Neal Bates

Inducted: 2013

Neal was responsible for bringing Toyota to Australian rallying and keeping the company involved in the sport for over twenty years. His driving abilities, four Australian rally championships and likeable personality have helped lift the media profile of rallying, not only within the motor sport media but also within the mainstream media.

He is a four time winner of the Australian Rally Championship. Neal is a patron of the NSW Rally Championship and is actively involved in helping NSW competitors and events in a mentoring role. He has mentored many up and coming young rally drivers over the past twenty years and continues to “give back” to the sport in many ways. He is an official ambassador for Toyota. He has won the last three Classic Rally Challenges and serves on the Classic Advisory group for ARCom.

Inducted: 2021

Inducted: 2019

Hailed as a legend of Australian rallying and the fastest driver to never win an Australian title, the popular Bell will forever be known for his exciting ‘Scandinavian’ driving style in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as guiding the Hyundai brand into the World Rally Championship.

Inducted: 2014

Colin Bond is the most versatile top-level driver Australian motor sport has seen. Trained as a motor mechanic, he became interested in motor sport and after trying track racing and rallies, won the NSW hill climb championship driving a supercharged Lynx-Peugeot. He joined the Mitsubishi rally team run by Doug Stewart in 1967 and immediately scored top results in the Southern Cross Rally: fourth outright in a Colt 1000 in 1967 and third outright in a Colt 1100 in 1968.

Harry Firth then selected Colin for the Holden Dealer team, and he won the Bathurst 500 race in 1969 in a Monaro 350 co-driven by Tony Roberts. The pair followed up with a win in the Surfers Paradise 12 hour Race, and Colin then went on to success in the ARC, winning three national titles as well as the Australian Touring Car championship and the Southern Cross rally, all achieved in Holden Dealer team XU1 Toranas. Colin was inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame in 2002. Bond managed the Ford Rally team in the late 1970s, running BDA Escorts in a fierce battle with Howard Marsden’s Datsun’s and winning an ARC title with Greg Carr driving.

Colin was unlucky not to win a fourth ARC title that year, missing the first round of the series due to a racing commitment. Ford brought Bjorn Waldegaard and Ari Vatanen to Australia to drive in Bond’s team in their efforts to win the Southern Cross Rally. Colin is popular with his fellow competitors, happy go lucky and always ready to join a discussion, tell a story or impart his knowledge. In fact, his hearty laugh was and is his trademark. Colin Bond is warmly welcomed into the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2013

Neal was responsible for bringing Toyota to Australian rallying and keeping the company involved in the sport for over twenty years. His driving abilities, four Australian rally championships and likeable personality have helped lift the media profile of rallying, not only within the motor sport media but also within the mainstream media.

He is a four time winner of the Australian Rally Championship. Neal is a patron of the NSW Rally Championship and is actively involved in helping NSW competitors and events in a mentoring role. He has mentored many up and coming young rally drivers over the past twenty years and continues to “give back” to the sport in many ways. He is an official ambassador for Toyota. He has won the last three Classic Rally Challenges and serves on the Classic Advisory group for ARCom.

Inducted: 2021

Inducted: 2015

John Bryson has been associated with many great names in rallying, including Andrew Cowan, Roger Clark, Evan Green, Ken Tubman, Barry Ferguson and Doug Stewart, to name a few. He is one of Australia’s most capable, diverse and experienced competitors.

John’s record of three outright wins in the Southern Cross Rally, competitor in the 1968 and 1977 London-Sydney Marathons, the London – Brighton Veteran Car Run, the Mallee Desert Rally, the Papua-New Guinea Safari, the 1979 Repco Round Australia Trial, the Total Economy Run, the BP Rally, the ARC, the New Caledonia Safari, the Peking to Paris, the London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally and the Trial to the Nile underline his diversity.

John grew up in Queensland on a sheep and cattle station. He went on to become a Civil Engineer, seeing service in the Australian Regular Army and spending four years in Japan and one in Korea.

He became interested in car rallies and trials and took leave from his civil engineering career to work as a motoring journalist for the Sydney Sun newspaper, and later the Sydney Daily Telegraph and Modern Motor magazine.

Bryson first came to prominence in 1972 when he was invited by the Mitsubishi rally team to navigate for Scotsman Andrew Cowan in the Southern Cross Rally. Cowan and Bryson recorded Mitsubishi’s first win in the Australian classic, leading a top field home in their Colt Galant. They repeated their victory in the 1973 ‘Cross, driving a Lancer with full factory support from Japan, beating strong teams from Nissan and Holden.

Mitsubishi’s participation in rallying can be attributed in part to John Bryson. Doug Stewart’s fourth outright in the 1964 Ampol Trial caused Mitsubishi to enter a Colt 1000 in an Australian endurance event for evaluation. Stewart and Bryson ran in in the 12/12 Mountain Rally, which they won outright, the first win for Mitsubishi outside Japan. The factory was so pleased with the result that Stewart was given two of the next model Colt, the 1100 to test.

One was rallied by Stewart with navigators Barry Lloyd and Bryson at different times, the other by Colin Bond and Brian Hope. Proving successful, factory-prepared Colts were entered for the 1968 Southern Cross Rally, Mitsubishi’s first step into international rallying. When Andrew Cowan and Bryson won the ‘Cross in 1972 in a Galant, Mitsubishi’s rallying career really began in earnest and from then on the company became a dominant force in rallying worldwide.

Much of John Bryson’s reputation can be attributed to his navigational skills, map reading ability and “office management”, but he was no slouch as a driver, winning 188 trophies for driving. Bryson often contested 50 events or more each year, such was his fascination with rallying and motorsport.

A little unconventional, perhaps a tad eccentric, Bryson grabbed media attention during the 1979 Repco Round Australia Trial when he married long-time navigator, Sonja Kable-Cumming at Broken Hill during the event.

Evan Green was a good friend of John’s. They teamed up to compete in the Australian Rally Championship, the Rally of New Zealand, the New Caledonia Safari and the 1977 London to Sydney Marathon in which they finished 10th outright and won their class in a Range Rover. However their biggest effort was taking a Leyland P76 V8 on the London – Sahara – Munich World Cup Rally in 1973, the dramatic story of which has been told in Evan’s book “A Boot Full of Right Arms.”

