Image: The Cahier Archive

Today we take a look at five memorable wins of Formula One’s most prestigious race – The Monaco Grand Prix.

There are a few drivers who have made the top step of Monaco their home over the decades; Schumacher won the race five times; Alain Prost four, but two stand out as the kings of Monaco – Mr. Monaco, Graham Hill, and Ayrton Senna.

Graham Hill – 1969

In 1958 Graham Hill debuted in Formula One by taking to the streets of Monaco for the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix. Just eleven years later, as a reigning World Champion, he secured his fifth win at Monaco, which would also be his last in Formula One. And, as always, he did it in style.

Ayrton Senna – 1992

To secure his own fifth win at Monaco, Ayrton Senna had to fight off a supremely persistent Nigel Mansell, who had comfortably held the lead of the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix from his pole position start through to the 71st lap, when he was forced into the pits for a tyre change. He did, and their duel made for a great conclusion to the race.

Riccardo Patrese – 1982

“Well we’ve got this ridiculous situation where we’re all sitting by the start/finish line waiting for a winner to come past and we don’t seem to be getting one!” – James Hunt

Riccardo Patrese claims his maiden Formula One win as rain flips the script on the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix.

Alain Prost – 1984

Rain was up to mischief again for the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, which produced a contentious result and saw the rise of two up and coming stars – Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof.

The win went to Prost when the race was stopped amidst rain-soaked chaos. Although he had been passed by a charging Senna, who set his first ever Formula One fastest lap in this race, Prost reclaimed the lead when the race was rolled back to the last lap completed by every driver.

Olivier Panis – 1996

Again with the rain! Assuming you could have kept going until the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix hit the 2-hour time limit and was declared, you would have had a pretty good chance of ending up on the podium, alongside the only other two people who had finished the race.

Olivier Panis was the fastest man to survive two hours of spins, collisions and mechanical failures, to claim the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix and his only Formula One victory.

Image: The Cahier Archive

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How to Win the Monaco Grand Prix is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

In McLarens 50th anniversary year and with news that Honda and McLaren will again be partners in 2015, lets take a look back at the dual Championship winning McLaren-Honda MP4/6 of 1991.

The McLaren MP4/6 Formula 1  racer twas designed by Neil Oatley and was the first McLaren to be powered by a Honda V12 engine. In pre season testing Gerhard Berger was less than impressed with the new engine, saying it was underpowered compared to Honda’s V10 from the 1990 car.

However it didn’t stop Ayrton Senna from winning the first four races of the season, including an emotional victory in Brazil. He would follow this up with three more wins for a season tally of seven.

By mid season Williams and Nigel Mansell had found their feet with their remarkable FW14 , but consistent podium finishesand a huge push from McLaren and Honda, helped Senna and McLaren to stay on top.

By the time the chamionship headed to the penultimate race in Japan, Mansell needed to win to keep the championship alive, but he spun out early whilst Senna cruised to his third drivers championship, coming in second behind Gerhard Berger in glorious 1-2 on Honda’s home soil.

The MP4/6 took eight Grand Prix wins, 10 pole positions and delivered the team both drivers and constructors world championships.

Images: TheCahierArchive©

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Photo Gallery: 1991 McLaren Honda MP4/6 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival is set to kick off in just three days, and will see hundreds of Porsches descending on Sydney Motorsport Park for the single biggest Porsche event that Australia has seen.

Rennsport Australia will be held over the 25th and 26th of May at Sydney Motorsport Park. The all-Porsche event will feature everything from the headlining Carrera Cup Championship to GT3 Cup Challenge, Porsche historic racing, regularity trials, a concours d’Elegance, 4WD demonstrations, Porsche Sport Driving School, Porsche Kids Driving School, a celebration of 50 years of the 911 and more.

In the thick of it, as always, will be the Motorsport Retro team. Not only will we be documenting the event and bringing plenty of content to the site and Facebook page, but we’ll be duking it out in a classic 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera as well. We’ll have more on the car and our preparations tomorrow, and you can keep track of our adventures right here on the site!

