Search For A Rally Star Finals

[Josh Reeve]

THANKS VERY MUCH TO EVERYBODY WHO SUPPORTED ME AT THE 2004/2005 SEARCH FOR A RALLY STAR COMPETITION.
UNFORTUNATLEY I DIDNT WIN BUT I GOT FAR ENOUGH TO GIVE MYSELF THE CONFIDENCE TO CONTINUE WITH MY GB GALANT. IT WAS A GOOD EXPERIANCE ANYWAY.
I WISH THE WINNER JOE ALL THE BEST LUCK IN THE FUTURE AND I HOPE TO SEE HIM AT THE TOP SOON.
THANKS VERY MUCH TO RAY BACKER FOR THE HUGE EFFORT HE PUT IN TO HELP ME IN THE COMP AND ILL SEE ALL OF YOU OUT IN THE FORREST OR AT THE CLUB SOON.

JOSH REEVE

[Matt Dyne]

Josh,

Great to see a Canberra name in the finals.

Look forward to hearing how you go.

Matt

[Trendact]

Josh,

Good luck mate, sorry we can not make it on the 25th to see a Canberra boy go all the way.

We will be thinking of you on the day and we also look forward to hearing how how you go.

Go for gold mate and again good luck.

Brett

[Lyndall]

Hi Josh,

Congrats on your good sense to join Australia'a best rally-orientated car club BMSC and for making it into the SFARS finals - (belated) good luck for today.

If you're available, it would be great if you could come along to the next BMSC meeting to give us a wrap-up on how you went in the earlier heat and in today's final, and how you found the whole experience overall. The meeting is on Tuesday 1 Feb at the Canberra Raiders Sports Club (ex Royals Rugby Club), Weston.

Hope to see you there...


. . . Lyndall (codriver talking-head at the SFARS theory night in Sydney)

[raybak]

You can check out Josh's new website www.joshreeve.tk

Ray

[raybak]

So who won?

Ray

[Matt Dyne]

Originally Posted by raybak

You can check out Josh's new website www.joshreeve.tk

Ray

Geez Ray...what are you, his agent?

[Spac]

I think the word you were looking for is "pimp".



(Sorry Josh - was meant as a dig at Ray, not yourself).

[crowleyaj]

Joe Chapman from Bathurst won.

See other thread

[Frank Barker]

SEARCH FOR A RALLY STAR Grande Finale And the winner is ...

(To view this article, score sheets and photos go to our website www.sfars.com or click on http://www.sfars.com/index.cfm?pageid=pg721119448edoras )

The grand final to the inaugural ‘Search For A Rally Star’ (SFARS) took place at Sydney’s Oran Park last Tuesday, January 25th to test 12 finalists and award one potential rally champion their ultimate dream rally prize.

Late on Tuesday afternoon and after one and a half hours of careful deliberation by the SFARS judges, Joe Chapman, from Bathurst New South Wales, was chosen as the worthy winner of the first SFARS event to be held in Australia.

"Even though we had the score system to use as a guide, we still had to focus on making the right choice" explained Frank Barker, creator and organiser of SFARS. "Knowing we had come this far, the decision had to be the correct one for SFARS, the sport of Rallying and the eventual recipient of such a special award".

"All the finalists showed great driving talent and rally passion" Frank said. It was quite hard to narrow it down yet we managed to highlight three people, Joe (Chapman), Brenden (Thomas) and Adam (Kennedy)" Frank said. "Moreover, it was impossible to split between Adam and Brenden and we decided to award both of them the Runners Up trophy. An encouragement award was also awarded to Brad Fitzgerald of Batemans Bay. However, Joe showed throughout the event that he was one level above the rest and once we had all agreed on him it all made sense that he was definitely 'THE ONE'. Whilst we were wrapping up the meeting to decide the winner, it suddenly dawned upon me - that Joe's current situation was just like mine around 18 years ago - Joe has the talent, enormous passion and potential but, until now, he has not had enough funds to advance further in the sport. We are very excited to be able to provide such an opportunity to Joe." Frank said.

