Brabhams and ex-Alboreto Ferrari among the Phillip Island Classic highlights

The Victorian Historic Racing Register’s Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport is the largest historic motorsport gathering in the southern hemisphere. Photographer Peter Ellenbogen – celebrating his 25th successive visit to the iconic circuit, south of Melbourne – presents highlights from last weekend’s 36th edition.

Irish Racing Cars Brabham BT30s dominate

The closest rivalry of the weekend featured Sean Whelan and Andrew Robson almost inseparable in the Groups M&O Sports and Racing set in their 1969 Brabham BT30s (above), both originally fielded by Mick Mooney’s fabled Irish Racing Cars team. South Australian Whelan qualified his ex-Tommy Reid BT30/8 quickest on Friday and triumphed in four of the five races with Robson filling his mirrors in BT30/6, in which Alan Rollinson won a race at Bogota in Colombia in 1971.

Robson seized his moment of glory in Saturday’s middle stanza. Laurie Bennett led the chase in his Adelaide-built Elfin 600, with Paul Faulkner (Brabham BT29, reputedly first raced by versatile American Champ Car aspirant Mike Hiss) joining a top four blanket finish in one race.

Alboreto’s F1 Ferrari trumps allcomers

The glorious ex-Michele Alboreto/Stefan Johansson F1 Ferrari 156/85 of Sydneysider Guido Belgiorno-Nettis is now 40 years old, but still thrilling fans. A perennial Phillip Island favourite, it was unbeaten over five Groups Q&R Racing Car contests, which attracted a fascinating spectrum of 1970s and 1980s’ slicks and wings machinery.

Italian-Australian prancing horseman Belgiorno-Nettis had a fight on his hands and drove the turbocharged 1500cc V6-engined chassis 079 hard to repel veteran F5000 tamer Paul Zazryn’s Lola T332.

Alboreto raced the Ferrari nine times and finished runner-up in the 1985 World Championship to McLaren-TAG’s Alain Prost. Second in the season-opening 1985 Brazilian and Portuguese GPs, Alboreto subsequently won the Canadian and German GPs in sister cars. Late-season unreliability derailed his title dream.

Sierras sizzle to Touring Car clean sweep

RS500s continue to perform at the front, just as they did in period

Photo by: Peter Ellenbogen

As in period, Ford’s Sierra Cosworth RS500 homologation specials dominated the Groups A&C Touring Car sets. Two of the sizzling 560bhp turbocars, both in original Caltex liveries as raced by double 1990 Australian Touring Car round winner Colin Bond, left rivals gasping. V8 Supercar veteran Jonathon Webb – 2009 feeder series champion and 2016 Bathurst 1000 winner with Will Davison – ruled the roost. Webb had the legs of Chris Stillwell, son of Melbourne motor and aviation baron Bib Stillwell, who won his fourth successive Australian Drivers’ Championship in 1965.

Ben Grice, son of twice Bathurst winner Allan, (Holden Commodore), David Towe (BMW E30 M3) and Adrian Allisey (Commodore) shared thirds in a pack featuring Paul Stubber and Carey McMahon’s raucous Mazda RX-7s, and Meon Nehrybecki’s Toyota Supra.

Long-tailed Swift claims Van Diemen’s land

FF1600 is a stalwart category of the Phillip Island Classic

Photo by: Peter Ellenbogen

Classic Formula Ford fields have thinned in recent years, but slipstreaming in the 30-strong pack was as intense as ever in the up to 1989 model timeline. Van Diemen cars – proudly reflecting the Tasmanian heritage of Ralph Firman’s marque co-founder Ross Ambrose, father of longtime racer Marcos – were numerically dominant but, after countless breathtaking exchanges, top qualifier Nick McBride (Swift FB89) prevailed in all four races.

Free practice topper Jonathan Miles (left) and Andrew Reid in Van Diemen RF89s are pictured trying to unseat McBride. William Faulkner, Declan Foo and Alex Davison – grandson of 1957 Australian champion driver and Ecurie Australie founder Lex, who died at Sandown Park, Melbourne, 60 years ago – also bagged podium places. Reynard designer Malcolm Oastler bested at seventh in a 1983 Lola T642.

Porsche 917/30 stars in regularity runs

Harburg’s Can-Am beast was another to wow crowds

Photo by: Peter Ellenbogen

Porsche’s 1973 917/30 Can-Am contender – the ultimate 1100bhp, 230mph evolution of an iconic but short-lived family of tubeframe chassis dating back to the 25 917s built to achieve FIA homologation from 1969 – wowed Phillip Island Classic racegoers anew.

Seventeen years after Jim Richards demonstrated the Porsche Museum’s example, Australian Peter Harburg brought his, presented in Mark Donohue’s evocative Penske Sunoco livery. Enjoyed as far afield as Goodwood and the USA, the Queenslander entered the 5.4-litre turbocharged 12-cylinder boxer-engined machine in the Regularity sessions – where super consistent lappery, not speed, is key – sharing the track with 1930s’ MGs, Formula Vees, a Ford Cortina Mk2 and Hyundai Excels! Alex Davison, the 2004 Carrera Cup Australia champion (pictured), gave it an enjoyable workout in one session.

Zazryn’s F5000 is a crowd-pleaser

Zazryn’s F5000 attempted to take the fight to F1 Ferrari

Photo by: Peter Ellenbogen

US-born Formula 5000 provided thunderous stock-block V8 action in Australia until 1979, a decade after MCD’s John Webb imported it to Europe. Lola’s T332 of 1974, evolved from the US championship-winning T330, is regarded as the ultimate series-produced contender.

Local hero Paul Zazryn’s HU32, first at PI in 2012, has its roots in American Evan Noyes’ first example and carries his Eagle Creek Aviation livery. Quickest of six F5000 competitors, Zazryn took the fights to Belgiorno-Nettis in the younger F1 Ferrari, landing three second places.

Vince Holland (ex-John Smith Formula Holden Ralt RT1), Tickford Supercars pilot Thomas Randle in Angelo Orloff’s ex-Jean-Pierre Beltoise/J-P Jarier/Jose Dolhem F2 March 722, and David Hardman (AF2 Hardman-VW JH1) also scored top-three finishes.