Classic Regularity Rally - The South African Regularity Rally ...

South African Regularity Rally Association
Newsletter
February 2010
Greetings from the dam on a damp summer morn.
Bit of sun for a (blooming) change. We are had an
excellent and well-attended licensing and training
day and are looking forward to our first rally of 2010
– the Plateau Trial on Sunday next. This newsletter
seems to have become Italian oriented – no bad
thing as I could use a Cappuccino about now.
Got any articles Please send them to -
brian@quaestior.com. Ed.
Northern Regions Marshals Recognised:
Andrew Kirby, Trevor Sutton, Jeanne and Flippie
Venter, Stuart Reeve, Irma May and Terry O Neill
were awarded Regional colours for marshalling at
the Northern Regions prize giving two Saturdays
ago, just recognition for their efforts over the past
decades.
On your behalf I would like to add sincere thanks to
these folk for their dedication to SARRA over the
past years. Ed
to the refuel. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of
Fiat, there will be a subsidized meal at the end of
the rally, and we will have use of the Fiat facilities.
The rally links back to the last Fiat sponsored
national championship rallies, which were held
between 1978 and 1980, after which Fiat
disinvested from South Africa. These rallies were
fearsomely tough – for example the 1979 event
started in Middelburg at 18h00 and the rally went
right through the night and for a good part of the
next day, over a distance of 1142.93 km, of which
684.35 km comprised the 15 special stages of the
rally. But do not be afraid, the 2010 event takes
account of the advance in the age of both the
machines and their crews so will not try to replicate
this! Some of our regular competitors were part of
those original events – one P Whelan navigated his
driver (a certain B Woodhead) to 16th place overall
and first in class E in the 1980 event. Ben van der
Westhuizen had worse luck as a navigator to Jannie
Kuun on these events, getting stuck on a bank in the
1979 event, and having the gearbox on their Datsun
160Y break 4 stages from the end of the 1980 event,
while lying 3rd overall.
So, the event will be slightly challenging, and will
keep navigators busy, but is devoid of stupid tricks,
simultaneous equations, calculations using altitude
or any other similar silliness. It’s just a simple, old
fashioned rally. There is a special discounted entry
fee for all competitors in class D who compete in
Italian cars and a similar discounted entry fee for
any entrants in the touring class who make use of an
Italian car. So please encourage all your
acquaintances with Italian cars to bring them along,
even if it is only in the touring class.
Gary Berndt
Forthcoming Events:
Fiat Dealer Rally:
The Fiat Dealer Rally will start and end at the Fiat
Training Centre, Growthpoint Business Park,
Tonnetti Street, Midrand on 7 th March 2010, with the
first car away, as usual, at 09:01. The rally is
approximately 265 km in length, with about 146 km
February 7 th 2010: Plateau Trial
This rally will start at the Community Centre in
Cullinan and will finish at the Portuguese Club in
Witbank. The regs are on the website – if you get on
your knees to the secretary you might still get an
entry.