Motorsport Retro Editor, Rich Fowler will be driving David Withers’ immaculate 1974 Carrera

The entire event is going to be broadcast live online, so if you’re unable to attend, or just want to enjoy some Rennsport while you’re at Rennsport, you can head to www.rennsportlive.com.au and catch the live stream!

Head to the official Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival site here for all the information you’ll need, and to buy tickets.

Oh and whilst you are having your lunch, turn this video right up!

The Single Biggest Porsche Event Australia Has Ever Seen is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

The 1986 Indy 500 had all the drama you expect of the great 500 mile race. Kevin Cogan, who was blamed for the controversial crash on the opening lap of the 1982 race, took the lead in dramatic fashion with 13 laps to go.

He appeared to be on his way to victory, and redemption, but saw his lead disappear when a caution came out with just six laps remaining. With two laps to go, the green flag came back out, and second place Bobby Rahal got the jump on the restart and snatched the lead. Rahal pulled away and won the race, with legendary car owner Jim Trueman, stricken with cancer, cheering him on in the pit lane. Trueman died eleven days after the victory.

Video: Bobby Rahal wins the 1986 Indy 500 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

With excitement building for this weekends Monaco Grand Prix, lets take a trip back to the first ever Grand Prix in the Principality back in 1929.

The event was won by British driver William Grover-Williams in a Bugatti T35B. He completed 100 laps of the course ahead of 14 rivals in just under four hours to take the 100 000 franc prize for first place.

Video: First ever Monaco Grand Prix 1929 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

With news that McLaren and Honda are going to renew their partnership in 2015, lets take a look back at the amazing, all conquering McLaren-Honda MP4-4.

The Gordon Murray and Steve Nichols designed car was fitted with a V6 Turbo Honda engine and won 15 of 16 races in 1988 with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Mc Laren blitzed the constructors title and Senna took the first of his three drivers championships.

Neil Oatley remembers the McLaren-Honda MP4-4

Jenson and Lewis meet the MP4-4

Starting the MP4-4

Videos: Celebrating the McLaren Honda MP4-4 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

A mouthwatering array of prized competition metalwork graced the recent Donington Historic Festival and it was a privilege to be allowed to patrol the pitlane and officiate at the podium ceremonies armed with a mic in a bid to add extra colour to the commentary team.

By Henry Hope-Frost

Choosing an absolute favourite was tricky – less so selecting 15 beauties that stopped me in my tracks and brought on awe-struck-teenager levels of on-air gibbering.

Here, then, is an alphabetical (how else to separate them?) selection of single-seaters, sports-racers, tin-tops and GTs that have been safely stored away in the Files of Fever.

Alfa Romeo P3 Tipo B

Genesis manager Tony Smith’s achingly beautiful P3 is the very same car used by Richard ‘Mad Jack’ Shuttleworth to win the inaugural Donington Grand Prix back in 1935 and it wowed fans in the HGPCA Nuvolari Trophy double-header for pre-1940 GP racers.

Image: Tim Scott / Sportscar Digest

ERA R3A/R10B

Two of the finest English Racing Automobiles are Mark Gillies’ pale-green 1934 supercharged R3A and Paddins Dowling’s menacing, black 1936 1500cc blown R10B. Gillies won both Nuvolari Trophy races, while Dowling took second in the opener before handing the car to David Morris to secure P2 in the second. I love the exquisite hand-built engineering of these spindly yet alarmingly quick pre-war racers.

Image: Tim Scott / Sportscar Digest

Ferrari 512M

Paul Knapfield’s stunning recreation of Ferrari’s five-litre, V-12 sports-prototype from the halcyon days of early-1970s enduros had crowds round it for most of the weekend and experienced historic racer Knapfield drove solo to third in the one-hour 1000km for Pre-’72 Sports-Racing Cars event. If only there’d been a Gulf Porsche 917 there for that ultimate ‘Steve McQueen’ moment.

Image: Jonathan Moore / Speedhunters

Ford Falcon Sprint

Greek shipping magnate and historic collector and racer Leo Voyazides ran solo aboard his immaculate Allan Mann Racing-liveried V8 brute to win the Masters Pre-’66 Touring Car scrap. His victory over Roger Wills’s lairy Mercury Comet Cyclone was, of course, overshadowed by the crash that claimed the life of Mini Cooper racer Christian Devereux.

