2023 Victorian Rally Championship

The 2023 Till Hino Victorian Rally Championship was won by Justin Dowel and Tracey Dewhurst in a Mitsubishi Mirage. It was a narrow victory secured by a win in the final round, the Valley Stages, after the cancellation of the Akademos. Going into the final round, Brendan Reeves had a clear lead in the points but only managed 4th and 7th in the two heats of the Valley Stages. Reeves nevertheless won the 2WD championship.

2WD Champions: Brendan Reeves, Datsun 1600
2WD Co-driver: Mark Leoncini (with James Leoncini)

Clubman Award: Nick Seymour / Gordon Grant, Ford Fiesta

Novice Award: Troy Dawson / Amanda Mills, Hyundai Excel

To see what else happened during 2023 in Victorian rallying, go to the 2023 year page.

To see other years of the Victorian Rally Championship, go to the VRC page.

Series Regulations

These were specified in the VRC Standing Regulations (it appears that the 2022 version continued to apply).

The VRC was made up exclusively of Special Stage events with competitive distances between 50 and 200 km.

Eligible vehicles were PRC, Group N, Group N(P), S2000, Historic Rally Cars, Classic Rally Cars, Club Rally Cars and CAMS Group G2, AP4 and G4. S1600 and Group R5 were not eligible for VRC points or class awards.

Awards were made for outright champions, 2WD, 2WD under 2 litre, Clubman and Novice.  There were also car class awards as follows: PRC and Group N up to 1400cc, 1401-1600cc, 1601-2000cc, 2WD over 2000cc, PRC 4WD over 2000cc (split into two classes, essentially pre and post 1998, pre excluding any vehicles with fully active differentials, post including S2000), Historic Rally Cars, Classic Rally Cars, Club Rally Cars,  S2000, ARC G2 and G4/AP4. There were also two “one make” series for Hyundai Excels and Ford Fiestas.

All awards were allocated 30-25-21-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for first to fifteenth.  Crew registration was automatic for the first half of the season, but crews members could elect not to register for VRC points. With eight heats, the worst single result was dropped. All awards required competitors to compete in at least 50% of the events.

Events

There were 4 VRC rounds in 2023, each with two heats so 8 heats in all. The Akademos was calendared but was cancelled.  Click on the event to see more details.

  1. Mitta Mountain Rally (NECC)
  2. Ada River Rally (WDCC)
  3. Gippsland Rally (Vroom and CCRMIT)
  4. Valley Stages (NCCA)

Pointscores

Class Awards

PRC/N under 1400cc: Not awarded

PRC/N 1401-1600cc: Nick Seymour / Gordon Grant, Ford Fiesta

PRC/N 1601-2000cc: Andrew Murdoch / Kelvin North, Ford Fiesta

PRC/N 2WD over 2000cc: Frank Luicci / Barry Sheridan, BMW 325i

PRC/N 4WD over 2000cc post 1998: Tim Clark / Leonie Clark, Subaru Impreza WRX

PRC/N 4WD over 2000cc pre 1998: Brad Till / Mitch Garrad, Subaru Impreza WRX

G4/AP4: Justin Dowel / Tracey Dewhurst in a Mitsubishi Mirage

HRC: Not awarded

Club Rally Cars:  Brendan Reeves, Datsun 1600
Co-driver: Mark Leoncini (with James Leoncini)

Classic Rally Cars: Danny Murphy / Trevor Harty, Triumph TR7 V8

Excel: Brendan Hood / Richard Hood, Hyundai Excel