Issue 385 (18 Feb) has a sensational piece on South Australia’s newest motorsport event, the Eden Valley Hillclimb, and mini features on Matt Selley – Ford Escort MkII, Tim Lynas - 1965 Ford Mustang, Oscar Matthews 1984 Toyota AE86, Tim Knappstien – Datsun 240Z. Images are available to be purchased from Any Given Reason.

Issue 384 (21 Jan) tells the story of Tasmania’s second annual Poatina Hillclimb tarmac rally event, and mini features on Peter Roberts and Beau Starritt – Nissan Skyline GTS-t, Warwick Hughes - Alfa Romeo Sud Ti, Kerry Luck and Adam Colgrave – Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Adrian and Sonia Hodgetts – Datsun 240Z. Images are available to be purchased from Angryman Photography.

Unique Cars magazine is available to be purchased both in-store and online.

While the hillclimb will not run in 2015, planning continues in earnest for the inaugural Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally, which will run on the same weekend in the same region of Victoria – with the event’s indicative course released today.

While we’re very disappointed for those competitors who entered the hillclimb, unfortunately had the event gone ahead this year, it wouldn’t have been what we promised.

While initial support from local civil authorities gave us the confidence to move forward with planning this Australian-first long course hillclimb event, a more recent review by these authorities required a number of conditions be placed on the event that we feel would have significantly comprised it’s initial premise.

As competitor experience means a lot to us, we know the right decision is to postpone and to continue to work closely with these authorities to settle on a format agreeable to all stakeholders.

We’ve made contact with each entrant in the hillclimb and we’re really pleased that most of them have decided to roll their entry over to the rally running on the same weekend. For those that haven’t, any entry fees paid will be refunded in accordance with our company terms and conditions.

We are deeply humbled by the level of support received from the Australian motorsport fraternity for the hillclimb and we look forward to announcing a revised date in the future.

For the remainder of 2015, we will throw our energies into the successful staging of the Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Rally (14-15 November 2015) and the second annual running of the Poatina Hillclimb (6 December 2015). A third event for 2015 will be announced in the coming weeks.

We are also in the final stages of obtaining the relevant permits and approvals for a range of other new events across a number of states for 2016. These will be announced in due course. Thanks for your ongoing support and please do not hesitate to call either Stuart or Darren with any questions.

Stuart Benson, Director, Tel: 0412 868 979
Darren Fogarty, Director, Tel: 0439 315 759

The head turning and lightweight Skelta is the brainchild of 66-year old Ray Vandersee who is a long time circuit racing and rally competitor. From his hometown of Toowoomba, the former Queensland Rally Champion has custom crafted eight tarmac-focused Skelta racers over the last decade – most of which remain active in competition across Europe and within Australia.

Now retired and residing in Uki in Northern New South Wales, Vandersee is focused on his next motorsport challenge; the world’s longest hillclimb in the Australian Alps in Victoria’s North East.

Promoted by Auto Corsa Group, the driver only event starts in the picturesque mountain village of Harrietville and finishes 29km and 241 turns later at the top of Mount Hotham. Each competitor will race up the 29km course six times during the weekend-long event.

The Skelta has proven itself a formidable racer over the years with early inceptions having secured a number of podium spots including a win at the 2007 Mount Buller Sprint and SunCoast Classic Rally at the hands of Vandersee himself. Later that same year the car finished second at Targa West, this time with Bathurst champion Tony Longhurst at the wheel.

Following a specification upgrade to the Skelta in 2009, Vandersee went on to finish second Outright at the 2010 Targa Tasmania. In 2012, Vandersee leased the same car to Aussie Jeff Denmeade for the famous Pikes Peak hillclimb event. Denmeade finished an impressive third in the 19km event’s Open class.

Vandersee, who has maintained his involvement in motorsport driving his 2009-spec Skelta in the Australian Endurance Championship and various Queensland sprint events, says the Mount Hotham Alpine Cup Hillclimb was an obvious choice for his next major motorsport outing.

“Pikes Peak in the Skelta has always been a bucket list event for me, but being so far away it’s not really practical. However, being familiar with the Pikes Peak course, I can say first hand that we now have an even more technical and challenging equivalent right here in Australia.”

“At 29km, the Alpine Cup combines the best of elements of tarmac rallying with the driver only format of circuit racing,” said Vandersee who will retain the Skelta’s Pikes Peak racing livery for the Alpine Cup as a tribute to its mountain climbing heritage and capabilities.

“Better yet, at Hotham, drivers will have the opportunity to clock their fastest time over six competitive runs up the mountain – compared to only one at Pikes Peak.”