Former Mitsubishi rally team member and author Barry Lloyd tells about John Bryson’s enthusiasm in his book, “You can’t get there from here”. “We were driving without a windscreen when a farmer’s truck pulled out of a paddock in front of us”. The road was narrow and the farmer would not move over so John Instructed Barry to pull up as close as he could to the back of the truck. John climbed through the windscreen then leaped onto the truck and poked his head through the driver’s window. “Excuse me,” he said, “but would you mind pulling over?” The startled driver did, as Bryson jumped back into the car and they took off.

Apart from his competition successes, John’s personal high points include being President of the North Shore Sporting Car Club, an honorary member of the Thornleigh Car Club in Sydney, and President of the NSW-based Society of Advanced Motorists for a 10 year period. He and Sonja were the inaugural road directors for the “Camp Quality Capers” which raised considerable sums of money for children with cancer.

John’s enthusiasm has been inherited by his sons, Matthew and John.  Matt and veteran driver Gerry Crown have won two Peking to Paris events in cars prepared by Matt. John navigated for Matt in the 7000 km 2008 Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial, at age ………  After suffering a few mechanical problems and having to open hundreds of gates, exertions that would have taxed a much younger man, John looked twenty years younger at the finish of the event. He still ain’t finished yet.

With such an exciting, successful and diverse career, John Bryson is a worthy inductee to the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2015

Triple Australian Rally Champion Greg Carr has the distinction of winning his three titles in three different makes of car. He first took the title in 1978 driving a Mark 2 Ford Escort BDA (the famous IYK000) for Colin Bond’s Ford rally team. Nine years later in 1987 Greg won the title again, this time driving an Alfa Romeo GTV6, and stayed with the Italians to win again in 1989 in a Lancia Delta Integrale.

Hailing from Canberra, Greg started rallying in a Ford Cortina GT and rose through the Australian rallying ranks in numerous Datsun 1600 starting in the 1973 rallying season. In 1974 Carr and navigator Wayne Gregson won the Bunbury Curran Rally, an Australian championship heat.

Greg Carr began his domination of the Don Capasco Rally (later the Castrol International Rally) run in the forests around the national capital, in 1975. He won the prestigious event a further six times in succession against strong international opposition that included Stig Blomqvist and Ari Vatanen.

In 1976 Carr won four rallies in a Datsun 180B SSS for the Gerry Ball rally team and n 1977 his obvious talent was recognised when Colin Bond signed him to drive a works Ford Escort BDA. Carr had his first Australian Rally Championship round win with Ford in the 1977 Bega Valley Rally. In the Southern Cross Rally that year Carr led until late on the last night before retiring with alternator failure.

In 1978 Greg won the Australian Rally Championship for the Ford works team. During this era Carr and Bond in their Escorts fought with Ross Dunkerton and George Fury in their works Datsuns in what is widely regarded as a classic period of Australian rallying.

In 1978 Greg competed in the International Burmah rally in Scotland in an Escort, surprising the rally world by finishing a very creditable 6th and winning the Man of the Rally award. The following year he finished 10th outright in the RAC Rally, leading home many top professional drivers. A works drive with Ford was mooted, however the factory wanted a driver with pace note and tarmac experience, both missing from Australian rallying at that time.

The Ford Australia works rally team was wound up at the end of the 1980 season. Greg moved on to rally a factory FIAT 131 Abarth in the ARC f4rom 1982 to 1984, scoring four wins. It was not until 1987 that Greg Carr won his second national rally championship in a Colin Bond built  Alfa Romeo, navigated again by the late Fred Gocentas . Two years later Carr added a third Australian Rally Championship title to his name driving an ex works Lancia Delta Integrale with Mick Harker.

Greg’s record in the ARC is remarkable. As well as winning three titles he was runner up three times and was never lower that 5th in the championship standings during his ten year career. Although never winning the coveted Southern Cross rally, Carr came close in 1975 finishing 3rd, and in 1980 was second to Ross Dunkerton and ahead of team mate Ari Vatanen.

Greg was also remarkably successful in another classic Australian driver’s event, the Alpine Rally. He won the event six times, and surprisingly considers his Alpine wins superior to his Castrol Rally successes. “I consider my Alpine wins to be a more significant achievement. Basically, the Alpine was a tougher event. It was physically tougher on man and machine and the combination of difficult terrain and high temperatures made for a tough rally”. The only other driver to have won as many Alpines was the late Frank Kilfoyle.

After his retirement from Australian rallying in 1989, Greg continued with a program in Asia, mainly with the Proton team. From 1996 he became involved in Australian rallying  on the official side driving as car zero in Australia’s world championship heat, Rally Australia from 2000 to 2009. He later took on the role of driver safety standards checker for tarmac rallies for CAMS, ensuring that the course and the instructions supplied to competitors for events such as Targa Tasmania were of a sufficient standard to ensure crew safety.

There is no doubt that Greg Carr is one of the all time great drivers of Australian rallying and he is an outstanding addition to the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2013

A capable co-driver for Mitsubishi in the days of the Southern Cross rallies, Garry moved on to become an event organizer and administrator, from National level to the upper echelons of the FIA. His ultimate vision was to obtain a round of the World Rally Championship for Australia and in 1989 this was achieved with the running of Telstra Rally Australia.

Garry was the Clerk of Course of a rally which soon became known as one of the most professionally organised rallies in the world series. Improving competitor safety has always been an issue close to Connelly’s heart. He witnessed first hand the tragic death of Possum Bourne’s co-driver Roger Freeth at Rally Australia, and subsequently became both the Deputy President of the FIA Institute of Motor Sport Safety and Director of the Australian Institute of Motor Sport Safety.

Inducted: 2013

“Dunko” is Australia’s most successful rally driver. He won five Australian rally championships and had remarkable success in Asian rallying, winning the Asia Pacific title twice. He won 37 International rallies, competed in two London to Sydney marathons and other major adventure events, and is the greatest personality the sport has produced, with the possible exception of Gelignite Jack Murray. Away from the rally scene, Ross is a successful business man, a popular television personality in Western Australia and a respected after dinner speaker with plenty of stories to tell. He has survived two serious accidents and nineteen roll overs in his career. Ross has actively promoted rallying in his role as television commentator for the ARC series. Ross competes in classic events.

Inducted: 2014

‘Fergie’ was Australia’s master of long distance events. Born in country NSW he learned to drive around paddocks in old cars, which also gave him some mechanical knowledge. Not too much though, as when he rebuilt the diff of a Rugby the car had one forward gear and three reverses. Beginning rallying at state level in 1961 Barry won the NSW Rally championship no less than nine times, mostly driving VWs, which he modified himself.

