1984 Australian Rally Championship

The 1984 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 17th season in the history of the competition.

David Officer and navigator Kate Officer in the Mitsubishi Galant won the 1984 Championship, becoming the first husband and wife team to win the championship.

Season review

The 17th Australian Rally Championship was held over six events across Australia, the season consisting of one event each for Queensland and Western Australia and two each for New South Wales and Victoria. It was an unusual season, with very little manufacturer backing and a mix of classes with the introduction of the Production Rally Car category.

The Rallies

The six events of the 1984 season were as follows.[1][2]

Round Rally Date
1 The Canon Zodiac Rally (VIC) 24–25 March 1984
2 Mid-State Television Rally (NSW) 7–8 April 1984
3 James Hardie National Rally (QLD) 5–6 May 1984
4 The Sunday Times Safari (WA) 2–3 June 1984
5 Dunlop 2GO Rally (NSW) 11–12 August 1984
6 Enka-Fill Alpine Rally (VIC) 24–25 November 1984

Round One – The Canon Zodiac Rally

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 David Officer Kate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 4:34.14
2 Chris Brown Noel Richards Datsun 180B 4:39.49
3 Peter Clarke Mick Harker Datsun Stanza 4:42.00
4 John Atkinson Stephen Robertson Datsun Stanza 4:44.14
=4 Murray Coote Iain Stewart Datsun 120Y 4:44.14
6 Phil Horan Adrian Ward Datsun Stanza 4:52.16

Production Rally Cars

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Ed Mulligan Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7 5:05.55
2 Caroline O’Shanesy Meg Davis Fiat Superbrava 5:19.40
3 Terry Kuss Bob Durrant Mitsubishi Starion 5:38.40

Round Two – Mid-State Television Rally

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Greg Carr Fred Gocentas Fiat 131 Abarth 242.38
2 Ian Hill Phil Bonser Ford Escort 246.06
3 Geoff Portman Ross Runnalls Datsun Bluebird 248.31
4 Murray Coote Iain Stewart Datsun 120Y 251.10
5 Peter Glennie Brian Smith Datsun Stanza 255.16
6 Brian Smith Peter Mignot Mitsubishi Galant 256.21

Production Rally Cars

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Ed Mulligan Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7 274.33
2 Jim Middleton Garry Marshall Holden Commodore 283.56
3 Rob Worboys Bob Carpenter Ford Laser 287.50

Round Three – James Hardie National Rally

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Greg Carr Fred Gocentas Fiat 131 Abarth 254.12
2 David Officer Kate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 261.57
3 Murray Coote Iain Stewart Datsun 120Y 262.56
4 Peter Clark Mick Harker Datsun Stanza 268.35
5 Jack Wightman Jon Thompson Datsun 279.56
6 Robert Bell Ray Temple Ford Escort 282.22

Production Rally Cars

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Ed Mulligan Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7 283.39
2 Jim Middleton Peter Young Holden Commodore 284.07
3 Rob Worboys Bob Carpenter Ford Laser 285.57

Round Four – Sunday Times Safari

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Bob Nicoli Peter Macneall Datsun Stanza 237.07
2 Clive Slater Rod Van Der Straaten Toyota Corolla 239.50
3 David Officer Kate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 241.28
4 Rolly Waters Geoff Mills Ford Escort 249.29
5 Adrian Stafford Roger Forester Toyota Corolla 250.02
6 Mark Anderson Peter Baesjov Datsun 256.34

Production Rally Cars

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Greg Carr Fred Gocentas Holden Commodore 267.04
2 Ed Mulligan Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7 272.24

Round Five – Dunlop 2GO Rally

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Ian Hill Phillip Bonser Ford Escort RS1800 7h 27.31
2 David Officer Kate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 7h 32.25
3 Ross Dunkerton Steve McKinnie Datsun 1600 7h 36.32
4 Murray Coote Iain Stewart Datsun 1200 7h 36.52
5 Rod Cremen Ray Temple Toyota Corolla 7h 51.19
6 Greg Carr Fred Gocentas Fiat 131 Abarth 7h 53.02

Production Rally Cars

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 N Hotta S Inada Toyota Sprinter 7h 43.03
2 Wayne Bell Dave Boddy Fiat Superbrava 8h 13.22
3 Ed Mulligan Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7 8h 20.18

Round Six – Enka-Fill Alpine Rally

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 David Officer Kate Officer Mitsubishi Galant 5:36.12
2 George Fury Monty Suffern Datsun 120Y 5:37.11
3 Murray Coote Iain Stewart Datsun 1200 5:45.38
4 Barry Lowe Ted Dobrzynski Dazda Rally 5:48.52
5 Peter Glennie Brian Smith Datsun 200B 5:53.55
6 David Jones Peter Curtain Holden Commodore 5:54.36

Production Rally Cars

Position Driver Navigator Car Penalties
1 Jim Middleton Garry Marshall Holden Commodore 6:05.55
2 Ed Mulligan Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7 6:09.45
3 Terry Kuss Bob Durrant Mitsubishi Starion 6:24.43

1984 Drivers and Navigators Championships

Final pointscore for 1984 is as follows.[2]

David Officer – Champion Driver 1984

Position Driver Car Points
1 David Officer Mitsubishi Galant
2 Ed Mulligan Mazda RX-7
3 Greg Carr Fiat 131 Abarth
4 Murray Coote Datsun 1200
5 Jim Middleton Holden Commodore
6 Ian Hill Ford Escort BDA

Kate Officer – Champion Navigator 1984

Position Navigator Car Points
1 Kate Officer Mitsubishi Galant
2 Geoff Jones Mazda RX-7
3 Fred Gocentas Fiat 131 Abarth
4 Iain Stewart Datsun 1200
5 Phillip Bonser Ford Escort BDA
6 Gary Marshall Jnr Holden Commodore

References

  1. ^ "begavalleyrally - begavalleyrally". www.begavalleyrally.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b Australian Motor Racing Year 1984/85 ISSN 0158-4138
  • [1] Results of Snowy Mountains Rally and ARC results.