Special stage rallying thrives, Group G’s demise and the emergence of 4WD
Grassroots rallying was at its peak at the start of the 1980s with a strong national championship, flourishing state championships and numerous club level series. The “open slather” Group G vehicle eligibility presented few barriers to participation and talented drivers could enter the sport with a relatively small budget. All ARC rounds and the majority of state championship rounds were special stages rallies timed to the second with a growing proportion of daylight running and great spectating. By the end of the decade pace notes were being introduced into the ARC.
However, the future was by no means rosy for the sport with Ford, Holden and then Nissan withdrawing from the ARC early in the decade. Australia’s hopes for a round of the World Championship withered with the demise of the Southern Cross Rally, the last of which was run in 1980. The Castrol Rally also fell by the wayside, last conducted in 1981. Demands on organisers and costs on clubs were escalating with the need for large numbers of officials for road closures, ever more complex negotiations with authorities and bonds for road damage, resulting in a number of other traditional events to faulter. By the end of the decade the number of rallies being conducted had roughly halved. Competitor costs were also increasing with cars increasingly modified to remain competitive, and fields started to decrease.
CAMS took the difficult decision for rallying to embrace international categories and practices. FIA Group A was introduced to the ARC in 1983 and ran concurrently with Group G for four years, producing some controversial outcomes. But by 1988, Group A (PRC) and also Group N had become the mainstay of the ARC, and 4WD turbo cars came to dominate the top level of the sport. And not coincidentally, that year saw the first Rally Australia conducted as a round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, and as a round of the World Rally Championship the following year. So at the top level, rallying ended the decade in a relatively strong position.
However, at the state and club level, Group G continued to dominate with rear wheel drive cars such as the Datsun 1600 being developed to their ultimate capability. Group G cars continued to win state championships throughout the 1980s. A National edict from CAMS eventually saw the demise of Group G from the state championships in 1989. In addition to Group A (PRC), a Clubman Rally Car category was introduced to replace Group G.
Despite the success of the Repco Reliability Trial at the end of the previous decade, long distance events were no longer in vogue and another round Australia would not eventuate until the mid 1990s. Various states, perhaps lead by Victoria, were also conducting more traditional trials, often involving navigation, and some events extending over multiple days. Most states introduced series for less experienced competitors, sometimes with different events and sometimes as parts of state championship special stage events. Nevertheless, costs did increase, both for the conduct of events and for car preparation, so the grass roots level started to struggle a little and the number of events being conducted reduced significantly over the decade.