In 1965 Barry organized the Goulburn 500 rally, eliminating navigation and choosing the twistiest roads he could find. The format was very popular, and the Southern Cross rally was modeled on this event. Barry drove at Bathurst 10 times, as well as numerous other long distance track events. He drove in the 1968 London to Sydney marathon, won the Southern Cross rally in 1967 and 1970 and was runner up to Andrew Cowan in that event four times.

With Tony Denham he won the Bathurst Golden Jubilee Rally, winning a new Mini for both he and his co-driver. In the 1977 London to Sydney he drove a Citroen, finishing 10th, and finished second to Peter Brock in a Commodore in the notorious Repco Reliability Trial in 1969 after an event long battle. Barry also excelled at off road driving, competing in the Wynn’s Safari in factory Mitsubishi Pateros five times and winning the marathon class. Barry Ferguson is one of Australia’s most respected and accomplished rally drivers. His ability to concentrate for long periods, his speed and his sympathy for his car have yielded many famous wins.

No wonder he smiles all the time! Barry, welcome to the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2013

Known as the “Fox”, Harry Firth was always an innovator. When most were running standard cars in rallies, Harry had hotted up cars. When others had three speed gearboxes, Harry had a four speed. He was a great thinker, and his interpretation of the regulations often showed a cunning ability to think sideways. Harry prepared the Ford team cars for the 1968 London to Sydney marathon, in which the cars finished 3rd, 5th and 9th.

After managing the Ford works team during the 1960s Harry then ran the Holden Dealer Team during the 1970s. His personal track successes include two Armstrong 500 endurance races and two Bathurst 500s. He won the inaugural Australian Rally Championship, as well as the first Southern Cross Rally and the 1964 Ampol Round Australia trial. He was a mentor for such rally stars as Frank Kilfoyle, Colin Bond and Peter Lang. In 2007, Harry was inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2014

The late Freddie Gocentas was a rally fanatic, and Australia’s most internationally travelled and successful co-driver. His drivers included Peter Lang, Greg Carr, Doug Stewart, Ross Dunkerton, Grahame Elliott, Bruce Hodgson and Peter Brock. However, such was his enthusiasm that he was just as happy to go with a novice driver as he was with a champion. Fred started rallying in 1968 and soon found that his driving skills were somewhat lacking.

It was said that he didn’t know what was not possible, so he switched to co-driving, and never changed again. He joined the Gerry Ball team in 1971 and won the Alpine Rally with Grahame Elliott. Gerry Ball tells how Fred refused to get out of Gerry’s rolled over and burning Datsun until he found all his maps. He was known as ‘Freddie the winch’ from the time he co-drove for Andrew Cowan in the Southern Cross. The car went off the road and Cowan was walking away thinking they were out of the event when Fred produced a Tirfor winch and pulled the car back on to the road. Fred competed in the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand with Greg Carr. He also co-drove for the late Ray Lintott in tarmac rallies. The wide esteem in which Fred was held in the rallying world was evidenced by the hundreds who attended his recent funeral. His place in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame was always assured.

Inducted: 2014

Evan was a motoring journalist, TV commentator, novelist and rally driver. Above all, he was a thorough gentleman, and he excelled in all of those areas. Working as a cadet journalist in Maitland he met Ken Tubman, which sparked his interest in rallying. He loved adventure and travel, and managed to combine these interests with his numerous occupations. Green competed in the 1954 and 1955 Redex Trials in a Standard Vanguard with John Lefoe, he drove across Australia with Gelignite Jack Murray on a BMC publicity trip, he competed in the 1968 and 1977 London to Sydney marathons, the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup rally and the 1974 London to Munich rally via the Sahara desert. He also organized the 1957 Ampol round Australia Trial.

Green headed the BMC competition department and won the Bathurst race in 1966 with Rauno Aaltonen and Bob Holden in a Mini. He coordinated Donald Campbell’s world land speed record success at Lake Eyre and competed in the London to Munich World Cup rally in a Leyland P76. He had so many people tell him they would give their right arm to be going, that he wrote a book on the rally titled ‘A Boot Full of Right Arms’. The word gentleman to describe Evan Green was absolutely true. In the 1968 Marathon he was well placed late in the event, but still stopped to tow Andrew Cowan’s bogged Hillman back on to the road in the Flinders Ranges. Cowan went on to win the event. As well as his factual books, Journeys with Gelignite Jack and Boot Full of Right Arms, Evan wrote a number of successful novels, which showcased his vast knowledge of the outback. The first, Alice to Nowhere was made into a two part TV mini series. Evan Green died in 1996. The motor sport world mourned his passing, and we are very proud that he is now part of the Australian Rally hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2019

Habgood leads the three other inductees, with the long time scrutineer enjoying a memorable 12 months after being presented with the FIA Best Chief Scrutineer Official of the Season award in Russia last year, as well as being a fair and well respected official for more than two decades.

Inducted: 2014

Graham has enjoyed a long and busy life, marked with motor sport milestones. It is very difficult to cover his vast career in just a few words. Starting in the sport after World War 2 Graham began rallying in a Singer Nine sports, immediately scoring good results. In 1951 he met Harry Firth, and purchased a supercharged MGTC from Harry that he still owns. He ran races, hill climbs and trials in this car, back in the days when one car and one driver could do everything.

In 1953 Donald Thomson ran the first long distance rally in Australia, the 2000 km Sun Rally, several months before the first Redex Trial. Graham navigated in this event and did well, after which Harry Firth signed him up as a navigator. Together the pair became the most successful trials team in the country, winning the Sun Rally, three Experts Trials and five Alpine Rallies in the following years. When Ford started a rally program in 1962 Firth and Hoinville were chosen to lead the team. They headed a three-car team of Ford Falcons in the East African Safari, and were the only Falcon to finish, 15th out of a field of 150 and beating the Mercedes and Ford UK teams.

Being a lubricants engineer at BP, Graham was not eligible to compete in the prestigious BP Rally of South Eastern Australia, so he assisted Donald Thomson and John Pryce with the organization of the event from 1958 to 1971. In major events the Firth/Hoinville combination was unbeatable. Driving Ford Cortina’s, they won the 1964 Ampol Round Australia, the inaugural Southern Cross Rally in 1966 and the inaugural Australian Rally championship in 1968.

They also led the Australian team of Ford Falcons in the 1968 London to Sydney marathon, and although having a mechanical problem near the finish while highly placed, won the team’s prize, the Falcons finishing third, fifth and eighth. Graham has been involved with CAMS since its formation in 1953, assisting in the writing of the National Competition Rules and serving in many CAMS areas over the years. He has represented Australia at FIA Historic Racing Commission meetings in Paris and worked tirelessly for rallies and historic racing. Graham is 85, but his love of motor sport is as strong as ever. He owns an amazing collection of cars and motorcycles, and still competes occasionally in his beloved MGTC or his 1965 Elfin Clubman.