Image: Simon Hodson / Flickr

Jaguar E-type

Two races for the iconic E-type, once described by Enzo Ferrari as “the most beautiful car in the world”, produced fine battles in both heats. In the second – damp and greasy – leg Martin O’Connell charged from the back to win in the best-looking of the British beasts: 936 VPL, the dark-blue-and-orange machine owned by Sandy Watson.

Image: Henry Hope-Frost

Jaguar XJR16

Sporting the period Bud Light livery used by the Tom Walkinshaw Racing squad in IMSA GTP, the US equivalent of Group C, in 1991, the twin-turbo V6-engined Big Cat appeared in the first of two scheduled Group C races at Donington in the hands of Richard Eyre. The car suffered electronic glitches in the race but the sight and sound of the high-downforce prototype brought goosebumps to all who saw and heard it.

Image: GTspirit.com

Lancia LC2

Anything wearing the evocative Martini stripes looks good, and Roger Wills’s 1984 Lancia LC2 Group C beast is right at the top of that hard-to-judge branded beauty contest. Kiwi Wills brought the car home fifth in the Group C event, which brought a brief respite from the pit garage ogling by all who walked past the Ferrari V8-engined car.

Image: Simon Hodson / Flickr

Lola T70

Thumping five-litre V8 power shoehorned into the back of the slippery yet muscular shape of British marque Lola’s T70s always ensures gasps of delight from fans anywhere near them. The Leo Voyazides/Simon Hadfield ‘Brazilian’ Mk3B triumphed in the Pre-’72 Sports Racing Car race after a strong scrap with the similar car of Martin Stretton/Grant Tromans.

Image: Jonathan Moore / Speedhunters

March 782

Hordes of howling Formula 2 cars from great names Brabham, Chevron, Lola, March and Ralt twice thrilled DHF visitors as the pack,  spanning the 1970s, raced hard for HSCC Historic F2 honours. My favourite was Peter Meyrick’s Toleman Group-liveried March 782, in which he charged from the back to third in the second heat following post-race disqualification from a first-race P3.

Image: Simon Hodson / Flickr

Maserati 8CM

The beautiful, dark-blue Maserati was, I was bowled over to learn from its pedaller Rob Newall, the very car used by Prince Bira to finish sixth in the 1937 Donington GP – best-placed of the Voiturettes, albeit some two laps behind the dominant Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows.

Image: Henry Hope-Frost

McLaren M1C

Arch enthusiast, collector and racer Roger Wills sold his papaya orange M1B Can-Am monster earlier in the year and acquired the later M1C in which he contested the one-hour Pre-’72 Sports Racing Car race. All Can-Am wedges are attention-grabbers but anything with a McLaren badge on the nose and a five-litre Chevrolet V8 in the back is particularly special.

Image: Jonathan Moore / Speedhunters

MG Metro Turbo

The diminutive Computervision-liveried Metro is the car that former touring car ace-turned historic racer Patrick Watts used in European championship events in 1984. Having recently re-acquired the turbocharged 1300cc machine, Watts revelled in the HTCC 1966-’85 tin-top event sharing with Mini tuning ace and racer Nick Swift.

Image: Henry Hope-Frost

Rover Vitesse ETCC

Resplendent in its original Bastos tobacco livery, the Rover Vitesse raced by Chris and Charlie Williams in the HTCC 1966-’85 Touring Car race brought back memories of the Tom Walkinshaw Racing-run V8s thundering to numerous victories in the European Touring Car championship in the mid-80s, particularly at Donington, where Walkinshaw and Win Percy doubled-up in 1985 and ’86.

Image: Henry Hope-Frost

Sauber-Mercedes C11

No-one was surprised when Gareth Evans romped to an easy win from pole position aboard the all-conquering C11 in the DHF’s Group C retrospective. This particular chassis is a test mule from late-1989, but its sister cars won all but one of the eight world sportscar championship races they contested in 1990, including a one-two at Donington. The reaction all weekend – mostly stunned silence – to the five-litre V8 Group C ‘Silver Arrow’ proved its impact then and now.

