1984 Australian Rally Championship

This was the second year of the transition of the ARC away from Group G. There were a few more Group A/PRC cars running, but the events were still dominated by Group G cars. A few Group A/PRC started to break into the top ten, but clearly the transition had a way to go!

The points system would favour a crew in a Group A/PRC car if they could score consistently, especially if there were several Group G crews in contention for the championship. It was Ed Mulligan and Geoff Jones who almost pulled off this trick in their Group A Mazda RX7, taking three wins and three seconds, but never placing higher than seventh outright. It was only because they had to drop their worst result that they placed second in the final points.

 David Officer and Kate Hobson (now Kate Officer) won the championship in their Group G Galant with two wins, two seconds and a third. Greg Carr and Fred Gocentas struggled with the Fiat but took two wins, and then borrowed Jim Middleton’s Commodore to take a Group A win, placing them third in the points.

Tom Snooks has provided the full story here.

To see other years of the Australian Rally Championship go to the ARC series page.

Series Regulations

Events were run under the National Rally Code. All rounds were special stage events timed to the second.

Vehicle eligibility was CAMS Group G – Australian Rally Cars, CAMS PRC – Production Rally Cars and FIA Group A – Touring Cars.

Points were awarded down to tenth for each class – PRC/Group G and Group A: 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. The top four outright places received bonus points: 4-3-2-1. Best five out of six results to count.

Events

There was again no South Australian round but the series was enlarged to six rounds with two in both NSW and Victoria:

  1. Zodiac Rally (Vic)
  2. Mid-State Television Rally (NSW)
  3. James Hardie National Rally (Qld)
  4. Sunday Times Safari (WA)
  5. Dunlop 2GO Rally (NSW)
  6. Alpine Rally (Vic)

Pointscores

Drivers Pointscores

PlaceDriverStateZodiacMid StateQldWA2GOAlpineTotal
GAO/RGAO/RGAO/RGAO/RGAO/RGAO/R
1David OfficerVic20415312215320498
2Ed MulliganNSW20202015151590(105)
3Greg CarrACT2042042068
4Murray CooteQld810112210112258
5Jim MiddletonNSW15152050
6Ian HillNSW15320442
7Terry KussSA12101234
8Rob WorboysNSW1212832
9Caroline O’ShanesyNSW158831
10Clive SlaterWA1531230
11Peter ClarkNSW122410129
12=Geoff PortmanVic1221024
12=Bob NicoliWA20424
14John AtkinsonNSW1011021
15Wayne BellNSW2020
16Peter GlennieNSW83819
17=Chris BrownVic15318
17=George FuryVic15318
19Jack WightmanNSW43815
20=Rolly WatersWA101314
20=Ross DunkertonWA12214
22Barry LoweSA10111
23=Phil HoranSA628
23=Peter FloodWA88
23=Ron CremenNSW88
26Frank NealeNSW167
27=Brian SmithVic66
27=Robert BellQld66
27=Peter LockhartQld66
27=Mark AndersonWA66
27=David JonesVic66
32=Hugh BellVic134
32=Rod BaileyQld44
32=Simon KabelQld44
32=Graeme MackayWA44
32=Garry BurnsNSW44
32=Dennis BrownQld44
38=John BerneNSW33
38=Henk KabelQld33
38=Adrian StaffordWA33
41=Jim KennedyVic22
41=Ron HendricksonQld22
41=Mal CrockenbergWA22
41=Garry MeehanNSW22
41=Garry HarrowfieldVic22
46=Antony BlanchNSW11
46=David HooperWa11
46=Andrew CottamNSW11
46=Karl RobertsonVic11

Navigators Pointscores

PlaceCo-DriverStateZodiacMid StateQldWA2GOAlpineTotal
GAO/RGAO/RGAO/RGAO/RGAO/RGAO/R
1Kate HobsonVic20415312215320498
2Geoff JonesNSW20202015151590(105)
3Fred GocentasACT2042042068
4Iain StewartQld810112210112258
5Phil BonserNSW15320442
6Garry MarshallNSW152035
7Meg DavisQld1581033
8Bob CarpenterNSW1212832
9Mick HarkerACT122410129
10=Bob DurantSA121224
10=Ross RunnallsVic1221024
10=Peter MacneallWA20424
13Dave BoddyNSW2020
14Brian SmithQld83819
15=Noel RichardsVic15318
15=Clive SlaterWA15318
15=Monty SuffernVic15318
18Peter YoungNSW1515
19=Ray TempleNSW6814
19=Steve McKimmieWA12214
21=Jon ThomsonNSW4812
21=Steve OwersNSW1212
23=Stephen RobertsonNSW10111
23=Geoff MillsWA10111
23=Ted BobrzynskiSA10111
26Keith NewbySA1010
27=Adrian WardSA628
27=Michael BruceQld88
27=Ian ArberWA88
30=Jim GleesonNSW347
30=Phil DoddNSW167
32=Peter MignotVic66
32=Tony TipperQld66
32=Peter BaesjouWA66
32=Peter CurtainVic66
36=Steve EllisVic134
36=Errol BaileyQld44
36=L. MorrisonQld44
36=Kim MarchantWA44
36=Warren TeggQld44
41=Bruce FullertonQld33
41=Roger ForestierWA33
41=Paul PatersonVic33
44=Jim DavidVic22
44=Lois HendricksonQld22
44=Ed JenningsWA22
44=Greg GiffordNSW22
44=Ian EllisVic22
49=Bruce RyanNSW11
49=Paul DeanWA11
49=Doug WaterhouseNSW11
49=Tony BestQld11