Skip to Navigation

Rally great contest

CHALLENGE: Rally driver Russell Jones, of Prospect. Picture: Kirri Cetinich HF421030

Article by Kellie Arbuckle, taken from the Standard Messenger

DRIVING for seven days at speeds of up to 200km/h with noise almost loud enough to break glass is not something to fear, says Prospect rally driver Russell Jones.

The 48-year-old has been preparing for the 2009 Australasian Safari one of the toughest off-road endurance events in Australia which gets under way in Perth on August 1.

“It’s the experience I’ve gained over the last years once you get behind the wheel it just becomes second nature.”

Often referred to as the “Dakar Downunder”, the safari takes drivers through 3700km of bush and station tracks that wind through Western Australia.

Jones has competed in the race twice before, with co-driver, Michael Coates, both times winning in his engine class; 2 wheel drive over 3.5 litre in 2001 and modified 4 WD up to 3.5 litre in 2007.

This year, he will compete in his 1995 Holden Jackaroo but is nervous as the engine “is the smallest in the competition”.

Jones, who runs Wild Cat Diesel Service in Dry Creek, said the best thing about rally driving was “the personal satisfaction of pushing yourself”.