HTCAV – 2023 All Historic Mallala report
Words: Darren Knight
Photos: John Lemm
Before The Bend there was Mallala Motorsport Park, the little circuit 60 clicks north of Adelaide that’s still going strong some 62 years after its birth. Devilishly hard on brakes, the former RAAF training base promotes close racing.
Seven JUST CARS Victorian Historic Tourers journeyed across the border for this year’s Mallala All Historic meeting and one of them was Phil Barrow, who along with a few helpers (including ultra-enthusiastic wife Kellie) had repaired his mangled Humpy after a rather big impact with the pit wall at the Phillip Island Classic in March.
Race One
No stranger to Mallala, thanks to his Championship winning days in Sports Sedans, polesitter Darren Hossack (Mazda) was eclipsed off the line by locals Josh Axford (BDA Escort) and Kirk Davis (Mazda), but fought back to take the lead. Davis then came under attack from WA’s Graeme Woolhouse (Mustang) and the Toranas of local Mark Blyfield and WA's Stuart Young.
Prolific Group C touring car collector Willi Van Wersch was back in the driver’s seat after some years, but retired his XY Falcon with fuel pump issues. Fellow Ford pilot Adam Smith showed impressive braking ability in his XW Falcon, climbing from sixth to third on the last lap, but couldn't hold the position as Hossack bagged the win with Axford second.
Woolhouse was third, bumped up the order due to post-race penalties for Ian Pringle (Mini), Davis and Smith.
Race Two
Hossack again reeled in the fast-starting Axford and built a handy lead as the fired-up duo of Smith and Davis moved through the order after their post-race demotions.
SA duo Jason Armstrong (Mini) and Brett Munns (Torana) retired with engine woes as Pringle and Johnathon French (Mini) duked it out. Meanwhile, a three-way Cortina slugfest developed between new HTCAV Life Member Les Walmsley and rapid locals Stuart Barnes and Paul Atkins.
Returning to Mallala after 22 years, Don Knight (Cortina) harassed the Mazda of Geoff Davis as Barrow spun into the infield thanks to, of all things, an errant stone inside the car that rolled underneath the pedals and messed with Phil’s fancy footwork.
Blyfield nabbed Woolhouse to grab sixth on the final lap as Hossack cruised to victory over Smith and Axford, with Kirk Davis not far behind.
Race Three
The red flag came out on the opening lap after Pringle found the Woolhouse Mustang facing the wrong way at T3 and hit the Ford right between the eyes, with big damage the result. Walmsley just clipped the Pringle Mini and sustained front end damage. All drivers emerged relatively unscathed, but Pringle was quite sore.
At the restart, Smith grabbed an early lead before Hossack came from miles back under brakes to demote the XW back to second. Kirk Davis’s rocket start headed Axford and Justin Elvin (Mini), as Evan Gobell (Torana) just held out WA’s Cono Onofaro (Mini).
Knight retired with a throttle cable issue (which Barnes also suffered) as Hossack took the win ahead of Smith and Kirk Davis.
Race Four
Battered but mobile, Walmsley lined up for Race Four, thanks to several helpers. Smith and Axford made neat starts, while Kirk Davis’s attention-grabbing T1 moment saw his Mazda squirrelly on the kerbs, Blyfield having to button off and dropping a couple of spots as a result.
Van Wersche careened off into the big sand trap at the top of the circuit, which saw the red flag come out. But before the recovery crew could arrive, he’d extracted the big Falcon and was driving back to the pits.
When the race resumed, Smith pushed hard but could not hold out Hossack, who won the shortened three-lapper, with Axford third. Further back, Barrow just held out Walmsley in a great battle on the final lap.
Race Five
Hossack made his customary cautious start but was soon through on Kirk Davis, then Smith to build a small buffer. The wily Blyfield kept Young at bay again, with the latter harassed by fellow Sandgroper Dan Forster (Mini).
The man behind Racer Industries trackside service, Gordon Cox (MkII Cortina,) mixed it up with the ex-Ben Wilkinson EH of Don Costello as Knight retired with more throttle problems.
Smith lost a couple of spots mid-race after gear selection issues but then charged back up the order only to hook a kerb and clout a wall just in front of a run-off area that would have allowed him to escape damage.
Barnes was having a happier time holding out Walmsley as Hossack made it a perfect five-from-five score for the weekend - on top of the pole position he'd also scored. Kirk Davis was second in front of Axford and Elvin.
All the interstaters loved the amount of track time and the relaxed nature of the meeting, with many vowing to return. SA Historic Touring Car Cup winner Hossack said he’d be inviting plenty of drivers - slower than him - to come over!