Image: Simon Hodson / Flickr

Veskanda

One of the real feel-good moments from the DHF was gritty Australian Paul Stubber qualifying the rare Veskanda on the front row for the Group C encounter. Used by Aussie star John Bowe to great effect in his domestic sportscar series in the mid-80s, the Chevy-powered machine faded to fourth in the race but won new admirers.

Image: Henry Hope-Frost

By Henry Hope-Frost

15 racers that rocked the Donington Historic Festival is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

It’s worth it to be able to hop into the featherweight, 485 horsepower monster, light it up and play the glorious 11,000 RPM symphony that is its Matra V12.

The car is ex-Chris Amon, who raced it during the 1971 season and again in ’72 with a few upgrades. He took a win for its debut in the non-championship round in Argentina and claimed its best ever result of third in the Spanish Grand Prix later in the year.

’72 saw the car receive ‘C’ specifications and an adjusted body and engine, which helped Amon claim 6th and 4th in Monaco and Brands Hatch respectively, before the car was retired.

It then went on to have a successful historic racing career, particularly in the Monaco Grand Prix Historique, in which it won its category in 2008. It’s since been entirely rebuilt and is race ready with fully original specifications.

It’s up for sale over at Art & Revs Luxembourg, who you can contact for more details.

Via Art & Revs Luxembourg

Images via Art & Revs Luxembourg

For Sale: Matra F1 MS 120 V12 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Images: Graham Dalley

Marking the 50th anniversary of Jim Clark’s first world drivers’ title, the 2013 Silverstone Classic is set to break the event’s current record of 1104 historic sports and racing car entries in an absolute smorgasbord of historic motorsport.

Wednesday the 8^th of May 2013 at the impressive Silverstone Wing complex, the curtain was raised on what is set to be the biggest and best ever Silverstone Classic. Event Director and competitor Nick Wegley opened proceedings with a presentation of what this year’s record breaking event is going to offer. What a mouth watering prospect this year’s Classic is promising to be.

Over the course of the weekend of the 26^th, 27^th and 28^th of July 2013, the Silverstone circuit will play host to 24 races featuring the finest selection of historic competition cars. All the signs point to the entry list breaking the current record set at the 2011 Classic of 1104 cars. We can look forward to huge grids of cars representing almost every formulae of motorsport.

The Historic Grand Prix Cars Association (HGPCA) will field lavish grids full of both the pre 1961 front engined pioneers and the pre 1966 rear engined cars, While the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship will field 3 litre cars which competed from 1966 to 1985, all running in period livery. This offers spectators the chance to see how over a 70 year period, Formula One cars developed. All three grids will race twice on the Saturday and Sunday.

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of Jim Clark’s first world drivers title, in a fitting tribute, the two HGPCA pre 1966 races for rear engined cars, which will feature several of Jimmy’s old cars have been re-named The Jim Clark Trophy races. One of the highlights of the media day was the presence of former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard. DC was actually at Silverstone with the BBC filming a feature to be aired in the build up to the British Grand Prix later this year. In the filming of the piece he fulfilled a life-long ambition by driving Jimmy’s ’63 Championship winning Lotus 25, clearly enjoying the experience David waxed lyrical about it “To drive the Championship winning Lotus was a real honour, Jim Clark is a true racing legend and a hero of mine. I have driven many cars but I feel even more nostalgic about driving this one which was the one he the first of his two World Championships. The car is immaculately prepared and even some of his mechanics are here – it’s a great story but also a great shame that Jimmy can’t be here to see it”

New for this year the Super Touring Trophy, which will feature the fire breathing Group A cars from the mid 1980’s, as well as, what to my mind was the best period of the BTCC, the 90’s super touring cars, at its height the championship boasted nine manufacturers and attracted the world’s best tin top pedallers, three of which were present in the shape of 1992 Champion Tim Harvey, 1995 Champion John Cleland and former Peugeot ace Patrick Watts. The trio are going to compete with their old cars and are hoping to attract other former drivers from the period to relive some of the titanic battles which we enjoyed back in the day.