The Mount Hotham Alpine Cup International Hillclimb is the world’s longest hillclimb event, surpassing Pikes Peak by 10km.

The inaugural hillclimb will run concurrently with the inaugural Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally; Australia’s first all-new major, closed road tarmac rally in five years.

Auto Corsa Group has signed a three-year deal with the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board to deliver the two events.

ABOUT THE CAR

The Skelta G-Force weighs in at just 780kg thanks mainly to a chrome molybdenum steel spaceframe reinforced with Kevlar and a carbon fibre aluminium honeycomb sandwich with a chassis weight of just 80 kilograms.

The Skelta’s perfect 50/50 weight distribution teamed with its 240kW Honda F20C 2.0-litre supercharged engine and a six-speed close-ratio Honda transmission will make it a force to be reckoned with at the event this November.

For more information contact:

Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 979
stuart@autocorsa.com.au

The Melbourne-based promoter of closed road motorsport events released the regulations two weeks ago in draft form requesting industry feedback to inform further development.

Auto Corsa Group co-director, Stuart Benson, said feedback had been received from a number of competitors as well as some of Australia’s leading race experts including Holinger Engineering, MoTeC and Supashock.

“It was important to us that our regulations preserve the highest levels of competitor safety while also being logical and easy to understand.”

In order to achieve a rich mix of classic and modern cars in Auto Corsa Group events, the company looked to overseas trends for ways to make competing with heritage racing vehicles more affordable.

“For example, we’ve allowed pre-approved modern engines swaps for a number of heritage vehicles of the same make,” Mr Benson said.

One pre-approved swap is a Ford Duratec engine into an Mk1 or Mk2 Ford Escort. While the swap does not necessarily improve performance, it makes ongoing maintenance cheaper and easier.

“There are many heritage vehicles out there that were either previously ineligible or restricted from entering due to high costs associated with competition,” Mr Benson said.

“It has been our goal to get these classic vehicles out of their garages and onto the road where they can be driven in a controlled environment the way the manufacturer intended.”

The first major event to which the regulations will apply with be the inaugural Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally and Mount Hotham International Hillcllimb that will be held this year from November 14-15 in the stunning alpine region of Victoria’s North East.

Auto Corsa Group has signed a three-year deal with the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board to deliver the two events.

View the technical regulations here

ABOUT THE EVENTS

Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally

The inaugural Hotham Auto Corsa comprises 11 closed road stages over 250 competitive kilometres. The event will be based at Mount Hotham and take in roads around Falls Creek, the Alpine National Park and nearby towns including Harrietville, Omeo and Mount Beauty.

The rally is expected to attract a competition field of up to 200 cars across its Tour, Challenge and Competition categories.

Mount Hotham Alpine Cup International Hillclimb

At 29km, the inaugural Mount Hotham Alpine Cup International Hillclimb is the world’s longest hillclimb event. It is expected to attract production car-based circuit, sports, Time Attack and rally cars from around the world.

The driver-only event will be held on the same weekend of the Hotham Auto Corsa over a stretch of the world famous Great Alpine Road. Each competitor will tackle the 241-corner tarmac trek from Harrietville to Mount Hotham six times over the weekend.

For more information contact:

Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 979
stuart@autocorsa.com.au

The 1981 replica four-wheel-drive Audi, built by Auckland rally driver Andrew Hawkeswood and later sold to Tasmanian-born businessman David Thompson, will be driven by its new owner race mechanic Stewart Reid.

The 56-year old former Holden stunt driver and ARC competitor from Queensland is at home behind the wheel of the of the 500 horsepower pocket rocket, having driven it at a number of other circuit and rally events including Coates Rally Queensland in 2013 and the World Time Attack in 2014.

“I am really looking forward to re-discovering the car on the long and technical Great Alpine Road to Mount Hotham,” said Reid. “I really enjoy visiting Victoria and I am really looking forward to getting out there and clocking a competitive time on the world’s longest hillclimb course.”

“To have the opportunity to participate in this exciting new hillclimb event is particularly exciting given the Audi’s hillclimb pedigree.”

No one is likely to miss the Audi as it passes by. Its unique high-pitched 5-cylinder engine, teamed with a Modena gearbox and differentials, will be heard for miles as it makes its way around the 241 corners that make up the event’s challenging 29km all tarmac course.

Auto Corsa Group co-director, Stuart Benson, is looking forward to seeing the Audi off the start line in Harrietville.

“This is one of those cars that perfectly epitomises the exhilaration of motorsport,” said Benson. “In fact, there are very few cars active in Australian motorsport today that command the attention that this Audi does and the technical revolution it represents.

