Keeping you up to date with all things Rare Spares.

Rare Spares

Rare Spares Blog

  • Join Us on Facebook!
  • Visit Us on YouTube!
  • Follow Us on Instagram!
  • Subcribe to Our RSS Feed

Supercars Abroad

ImageSupercars, as they are now known, and previously as the V8 Supercars and Australian Touring Car Championship, have had a strong presence in this country for quite some time now. Followers have seen Falcons, Commodores, Skylines, and more, pound the circuits of Australia.
However, there were occasional excursions to places other than Sydney or Perth or tracks in Tasmania. And for the sake of prudency we’ll also include New Zealand as we’re looking at locations such as Europe or Japan. [More]

Targa Tasmania Event Wrap-up

Targa Tasmania has wrapped up its twenty seventh year and caps itself yet again as Australia’s premier tarmac rally series. It really is an event for any driver as there are ten distinct categories to choose from. There’s the Rookie Rallye, Vintage and Classic, Early Modern, and GT Sports Trophy, just to name a few. Combined with these categories is the ability to show up in approved cars that can date back to 1900. This year’s event was also round two of the CAMS 2018 Australian Targa Championship, with the first, Targa North West, also held in Tassie and is intended to give drivers a “taste” of the Targa Tasmania. The next events are Targa Great Barrier Reef before heading south to Victoria for Targa High Country. TT as some call Targa Tasmania, covers close to five hundred kilometers and is run across thirty-three special stages. The overall winners were once again Jason and John White in their Dodge Viper ACR. Jason and John have raced in twenty-one Targas, and have also moved into second place of the all time overall winners, sitting behind former Australian Touring Car Championship driver Jim Richards and long time ally and former V8 Supercars commentator, Barry Oliver. Oliver had also announced his retirement from motorsport prior to the event. The win placed the duo first in the Wrest Point GT2 class (cars made from January 2008 and two wheel drive, minimum 500 made). Second outright was a Subaru WRX STi, co-driven by Steve Glenney and Andy Sarandis. This had them win outright the RDA Brakes GT4 class (as per GT2, but with four/all wheel drive) and now lead the modern car section of the CAMS Targa Championship. Local honours were taken by Hobart doctor Michael Pritchard and co-driver Gary Mourant. They placed third outright in a Porsche and claimed second in the GT2 class. Former GT Championship driver Paul Stokell folded his lanky body into a Lotus Exige, one of many that competed and finished this year’s event, with co-driver Erin Kelly. The Whites were concerned about their tyres as co-competitors Matt Close and Cameron Reeves had been pushing them very hard prior to the final six stages. Jason White said: “We were actually having a lot more sweat about what was going on with the tyres. It really forced John and I to be at the top of our game.” Relief came for the Whites in the form of Close and Reeves’ Porsche GT3 losing traction on cold tyres and going off-road, damaging the car enough to stop further competitive driving. The third round of the CAMS Australian Targa Championship is the inaugural Targa Great Barrier Reef to be held in Cairns from August 31 to September 2.  Have you ever competed in Targa Tasmania? Or is it on your ‘bucket list’ to get down south and have a crack? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and tell us all about it in the comments section below this article!