A personal highlight, one of many to be fair, was the chance to do a couple of laps of the Grand Prix circuit as a passenger. Last year Rick Parfitt Jr entertained me with a very sideways Morgan, this year I was privileged to be strapped into a full on Group A Sierra RS500 touring car. My driver was racer and entrepreneur Craig Davies the owner of said machine. The car is the Ex Chris Hodgetts Brooklyn Motorsport RS500 which was campaigned during the 1989 season. The car was stored for over twenty years before Craig brought it. As a result it is a very original bit of kit, essentially as it was when Hodgetts last drove it, with just a nod to modern safety standards and an engine ‘freshen up’ by X Sports Racing engine genius Tommy Field. Craig clearly wasn’t holding back, as we left the pits he was on it immediately flinging the car into the new loop and out on to the Wellington straight. The car’s acceleration is stellar as are the brakes, we undertook another car at brooklands corner as the car drifted out to the curb before effortlessly changing direction for Luffield and on through Woodcote past the old F1 pits, braking hard for copse we over took another couple of cars, then through the complex at Maggots, Becketts and Chapel, clipping the curbs at every turn and overtaking yet another car, then on to the Hanger straight and the car was planted as was Craig’s right foot! Stowe was on us in the blink of an eye along with another rapid deceleration and dropping through the box. The Vale was just a quick squirt before the awesome club corner and past the Wing, barely lifting for Village and Priory and back onto the loop and another lap. As we sped past several other cars it seemed that in the snap of a finger we were charging down the hanger straight again with the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera Editzione Technica in our sights. However it wasn’t to be, as we braked for Stowe alongside the Lambo, Chris backed off tapping to the temperature gauge, the needle was way over to the right and the car had gone into ‘safe’ mode as a result, so no boost. We trundled up the pit lane straight into the garage, where Craig said to me “we could have had that lambo easy, maybe next time!”. Craig thank you mate, for two laps of Silverstone I’ll never forget.

While on the subject of tin tops the Under 2 Litre Touring Cars race has a very special guest driver competing this year.  2004 European and 2005, 06 and 07 World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx will drive a BMW 1800. Andy said, “I’m really excited about the event – I’m running in a great little BMW 1800 which has been beautifully prepared, so I’m really looking forward to it”.

Finishing off another trio of races another new race the Trans-Atlantic Trophy, a homage to the late 1960’s when British saloon car racing was dominated by American V8 muscle cars, expect to see a grid full of Mustang’s, Galaxies  as well as the smaller British racers that took on the American invaders.

One of the biggest hits of the Classic is the Saturday evening Group C race, the fearsome prototypes racing as the sun sets providing a sensational spectacle with head lights blazing. In addition to this and new for this year is the Piper Heidsieck Trophy for Pre 1966 GT cars. A 58 car grid of Jaguar’s Aston Martin’s, Ferrari’s, Cobra’s and many more will also do battle as the sun sets.

Staying with the GT cars The RAC Tourist Trophy for historic GT cars will be another feature race. The Aston Martin marque has won the trophy for the last two years, the Graham/Attwood DB4 in 2011 and Freidrichs/Clark DP212 recreation taking the laurels last year, so can a classic Aston Martin complete a hat-trick for 2013? Also on the GT menu are the Sir Stirling Moss Trophy for pre 1961 cars, the RAC Woodcote Trophy for pre 1966 sports cars, and Historic Sportscar Masters race for Le Mans Style Sports cars up to 1974, all will have full grids of the most beautiful GT and Sports cars, happy days.

Single seaters now and yet another new race for the 2013 Classic is the Historic Sports Car Club pre 1972 Formula Ford 1600 race, expect a tight race with plenty of wheel to wheel action on the famous Grand Prix track. Former F1 driver and TV presenter Tiff Needell will be in the thick of it entering his own Lotus 69, Tiff is a great fan of the Classic and revealed that he is going to be in his element at this year’s Classic “it’s the perfect event for me, I can race and ogle at the stunning cars all day and listen to rock music all night! It’ll be like reliving my youth”. Talking of wheel to wheel action, the Historic Formula Junior Racing Association (HFJRA) races always provide one of the most exciting and close fought races at the Classic Jon Milicevic and Sam Wilson will do battle again in there Cooper T59’s with the likes of Peter Methey and Michael Hibberd who’ll be driving the very Lotus 27 that nearly fifty years ago to the day, Peter Arundell drove to victory in a titanic battle against the Brabham of Denis Hulme in one of the support races for the ’63 British Grand Prix. Returning again is the F2/F5000 races which have provided some great racing in previous years.

