A few mates stayed in Victoria after Targa High Country for the final round of the Australian Rally championship 2 weeks ago. Here's a quick video they cut together for the trophy night.

Highlights from Rally Victoria - ECB ARC 2013 - YouTube

We ended up on the roof on the second day but we were running strongly against some really fast cars and drivers. I think we were third at the time, had a couple of second fastest times up to then.
(oh, and they don't take much notice of the vehicle eligibility rules over there)

WTF was that open wheel vehicle Dougy ?

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Funny looking German Subaru

They call them side by side buggies. or SXS's for short. They have been part of the Australian Rally championship all year. Has been a little disappointing numbers wise but they are confident it'll grow. You can get into one fully race prepared for under $30k new I think. Polaris and Can-Am are the two at the moment but Arctic Cat are looking to get on board next year with a turbocharged SXS buggy.
They run at the back of the field, they go hard but sound shit because they have a CVT so no gears to change, just a flat 'brown note'
It's a real spin out when you're transporting back into civilisation on a public road after completing a loop of stages and some nutcase is coming the other way in a dune buggy covered in mud!

lol yea seems like a very mixed bunch of classes in there

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06 STi: 337hp @23psi on E85...
06 STi: 309hp @22psi on 98ron...

reminds of the hillbillies from back home rolling around the back roads of Arkansas running moonshine

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Funny looking German Subaru

Country Victoria - Pretty much the same thing, but with less teeth.

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[I]and then we discovered it wasn't the Robot King after all, it was the real one. Fortunately I was able to reattach the head.[/I]

To many classes if you ask me.
At the front of the field is the 'classics' These are cars with only modifications from the period. I think the cut off is 1982? Cars such as Neil Bates' RA40 Clelica 16valve and BDA escorts. They permit substitute engines as long as they are approved as period specific and run on carburettors, no fuel injection unless the car had it in the era. They can also 'invite' cars such as Ben Barker's E30 BMW. (which is slightly too young to truly be a'classic'

Then the ARC field, two wheel drives get to run first and are the only ones eligible for the championship.

Then the 4wd ARC which is now a National Series not a championship because the powers that be think the future is in understeering hairdresser's cars that cost three times the dollars to go no faster.

Then the rest of the Victorian rally state championship. These are the guys who are not in the National series and don't have to run on limited tyres and fuel etc. There's a handful of fast cars but it soon became a procession of Excels and old Lasers.

Then the SXS buggies, and in some rallies such as the Forest in WA they run Quad bikes and motocross bikes.

"The very first corner of the rally went sooo backwards I thought I ended it early"...haha listened to the Dougy interview.. Doug

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06 STi: 337hp @23psi on E85...
06 STi: 309hp @22psi on 98ron...

Lol. yeah 5 times National champion Neal Bates put his Toyota in there backwards before I did so I was lucky to save it and not end upon top of his car.

Two things surprised me, firstly I had never run that car without a turbo restrictor and with launch control. The first corner was only ~60 metres from the standing start. I couldn't get my head around how fast we got there. I reckon maybe 6500r/min in second gear? Then how muddy the corner was, there was fuckall grip, I'll have to review the in car vid but I think in desperation I pulled the 'magic wand' and got it to turn around. The TV camera was on the corner after where I come over the bridge into a right hander seemingly in the wrong gear (because I was still shitting myself)

Where's the good old days...soon tata motors will enter the WRC/ARC lol

[QUOTE=dtrally;779764]
Then the 4wd ARC which is now a National Series not a championship because the powers that be think the future is in understeering hairdresser's cars that cost three times the dollars to go no faster.

Then the rest of the Victorian rally state championship. These are the guys who are not in the National series and don't have to run on limited tyres and fuel etc. There's a handful of fast cars but it soon became a procession of Excels and old Lasers.
QUOTE]

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06 STi: 337hp @23psi on E85...
06 STi: 309hp @22psi on 98ron...