Inducted: 2015

David Johnson (“Dave”) started in club car trials in 1955, navigating for the likes of Ron Green, Jack Murray and Ken Tubman, the latter two Redex Trial winners. Dave tells many Jack Murray tales, including when they were competing in a NSW BP Rally. During a 4am fuel and meal break, “Gelignite Jack” lit a double bunger cracker and dropped it behind a radio reporter who was taping an interview. It was replayed on air by the local radio station, reporter’s reaction and explosion included.

Dave Johnson has a great interest and passion for maps and map reading. He was a surveyor by profession for over 30 years. Rallying in the early days was all about map reading, finding the best and shortest possible route and keeping the driver and car heading in the right direction, working together as a team.

Dave’s leadership qualities led him to start up the Mosman Sporting Car Club in the early 1960s, which soon merged with the Vaucluse Car Club, two of many clubs that had started up in the fever that followed the Round Australia trials. These clubs became feeder clubs to the Australian Sporting Car Club which at the time was the State’s premier  Trials Club.

In 1958 Dave became Chairman of the initial State Rally Panel and he served on the CAMS NSW Board of Management until 1972. He was instrumental in getting the New South Wales State Rally Championship started in 1960. By 1962 the trials/rally movement had gathered momentum in New South Wales and Victoria, and new guidelines were laid down for supervision of routes, instructions and timing, and Police and Municipal authorities were involved, in all of which David was a great contributor.

David served on the inaugural National Rally Committee for three years during which the Rally Codes of New South Wales and Victoria were merged to become the first National Rally Code.

In 1964 Dave was NSW State Rally Champion navigator but he was happy to mix competing with official and administration duties. He was official scorer for the Rothmans Southern Mountain Rally (forerunner of the Southern Cross rallies) and streamlined the scoring system so that full results were available 90 minutes after the finish-all in the days before computers.

Dave teamed up with his now life-long friend Barry Ferguson in 1967 to compete in the blue VW Beetle in which they won the Southern Cross Rally that year. They two scored other major placings in 1967, and in early 1968 won the second round of the Australian Rally Championship, the Snowy Mountains Rally in a VW. The pair together with co-driver Doug Chivas were chosen for the Holden/Sydney Daily Telegraph team in the first London to Sydney Marathon Rally in 1968 driving a 350 Monaro. Their car placed 12th outright, best of the team.

In the late 1960s Johnson organised the Sun-Castrol Safety Drive in New South Wales for the Sun Newspaper for four years, with the help of many local car clubs. This format was implemented by Castrol in other States. These events helped bring hundreds of new members into motor sport.

David navigated in the 1969 Southern Cross Rally for Marathon winner Scot Andrew Cowan, driving Tony Fall’s ex Marathon Works Morris 1800. They won.

1970 saw Dave team up with Barry Ferguson again, driving in a works Holden Torana XU1 in which they won both the Southern Cross Rally and the NSW State Rally Championship. This gave Dave his third Southern Cross win.

Dave teamed up again with Andrew Cowan for the Heatway International Rally in New Zealand in a works Mini Cooper S. They won thirteen stages, more than anyone else, but were disqualified due to a parc ferme infringement.  With spare time before the event they devised a simple system of noting the corners and road conditions that they recorded and used, possibly a forerunner to today’s pace notes.

David took a break from rallying in the 1970s to start up a business. He returned in 1978 to organise the Volvo Australia Dealer Team in the 1978 Southern Cross and managed the 1979 Repco Round Australia rally team in which he and Volvo Managing Director Harry Jensen competed in a Volvo 242GT. Ross Dunkerton brought a team Volvo home in 4th place behind the triumphant Commodores. Not long after this Dave fully retired from rally and motorsport to concentrate on family and business opportunities.

In 2006 David returned and reunited with Barry Ferguson to contest historic rallies. He has also involved himself with the Classic Rally Club in New South Wales, which has now seen him once again become fully involved with the sport he loves. The club now runs a popular 1960s style event, the Barry Ferguson Classic.

Dave competed with Bob Watson in the 2009 and 2013 Victorian HRA Alpine Rallies. In 2013 Dave was 82, and the crew’s combined age of car, driver and navigator was 200 years. They finished 39th out of 75 entries.

In his competitive career David navigated for no less than six members of the Australian Hall of Fame. He was an innovator and leader in the formative days of Australian rallying, and has contributed to the sport for over sixty years. Welcome David Johnson to your well earned place in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2014

The late Frank Kilfoyle was the greatest all round rally competitor this country has seen. As a driver, he won no less than five Alpine Rallies, and as a navigator won one Alpine and the premier Australian navigation event, the BP Rally of South East Australia, three times. Frank’s record in the Southern Cross Rally is equally as impressive. He was second on three occasions and fifth once. He was Victorian Rally Champion twice, and won the Australian Rally Championship in 1969 the second year of its running. He was an inaugural inductee into the Victorian Rally Hall of Fame in 2005.

Not content to rest on his victory laurels, Frank was a great organizer, directing both the Alpine Rally and the BP Rally several times. In 1979 he was the road director for the notorious Repco Reliability Trial, which used some of the most terrible roads in Australia. Competitors in that event hated Frank and respected him at the same time. Frank was an intelligent and thinking driver. He ran rally schools at Monash University in Melbourne explaining the effect on the car of various road surfaces, where to find the most traction, and when to take extra care. These schools were invaluable to a generation of budding rally drivers, and are still talked about. He also ran a business for a time selling maps and rally equipment, and would be happy to spend time with his customers, mentoring them.

His favourite credo was: “there are no rough roads, there are only rough drivers”. Well after he was an established star, Frank took a young spastic boy on several club rallies as his navigator. Although the lad could not even hold a map board, Frank gave him experiences that improved the quality of the young man’s life. Frank Kilfoyle was a quiet achiever, intelligent and immensely skilled in all facets of rallying. He was a good person, and his presence in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame is richly deserved.

Inducted: 2013

John Large, a former pharmacist began his motor sport involvement as a co-driver in rallies, and won the Australian Championship in 1975 as co-driver for Ross Dunkerton. He then moved into motor sport administration, becoming President of CAMS from 1983-1994 the longest serving President to date. In 1994 CAMS created the position of President of Honour with John Large as the first appointee. In 1992 together with ex racer and journalist Max Stahl John created Targa Tasmania, and under Large’s guidance this event has become one of the world’s great tarmac rallies.

