Mountain sprint is a breeze for sports car

By Dion Teasdale
A LAMBORGHINI Gallardo has taken outright honours in Australia’s newest tarmac rally, the Lake Mountain Sprint.
The event was held at Lake Mountain Alpine Resort last weekend, just outside of Marysville, and drew a strong field of contenders and spectators.
Tasmanian nephew and uncle duo Jason and John White dominated the event, posting the top five fastest times on all but one of the eight timed laps up the access road to the cross-country ski resort.
Second outright and second in the modern division was touring car legend Peter Brock, proving that he has mastered the tarmac rally game in addition to his circuit expertise.
Mr Brock was partnered with Mick Hone in a Daytona Coupe. Third outright went to Paul Blackie and Mike Stoneman in a Porsche 911 Turbo.
“It is a fantastic event,” winning co-driver John White said after the presentation.
“It’s a nice piece of road but it’s very challenging. It was different every time we went out there, depending on the time of day and what was happening with the weather.”
His nephew was more succinct. “Great road, great people and great fun,” Jason White said.
The Lake Mountain Sprint was also open to classic (pre-1981) cars and the competition was just as tight as the modern cars.
At the end of the weekend, the final honours went to Mark Bryant and Michael Pinder in a 1969 Chev Camaro.
Second outright went to Michael Arundel and David Connolly in an immaculate 1963 Ford Cortina, while John Keating and Joanna Price grabbed third in their 1975 Alfa Romeo Spider.
Thirty cars were entered for the event, which was devised by Melbourne businessman and competitor Peter Washington and his team, who also run the highly successful Mt Buller Sprint.
Only four of the 30 had problems which prevented them finishing, but there were no serious accidents and no injuries.
Among those who failed to finish was Richard Bendell, the brains behind the Motec engine management system and the creator of the Daytona Coupe.
He and his son were competing in the twin Daytona to Brock’s car but an off-road excursion on Day One put an end to their plans.
The Lake Mountain Sprint is made up of eight timed laps up the access road to Lake Mountain, which is closed for the duration of competition.
The event headquarters is in Marysville, which is 10km from the start.