Since the announcement of Joe Chapman's huge victory, it has turned out to be a very popular decision with the other finalists, the judges and all concerned. "Ever since I was informed that I had made it to the Search For A Rally Star finals, the whole motorsport town of Bathurst has been behind me" Joe said. "As well as having a number of local TV and radio interviews and press articles, the local radio station had been broadcasting a 'good luck Joe' cheerio for me every 30 minutes for the two weeks leading up to the finals. One bloke came up to me in the street and jokingly said ' I can't go anywhere in this town without hearing about you mate' " explained Joe. "After returning home from the finals with my trophy and $45,000 rally shopping voucher, I have managed a few more interviews and my phone hasn't stopped ringing. I think my boss (Dave Robinson of Robinson Auto Repairs) is wondering when I am going to come back down to Earth and get some work done" Joe said.

Now Joe has the great pleasure of choosing a rally car to suit his plans of competing in the 2005 NSW Rally Championship. " It's a dream come true" says Joe.

For the Grand Finale, which was seven weeks after the Nov/Dec heats were held, the 12 'wanna be’ rally star finalists arrived on the afternoon of Monday 24th January at Camden Valley Golf Resort (NSW) for initial registration and their final individual interviews. Similar to that experienced at the heats, the interviews were based on the five P's that the SFARS judges were searching for ... Each finalist's Passion, Plans, Personality and Presentation for the sport of rally driving as well as what Publicity they had managed to achieve since they discovered that they had made it through to the top 12. This time, however, the interviews were much longer and more intense and in front of a panel of six assessors instead of one.

The next day all were up early to arrive at nearby Oran Park to show off their rally driving skills. Here they had to fight it out on the dirt tracks for the ultimate $45,000 dream rally prize, a Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4WD Turbo Rally Car to the value of $30,000 plus a further $15,000 cash to get off the competitive start line.

In total contrast to the 42 degrees of Summer temperatures experienced at the previous assessment heats, the heavens opened up in the early morning of the Tuesday (25th Jan) and a deluge of constant heavy rain threatened the possibility of the finals proceeding. "Even though we had to keep safety for the drivers in our minds, the rain was not a concern for the cars, " Frank Barker said. "Amongst many things, Rallying is about handling a multitude of road conditions, so we knew it would be great experience for the finalists if we could go ahead safely. We were more concerned that the Oran Park management may cancel the day due to possible track damage" Frank said.

Nonetheless, with a short delay and a couple of adjustments of which tracks would be appropriate to use, the show went on regardless of the intermittent showers that greeted the event throughout the day!

A comprehensive scoring system was used as a guide in deciding the SFARS winner. The finalists were scored on the Monday night interview and a further four practical tests held the Tuesday which included: two morning drives assessing driving skills along side rally instructors; a timed run with an experienced co-driver who read rally pace notes to each driver as they raced against the clock on the gravel circuits; and to add some variety and rally realism to the day, all finalists had to perform an exciting test known as 'FFF' (Fix a Flat in the Forest) which involved changing the spare wheel as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible in real rally conditions.

"As with the heats, we wanted to complete our objective of having an introduction to rallying theme and providing as much "rally relative" information and experience as possible for the entrants and finalists. The FFF change a flat tyre exercise was a great success. It is one of the many things they will inevitably have to experience in a rally and we want to prepare the contenders in all aspects of the sport" Frank said.

The finalist's were scored out of a possible 600 points with 300 points coming from the interview and 300 points from the remaining four tests of 75 points each.

Whittled down from the initial number of entries, the 12 finalists battling it out were : Cameron Wearing (SA), heat 1 winner, Adam Kennedy (NSW), heat 2 winner, Brenden Thomas (NSW), Joe Chapman (NSW), Chris Western (QLD), Trent Dutton (QLD), Dave Donegan (VIC), Dwayne Affleck (NSW), Peter Grehan (NSW), Brad Fitzgerald (NSW). Two wild car entries were also selected for the final, these being Josh Reeve from the ACT, and South Australia’s Mettina Barrington, the only female to enter, but a regular on Jack Monkhouse’s ARC service crew.