“It’s unique engine sound coupled with its stunning classic exterior and Stewart’s proven driving ability will ensure an exciting display for spectators and officials alike.”

ABOUT THE CAR

The original Audi Quattro made its motorsport debut in 1980. The following year, Michèle Mouton became the first female driver to win a world championship rally, driving an Audi Quattro.

The Group B racer changed the face of rallying being the first car to adopt four-wheel drive into a performance car for rallying.

The Audi Sport Quattro S1 was developed for Group B rallying in 1984. Racing great Walter Röhrl drove it to a win at the 1985 Rallye San Remo and at the Pikes Peak hillclimb event two years later.

Former WRC champion Ari Vatenen also drove Reid’s Hotham-bound Audi replica at the Australian WRC round at National Capital Rally in 2014 when it was still owned by Thompson.

ABOUT THE EVENT

The Mount Hotham Alpine Cup International Hillclimb is the world’s longest hillclimb event, surpassing Pikes Peak by 10km.

Each driver will make the 29km climb from the picturesque mountain village of Harrietville to the pinnacle of Mount Hotham, six times over the two days.

The inaugural hillclimb event will run concurrently with the Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally; Australia’s first all-new major, closed road tarmac rally in five years.

Promoter, Auto Corsa Group, has signed a three-year deal with the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board to deliver the two events.

Early Bird entries close on 15 June 2015.

For more information contact:

Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 979
stuart@autocorsa.com.au

Auto Corsa Group Co-director, Stuart Benson, said that feedback on the regulations would be welcomed up until Friday 12 June 2015, with the final iteration of the rules to be issued on Monday 15 June 2015 just prior to the close of Early Bird entries.

“Since the release of the our safety and technical guides in March, we’ve engaged with and listened to the motorsport community to develop a set of technical regulations for these events that are easy to understand and relevant to the current environment,” Mr Benson said.

“We hope that these final drafts will provoke further constructive discussion and feedback from our clients, friends and partners from within the motorsport fraternity.”

Sanctioned by the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance, Hotham Auto Corsa and the Alpine Cup International Hillclimb will be held from 14-15 November 2015.

Auto Corsa Group has signed a three-year deal with the Mount Hotham Resort Management Board to deliver the events.

Download Vehicle Safety and Technical Regulations - Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally
Download Vehicle Safety and Technical Regulations - Mount Hotham Alpine Cup International Hillclimb

For more information contact:
Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 797
stuart@autocorsa.com.au

The Victorian rally veteran will tackle the world’s longest hillclimb in the Victorian Alps from 14-15 November and clock some vital time behind the wheel of his car ahead of the 13,000km trek in July next year.

Set with high-clearance suspension and tyres designed more for loose surfaces than race tracks, his highly modified 5.7-litre Mustang has been built specifically for the marathon Peking to Paris event. It takes in Mongolia, Russia and a number of tarmac hillclimbs across the European Alps before finishing in Paris.

The veteran of the Carrera Sudamericana, Targa Tasmania, East African Safari and Road to Mandalay rallies says the Alpine Cup will provide the perfect opportunity to shakedown his car on a challenging hillclimb course.

“The modifications we’ve made to the Mustang mean it doesn’t fit with many categories of racing, but I want to put some kms on it before the big trip,” says Garnsworthy.

“Having the Hotham hillclimb right in our backyard is brilliant and means I can get used to the car on tarmac, and we can deal with any mechanical gremlins well before the car gets shipped.”

The driver-only, 29-kilometre Alpine Cup International Hillclimb starts in the mountain village of Harrietville and finishes on the summit of Mount Hotham. Each competitor will traverse the course six times over the weekend event totaling 171 competitive kilometres.

Garnsworthy, who has entered in the Alpine Cup’s Heritage category, has an outlook on motorsport of “maximum fun, minimum hassle” and says his Mustang is “built like a tank.”

The experienced rally and circuit driver will contest the world’s longest hillclimb in Victoria’s North East from 14-15 November.

The driver-only event comprises a 29km stretch of the world famous Great Alpine Road, with each competitor tackling the 241-corner tarmac trek six times over the weekend. The course starts in the picturesque mountain village of Harrietville and features an elevation gain of some 1,300 metres, finishing at the summit of Mount Hotham.

64-year-old Weeks, who recently completed a multi-day program of course reconnaissance, said the hillclimb course could be summed up in one word: “Epic”.

“This stretch of road as a competitive long course hillclimb is like nothing I have seen or competed in before,” said Weeks, who is the owner of Supaloc – a residential building company and manufacturer of steel framing products for the Australian construction industry.

“The car we’ve developed will be well suited to the predictable and smooth nature of the course and its power will help to propel us up the steep climbs of Mount Hotham.”

