ADELAIDE MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL
ADELAIDE DELIVERS. BIG STYLE
Adelaide Alive was the catchcry of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix back in the 1980s and on a warm, mid-November weekend in 2016, it seems nothing has changed in sleepy old Adelaide; but in the best possible way.
Those baying for the return of the Grand Prix over 20 years after it went to Melbourne need bay no longer; the Adelaide Motorsport Festival far surpasses any current Grand Prix for variety, spectacle, intimacy and sound. Oh, the sound.
‘Adelaide-era’ F1 cars hit the track in force, three piloted by their original drivers of the day; Stefan Johansson, Pierluigi Martini and Ivan Capelli. Capelli, who DNFed his Leyton House March CG891 in the infamously rain-soaked AGP of 1989, set a cracking pace at the Festival, bagging the fastest lap of 43.28 seconds, despite their participation being for ‘display only’!
“To be here, now and driving my Leyton House car of 1989, good memories come back!” Capelli enthuses as the March warms for the next session, eliciting a staccato series of guttural bellows from the Judd 3.5 litre V8. “They did a fantastic job preparing the car; it is just perfect. Every detail, it is unbelievable!”
The spectacle isn’t limited to just a few F1 drivers reliving their glory days; classic race and road cars in all shapes and sizes are let loose over the course of the weekend; but the biggest bangers are those in the ‘5 Litre Touring Cars’ category, reserved for retired V8 Supercars. Of note is Peter Brock’s 2004 Bathurst car, the swansong that never was after co-driver Jason Plato binned it on
lap 27 of The King’s final race.
Static displays also enthral, with a massive, beautiful tribute to 100 years of BMW, including one of 464 WWII-era 328 roadsters, a rare RHD BMW M1 and a brand-spankers 300km/h+ M4 GTS.
As Saturday evening settles in and the sun drops behind low clouds, the action does not relent. Classic Adelaide competitors come out to play, using the shortened GP track as their final, twilight rally stage.
Sunday sees all classes return to the track for more thrills, but for Adelaide’s Ferrarista, it is all merely a side-dish to the Ferrari Spettacolo; a spirited procession of the most desirable modern-classic cars to wear the Prancing Horse.
Local Ferrari technician Matt Kelly has been kept very busy, preparing a 512BB and track-only 599XX for the Spettacolo, but also awakening a Ferrari F40 GTE, one of seven built, following a 10-year slumber. Despite weeks of hard work on the tools, there’s nowhere else he’d rather be, “It’s been an absolutely unbelievable experience; I’m very lucky!”
And it’s during the Spettacolo that we realise how far we’ve come in 30 years; hearing the revs rise and fall as Johanssen works the gate on his ’85-spec Ferrari 156/85 F1, that distinct quiet as the next gear is selected and the power fed back on, is at distinct odds with the brand-new 488 Spyder he drives during the Spettacolo. A road car no less; the raucous engine barely blips as
revs are electronically controlled and the box bashes through gears in microseconds, ensuring relentless, unyielding acceleration.
It’s astounding to hear the difference and both cars are impressive in different ways; as are all cars that participate over the course of the Festival. Organiser Tim Possingham has outdone himself once again and the AMF, already world-class, is going from strength-to-strength. Catching Pierluigi Martini en route to another track session late on Sunday, he leaves us with a final word in his strong Italian accent, “Is a wonderful event!”