TARGA GREAT BARRIER REEF FATHER AND SON’S

Tarmac race will be family face-off

A FATHER and son will be pitted against each other in an epic battle for family bragging rights.

Five-time Australian rally champion Ross Dunkerton will compete against his eldest boy Aaron in the Targa Great Barrier Reef run.

It’s the first time the pair have faced off in a race.

“When I first saw it being announced I thought fantastic … we have to be in that,” Ross said.

Aaron, who is a lawyer, will be driving a Nissan Silvia S13, while Ross bought a WRX STi especially for the event. Both cars have been modified to suit tarmac specifications.

“I probably shouldn’t be competing. I should be letting him drive the WRX, but maybe he’ll do that next year and his younger brother Flynn will be in the Nissan,” he said.

Although if Aaron won he laughed, “well that would be a problem wouldn’t it”.

This will be Aaron’s first tarmac rally, and it’s the first time Cairns has hosted a tarmac event.

“I’m very excited. I’ve been doing a bit of gravel rallying in the last couple of years,” he said.

Aaron’s interest grew from his father’s successful career. However he limits his passion for racing to weekends or holidays, as the 25-year-old barrister chose a career in law and works throughout the week as a crown prosecutor in Cairns.

“The main thing for me is being in court … and I enjoy the advocacy side of it,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to practise in a place like Cairns where it’s a very close-knit legal community.”

The first time he raced he described it as terrifying, and admitted he still gets nerves.

“I think if you don’t have nerves when you race you’re doing something wrong,” he said. “It’s very exhilarating and it can be scary depending on how hard you go.”

Ross loved watching his boys get as much enjoyment from the sport as he does.

“I could see Aaron’s face in his first gravel rally, he got out and said that’s the most exciting thing he’s ever done in his life,” he said.

“My whole life has been involved in motor sports, but I still get an adrenaline rush in actually coming back and doing it as a privateer.

“Getting behind a wheel … it is exciting.”

I COULD SEE AARON’S FACE IN HIS FIRST GRAVEL RALLY, HE GOT OUT AND SAID THAT’S THE MOST EXCITING THING HE’S EVER DONE IN HIS LIFE.