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2006 Dutton Rally National Championship
Australia
September 16-17th, 2006
Place: 1st
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Dutton Rally Round 4 2006 VIC
September 14-16th, 2006
Place: 2nd
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Dutton Rally Round 2 2006 NSW
June 1-3rd, 2006
Place: 3rd
...more >
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Dutton Rally Round 1 2006 Perth WA
February 23-25th, 2006
Place: 1st
...more >
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NSW Dutton Rally |
Various NSW
Simon Arthur and Martin Notaras take out babck to back victories in NSW, with Simon taking the overall drivers Crown |
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The Canberra-based crew who won the 2004 Alphera Dutton Rally NSW has done it again in 2005.
Simon Arthur and Martin Notaras took their Mitsubishi Evo 8 RS to victory in the Team's Trophy (outright) after three days of intense competition (3-5 Jun) at venues in Sydney, Goulburn and Canberra.
While this year is the third time the NSW event has been run, it's the first time it has been part of a national series (Queensland, NSW and Victoria) - and Notaras and Arthur are on top of the points tally for the national crown, having won the first round in Queensland and now NSW.
Behind them in NSW - for the second year running - were fellow Canberra residents Greg Sutton and Bernie Wilson, also in an Evo 8 RS. Brisbane-based business partners Mark Berry and Russell Newman (Nissan Skyline GTR) were third.
In the Driver's Trophy (outright), it was Berry ahead of Notaras and Melbourne's Greg Muller (Evo 8 RS) while in the Co-Driver's Trophy (outright), it was Arthur, Wilson and Sydney's Troy Nicholson third.
A total of 147 drivers from NSW, Victoria, ACT and Queensland, and 86 cars (worth around $11 million in total) lined up for the 2005 Alphera Dutton Rally NSW.
The event was made up of 24 different driving challenges including sprints, hillclimbs, skidpans and motorkhanas. Venues included Goulburn's Wakefield Park race circuit, Goulburn Airport, Queanbeyan's Fairbairn Park hillclimb and Sutton Road Driver Training Centre, Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway and drag strip.
Among the more well-known names testing their skills were Carrera Cup stalwart Peter Fitzgerald, V8 Supercar driver Warren Luff and rally ace, Rick Bates.
The youngest and possibly least experienced competitor in the field was Sydney's Molly Taylor, aged 17, who passed her driving test a month ago.
Proving there is motorsport in the genes, Molly is the daughter of Coral Taylor, professional co-driver (navigator) to Toyota's three-time Australian Rally Champion, Neal Bates.
Under the rules for the Alphera Dutton Rally national series, entrants can have either one or two drivers in each car, which must be fully road-registerable.
Points are tallied for each competitor on each driving test, to determine the winners of the outright trophies as well as class winners and the winners of individual events.
The next round of the series - which can also be contested as a stand-alone event, is in Victoria over the weekend of July 29-31.
Hot favourites for victory would be Canberra's Martin Notaras and Simon Arthur (Mitsubishi Evo VIII) who not only won the first round in Queensland in April this year, but also are defending champions from the 2004 NSW event. The pair currently lead the individual driver and co-driver points tally as well as the team's ladder, with Queensland rivals Shane Topping and Mick Jones (Subaru WRX STi) hot on their tail. Notaras believes he and Arthur have a couple of advantages in what they consider to be their 'home' event.
"Shane and Mick were good on their home tracks, but they may lose some of that pace in places that they don't know so well - and that's where we will have an edge, because we both know the venues so well. There's also the fact that we're used to the sort of weather you get in Canberra and Goulburn in June. They're not - they'll be freezing!"
Notaras also notes that he and Arthur will have plenty of competition from rivals closer to home. Fellow Canberra residents Greg Sutton and Bernie Wilson were second to them in NSW last year and are now running an identical car.
"I hear they've been having some top-secret meetings about how to make their car go faster, so we would never rule them out as serious challengers. The thing is, there are a lot of entries this year, and a lot of good entries, so I think we'll have our work cut out this time, but our aim is to win!" Notaras says.
The Dutton Rally was first run in Victoria in 2000, under the direction of Melbourne businessman Sam Beck. The following year, Sydney businessman Anthony Moss entered as a competitor and then suggested to Beck that they take the concept to NSW.
This year will be the third time the NSW event has run and the fifth year for Victoria. The Queensland round was introduced this year after strong demand from competitors who were traveling from up north to compete in the two southern states. Sponsored by Alphera Financial Services and Melbourne's Dutton automotive group, the 'rally' is quite unique in its format. There is no navigation involved, cars are not required to have rollcages and the licensing level is the most basic CAMS licence. The Alphera Dutton Rally events are an accessible and inexpensive for motoring enthusiasts to have fun with their cars in a safe environment, away from public roads, with minimal risk and without the costs associated with a foray into 'real' motorsport.
The NSW event is made up of more than 20 driving challenges such as hillclimbs, motorkhanas, sprints and skidpan work, at venues including Canberra's Fairbairn Motorsport Complex and Hillclimb, Goulburn's Wakefield Park race circuit, Goulburn Airport and Police Driver Training Centre and Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway.
Limited entries are still available. For more information see the website: www.duttonrally.com |
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