Porsche duo claims Classic Adelaide honours
Local knowledge pays off for Weeks but tragedy overshadows this year's eventSouth Australians have dominated this year's running of the Classic Adelaide tarmac rally. Local driver Kevin Weeks and navigator Bec Crunkhorn took their third consecutive win in their 1974 Porsche 911RS.
But the pair's victory celebrations were tempered by the tragic accident of fellow Porsche drivers Glen Tierney and David Carra on the opening day of the event. Tierney, 60, and Carra, 43, were both pronounced dead at the scene when they left the road on the sixth stage and hit at tree.
All crews in the events held one minute's silence on Friday morning and carried black tape on the headlight of each car in memory of the pair.
Behind Weeks and Crunkhorn in the outright Late Classic category (cars built between 1971 and 1990) came fellow locals Hamish Gibson and Ben Scott (1980 Holden Commodore) and Roger Paterson and Paul Whatnell (1974 Porsche 911RS).
"We had a very nervous final day," Weeks said. "It was very slippery on the first stage but we were able to lift the pace later as we needed.
"We were behind Steve Glenney's Holden for the first day but the heat was hard on his tyres while our Porsche is very easy on its tyres.
"We're really, really pleased to win. Bec and I discussed whether we wanted to continue after Thursday (and the fatal crash) but we knew they would want that.
"They were really good guys and we'd done a lot of racing with them and they were friends. It was very difficult."
This year's event saw the introduction of a category for Modern Competition for cars built after 1990. Danish sportscar ace Allan Simonsen and navigator Matt Lee took the inaugural crown in their 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9.
They finished almost a minute clear of Targa West winners Steve Jones and Ben Searcy in their 2008 Nissan GT-R and Dylan and Dave Thomas in a 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO.
"It's been a very good event and I'd love to come back next year it the opportunity arises," Simonsen said.
Classic Competition (1948-1971) was won by Rob Devenish and Lyn Carr in a 1971 Datsun 240Z ahead of the similar equipped David and Vicki Moir. It was an appropriate result as Nissan was on hand with a trio of new 370Z to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Zed line.
Carsales writer Stephen Ottley spent time navigating for dual V8 Supercar champion Glenn Seton in the lead 370Z before driving the team's other entry on the second day of competition.
"I had a great time and I'd love to come back," Seton said. "I loved the whole thing, the roads and the social side of it."
We'll bring you a detailed report on our time with Nissan at Classic Adelaide in the very near future.
2. Hamish Gibson/Ben Scott (1980 HDT Holden Commodore) 2:02:58.6
3. Roger Paterson/Paul Whatnell (1974 Porsche 911RS) 2:03:06.0
4. Steve McClintock/Jann Skinner (1981 Mazda RX-7) 2:06:59.8
5. Steve Cadden/Strik Steven (1972 Porsche 911) 2:08:11.6
Modern (1991-current)
1. Allan Simonsen/Matt Lee (2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) Total time 1 hr 55 min. 27.3sec.
2. Steve Jones/Ben Searcy (2008 Nissan R35 GT-R) 1:56:18.0
3. Dylan Thomas/Dave Thomas (2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) 1:58:52.1
Classic (1948-1971)
1. Rob Devenish/Lyn Carr (1971 Datsun 240Z) Total time 2 hr 6 min. 52.2 sec.
2. David Moir/Vicki Moir (1973 Datsun 240Z) 2:07:17.7
3. Peter Ulrich/Sari Ulrich (1963 Jensen CV8) 2:07:19.9
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
