Brabhams and ex-Alboreto Ferrari among the Phillip Island Classic highlights

The Victorian Historic Racing Register’s Phillip Island Basic Competition of Motorsport is the biggest historic motorsport gathering within the southern hemisphere. Photographer Peter Ellenbogen – celebrating his twenty fifth successive go to to the long-lasting circuit, south of Melbourne – presents highlights from final weekend’s thirty sixth version.

Irish Racing Automobiles Brabham BT30s dominate

The closest rivalry of the weekend featured Sean Whelan and Andrew Robson nearly inseparable within the Teams M&O Sports activities and Racing set of their 1969 Brabham BT30s (above), each initially fielded by Mick Mooney’s fabled Irish Racing Automobiles staff. South Australian Whelan certified his ex-Tommy Reid BT30/8 quickest on Friday and triumphed in 4 of the 5 races with Robson filling his mirrors in BT30/6, wherein Alan Rollinson received a race at Bogota in Colombia in 1971.

Robson seized his second of glory in Saturday’s center stanza. Laurie Bennett led the chase in his Adelaide-built Elfin 600, with Paul Faulkner (Brabham BT29, apparently first raced by versatile American Champ Automobile aspirant Mike Hiss) becoming a member of a high 4 blanket end in a single race.

Alboreto’s F1 Ferrari trumps allcomers

The wonderful ex-Michele Alboreto/Stefan Johansson F1 Ferrari 156/85 of Sydneysider Guido Belgiorno-Nettis is now 40 years previous, however nonetheless thrilling followers. A perennial Phillip Island favorite, it was unbeaten over 5 Teams Q&R Racing Automobile contests, which attracted an interesting spectrum of Seventies and Nineteen Eighties’ slicks and wings equipment.

Italian-Australian prancing horseman Belgiorno-Nettis had a combat on his arms and drove the turbocharged 1500cc V6-engined chassis 079 laborious to repel veteran F5000 tamer Paul Zazryn’s Lola T332.

Alboreto raced the Ferrari 9 occasions and completed runner-up within the 1985 World Championship to McLaren-TAG’s Alain Prost. Second within the season-opening 1985 Brazilian and Portuguese GPs, Alboreto subsequently received the Canadian and German GPs in sister vehicles. Late-season unreliability derailed his title dream.

Sierras sizzle to Touring Automobile clear sweep

RS500s proceed to carry out on the entrance, simply as they did in interval

Photograph by: Peter Ellenbogen

As in interval, Ford’s Sierra Cosworth RS500 homologation specials dominated the Teams A&C Touring Automobile units. Two of the scorching 560bhp turbocars, each in authentic Caltex liveries as raced by double 1990 Australian Touring Automobile spherical winner Colin Bond, left rivals gasping. V8 Supercar veteran Jonathon Webb – 2009 feeder sequence champion and 2016 Bathurst 1000 winner with Will Davison – dominated the roost. Webb had the legs of Chris Stillwell, son of Melbourne motor and aviation baron Bib Stillwell, who received his fourth successive Australian Drivers’ Championship in 1965.

Ben Grice, son of twice Bathurst winner Allan, (Holden Commodore), David Towe (BMW E30 M3) and Adrian Allisey (Commodore) shared thirds in a pack that includes Paul Stubber and Carey McMahon’s raucous Mazda RX-7s, and Meon Nehrybecki’s Toyota Supra.

Lengthy-tailed Swift claims Van Diemen’s land

FF1600 is a stalwart class of the Phillip Island Basic

Photograph by: Peter Ellenbogen

Basic Formulation Ford fields have thinned in recent times, however slipstreaming within the 30-strong pack was as intense as ever within the as much as 1989 mannequin timeline. Van Diemen vehicles – proudly reflecting the Tasmanian heritage of Ralph Firman’s marque co-founder Ross Ambrose, father of longtime racer Marcos – have been numerically dominant however, after numerous breathtaking exchanges, high qualifier Nick McBride (Swift FB89) prevailed in all 4 races.

Free observe topper Jonathan Miles (left) and Andrew Reid in Van Diemen RF89s are pictured making an attempt to unseat McBride. William Faulkner, Declan Foo and Alex Davison – grandson of 1957 Australian champion driver and Ecurie Australie founder Lex, who died at Sandown Park, Melbourne, 60 years in the past – additionally bagged podium locations. Reynard designer Malcolm Oastler bested at seventh in a 1983 Lola T642.

Porsche 917/30 stars in regularity runs

Harburg’s Can-Am beast was one other to wow crowds

Photograph by: Peter Ellenbogen

Porsche’s 1973 917/30 Can-Am contender – the last word 1100bhp, 230mph evolution of an iconic however short-lived household of tubeframe chassis courting again to the 25 917s constructed to realize FIA homologation from 1969 – wowed Phillip Island Basic racegoers anew.

Seventeen years after Jim Richards demonstrated the Porsche Museum’s instance, Australian Peter Harburg introduced his, introduced in Mark Donohue’s evocative Penske Sunoco livery. Loved as far afield as Goodwood and the USA, the Queenslander entered the 5.4-litre turbocharged 12-cylinder boxer-engined machine within the Regularity classes – the place tremendous constant lappery, not pace, is vital – sharing the monitor with Nineteen Thirties’ MGs, Formulation Vees, a Ford Cortina Mk2 and Hyundai Excels! Alex Davison, the 2004 Carrera Cup Australia champion (pictured), gave it an gratifying exercise in a single session.

Zazryn’s F5000 is a crowd-pleaser

Zazryn’s F5000 tried to take the combat to F1 Ferrari

Photograph by: Peter Ellenbogen

US-born Formulation 5000 offered thunderous stock-block V8 motion in Australia till 1979, a decade after MCD’s John Webb imported it to Europe. Lola’s T332 of 1974, developed from the US championship-winning T330, is considered the last word series-produced contender.

Native hero Paul Zazryn’s HU32, first at PI in 2012, has its roots in American Evan Noyes’ first instance and carries his Eagle Creek Aviation livery. Quickest of six F5000 opponents, Zazryn took the fights to Belgiorno-Nettis within the youthful F1 Ferrari, touchdown three second locations.

Vince Holland (ex-John Smith Formulation Holden Ralt RT1), Tickford Supercars pilot Thomas Randle in Angelo Orloff’s ex-Jean-Pierre Beltoise/J-P Jarier/Jose Dolhem F2 March 722, and David Hardman (AF2 Hardman-VW JH1) additionally scored top-three finishes.