Phillip Island Classic Preview

Movies, songs, popular culture, motor sport. What do they have in common? Yup, it’s obvious, they all have something to do with time, specifically “the past”. But why should motor sport be involved in what happened, not what’s coming? The Victorian Historic Racing Register doesn’t really care because they know that the Phillip Island Classic, to be held over the ninth to the eleventh of March 2018, pulls people to the picturesque Phillip Island race circuit in droves. There’s something a bit extra special about this meeting. Along with a strong presence of members of the Group S racing family, the weekend will commemorate fifty years of Formula 5000 racing and with over thirty five sparkling examples of these thunderous machines expected. Legendary Australian touring car driver John Bowe will be in attendance and on the Sunday will showcase a 1974 March ex F1 car. He’ll be with fellow racer and noted collector Guido Belgiorno-Nettis in a Ferrari F1 car formerly raced by Italian driver Michele’ Alboreto. Both will be racing these historic machines against two younger drivers that have years of experience between them already, Tom Tweedie and Tim Berryman. The categories include the smaller and fascinating Formula Ford and Formula Vee, Groups Q and R, and pre WW2 cars in the Group J and some Group K, with post WW2 cars in Group K also. WW2 itself will be represented, in a motor racing sense, with the inclusion of Group L, a category for cars built between 1941 and 1960. These cars are those built especially for competition, be they factory backed or one-offs. There’s a sub-category in the Ls, known as “square riggers”. These are primarily MG TCs sans mud guards, windscreens, and headlights. But people don’t attend historic motorsport events such as this to just and merely goggle over the eye watering range of cars on track and on display. There are the personalities in attendance such as the aforementioned JB. This weekend will also have five patrons there. Better known as “KB”, one of Australia’s most loved drivers, Kevin Bartlett, a two time winner of the Australian Drivers’ Championship and a Bathurst 1000 winner, will be on deck. Alfredo “Alfie” Constanzo, an Italian born, Australian raised, driver, a four time Australian GP competitor and four time Australian Drivers’ Championship winner, is there. Alan Hamilton, who won the Australian Sports Car Driver award twice ,and along with Alfie is a four time winner of the Gold Star Championship, is slated to appear. Two time New Zealand Grand Prix winner John McCormack, who also won the Australian Drivers’ Championship three times, is scheduled to be there. And New Zealand’s MBE awarded driver Ken Smith, won the New Zealand Grand Prix in 1976, 1990 and in 2004 and raced Formula Ford, Formula 5000, Formula Pacific, Formula Mondial and Toyota Racing Series. Ken has competed over 59 consecutive seasons on the motor racing circuit. He has won the Gold Star Drivers Award five times, Formula 5000 Revival three times, the Penang Grand Prix three times, the Selanger twice and the Malaysian Grand Prix once. In 1995 Ken was inducted into the New Zealand motorsport Hall of Fame. Australian cars of note will be there. An Australian Grand Prix winning (Frank) Matich A50 and an MR8 Elfin 5000 campaigned in the US by Garrie Cooper and Vern Schuppan will be on track. Rare Spares ambassador for eleven years, JB says of the event, “it’s the second best race track in Australia and there’ll be 550 classic cars at this weekend’s Classic.” John drove three cars in 2017 and for 2018 says: “I’ll be driving something that’s very rare, an Allard J2X from 1952 owned by Carroll Shelby that had raced in the American sports car scene.” This will be the first time this car has competed in Australia. John acknowledged the support of his good friend Joe Calleja, current owner of the Allard, including the opportunity to drive his 1969 Group N Mustang. Of Rare Spares JB said:” Without Rare Spares there would not behalf of the Aussie classic cars on the road that there is now.” John mentioned a recent club meeting he attended along with his great mate Dick Johnson and just how many cars were there that had used Rare Spares. John’s relationship with the Phillip Island Classic goes back to 2000, and he’s driven a range of cars and 2000 first event, covering range of cars including a Le Mans style car to a 1970’s Porsche. John invites all Rare Spares attendees and fellow car enthusiasts to come and say hi! Are you heading down to the Phillip Island Classic? Or have you been in years past? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook Page and tell us your experiences in the comments section below.

A look at John Bowe’s On-Track achievements

Rare Spares Brand Ambassador and Australian Motorsport icon, John Bowe, was recently inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame, joining names such as Brock, Webber and Brabham on the illustrious list. Throughout his hugely successful career, Bowe’s resume stacks up against some of the greatest in the history of the sport. In this article, we’ll take a quick look back at a few of the highlights on Australian shores throughout his career (so far!). Back-to-Back Australian Drivers Championships In the mid 80’s Bowe went on a tear through the 1984 & 1985 Australian Drivers Championships behind the wheel of a Cosworth powered Ralt RT4, winning 9 of a possible 12 races across the two year span. The two championships really kickstarted a career that would result in him becoming the only person in history to win the Australian Drivers Championship, Australian Sports Car Championship and Australian Touring Car Championship. Bathurst victories with Dick Johnson Bowe joined forces with Dick Johnson to take victory on the mountain on two occasions. First in 1989 behind the wheel of the light switch powered Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, and the second occasion in 1994 in the Ford EB Falcon. The Sierra was so hit and miss that the DJR cars were almost guaranteed of victory provided they made it to the finish line. The duo qualified on pole and led almost every single lap around the mountain to earn Bowe’s first Bathurst victory. In 1994 the team came from 10th on the grid to victory after Johnson had a mishap during Saturday’s Top Ten Shootout – a very impressive performance! 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1995 ATCC driver lineup reads as a ‘who’s who’ of Australia’s most talented racing drivers with names such as Brock, Seton, Perkins, Johnson, Skaife, Crompton and Richards gracing the starter’s flag each weekend. None were a match for Bowe and his Shell Racing DJR EF Falcon, who went on to win four events to win the title by an impressive 27 points over Glenn Seton at years end. 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour Victory In 2014 John Bowe joined forces with Craig Lowndes, Mika Salo and Peter Edwards to win what as at the time the fastest Bathurst 12 Hour yet. Behind the wheel of their Ferrari 458 GT3 the team completed 296 laps to beat out a number of highly touted local and international teams. The win came in Bowe’s 29th consecutive year racing at the famed circuit. What do you consider John Bowe’s greatest motorsport achievement? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.