He became a member of the FIA Motor Sport Council and during this time played a major role in securing the Australian Grand Prix and a heat of the World Rally Championship for Australia. Large continued to climb the International motor sport ladder, being elected Vice President of the FIA in 1990 and to the FIA Senate in 2001. In 2004 he was also appointed Deputy President of the newly created FIA Institute of Motor Sport Safety. It was extremely rare for a person outside Europe to be appointed to a senior position on such a body, which reflected the regard with which he was held in the world motor sport community.

Inducted: 2015

Peter Macneall started his rallying career with the Southern Districts Car Club in Albany in the south of Western Australia as a navigator. He won his first State championship round in 1978 and quickly became recognised as a top talent, winning the WA navigator’s rally championship in 1980.

After an eventful trip to Malaysia in 1983 with Bob Nicoli in an ex works Nissan Stanza (they hit a rubber tree but the car didn’t bounce back) Peter returned to win the WA round of the ARC in 1984. He again won the State Championship for co-drivers in 1987 and when Rally Australia came along in 1988 he took long service leave from his job at Telstra to assist with the rally organisation. Having directed two State rounds this was his first taste of FIA rally administration.

Rally Australia was given full World Rally Championship status the following year, and Peter was a part of the organising committee until four weeks before the event, when he again became a competitor, finishing 20th outright and winning his class.

Peter has been a member of the organising committee for every Rally Australia, both in the west and on the east coast.

In 1993 Peter became a member of the National Rally Committee, now ARCOM, and through Garry Connelly became involved in several overseas rallies as FIA observer. In 2000 he became the Australian Rally Championship’s Sporting Director, a position he still holds, and in 2004 became Course Checker for the Japanese world championship round that ran for the next seven years.

Peter was the CAMS course checker for the 20,000 km Mobil 1 Round Australia Trial in 1995. Due to adverse weather and other factors the course planning was well behind schedule, so when the time came to do the final course check the route instructions were far from complete. Peter, instead of giving the organisers a well deserved bollocking, jumped in to help, and in fact wrote many of the instructions he was meant to be checking. At least he knew those ones were right! His constructive approach made a great contribution to what was eventually a very successful event.

Firmly locked into rally administration, Peter has been a member of both the FIA World Rally Championship and the FIA Rallies Commission and is currently a member of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship executive. He is now on the  world rally stage, and a very deserving member of the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2013

Jack was a larger than life character. A leading rally driver in NSW, he burst into the limelight by winning the 1954 Redex Round Australia, the first Redex to truly go round Australia, in a 1947 Ford V8 (the Grey Ghost) with no points lost. With the front page publicity these events created, Murray became a household name.

This was enhanced by his liberal use of sticks of gelignite to blast trees blocking the road and the occasional country dunny. Murray’s antics elevated the sport of rallying in the public’s mind, and even triggered the writing of a book about his antics by Evan Green titled “Journeys with Gelignite Jack”.

Inducted: 2014

David earned the nickname Dinta early in his life. He worked with a mate in a city park, and they were named ‘Dinta’ and ‘Scratch’ after their efforts parking customers cars. Dinta first rallied as a navigator in a Mini Cooper S, but after getting lost and crashing he decided driving was better. He built his own Cooper S, and having just met Kate Hobson, asked her to navigate for him. With few exceptions they have competed together since, and they have seen the transition of rallies from map reading and timing to the minute to the pace notes and split seconds of today. Dinta was impressed by the performance of Mitsubishi products in the Southern Cross rallies, and decided to build a Colt Galant rally car.

After a wobbly start, he and Kate got into their stride in 1983, winning the Victorian Championship and performing well in the ARC against the likes of Greg Carr, Geoff Portman and Hugh Bell. They tied for third place with Ross Dunkerton in the WA round; if they had beaten him by one second the pair would have won the championship. In 1984 it all came together, the couple winning the ARC.

These were the days of Group G cars, with no factory support, so winning the National title called for huge financial commitment. Their car used 38 tyres in the Alpine Rally alone. David then took time off to build a Mitsubishi Starion for the 1986 ARC, where Kate again won the co-drivers championship and David was runner up driver. The Officers then moved into off road, driving Pajeros for the Ralliart team. The pair finished second in the 1988 Wynns Safari and Dinta won the event with Ross Runnalls in 1989 while Kate was busy having babies. There were also some forays to New Zealand for the World championship round, where 5th and a 4th placings gained Dinta an FIA drivers B seeding. In the 20,000 km Mobil 1 Round Australia event in 1995 Dinta and Kate led the event for five days in their EVO Lancer before having gearbox trouble in remote South Australia.

Inducted: 2014

Kate’s rally results are similar to David’s, so we will focus on her unique achievements. She was the first woman to win the Victorian rally championship, the first woman to win an Australian title in motor sport,and of course the couple were the first husband and wife to do so. She is the first female co-driver to win the Australian Safari and the Alpine Rally. Despite her dedication to motor sport Kate has found time to have two lovely daughters and establish a household. In fact after winning the Safari in 1991 she surprised everyone by announcing that she was pregnant. Presumably it did not happen during the event. Dinta and Kate retired from big time rallying in 1995 after achieving a good finish in Rally Australia, but they have continued in the sport in the Historic Rally field.

They won the 7,000 km Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial in 2008 in a Galant, and are frequent historic rally winners in Victoria. Kate has served as membership secretary and President of the 900 strong Historic Rally Association in Victoria, while Dinta has served on the Victorian Rally Advisory Group and been Competitor Relations Officer for the VRC. He was awarded the Victorian Rally Service Award in 2011. Dinta and Kate Officer are a shining example of dedication to the sport of rallying. They are a popular and greatly respected couple, a real team. We salute them and welcome them to the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2014

Ed Ordynski is two people. The Ed we know is polite, smiling, quietly spoken and a thorough gentleman. But put him behind the wheel of a rally car and he is the ultimate professional, with intense concentration and steely resolve. Ed started rallying win a $200 Toyota Corolla while training to be a teacher. In 1975 he entered his first ARC event, winning his class and finishing 14h outright. In 1986 he won the South Australian championship in a Subaru RX Turbo. In 1989 Ed became the first Australian to win at World Championship level when he won the Group N (showroom) category in Rally Australia.

