1977 Eurocars Rally of the Forests
RESULTS
State Championship Point Score
From Racing Car News, June 1977
VAN KANN BROTHERS FIRE IN THE WA "FOREST"
Story by DAVE MANNERS
ACCURATE navigation, quick and patient driving, a generous sprinkling of local knowledge and a good memory for old map inaccuracies, were required skills that gave brothers Tom and Andy Van Kann (Datsun 1600) a comfortable win in the 1977 Eurocars Rally of the Forests held in the Dewllingup / Collie region south of Perth on May 7-8.
Second, a mammoth 34 points further back, was another Datsun 1600, that of current State Champs, Tim Corr and Jim Newell, having fought back from seventh place after a scrambly start. Stuart Beechen and Roger Polak (Galant) held on to third, 14 points further back and 2 points ahead of a fast finishing Danny Bignell and Rod van der Straaten (Datsun 240Z).
Rally director, John Poyner made good use of long-forgotten navigation traps and produced a highly competitive event that was well conducted on the night.
Forty two crews headed out of Perth to the Gleneagle Pine Plantation for the first of four "money" special driving stages, all of which were subsequently cleaned up by Danny Bignell, who is undoubtedly the fastest rally man in WA at the moment.
Following the first stage, navigators were given time to settle down to Karnett, followed by a multi-plot navigation section to Whittakers Mill, where a new road alignment carried 17 unsuspecting crews past the control and into the next stage. Others found the control only after much searching.
Making the most of the expected confusion, the Director kept the pressure on in the section that followed, with two tricky passage controls and a new bitumen road that chopped right through the middle of the map.
Some massive scores were tallied by the time the field reached the first service point at Dwellingup, where the lead was being held by the Grade 2 crew of Terry O'Sullivan / Adrian Stafford (Fiat 128) on 15, with Van Kann / Van Kann equal with the Grade 3 crew of Geoff White / Phil Petersen (Saab), both on 16.
Another Grade 3 crew in Ken Joss / Leo Iriks (Datsun 1600) followed on 23, with John Neal / Dave Manners (Gemini) fifth on 29, having spent 20-odd minutes in a swamp. Beechen / Polak arrived on 33 with Corr / Newell on 35 and the remainder of the field had all dropped controls.
From Dwellingup the route headed south to Hoffmans Mill, where O'Sullivan / Stafford went further ahead, dropping another 9 for a total of 24 and gaining a handy break on the Van Kanns on 33. A driving stage at Tallanalla was followed by a tricky navigation loop which turned out impossible to navigate off the map due to the absence of certain mapped roads.
A cleanable driving section took the field into the second service point in Mornington, where the placings were essentially the same except for Joss / Iriks, who had overhauled White / Petersen to take third. The Neal / Manners Gemini arrived without brakes and a crippling 30 minutes were lost replacing a fractured brake line.
In contrast to the thick dust which had been adding to the crews problems, rain began to fall and continued non-stop for the rest of the night. Three straightforward navigation sections completed the first half of the event with a supper stop at Collie.
On the way in, O'Sullivan / Stafford went looking for a non-existent passage control and dropped 10 where most crews cleaned. As a result, half-time scores put them equal first with the Van Kanns, both on 42, with Joss / Iriks on 48, White / Petersen gradually slipping back on 54 and Corr / Newell on 67.
Then came a big gap to Neal / Manners and Bignell / van der Straaten, both on a dismal 94, the latter crew having suffered an earlier 30F. Late time limit had got the better of a large majority of the lower grade crews and just over half the original field started the final division.
The run to the finish at Dwellingup took the depleted field back through Hoffmans Mill and on to Willowdale, where the Van Kanns (on 46) held a slender 1 point lead over O'Sullivan / Stafford, with all the other placings remaining the same.
However the navigation stage through Willowdale changed things dramatically. O'Sullivan / Stafford dropped two passage control, missing the first and wrong-waying the second. Joss / Iriks and White / Petersen made the same bungle, as did all the remaining novice and clubman crews. The Van Kanns and Bignell / van der Straaten both cleaned, but Corr / Newell dropped 6 and Beechen / Polak 8.
The event finished with the fourth special driving stage, Tom and Andy Van Kann running out comfortable winners with a total of 48 points. Tim Corr / Jim Newell found themselves finishing second on 82 and were more surprised than pleased with the result. Stuart Beechen and Roger Polak scrambled home in third place on 96, just two points clear of Danny Bignell / Rod van der Straaten
From out of nowhere, Roland Waters / Steve Vanderbyl (Escort TC) finished fifth on 109, with the unlucky Terry O'Sullivan / Adrian Stafford settling for sixth outright and the "Biggest Bungle of the Year" Trophy! Earlier contenders, John Neal and myself, struggled home with fuel starvation problems in the Gemini, the result of a blocked breather! Overall it was an excellent event, tremendously competitive and one that was certainly won and lost on navigation.
RESULTS (from LCCWA Club Torque)
|
1st
|
Tom van Kann
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Andy van Kann
|
Datsun 1600
|
48 points
|
|
2nd
|
Tim Corr
|
Jim Newell
|
Datsun 1600
|
82
|
|
3rd
|
Stuart Beechen
|
Roger Polak
|
Galant
|
96
|
|
4th
|
Danny Bignell
|
Rod van der Straaten
|
Datsun 240Z
|
98
|
|
5th
|
Rolly Waters
|
Steve Vanderbyl
|
Escort
|
109
|
|
6th
|
Terry O'Sullivan
|
Adrian Stafford
|
Fiat 128 3P
|
112
|
|
|
|
|
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1st Amateur
|
Stuart Beechen
|
Roger Polak
|
|
|
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1st Grade 2
|
Mark Huitenga
|
Robert Cook
|
|
|
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1st Grade 3
|
Geoff White
|
Phil Petersen
|
|
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Fastest on driving sections:Danny Bignell
Progressive State Championship Point Score (From RCN)
Drivers
|
Tom Van Kann
|
15 points
|
|
Rolly Waters
|
11
|
|
Tim Corr
|
8
|
|
Stuart Beechen
|
4
|
|
Ron Daniels
|
4
|
|
Danny Bignell
|
3
|
Navigators
|
Andy Van Kann
|
15 points
|
|
Steve Vanderbyl
|
11
|
|
Jim Newell
|
8
|
|
Roger Polak
|
4
|
|
John Poyner
|
4
|
|
Rod van der Straaten
|
3
|