Weeks says the fact that drivers will be without a navigator only adds to the overall appeal of what is a totally brand new Australian motorsport offering.

“Because of its highly developed mechanicals and aerodynamics, we’ve only been able to race the car in a number of local short course hillclimb events, so a 29km long course event is something something very special."

The Alpine Cup International Hillclimb will run concurrently with the Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally; Australia’s first all-new major tarmac rally in five years.

Promoter, Auto Corsa Group, has signed a three-year deal with the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board to deliver the two events.

About the Car

Weeks’ Supaloc Racing team has built up what is his vision of the ultimate Lamborghini race car.

The paddle shift Hollinger gearbox, turbocharged V10 and carbon fibre clad Italian machine has been built with the best of all available components from across various international racing categories, including tarmac rally and FIA GT3.

For more information contact:
Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 979
stuart@autocorsa.com.au

Motorsport promoter, Auto Corsa Group, has worked with the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board to stage the inaugural events that will run over the weekend of 14-15 November 2015.

Auto Corsa Group Co-director, Stuart Benson, said: “The 29-kilometre Alpine Cup International Hillclimb will significantly outdistance the famed Pikes Peak event in the US, which at 19-kilometres is currently the world’s longest.

"We wanted to offer something really special,” said the former Targa Tasmania designer and event director. “Provide an experience that would be a true test of man and machine like no other.”

The 241-corner tarmac trek has an elevation gain of around 1,300 metres finishing on Mount Hotham, 1,837 metres above sea level. Each driver will travel the course six times over the two days, totalling 171 competitive kilometres.

An 11-stage tarmac rally, comprising 250 competitive kilometres, will be held over the same weekend based at Mount Hotham taking in Falls Creek and closed roads around nearby towns including Harrietville, Mount Beauty and Omeo.

The Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally is expected to attract a field of up to 200 cars with multiple Australian Rally Champion Simon Evans already signed on for the challenge.

"The roads of Hotham are one of Australia's best kept secrets," said Evans. "These events will include some of the most technical and challenging tarmac roads I've ever driven and the scenery is just incredible.”

Both events will take in a stretch of the Great Alpine Road; Australia's highest sealed through-road between Wangaratta and Bairnsdale.

Recently appointed CEO of the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board, Jon Hutchins, said the events would highlight the Great Alpine Road as a year-round touring destination.

“The natural vistas and sealed condition of the Great Alpine Road give it the potential to rival and even surpass Victoria’s other iconic travel route, the Great Ocean Road,” said Hutchins.

“As a year round destination the North East of Victoria offers excitement and natural attractions for both domestic and international visitors.”

Chair of the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board, Deb Spring, said motorsport was a great fit for Hotham – a destination that attracts more than 122,000 adrenalin-seeking skiers each year.

"As much as our visitors enjoy skiing Hotham's challenging slopes, the competitors of these events will love driving our roads.

“Importantly, there will also be some fantastic spots along each course for spectators to get close to the action.”

Ms Spring said the events would stimulate economic growth to the region to the tune of 5,000 additional bed stays during the green season.

"This is an exciting opportunity for our community to really take ownership of these events, which I believe are a much-welcomed addition to the Australian motorsport calendar."

For more information contact:
Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 979
stuart@autocorsa.com.au

Launched this week, the Alpine Cup International Hillclimb will be the world’s longest hillclimb event. Competitors will make the challenging 29km sprint from Harrietville to the top of Mount Hotham six times over the weekend, totalling 170 competitive kilometres.

Meanwhile, the 11-stage Hotham Auto Corsa Alpine Tarmac Rally will comprise 250 competitive kilometres and take in Mount Hotham, Falls Creek and surrounding towns including Harrietville, Mount Beauty and Omeo.

Evans, who has driven the roads of Hotham several times before, was excited to hear about Auto Corsa Group’s concept for the events.

“I’ve worked with the guys at Auto Corsa Group a few times on other tarmac rallies,” said Evans, who lives at Nar Nar Goon in Victoria. “When they came to me with what they were planning, I knew it was something I needed to be a part of.”

"These events will include some of the most technical and challenging tarmac roads I've ever driven over and the scenery is just incredible.”

Auto Corsa Group’s Stuart Benson said Evans was an obvious choice to help promote the event to the wider motorsport community.

“Simon’s can-do, happy-go-lucky demeanour coupled with his incredible level of ability and professionalism is a great fit for Auto Corsa Group’s brand values and overall approach to motorsport event design and delivery.”

For more information contact:

Stuart Benson
+61 (0) 412 868 797
stuart@autocorsa.com.au