Based in Mona Vale, Sydney, the event was created by Frank Barker who has been a long-time rally driver and enthusiast. The main objective of the SFARS event is to discover a potential rally driving star and provide an opportunity to that person to participate in rallying at a competitive level. An additional aim is to introduce and promote the sport of rallying to all those involved and inspire them to either compete, official or spectate in the future.

To determine who was fit and worthy enough to participate in the finals, 42 entrants contested the initial Search For A Rally Star assessment heats held at Oran Park on November 30th and December 1st 2004. The 42 entrants represented each state and territory in Australia. All competitors were put through a rigorous elimination process and took part in one of two heats that were held over two days. In the mornings, entrants were split into three groups and rotated each hour between driver training in the two SFARS 4WD Turbo rally cars as well as face to face assessment interviews. After a lunch break three further sessions took place where the driving in the two rally cars continued, however, it was then switched from training to assessments. In place of the morning interview a “walk around rally car presentation” was included to educate those new to the sport on the finer points of a rally car.

In the evening of the first day all heat 1 and 2 entrants attended a four-hour rally lecture which was undertaken by a number of experts in various fields. Graham Humphreys spoke about events and competitor eligibility; Bruce Garland about team and car preparation; Ben Ruggles discussed tyre technology; Brett Middleton explained the ins and outs of sponsorship; Lyndall Drake spoke about co-driving; and former Ralliart works driver Spencer Lowndes gave some tips on driving techniques. Over 100 people attended the seminar, including the entrants and their guests, and other invitees from the rallying community.

“The SFARS rally star search program is based on an ‘introduction to rallying’ theme, designed to train competitors in all aspects of the sport, train and assess their driving, and assess their suitability for the sport via their passion, plans, presentation and marketability,” Frank Barker said. “We also looked at what we called the ‘S’ factor – a STAR quality.” Driver evaluation during the two days was under taken by Mark Taylor, Ian Barratt and Darren Williams from the Sideways Action rally school, and the two Search For A Rally Star (SFARS) Galant VR4s completed over 700 trouble-free laps of the Oran Park dirt circuit over the two days. Nevertheless, temperatures soared to the mid-40s over the two days, and the engine water temperature peaked at 120 degrees on one of the rally cars!

The event was professionally filmed by Gold Marquee and presented by long time motoring personality and guru Will Hagon. The show will go to air in February or March. Two TV networks are currently showing interest in the program.

Riding on the success of the inaugural SFARS event and the momentum gained from it's growing awareness, SFARS are planning to launch three separate events this year.
Approximate details are:
1. SFARS II - Clubman Level - Entry fee $1095
Prize - Toyota Sprinter (or equivalent) 2WD to $10,000, plus $10,000 start money - Total $20,000.
2. SFARS III - State Level - Entry fee $1895
Prize - Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4wd turbo to $30,000 plus $20,000 start money - Total $50,000.
3. SFARS IV - ARC/National (Open) Level - Entry fee $2995
Prize - Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4wd turbo to $50,000 plus $50,000 start money - Total $100,000.

Contact SFARS at info@sfars.com or 02 9999 3093 for more information.

Thanks for all the support from the rally community and we look forward to the next SFARS rally event.

Who will be next ? Are you the one ?

Yours in Rallying,

Frank Barker
Search For A Rally Star
frank@sfars.com
www.sfars.com

[Frank Barker]

Hi there Brindabellians, here is our latest newsletter.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or wish to give any feedback.

Regards,

Frank ...



Dear Rally Enthusiasts,

Welcome to the fourth edition of "Star Dust", the official newsletter of the Search For A Rally Star program. In this edition:

1. Shopping for Joe's New Toy !
2. "Three for Free" ... Rally Sport Mags
3. But wait, there's more ...
4. State Focus
5. Photo Genius
6. Atkinson Action

1. Let's go shopping for Joe's new toy !
Last weekend, after an intensive search, we finally had the pleasure of handing over a fully prepared rally car to Joe Chapman, winner of SFARS 1.
The Rally Car - Joe chose the immaculate 'ex Brad Goldsbrough Subaru WRX' that won Brad the 2002 NSW Rally Championship. "Winning SFARS finally hit me when I got to sit in the WRX and call it mine" Joe said. View the pictures at http://bt4merc.jaze.com.au/environme...27796111edoras

