Glenney Makes It Three From Three On Tarmac

South Australian rally ace – Steve Glenney is the new tarmac king taking his third tarmac rally victory in a row in the asp Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint rally.

Run over 10 special tarmac stages around the idyllic McLaren Vale wine region south of Adelaide last weekend (June 29), Glenney and his Canberra based co-driver Bernie Webb, took their Subaru WRX STi to victory ahead of the Mitsubishi Evo 8 of Ian Wilson and Jahmeil Taylor. Fortunately for the South Australian horse trainer, a 30 second time penalty for Wilson and Taylor after hitting a chicane, relegated them to second outright handing Glenney victory by 27 seconds.

That makes it the third straight tarmac rally victory in a row for Glenney and Webb, having taken top spot on the podium earlier this year at Rally Tasmania, as well as beating home the legendary Jim Richards to take a maiden win in Targa Tasmania.

The victory also means the crew will be crowned the 2008 South Australian Tarmac Rally Champions.

“The competition was tight and fierce”, said a satisfied Glenney. “We had to push all the way to the finish”. “With a good mix of tight and twisty stuff as well as open flowing corners, we were able to work on the cars’ set up along the way”, added Glenney. “With light showers on some of the stages, things were very tricky… but we love those kinds of conditions”.

He also had high praise for the organisers of the Adelaide Hills Tarmac rally, the Southern Districts Car Club, saying it was a fantastic and well organised event and that he and Bernie would definitely be back next year.

Unfortunately, it appears the budget for the privateer won’t stretch to defending their S.A.R.C gravel title from last year at the next round of the Australian Rally Championship – the Sprint Auto Parts Rally of South Australia later this month. Although they do have their sights set on tackling the
tarmac roads around Adelaide in this years Classic Adelaide Rally and again trading times with the likes of Jim Richards and last year’s Classic winner Kevin Weeks.

A remarkable third place outright in the asp Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint Rally went to retired World Championship rower and former National Head Coach of Rowing Australia, Simon Gillett. Simon travelled from Victoria especially for the one-off drive and to help promote awareness of the work of the Amy Gillett Foundation, which was the rally’s dedicated charity. Simon launched the Foundation following the tragic death of his wife Amy in a cycling accident in
Germany in 2005. The aim of the Foundation is to highlight the importance of being responsible every time we’re on the road, whether on two wheels or four, and to promote a safe and harmonious relationship of shared respect between cyclists and motorists.

Around $5,000 was raised for the Foundation from various donations and collections associated with the rally.

The asp Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint Rally was also round 3 of the South Australian Rally Championship, the first time a tarmac event had been included as a round of a State Rally Championship.
The local competition was fierce at the front with two-time S.A.R.C champion Declan Dwyer bringing his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3 home just twelve seconds ahead of current reigning South Australian Rally champ Matt Selley in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi.

Third of the S.A.R.C registered competitors was the Porsche 944 Turbo of Bob Butler and Naomi Tillett, more than a minute further back.

The next round of the South Australian Rally Championship will be held on July 26 and 27 as part of the Sprint Auto Parts Rally of South Australia, which is round 4 of the Australian Rally Championship.

S.A.R.C. results:
Declan Dwyer / Claire Dowling – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3
Matt Selley / Joana Fuller – Subaru Impreza STi
Bob Butler / Naomi Tillett – Porshe 944 Turbo
Russell Marker / Karien Heimsohn – Subaru WRX STi
Sandy Nott / Charles Nott - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4

Outright results:
Steve Glenney / Bernie Webb – Subaru WRX STi
Ian Wilson / Jahmeil Taylor – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8
Simon Gillett / Kathy Norton – Subaru WRX STi
Declan Dwyer / Claire Dowling – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3
John Beasley / Matthew Woods – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4

The Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint Rally was proudly sponsored again this year by asp - Application Service Provider Pty Ltd. With asp you can securely access your company’s applications and data from anywhere, anytime. Find out more at www.apps.com.au.

Information on the 2009 asp Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint Rally can be found at www.asprally.com.