2017 Motorsport Year in Review

2017 has been a year to remember in motorsports worldwide, with champions crowned, rising stars established and the rest going back to the drawing board hoping for a more successful 2018. At Rare Spares we’ve been glued to our TV sets throughout the year keeping track of all the major forms of racing around the globe. From TCM to Formula 1, in this article we’ll take a quick look at the categories that caught our eyes in 2017. Touring Car Masters Touring Car Masters produced another classic racing season as Steve Johnson stormed his way through the second half of the season to take out the Pro class. John Bowe and Adam Bressington rounded out the podium, while a huge crash at Winton captured headlines when a no less than 12 cars were caught up in a pile up at the second corner. The TCM category is going from strength to strength attracting a number of ex pro’s providing the ultimate challenge to the amateur participants. Supercars Australia Championship What a season for Supercars, Jamie Whincup took the title for the seventh time, with the fight between himself and Scott McLaughlin coming down to the very last lap of the season. The eventual margin of victory was 21 points after McLaughlin was penalised 25 seconds for squeezing a hard charging Craig Lowndes into the wall on the last lap of the season. David Reynolds and Luke Youlden were popular Bathurst 1000 winners while Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen took out the Enduro Cup. The category’s first female driver Simona Di Silvestro finished in 24th place, but produced a few moments that suggest 2018 could be an exciting year for the Swiss native. Bathurst 12 Hour Taking place way back in February, the Bathurst 12 hour was won by Marinello Racing with Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Toni Vilander behind the wheel. Shane Van Gisbergen and his Scott Taylor Motorsports teammates put up an incredible fight before SVG put the incredible AMG into the wall while trying to chase down his Red Bull Racing teammate Jamie Whincup. The 2018 edition is fast approaching, and catching our eyes is the inclusion of a classic car event at this year’s 12 hour. Group S cars will be taking to the grid, with everything from Austin Healy’s, MG’s and Porsche’s taking part in a support race. Formula 1 British superstar Lewis Hamilton claimed his fourth World Championship and Mercedes claimed their fourth constructer’s championship in a row. Ferrari regained some level of form in 2017 as Sebastian Vettel held the points lead for much of the first half of the season. Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo was left frustrated due to the lack of pace and reliability in Red Bull’s 2017 power units, meaning only one win was recorded for the popular West Australian. NASCAR & IndyCar Martin Truex Jnr took out the premier class of NASCAR in 2017, winning the final event in Miami to round out the ‘playoff’ series with a lead of 5 points over Kyle Busch. IndyCar headlines were dominated by Fernando Alonso in 2017 as he began his quest to conquer motorsports ‘Triple Crown’ (Monaco GP, Indy 500 & Le Mans). Alonso impressed in his first IndyCar outing at the Indy 500 and even led the prestigious race at one point before an all too familiar Honda engine failure left the Spaniard stranded. Takuma Sato won the event while Josef Newgarden went on to take out the title. What was your favourite motorsport moment in 2017? Or maybe you have some predictions for 2018? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.

The $312,000 Monaro

A pristine condition 1970 Holden HT GTS350 Monaro has been sold at Lloyds Auctions on the Gold Coast last month for a whopping $312,000. Eclipsing the previous record of $310,000 set in March, this ‘pride of the fleet’ becomes one of the most valuable Monaro’s ever sold at auction. Features include impeccable Platinum Metallic paint, a mere 119,000km on the odometer, a two speed powerglide automatic transmission and of course a 5.7 litre 350 Chevrolet engine. With the sale of this iconic Australian car, we decided to take a look back at the HT GTS350 Monaro and discuss why it holds a special place in the hearts of Australian motoring enthusiasts. The HT Monaro was introduced in 1969 to much fanfare and whilst the minor design changes including the bonnet scoops and bold bonnet stripes were well received, it was the introduction of the 350 Chevrolet that got the punters excited. Not only was the GTS350 a winner with the public, it left a fair mark on the Australian racing scene as well, where it experienced almost immediate success on the track. In 1969, in its first year under the management of Harry Firth, Holden Dealer Team GTS350 Monaro’s took out the top and third step of the podium at the Hardie Ferodo 500, piloted by Colin Bond/Tony Roberts and Peter Brock/Des West respectively. The Monaro would also go on to take out the 1970 Surfers Paradise 12 hour race driven once again by Bond and Roberts as well as the 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship driven by Norm Beechey. Beechey’s feat was made even more impressive as a result of an 8th place finish at Calder Park, a DNF at Warwick Farm Raceway and a DNS at Symmons Plains. The Monaro would go on to race a further two years in the ATCC before the ‘supercar scare’ of 1972 rendered the Monaro ineligible for the newly developed Group C production class. Whilst the HK GTS327 Monaro was a great car and may have been the first to take up the fight to the GT Falcon, it didn’t quite hit the nail on the head in terms of usability. It was the GTS350 which propelled the Monaro to levels at the very least equal to that of the Falcon GT. Power outputs were comparable between the Holden and Ford marquees whilst acceleration and top speed figures were almost identical. The GTS was a second faster to 50mph, however only a shade faster to 100mph (20.1 to 20.6), ensuring the Holden v Ford rivalry raged on. Significant suspension improvements were made to the GTS350 over the regular GTS models with performance in mind. Stiffer shocks, a heavy duty stabiliser bar and rear radius rods ensured a much sportier ride whilst bearing a significant improvement over the harsh ride of the HK GTS327. The end result was a car suitable for the track whilst also being completely practical for day to day use. Interestingly, the GTS350 in manual guise was the first Holden that could be ordered with rally wheels. The Monaro will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Holden fans, with the iconic coupe representing some of the most iconic designs in Australian automotive history. At Rare Spares, we love to hear your stories of Australian classic cars; do you own an early model Monaro? Or maybe you have your eye on a particular classic? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook Page and let us know in the comments below.