Eye on the Industry

Legends Of Phillip Island

The Phillip Island Classic ‘Festival of Motorsport’ on March 6 -8 will feature a number of Australian motorsport legends.

With ten international drivers also competing, the Phillip Island Classic ‘Festival of Motorsport’ is shaping up once again to be a truly international event of competitive racing.

Larry Perkins heads up the prestigious event as patron for the meeting and will be racing over the weekend along with his son Jack.

Two BMW cars from the New Zealand collection of Peter Sturgeon will race at the Phillip Island Circuit including the iconic Black and Gold 635 JPS car to be driven by Jim Richards and an M3 to be driven by Greg Murphy. A second M3 from New Zealand will be driven by New Zealand owner-driver Graham Cameron.

Under Group C & A racing for Touring cars from 1973 to 1992 there will be a large field of more than 40 cars including 12 BMW’s racing over the weekend.

Of particular interest will be the Q & R racing cars with competition history from 1970. Here the fastest Ferrari in Australia, the ex Alboreto Ferrari Racing Team car now owned by Guido Belgiorno-Nettis will be challenged by the fastest Formula 5000 driven by Tom Tweedie. The F1 Ferrari was built for the 1985 racing season and was driven by Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson in European Grand Prix and also the Canadian and USA Grand Prix’s. Guido Belgiorno-Nettis acquired Chassis #082 in 2006 and has successfully raced it in Group R Historic events in the identical livery as it competed in the 1985 GP season. This is considered to be one of the most attractive cars on the racing circuit.

John Bowe will drive Joe Colleja’s ex Carroll Shelby’s Allard J2X as shown in the recent Ford vs Ferrari feature movie. Shelby drove this car in five races in 1953 and was placed first in four races and second in the fifth race. It also competed in the International 1000km race in Buenos Aires in 1954. Shelby went on to design and build the iconic AC Cobra.

Young Bathurst competitor Bryan Sala will race a Ford Sierra in Group C & A against Bathurst winner Greg Murphy in a BMW M3 and Malcolm Oastler will race a Kaditcha AF2 Group R car. Also racing will be Chris Stillwell in the ex Colin Bond Sierra.

As part of the ‘Festival of Motorsport’ weekend, legionary driver, development engineer and racing car designer and builder, UK born Adrian Reynard will be at the circuit, racing a Reynard Formula Ford FF84 and will be one of the guests of honour at the celebratory dinner on the Saturday night. Now based in America, Adrian Reynard continues to run the Auto Research Centre (ARC) in Indianapolis.

Other international drivers include Richard Tarling (UK) driving a Quest Formula Ford 86, Jaap Blijleven (Netherlands) driving a Reynard Formula Ford and Xavier Michel (France) driving a Van Diemen.

“For the Formula Ford fraternity worldwide, the Phillip Island Classic is now recognised as the event to be at, with higher levels of interest coming from international competitors each year,” said VHRR Chairman Ian Tate.

With the VHRR supporting the 2020 charity ‘Male Bag Foundation’ lead by AFL legend David Parkin, a team from the Foundation will ride Poste Bikes from Melbourne to the Phillip Island Circuit and on arrival they will take a special ride on the track followed by two CFA Fire Appliances to also highlight the Bush Fire Appeal. David will also be a guest speaker at the dinner.

With more than 1,000 cars on display in the paddock covering the broadest range of vehicle marques and models, the Expo Centre housing a variety of attractions and memorabilia and trade stands, the Phillip Island Classic is once again a celebration of motorsport for all the family.

For more information visit https://vhrr.com/wp/phillip-island/
Send this to a friend