1981 Alpine Rally

The Alpine, organised by the Light Car Club of Australia and directed by Stuart Lister, was held on 21 and 22 November.

Australian Rally Championship Round 5

While Geoff Portman and Ross Runnalls had sealed the 1981 ARC at the previous round, they put their stamp of authority on the title with a convincing win on the 1981 Alpine Rally. They finished a commanding 9 minutes ahead of team-mates George Fury and Monty Suffern, both in factory Stanzas. Fury had put his Stanza off the road on the Tawonga Gap tarmac stage.

To view an excellent selection of photos from the 1981 Alpine, visit the 1981 gallery in the Alpine website.

 
 
Portman and Runnalls in the factory Stanza for a final time, winning the 1981 Alpine, photo: Lyndon Mechielsen

Results and entry list

PlaceDriverNavigatorCarTime
1Geoff PortmanRoss RunnallsDatsun Stanza5:58:12
2George FuryMonty SuffernDatsun Stanza6:07:14
3Doug ThompsonRon LuggDatsun Stanza6:14:07
4Alex FitcherNoel RichardsDatsun 16006:18:24
5John BerneDavid PeitiFord Escort RS18006:25:32
6Ian SwanMike PrendergastDatsun Stanza6:30:23
7Chris WallLloyd MinifieDatsun 16006:33:42
8Greg TrotterPhil YeomansMazda RX36:34:53
9Peter NelsonGraham MouleDatsun 16006:40:41
10John AtkinsonBob ComleyDatsun Stanza6:41:09

Route

The route took the cars from the start in Bright via Benalla, Winton, Wangaratta, Wodonga, Tawonga and Myrtleford then back to finish in Bright.

Stage Summaries

Itinerary and stage plots

Other event documents

not available yet