2. Subscribe and get three FREE issues of Rallysport Mag
Want to keep informed with all the best rally information? Thanks to our friends at Rally Sport Magazine, (Formerly ARN), here is a special offer to SFARS newsletter recipients. Those who subscribe to Rallysport Magazine for 12 months will receive 15 issues for the price of 12. To download the subscription form to receive RSM in it's brilliant new gloss magazine format, click on this link http://bt4merc.jaze.com.au/Environme...ort%20subs.pdf Then either post or fax it directly to RSM. All contact details are on the form.

3. But wait, I still want to be a RALLYSTAR !
Missed out on our first rally star search? Have no fear..... Riding on the success of the inaugural SFARS event and the momentum gained from it's growing awareness, SFARS are holding three separate events this year.
Details are:
1. SFARS II - Clubman Level - Entry fee $1095
Prize - Toyota Sprinter (or equivalent) 2WD to $10,000, plus $10,000 of prizes and start money - Total $20,000.
2. SFARS III - State Level - Entry fee $1895
Prize - Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4wd turbo to $30,000 plus $20,000 of prizes and start money - Total $50,000.
3. SFARS IV - ARC/National (Open) Level - Entry fee $2995
Prize - Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4wd turbo to $50,000 plus $50,000 of prizes and start money - Total $100,000.
Express interest by contacting SFARS at info@sfars.com or 02 9999 3093 for more information. The website can also be viewed at www.sfars.com

4. SFARS and Adam Kennedy to feature on 'State Focus' this Saturday
Network Ten's production, 'State Focus' is a weekly TV show which looks at community news on NSW's North Coast. This weekend they are featuring SFARS joint runner up Adam Kennedy. The show will go to air tomorrow, midday, Saturday 19th February. It can be seen on the Ten Network's northern regional broadcast which is telecast to viewers from Newcastle to the Gold Coast.

5. Move over McKlein, here comes Mitchell !
The wonderfully brilliant photos of the SFARS finals are now on display at Mitchell Winton's website and can be found by clicking on http://www.wintonphotographics.com.a...aspx?cat_id=34 . This will be of particular interest to the competitors who may wish to acquire shots of themselves in action.

6. Atkinson in Action. This young guy is going places !
The second round of the 2005 World Rally Championship was run in Sweden last weekend. For his WRC debut, Australian Chris Atkinson put in a fantastic performance for Subaru and exceeded all expectations. Chris recorded many top ten stage times and finished as high as fourth outright in stage 11 at the Uddeholm Swedish Rally. The highlighted final results were 1. Petter Solberg (Subaru) 3:00:52.1 2. Markko Martin (Peugeot) +2:11.1 3. Toni Gardemeister (Ford) +3:14.7 4. Harri Rovanpera (Mitsubishi) +3:26.4 5. Henning Solberg (Ford) +3:21.8 6. Daniel Carlsson (Peugeot) +3:42.5 7. Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) +4:04.0 8. Roman Kresta (Ford) +4:39.6 9. Jani Paasonen (Skoda) +5:11.1 10. Mattias Ekstrom (Skoda) +7:04.2 13. Stephane Sarrazin (Subaru) +8:01.0 19. Chris Atkinson (Subaru) + 6:51.5
More info on this article at Rally Sport Magazine's website : http://www.rallysportmag.com/cms/A_103896/article.html


*** *** *** *** *** ***

Like to contribute your story to our next newsletter ?
Are you a car club or a rally friendly business and would like to have your website linked to ours? ....
Feel free to contact us at info@sfars.com

To recommend this newsletter to a friend just forward this email and they can subscribe by clicking on http://www.sfars.com/index.cfm?pageid=pg729399783edoras

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or suggestions.

Until next time ... All the best and yours in Rallying,

FRANK BARKER

SEARCH FOR A RALLY STAR Pty Ltd

PO Box 1405 Mona Vale 1660

Ph: 02 9999 3093 Fax: 02 9997 3091

Email: frank@sfars.com

Web: www.sfars.com