He went on to win the Australian Rally championship outright in 1990. Group N has been Ed’s forte. He had eight wins from 11 starts in Rally Australia and won the Australian Group N championship four times. He has contested Group N World Championship rallies in New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Australia, taking nine wins in all. He starred in Rally Australia in 2001, winning Group N against the current World Champion Gabriel Pozzo and 2000 champion Manfred Stohl.

Ed became one of Mitsubishi’s longest serving factory drivers and won a special gold plate for winning their “Driver of the Year” award six consecutive times. Ed won the Ralliart Driver of the Year eight times. In 1995 Ed won the 20,000 km Mobil 1 Round Australia Trial in a Holden Commodore, beating arch rivals Peter Brock and Ross Dunkerton in similar cars. His cool head and precise driving were ideal for this tough event. Ed retired in 2005 when Mitsubishi ceased their rally activities worldwide.

He immediately went economy driving, wringing 5.1 litres/100 kms (56 miles per gallon) from a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV in the 2009 Global Green Eco Challenge. He also joined the Advisory Committee to the SA Motor Sports board and has been Chairman of the Australian Rally Commission. Despite his quiet manner, Ed is viewed by his peers as a hard and fit competitor who shows the toughness and commitment of a champion. We warmly welcome him into the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2019

For Pedder, a CAMS Australian Rally Championship title in 2014 and a longstanding rallying career, along with the hard work and dedication behind the scenes to build the sport in the modern era makes Pedder a well-deserved inductee.

Inducted: 2014

The names Reddiex and Citroen are synonymous. Jim started his work career as an apprentice working on Citroens at Maxim Motors in Brisbane. Before long he had taken over the workshop, and by 1967 he owned the franchise. His well-known expertise in the marque won Jim the job of assisting the official factory mechanics to service Lucien Bianchi’s Citroen in the 1968 London to Sydney marathon.

It was a bitter blow when Bianchi’s car, which had the marathon well and truly won, was put out by a head on crash near the end of the event. Bianchi’s co-driver Jean Claude Ogier returned to Australia in 1970 determined to win the Ampol Round Australia Trial, and finished equal first in a Citroen prepared by Jim Reddiex. Jim was doing club and state rallies when he was asked to prepare a Citroen for the 1974 London to Munich World Cup rally and join the team with Andre Welinski and Ken Tubman. The crew won the rally in amazing circumstances, fighting their way through the Sahara to take a huge lead while others were lost or bogged. Jim also competed in the Citroen team in the 1977 marathon, preparing four cars for the event and teaming with Barry Ferguson and Doug Stewart.

They finished 10th and won the teams prize. Jim also prepared a car and ran with Andrew Cowan and Jeff Beaumont in the 1979 Repco Reliability Trial. Switching makes, Jim competed in off road events with the Mitsubishi team, again run by his old mate Doug Stewart, in a Pajero.

He took over the role of service manager, mentoring and managing such drivers as Ross Dunkerton and Dinta Officer. Jim has been a stalwart member of the Brisbane Sporting Car Club since the 1970s, serving as President and also as Director of ARC and QRC rallies. He serves as Competitor Relations Officer for Targa Tasmania and assists in many other major events. In 1982 Jim was awarded the French National Order of Merit, the Order of National Merit- Chevalier, an honour awarded by the French President, for his contribution to the automotive industry. All hail Sir Monsieur Jim! Jim Reddiex has a long and outstanding record of contributing to rallying. He is good natured, highly respected and knowledgeable, qualities that make him an ideal competitor relations officer. Jim, you richly deserve your place in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2015

Ross Runnalls gained an early advantage over his rival rally navigators by virtue of studying Forestry in central Victoria. His early understanding of the logic of forest roads and (possibly) access to maps not available to the general public soon put him on the path to success.

As his career progressed through the Forestry Department (which as an aside, seemed to have a new name every couple of months, usually containing the words conservation, resources, environment, sustainability and anything else the public service could dream up) Ross moved around Victoria working in various forestry areas, increasing his knowledge of forests as he went.

Ross was the undisputed top navigator (as opposed to co-driver) in Victoria – and probably Australia- during his career. Between July 1981 and June 1983 he won a remarkable 23 events, with two DNF’s, and was Victorian Champion navigator in 1981.

He teamed up with another young forestry officer Geoff Portman and the pair had outstanding success, winning the Australian Championship in 1981 and 1982. Ross was an inaugural inductee into the Victorian Rally Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ross was chosen by the canny George Shepheard to partner Ed Ordynski in the 1995 Mobil 1 Round Australia Trial in a works Commodore. Pitted against the flamboyance of both Peter Brock and Ross Dunkerton in the same team, Ross’s job was to shield his driver from the glare of publicity and keep him focused on the job in hand, which worked beautifully for Ross and Ed. They won the event.

Ross was also the winning co driver in the 1989 Australian Safari with David Officer. If you wanted the best co-driver for a major event Ross Runnalls was the man. He has competed in Australia, New Zealand and East Africa, and co-driven for Japanese Monster Tajima in seven World Rally Championship rounds.

Putting back into the sport, Ross has directed many events, including the highly navigational BP Rally re-runs in Victoria, of which he ran three. He delights in making navigators explore the mysteries of his mind. He also directed Victorian Championship rounds in the 1980s, the Snowy River Trial in 1994 and was Clerk of Course for the Australian Safari in 2012 and 2013.

Ross Runnalls is a current member of the Australian Rally Commission. He has achieved an enormous amount in his favoured sport, and has put plenty back. He is a prestigious inductee into the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2019

Searle’s introduction into the Hall of Fame should come as no surprise for many, as the scoring system expert has been both an innovator and developer for successful timing systems. Searle has also provided essential knowledge and expertise to scoring systems and operations for more than 30 years.

Inducted: 2013

George was born with the right genes for a life of rallying. His father was Reg Shepheard, the man who initiated the first Redex Trial while manager of the company. George started rallying young, competing in his first Round Australia event in 1964 with Colin Bond in a VW.

He went on to co-drive for Bond in the Australian championship, winning the title on three occasions. He took on the driver’s role in the late 1990s, winning the Queensland Championship three times in the early 2000’s. Team management was George’s great talent, and he took Holden Commodores to a clean sweep of the podium in the Repco Reliability Trial round Australia event in 1979 and engineered victory in the 1995 Mobil 1 Trial, won by Ed Ordynski. He runs a successful suspension business in Queensland and supports his son in Queensland championship events.