March 7 th 2010: Fiat Club Africa Classic Regularity
Rally
This will start and end at the Fiat Training Centre,
Growthpoint Business Park, Tonnetti Street,
Midrand. Call Ian Huntly 082-650-0618 for details.
Other Lives
dismantled. On the left side of the courtyard, was
the slightly smaller workshop that housed all the
Lancia Stratos ‘works’ cars, and customer spec
131’s. The team generally only used a chassis about
6 times. First by the main drivers, then the
secondary drivers, then it would usually be stripped
out, and either sent over to the customer
department to be sold of as a customer spec car, or
to rust away at the back of the facility.
Our Northern Regions Chairman otherwise
occupied at Zwartkops
Fiat 131 Abarth Rally
Three world championships, 1977/78 & 80, makes
the Fiat 131 Abarth Rallye (to use its full title) one
of the most successful and versatile world
championship rally cars of all time. Capable of
winning on tarmac, and on the roughest of dirt
roads, the strength of these cars lay in the ease of
adaptability, and their immense strength of the
chassis.
Almost all the outer panels were either fibreglass or
aluminium (except the roof), the windows were
Perspex, and there was absolutely nothing of the
standard road car, that did not have to be there,
yet given all that, the car still weighed close to 1
100 kgs, in rough road trim, and 975 in light weight
trim. Abarth went to town when they homologated
this car – in fact they got it so right, that very few
amendments were made over the next 4 years. 400
body shells were made on the Fiat production line,
350 were shipped to Bertone (the Italian coach
building firm) for assembly as homologation road
specials, the other 50 were sent to Abarth to be
used as the works rally cars.
This was a no expense spared operation. At the
Abarth works, on the left side of the courtyard, was
the large workshop building that housed usually,
around 6 ‘works’ cars at any one time, and at least,
10 other body shells either being built or
The cars used ‘production’ cylinder blocks –
Fiat/Lancia 1995 cc twin cam block. Abarth made
extensive modifications to them before assembly.
The heads were an Abarth designed and built twin
cam 16 valve configuration. The gearbox used the
smooth case (ZF) box with a Abarth designed
remote shifter, but the gears were all straight cut,
with no syncro’s, using ‘dog’ engagement. There
were 2 ratio sets. For the differential, which was a
dual ramping ZF clutch pack variety, there were 8
ratio choices, ranging from 3.9 to 6.6 to 1. The
works spec cars also used brakes that were 12”
diameter discs on the front, and 10” on the rear,
usually with 4 piston front callipers and twin piston
rears. Suspension was also something special, and in
many ways was the heart of the package. It was
McPherson strut all round, but everything was
adjustable front and rear, making it a car suitable
for almost all conditions, but it was also a car that
needed to be set up right, and for that, Abarth
always had a very large a well equipped support
team, and in Europe, that meant taking such
luxuries as a special truck equipped with a wheel
aligner, helicopters, ex rally cars to use as recce
cars, a plethora of service vans and chase vehicles,
not to mention the mechanics. The cars were hugely
successful in the hands of the works team, winning
18 world championship events but as a privateer
car, they were perhaps a little to ‘technical’ to be
truly a successful privateer car, although some very

well funded and organised teams did do well with
them, particularly in the European and Italian
championships.
Generally, the privately run cars were not to the
same specification as the works cars, they tended to
use lower grade suspension (early works style),
often did not use the ‘huge race brakes’ that the
works did, lower powered engines (210-220 hp) and
their drive shafts and differentials were all smaller
lighter versions (also early works). It was, almost
impossible to be able to get a complete works or ex
works car. One of the few outfits that could was the
Jolly Club, who was one of the most successful
privateer rally and race teams in Italy, and the
world.
Classicrallycars.com
Marshal Points
As a bagpiper, I'm often called upon to play at
weddings, military events and funerals.
I played like I've never played before for this
homeless man.
And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began
to weep.
They wept. I wept. We all wept together.
When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started
for my car.
Though my head hung low my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the
workers say, "I never seen anything like that before
and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty
years.”
Colin Brown
and a Nissan Advert to Finish with…
Recently I was asked by a
funeral director to play at a
graveside service for a
homeless man.
The man had no family or
friends, so the service was set
at the local pauper's cemetery
in the Natal backwoods.
I was not familiar with the
backwoods and soon found
myself lost. Being a typical
man I didn't stop to ask for
directions.
I finally arrived an hour late -
the staff from the funeral
home was long gone and the
hearse was nowhere in sight.
There were only the diggers and crew left and they
were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the
men for being late.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--
This message is from the SARRA Google Group
The SARRA website is http://www.sarra.co.za
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~-----
I went to the side of the grave and looked down.
The vault lid was already in place. I didn't know
what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to
gather around. I played out my heart and soul for
this man with no family and friends.