‘Rocking and Racing’ is the tag line of the Silverstone Classic, this year the organisers have pulled out all the stops to provide spectators with both in spades, on stage this year, Friday night’s concert features Boot Led Zeppelin, Floyd Rebooted with their amazing light show and the cast of the hit musical ‘The Commitments’ will bring the house down. On Saturday evening, the Ultimate Eagles, The Guns ‘n’ Roses Experience and headlining The Hollies. During Sunday the beautiful Tetra Electra quartet are back with their unique take on classical favourites.

As always Car owners clubs take up almost every spare space on the infield and this year a staggering 79 clubs have signed up with an equally staggering 8000 cars exhibiting everything from Austin’s to Volga GAZ classic cars. In addition to this several marques will take to the track in celebration. The Porsche 911 is 50 years young this year and The Porsche Club UK will have a parade of 911’s of the type including both road, and competition variants of the world’s most useable super car. You may have noticed that Aston Martin is celebrating its 100^th birthday this year! To mark this 100 Aston Martins will take to the track and the Aston Martin Owners Club will be displaying some of the most beautiful and iconic automobiles in their spot on the infield. Lamborghini is 50 this year so 100 Lambo’s will hit the track too. Also the BMW Zed fest returns this year with the addition of M powered models joining the fun on track.

Motor fair will give prestige manufacturers a chance to show off the latest in their ranges as well as heritage models. The shopping Village is even bigger this year so if you want that ‘must have’ accessory or a piece of art, luggage, apparel, a model of your favourite car or bits for your cherished classic you’ll probably find it there. Silverstone Auctions are putting some gorgeous automobiles under the hammer, so if you’re in the market for a classic road or race car, viewing takes place on Friday with the gavel falling on Saturday. BMW are pushing the boat out with their ‘BMW eye’, at 40 meters tall the big wheel will give spectators an unrivalled view of the Silverstone circuit. If that isn’t enough weather permitting, there will be a hot air balloon fly out and air displays from a Spitfire and Hurricane.

The AA are again offering free breakdown assistance to all within a three mile radius of the circuit as well as first drive experience to over 12’s. As always the Silverstone Classic operates an access all areas policy with free entry to both racing paddocks and pits, all the trackside grandstands are also free as are the music concerts.

Finally all tickets must be purchased prior to the event with adult entry starting from just £35 (plus fees) Full details can be found at www.silverstoneclassic.com

See you there!

Graham Dalley 2013

How Many Historic Racers Does It Take to Fill Silverstone Circuit? is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

It’s not every day that you get to see a Gulf-liveried Volvo rip it up in a tarmac rally, and monster its competition along the way!

But that’s exactly what this Volvo 122 did in the 2013 Targa Tasmania, tackling Australia’s ultimate tarmac rally in style and bringing home second in the Early Classic competition. It was at the hands of Andrew White and Ashley Yelds, who have brought it home for podium finishes four times in the past five years, and you can read what they had to say about it below!

Targa Tasmania 2013 has been run and won. 2300km with 630km at full noise on public roads. It just might be the ultimate tarmac rally (that’s what the organisers claim anyway).

We ran an ex-works Volvo 122 down there for five years and then put together a purpose-built tarmac rally version. With this car we have managed four podiums in five years. This year we managed 2nd (again) in the Early Classic competition and missed out on a top ten outright (all classics) by just six seconds. The car is entered in the Early Classic section 1947 – 72 as a 1961 Volvo 122 in the limited modified section – same engine, gearbox, diff.

It’s a great thrill to do so well in what must be the best event of its type in the world. The best reason to visit down under!

Check out more about the Volvo’s build here.

Images via Andrew White

See a Gulf-Liveried Volvo 122 Monster Australia’s Ultimate Tarmac Rally is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.