Inducted: 2013

Originally from West Australia, Tom is a far sighted innovator, a person who brought many new ideas to Australian rallying. In the early 1970s he worked with Allan Lawson to introduce the Dulux Rally, a totally new concept for Australia which combined track races, hill climbs and rally sections. He then moved to the position of manager of the Southern Cross Rally, bringing Total Oil company sponsorship to the event. He introduced the Solar Challenge event in partnership with adventurer Hans Tholstrup, and then started the Wynns Safari off road event in 1985.

Behind the scenes he has developed a system of procedures which have become standard practice for rallies, particularly long distance events, as well as acting as Clerk of Course for Targa Tasmania and the Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial in 2008. Tom’s contribution to Australian rallying has spanned over 45 years. He has recently been the CoC of the Bega Valley Rally.

Inducted: 2019

Rounding out the five inductees is Stanellis, who has been an event organiser and director for almost 50 years, playing a pivotal role in event innovation from the early 1970s until the present, Stanellis had put in an incredible amount of time and money into the sport.

Inducted: 2013

In Doug’s early years he was the winning co-driver with Jack Witter in a VW in the 1957 Ampol Round Australia trial, and finished fourth in the 1964 Ampol and fifth in the 1970 Ampol events.  He was a regular and rapid competitor in ARC and other events until the late 1970s. Doug made an early connection with Mitsubishi Japan through rallies in New Caledonia and New Guinea, and managed a team of Colt fastbacks in the first Southern Cross Rally in 1966, with Colin Bond and Bob Riley as lead drivers.

The link with Mitsubishi became permanent when Doug became involved in the running of the successful Mitsubishi team in the Southern Cross rallies of the 1970s, Scot Andrew Cowan winning in Mitsubishi products from 1972 -1976. He also ran the successful off road Mitsubishi team in the Wynns and Australian Safari off road events, winning on seven occasions. Stewart was granted the agency for Ralliart, Mitsubishi’s motor sport arm and had great success with Ross Dunkerton as driver. Doug’s administrative career in motor sport started when he chaired the NSW State Council. He then became the NSW representative on the National Council from 1959 to 1968 and National President from 1969 to 1971.  Doug is also a member of the Esanda International  Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2021

Inducted: 2015

Ross Tapper must be one of the hardest working officials ever in the sport of rallying. The fact that he lives in WA and has done most of his good work there means he is less well known to most east coast rallyists.

Ross Joined the WA Car Club in 1975 and once he was shown how to do a hand brake turn, became hooked on throwing cars around. He joined the Car Club Sports Committee soon after, organising club runs.

In 1976  Ross started rallying. His then navigator who was organiser of the Pathfinder Rally, the hardest navigation event in WA, needed assistance so Ross offered to help which meant days out driving around in the bush looking for navigation traps, which he really enjoyed.

The following year no one offered to run the event, so out of frustration Ross said he would do it but admitted he had no idea what to do. As is often the case, once he said yes, people then came forward to help. The upshot was that the Premier of WA started the rally in the centre of Perth and it was a huge success. Ross was then hooked onto rally organising as well as competing.

In 1978 Ross launched into a full time career of organisation. He ran state events every year for a number of years and continues to help to this day. 1980 and 81 he helped run the WA round of the ARC, Rally of the West and at the end of 1981 Ross attended his first ARC Organising meeting at the Alpine Rally in Bright.

The Forest Rally first ran as a WA state event in 1983 and Tapper was part of the team that set it up. He then took on the development of the event, running it for the first time as an ARC round in 1985. In 1987 Ross decided to retire from competing and from 1988 through to 2015 became Clerk of Course of the Forest Rally which has been an ARC round for 30 years.

The organisers of Rally Australia also took advantage of Ross’s expertise, making him Assistant Clerk of Course for Safety from 1988-1994. This involved setting up Doctors, ambulances, fire trucks, spectator points, SOS tracking, the event Safety Plan and eventually Communications.

In the early 1990’s Ross helped Glen Cuthbert set up the ARC Organisers group which along with ARCom transformed the ARC from 6 isolated events into a co-ordinated Championship. After Glen Cuthbert died Ross helped Neil Cuthbert and Justin Hunt run the Rally of Melbourne.

From 2005 to 2015, Tapper broadened his scope, joining with Bob Schrader to run Targa West, a National Tarmac Rally in WA. Tarrmac rallying has progressed from the early days of cars travelling to Tasmania for a single event to there being well over 100 tarmac cars in WA. This has led to the organisation of “feeder” events to allow crews to get more experience at Targa South West and short Rallysprints, and made it possible for Ross to work full time on rallying.

Spreading his activities interstate, Ross worked with Les Walkden, Geoff Becker and Scott Spedding from 2002 to 2006 to run Rally of Tasmania. More recently he became Chairman of the WA Rally Panel from 2009-2015, and in 2014 was Clerk of Course of the Australasian Safari with Justin Hunt.

Over the course of his career, Ross Tapper has been Clerk of Course for no less than 50 major rallies. His unflagging enthusiasm and vast experience have made him in to one of Australia’s top rally organisers, and he truly deserves the honour of induction into the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2015

There is a certain drive and energy about Coral Taylor that stands out, which is not surprising. Her father Norm Fritter was a rally driver, and about as committed to rally driving and living life to the full as a person could possibly be.

Coral and her sister Pearl, who is married to Victorian rally stalwart Steve Hollowood, grew up in Queensland, and Coral navigated for her father in local events as a buildup to the Repco Round Australia Trial in 1979. She and Norm intended to compete in the Repco as a “one off” adventure, but the bait was taken and Coral was hooked.

The pair continued to contest Queensland Rally championship events and the occasional ARC rally such as the Alpine. Coral then moved on to co-drive for Peter Markovich in Queensland and ARC events in an Escort.

Not content with just competing, Coral directed club rallies in the early 1980s and even drove in some club rallies. She says she couldn’t find a decent co-driver, as husband Mark kept getting her lost, so her career settled on co-driving. She co-drove for Peter Glennie from 1983 to 1986, winning her first ARC event in Tasmania with Peter in 1986 in a Datsun 1200 coupe.

Family matters then took over with the birth of Jane in 1986 and Molly in 1988. Both daughters did some rallying inside their mum’s tummy before they were born! Part of rallying then consisted of feeding babies and toddlers in the service park.

After co-driving for Jon Waterhouse and Jim Middleton on a one off basis Coral joined forces with Murray Coote in the Mazda Rally team during 1991 and 1992. Then came the big rally move of her life, to the Neal Bates Toyota Team Australia team. Coral took over the management of the team, including co-ordination with major sponsors as well as the co-driver’s role.

