of the grid we had though.

https://youtu.be/G1JrXZpOsww

If interested there is an interview with Jervis from a couple of years ago when he got the car, which tells the story of the Falcon Rally Sprint (Im sure others here know all the history better than I, but for those that dont).... probably one of the first ever "Homologation Specials" having been introduced by Ford to try and win the Monte Carlo Rally back in 1963. Big 289 V8 engine and weightsaving fibreglass doors boot bonnet etc made it a relatively light car. I know there have been a few racing in the UK so nothing new really.
Just noticed the bloke in the vid near the start who walks past looking like he is in another world (about 2:15 in) is me lol.

https://youtu.be/5kwmJSccCIc


Oh just noticed a new video posted that will perhaps interest those MG guys.... aa walk around the dummy grid for what we call the Mosquito squadron, Group S Sports cars, Midgets, MGB's Alfas TR's etc.

https://youtu.be/gc0juJvf_Zw

Also the larger engined Group S cars, Porsches, Corvettes, Datsuns etc (aka The Bomber Squadron) heading onto the track

https://youtu.be/s-6zGw731rA


Plus another couple of note:

Bomber Squadron race 1 from onboard a 280Z

https://youtu.be/a0IXDZatH7Q

classic F1, Indy, Formula 5000 and more!
https://youtu.be/rT9BHQ5JtRM


Actually there are a few appearing now, so just search 2023 Phillip Island Classic on youtube and take your pick.



Ill post some piccies as soon as I get them sorted and picked out a few to post.

[delta]

Many thanks for taking the time and posting a great report and videos Chris . ?

[E.B]

Originally Posted by delta

Many thanks for taking the time and posting a great report and videos Chris . ?

No worries Iain.... im glad to do it. Nice to know our little track out here and event sparks a bit of interest back 'home'. It was shorts and T shirts all the way, and I even raised a 'kwasson' in the garage there for absent friends! Next year!
Look after drbob and make sure you send him back in one piece! Enjoy your playtime together! Keep us posted.

[David Towe]

My in car video of race 4 in two parts.
Part one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGty4WHpbrI

And part two

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bFTdmmlWUY

[morninggents]

Great avoidance during the first lap kerfuffle. Gained you a load of places.
Also a lovely cut back overtake around 6'15secs in the first vid.
Well done.

[E.B]

Thanks for the video David.... a great charge through.... I think 5th overall in the end, and as has been said great avoidance early on. I did look in your usual spot (though dont think you were here last year). I knew you were there though as saw you on track. It was only later in the weekend I saw you were in the garages this year. You looked a bit involved and busy when I dropped in so left you to it . Trust you had a good weekend and catch up next year.

[E.B]

As promised a few photos from a selection of many I took.

[E.B]

I did say every time I saw Andy Newall in the garage he looked busy

[E.B]

[E.B]

Posted because the sticker made me smile. Oh so true


A big grid of Historic Touring cars. This just the over 2 litres... up to 2 litre was even larger.

[Peter Mallett]

Is the Ferrari the real thing? I didn't think there were any in private hands.

[Malcolm Smith]

Some great photos there, especially like the RX7. Have watched some of the videos from link you posted, great action, saw some other Mazdas which I think are RX2 - don't remember ever seeing them race in UK

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Is the Ferrari the real thing? I didn't think there were any in private hands.

Certainly is the real thing, a 156/85 and the same guy, Sydneysider Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, owns two of them, both the #27 and #28 as used by Alboreto and Johansson back in the day. I know the ex Alboretto car was gifted by Enzo to Michele's patron from his junior days...

Alboreto was the first Italian to race for Ferrari for many years and was supported through his early career with the Scuderia by a wealthy patron, Count Gugge Zanon, who was so well regarded by Ferrari for his support of Alboreto and the Team that Enzo Ferrari agreed to gift him Alboreto’s car at the end of the 1985 season.

Count Zanon kept 079 in his private collection for the next 10 years, during which time it was always maintained by the Ferrari factory and was driven occasionally by Alboreto. But he found with his advancing years he wasn’t able to enjoy driving the Ferrari as much as he liked and a deal was done.

The Johansson car he purchased more recently and had been on the market for 12 months when Guido bought it.

Here is the story behind them: https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/f...la-one-ferrari

I know there was a time when Ferrari F1 cars were never made available but over recent years I know some have been sold albeit stilled homed and maintained by Marinello under their 'Corse Clienti' programme. These ones of Guido are not part of that deal.... he has them maintained locally, and gets the engines pulled down every 80 laps of racing! All about that in the article linked.

[Peter Mallett]

I had a scalextric version of that. It broke its crown wheel.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Smith

Some great photos there, especially like the RX7. Have watched some of the videos from link you posted, great action, saw some other Mazdas which I think are RX2 - don't remember ever seeing them race in UK

RX-2's were certainly used in the ETCC back in c 1975 although obviously the RX3 was the UK norm, and bred like wildfire in the UK production scene (and the Whizzo Williams driven Arian Automotive car in BTCC)

As far as Aus was concerned the R-100 the first Mazda to race over here, three running at Bathurst in 1969. (The R for Rotary the 100 for the bhp the standard car produced). ISTR the R-100 did quite well at the 1969 Spa 24 hr race too. I think they finished ahead of BMW, and 5th overall, behind a Porsche 1-2-3-4.
The problem with the R100 was it was a bit too long for its narrow width and rolled a bit.

R100 at Bathurst in 1969



That made way for the RX-2 (aka Capella) and I think it was 1971 an RX-2 won its class at Bathurst Whereas the R-100 ran the 10A Rotary but the RX2 enjoyed the larger twin-rotor 12A engine. In 1972 an RX2 qualified ahead (class pole) of a large number of Escort Twincams. It finished 2nd behind an Escort but in 1973 (Bathurst went from 500 miles to 1000klm in '73) took the class 1-2 after the two leading Mazda's took each other out on the final lap (it was 1-2-3-4 going into the last lap!)



RX-3's first appeared in 1973 albeit with the smaller (2.0 equivalent) engine and were in the smaller class than the 2-3litre class of the RX2.
By 1974 the RX2 had made way for the RX3 which oddly enough ran in both 1300-2000cc and 2-3 litre classes depending on engine fitted.

In a nutshell yes the RX2 was used in period, extensively so down under and under todays HTC regs down here fit in well to the Group Nc category ( cars from 1st January 1965 > 31st December 1972)

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Smith

Some great photos there, especially like the RX7. Have watched some of the videos from link you posted, great action, saw some other Mazdas which I think are RX2 - don't remember ever seeing them race in UK

A couple of other pics I found of Mazdas

[justracing]

Thanks for the thread and pics E.B. What a super event, some of the video links are absolutely brilliant with a cavalry charge of F1, F2 and F5000 machinery, quite a spectacle of machinery.

[Malcolm Smith]

Many thanks for posting Mazda photos and for history of early rotary racing - much appreciated.