Victorian Rally Championship
The Victorian Rally Championship was the evolution series of car rallies in Victoria, Australia. Prior to 1972, car rallies/trials relied heavily on the ability of a navigator to read a map and direct their driver over a planned course covering shire roads and forest tracks at night.
In 1972 the series evolved in line with the improvement of forest tracks, and the population of properties along Shire roads – into a more driver-oriented event.
Route instructions became comprehensive, making it easier for a crew to avoid getting lost, and results were effectively determined by how fast the drivers drove on the generally narrow forest roads.
Since 1990, many of these events have been held during daylight hours – making the competition more attractive to spectators.
At present, the Victorian Rally Championship includes awards for overall champion, two wheel drive champion, and class champions.[1] Two single car make championships are associated with the Victorian Rally Championship: The Fiesta Rally Series and the Grant Walker Parts Excel Rally Series.[2][3]
Victorian Rally Champions
Winners of the Victorian Rally Championship and the preceding Victorian Trials Championship are as follows:[4]
| Year | Driver | Navigator/Co-Driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Geoff Russell | Martin Hartigan | Volkswagen 1200 |
| 1962 | Geoff Russell | R.H.Collingwood | Ford Falcon |
| 1963 | Harry Firth | Graham Hoinville | Ford Anglia |
| 1963 | Frank Kilfoyle | Mike Flanagan | Ford Falcon |
| 1964 | Frank Kilfoyle | Roger Abraham | Ford Falcon |
| 1965 | Harry Firth | Graham Hoinville | |
| 1966 | Tony Roberts | Peter Haas | HD Holden |
| 1967 | Reg Lunn* | Roger Vaughan * | HR Holden |
| 1968 | Bob Watson | Jim McAuliffe | HK Holden V8 |
| 1969 | Bob Watson | Jim McAuliffe | Renault 16TS |
| 1970 | Bob Watson | Jim McAuliffe | Renault R8 Gordini |
| 1971 | Mal McPherson | Peter Haas | Renault R8 Gordini |
| 1972** | Gil Davis | Roger Bonhomme | Holden Torana GTR XU1 |
| 1973 | Bob Watson | Jeff Beaumont | Renault R12G, Holden HQ |
| 1974 | Garrie Harrowfield | Geoff Boyd | Ford Cortina |
| 1975 | David Bond | Ian Richards | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 1976 | Bob Waterhouse | Paul Paterson | Datsun 1600 |
| 1977 | Gil Davis | David Long | Datsun 1600 |
| 1978 | Warwick Smith | Paul Paterson | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 1979 | Warwick Smith | Paul Paterson | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 1980 | Chris Brown | Simon Brown | Datsun 1600 |
| 1981 | Geoff Portman | Ross Runnalls | Datsun Stanza |
| 1982 | Chris Brown | Noel Richards | Datsun 180B SSS |
| 1983 | David Officer | Kate Hobson | Mitsubishi Galant |
| 1984 | Peter A Thompson* | Anthony Sartory* | Datsun P510 |
| 1985 | Brian Smith | John Birrell | Mitsubishi Sigma |
| 1986 | Geoff Portman | Peter Gale | Datsun 1600 |
| 1987 | Geoff Portman | Peter Gale | Datsun 1600 |
| 1988 | David Greig | Paul Tirant | Datsun P510 |
| 1989 | Greg Hoinville | Michael Cains | Ford Escort Mk.2 |
| 1990 | David Greig | Paul Tirant | Datsun 260Z |
| 1991 | Peter Fyfe | Gerry Bashford | Nissan Pulsar |
| 1992 | Peter Fyfe | Gerry Bashford | Nissan Pulsar |
| 1993 | Graeme Wise | Helen Wylie | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo |
| 1994 | Graeme Wise | Helen Wylie | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo |
| 1995 | Graeme Wise* | Greg Foletta* | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo |
| 1996 | Graeme Wise | Rob Beekman | Mitsubishi Lancer |
| 1997 | Mike Reeves | Robin Smalley | Mitsubishi Galant VR4 |
| 1998 | Craig Morris | Jenny Cole | Mitsubishi Galant VR4 |
| 1999 | Scott Pedder | Paul Humm | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo |
| 2000 | Scott Pedder | Paul Humm | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3 |
| 2001 | David Stannus | Peter Campbell | Nissan Pulsar |
| 2002 | Brett Thompson | Rob Vanderee | Mitsubishi Galant VR4 |
| 2003 | Mike Reeves | Robin Smalley | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3 |
| 2004 | Peter Montgomery | Chris Montgomery | Subaru Impreza |
| 2005 | Justin Dowel | Matt Lee | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 |
| 2006 | Justin Dowel | Matt Lee | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 |
| 2007 | Justin Dowel | Matt Lee | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 |
| 2008 | Mark Fawcett | Simon Ellis | Subaru Impreza WRX |
| 2009 | Mark Fawcett | Carrie Morris | Subaru Impreza WRX |
| 2010 | Nathan Reeves | Scott Spedding | Subaru Impreza WRX |
| 2011 | Warren Lee | David Lethlean | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 |
| 2012 | Stephen Raymond | Glen Raymond | Toyota Corolla |
| 2013 | Tristan Penhall | Jolie Middleton | Subaru Impreza WRX |
| 2014 | Justin Dowel | Scott Spedding | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
| 2015 | Darren Windus* | David Lethlean* | Subaru Impreza WRX |
| 2016 | Darren Windus | Joe Brkic | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
| 2017 | Glen Raymond | Kate Catford | Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| 2018 | Ben Hayes | Cathy Hayes | Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| 2019 | Arron Windus | Daniel Brkic | Subaru Impreza WRX |
| 2020 | Not conducted | ||
* Driver and navigator were not from the same crew. ** Victorian Rally Championship introduced; previously, this was known as the Victorian Trials Championship.
Since 2003, there has been a separate Two Wheel Drive Championship contested as part of the Annual Championships. Winners of the Victorian 2WD Rally Championship are as follows:
| Year | Driver | Navigator/Co-Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Andrew Vibert | David Gallacher |
| 2004 | Ben Fawcett | Tony Boyd |
| 2005 | Brian Semmens | David Leoncini |
| 2006 | Brian Semmens | David Leoncini |
| 2007 | Brian Semmens | David Leoncini |
| 2008 | Andrew Taylor | Robin Smalley |
| 2009 | Brian Semmens | David Leoncini |
| 2010 | Alan Friend | Robin Smalley |
| 2011 | Brian Semmens | Dan Parry |
| 2012 | Brian Semmens | Dan Parry |
| 2013 | Brian Semmens | Dan Parry |
| 2014 | Justin Walker | Bianca Lowe |
| 2015 | Brian Semmens | Dan Parry |
| 2016 | Mike Conway | Jenny Cole |
| 2017 | Grant Walker | Steph Richards |
| 2018 | Grant Walker | Steph Richards |
| 2019 | Justin Walker | Adam Wright |
| 2020 | Not conducted | |