Coral has been associated with Neal Bates and Toyota for over 20 years, although the official Toyota ARC effort was stopped in 2008 due to the Global Financial Crisis. Those years included winning the Australian Rally Championship with Neal in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2008. The team was responsible for developing various model Celicas and Corollas over the years for Toyota, and also competed successfully in tarmac rallies in a very fast Lexus, winning Targa Tasmania in 1995. The team was the first in the world to post a win in the new Corolla WRC car.

As a matter of interest, a recent investigation showed that the two oldest motorsport teams in Australia are Neal Bates Motorsport and Brad Jones Racing.

The Bates team’s focus switched to classic rallying in 2012, and Coral and Neal have won the ARC Classic Challenge in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the New Zealand Otago Classic Rally in 2013 and 2014 in a very rapid Celica. The Bates/Taylor team has been virtually unbeatable in this class of rallying.

Just to fill in her spare time, Coral sits on the Board of the NRMA motorist’s organisation and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator board as well as mentoring daughter Molly in her promising rally career, and occasionally driving the Bates Toyota Team service truck to ARC events.

This remarkable woman, Coral Taylor, has the total respect of all who have dealt with her. She is a charming person, but utterly professional in her rallying. She has well and truly earned her place in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2013

Donald Thomson served in the RAAF as a flying instructor during World War II and had his first taste of motor sport in 1949, navigating in a trial for Cec Warren the father of long distance rallying in Australia. In 1953 he initiated the Sun Rally, sponsored by Melbourne’s leading daily newspaper, which ran for 2000 kms in Victoria and had 129 starters. This event was run before the first Redex Trial, and it continued for several years until becoming the BP Rally of South Eastern Australia in 1958.

The BP was Australia’s blue ribbon rally at that time, rough and navigational. Donald’s definition of a road was “anything between two fence lines”, a policy he used mercilessly. He became Secretary-General of CAMS soon after its inception, and was always a firm supporter of rallying. He achieved direct affiliation of CAMS with the FIA in 1958 and continued to represent CAMS at FIA meetings after he retired. At his final attendance at the FIA he received the “Honoured Member Award” of the FIA. In 1979 CAMS instituted the Donald Thomson Award, to be awarded to “those persons who, by their actions, have brought credit to the sport and to themselves, particularly by way of a single individual action related to selflessness and consideration for others”.

Inducted: 2013

Ken Tubman, a chemist from Maitland in NSW, made his mark through victories in major events. In 1953 he drove a Peugeot 203 to victory in the first Redex Trial, winning the event by being fastest through a special section near Marulan in NSW. He was a constant competitor in long distance events and in 1970 he together with Andrew Welinski and Jim Reddiex won the London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally in a Citroen. In 1977 Ken was appointed Grand Marshall of the Singapore Airlines London to Sydney Rally and laid out the tough Australian section of the course. Ken was a mild mannered, popular person, always ready to help others in rally matters. He was among the leaders in the 1974 World Cup rally before sacrificing his chances by stopping to help a fellow competitor who had crashed.

Inducted: 2021

Inducted: 2013

Bob’s finest driving achievement was winning the 1970 Australian Championship in a 1.3 litre Renault R8 Gordini, taking victory in four of the five heats and coming second in the other. He has driven for Holden, Ford, Nissan and Renault factory teams. He has run in three Round Australia trials, competed in the 1972 East African Safari, the 1977 Singapore Airlines London to Sydney marathon and won the first European style rally in Australia, the Don Capasco in a Renault Alpine. He also had track success at Sandown and Bathurst in a Holden Monaro. On the organizing side he helped form the Historic Rally Association in 1992, which now has over 800 members. He organized and was Clerk of Course for the 1995 Mobil 1 Round Australia Trial, and the Red Centre to Gold Coast trial in 2008.

Bob was responsible for writing the regulations for special stage rallies whilst a member of the National Rally Committee, was series Director for the BP sponsored Australian Rally Championship in the early 1990s, and chaired a committee to write the vehicle eligibility regulations for tarmac Rallies. He has written three books on Australian motor sport: his own autobiography, In Control, the history of the Light Car Club of Australia, Phillip Island to Fangio, and the biography of Ross Dunkerton, “Dunko”.

Inducted: 2015

Jeff Whitten has played an active role in Australian rallying for almost 50 years, beginning in 1965. In that time he has competed in over 130 rallies and enjoyed over 20 outright and class wins – and only rolled a car once! He has directed 20 Forest Classic Rallies, both in gravel and tarmac form, and many other rallies and touring assemblies. He has consistently acted as control official, course checker, club steward, motorkhana director, and whatever else was required.

Jeff has held the office of President and Secretary of the North Eastern Car Club many times and is still serving as secretary. He was editor of that club’s magazine and was awarded life membership of the club in 1967.

Among Jeff’s successes are winning the Riverina North East Rally championship twice as a driver, the North Eastern Car Club rally championship as a driver and the Repco Mountain Rally as a navigator.

Jeff was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.

However, Jeff’s major contribution to the sport of rallying was as the creator, Manager and editor of Australian Rallysport News and RallySport Magazine from 1989 – 2006. Jeff has been succeeded in the job by his son Peter, but with the Whitten family’s total enthusiasm for the sport enthusiasts were and still are kept informed of the latest happenings in Australian and International rallying.

In step with the times the news is now available through the internet and this is supplemented with insightful stories on people, teams, cars and events that are making news in the sport. It is the only publication in Australia solely dedicated to coverage of rallying.

Australian Rallysport News initiated a program named the Australian Rallysport News Junior Rally Challenge, which ran for five years and contributed to young stars Cody Crocker and Greg Foletta obtaining their first factory drive with Subaru.

In Jeff’s view one of the low points in rallying has been the Victorian Government’s decision to privatise most of the softwood plantations that were the home of many classic rallies. The legislation made it illegal to conduct car rallies in these forests, robbing rally enthusiasts of thousands of kilometers of some of the best rally roads in Australia. Fifteen years of negotiation have failed to change the decision.

In addition to the magazine and now web coverage of rallying, Jeff has written and published (with Peter) two editions of the book “How to Start Rallying”, and “From Sump Oil to Dust, the first 50 years of the North Eastern Car Club”, plus “A Rock and a Hard Place – the real story of the Barjarg motor racing circuit”, although the latter has nothing to do with rallying and the track is no longer in use.

Jeff Whitten has devoted a large percentage of his life to the sport of rallying, and given it great service through his rally publications. He is warmly welcomed to the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.

Inducted: 2021

Inducted: 2021

Inducted: 2021