Hi John,
Thanks for the article about the SBR in the Aussie.
I would like to contend with some of the points raised in the article though.
As a fanatical Alfa Romeo owner (ex Pres of the Vic AROCA) I feel obliged to inform you of the 100% finishing record for Alfas in the SBR.
In 2011 a good friend of mine completed the Brissy to Darwin rally in an Alfa Giulietta (yep the boxy one from the 80’s), of course the car was driven to Brisbane from Melbourne. I had the misfortune of also ignoring Alex’s advice completely and chose a 1974 Triumph Dolomite (1800, three speed auto), which chose to overheat from about Winton (Vic) to Darwin.
Inspired to do better in 2012, the Alfa Club in Victoria provided five more Alfas for the SBR, two 1984ish Alfa 90 V6s, Two 1985ish Alfetta sedans and an Alfa 33 “Sport”wagon. Yep, they all made the trip from Melbourne to Cairns, two even made it back and are entered for this year’s rally. There is an excellent video from the SBR boys on day four of the rally last year, http://player.vimeo.com/video/40550388
The Shitbox Rally is a great cause and I congratulate you for taking some time to put an article in the paper about it, the more “mainstream” media publicise the event, the easier it is for entrants to find sponsors.
I should also mention that AROCA Vic donated about $5k to this and another cancer related charity last year. Unfortunately, even though Alfa seem to have fixed the cancer traditionally associated with Alfas, their owners are not immune to the disease and we have lost our Patron and several long standing members over the past couple of years to cancer.
Unfortunately I will not be in the rally this year (an overseas deployment has gotten in the way), but my Alfa 90 will be there, driven by a couple of mates. We have already arranged for its return at the end of the rally, how’s that for confidence!! We have reached our target, but a couple of my workmates could do with a little help to get over the mark. If you get any enquiries about donations can you please direct them to team Road Runner or S-Car-Go.
Cheers
Stuart Thomson
