Rally ace to tackle Outback
Hamilton rally driver Gary Smith thinks driving from Sydney to London is a tad far. Sydney to Perth though? No problem. Smith and his Christchurch co-driver Grant Ford are preparing their historic Ford Escort RS1800 MKII for the Classic Sydney to London Marathon Rally starting next month.
They will contest the nearly 8000-kilometre first leg, but don’t fancy the second part, which sees the cars flown to Ankara, Turkey, for the rest of the drive to London.
Smith has previously competed in the reverse version in 1993 with ex-pat Graham Lorimer, also in a Ford Escort. The combination led most of the way until succumbing to delays in the Australian Outback and finishing fifth.
‘‘I was talking to Aussie Keith Callinan [who is also competing in a Ford Escort] and he persuaded me that life is too short to not do the event,’’ Smith said. ‘‘So we lodged an entry and we will
Hamilton’s Gary Smith will drive his Ford Escort RS1800 MKII in the first leg of the Classic Sydney to London Marathon Rally. Photo: Geoff Ridder/Fairfax NZ be part of the John Giddings Memorial Trophy gravel section.
‘‘The second section after flying the cars from Perth is all tarmac stages to the finish in the UK, and doesn’t hold as much interest so we’ll give that a miss.
‘‘The Aussie section will be a tough enough experience, and we don’t have the budget to do it all anyway.’’
It’s likely to take 12 days to cross the Outback from one coast to the other.
‘‘It is a huge exercise, with the logistics of shipping the car, organising accommodation, service crew vehicles, and I have to get fit again for the long days of driving,’’ Smith said.
‘‘Age is catching up with my competitive days, but, despite that, I don’t expect it to be a gentleman’s event, and a respectable top 10 finish in Perth is very achievable, but with much of the competition made up of Aussies who are more familiar with the terrain, it will be a tough ask.’’
Smith, who is a director of local marathon event the epay Silver Fern Rally, added: ‘‘I need the car back for the Silver Fern event here later in the year, but the opportunity to promote our event to the Australians was additional incentive to be part of their adventure.’’
Smith’s rallying career goes back to the mid-1970s, when he was teamed with 1982 national champion Tony Teesdale, before embarking on his own career in a Ford Escort. Knowing Wayne Smith – and I think I know him pretty well – what I’m about to say will make him a little uneasy. He’s the last guy to beat his own drums, or have someone else do it for him.
But I see so many similarities with what seems to be going on at the Chiefs, and what used to go on at the Crusaders.
Let’s make a couple of things clear first. I’m a massive Wayne Smith fan and he picked me a lot over my career. And in highlighting his role at the Chiefs, I’m not belittling the contribution Dave Rennie is making as head coach.
But looking at the Chiefs, the way they get around their region, the way they identify with their people and tap into that strong Maori heritage, it smacks of what Smithy did with us at the Crusaders in 1997.
We’d had a bit of an unlucky year in ’96 but Smithy came in and took things to a new level in terms of the heart and culture of the team. He put things in place that allowed us to identify with Crusaders, and what they were about – things that can be gimmicky if done the wrong way.
One of Smithy’s strengths is making you feel it’s all about the team. It’s all about self-sacrifice, ownership and achieving your potential. He puts goals in place, and finds the things that are unique and special to his group.
He’s also good at coming up with mottos that embody what you’re doing.
At the Crusaders one year our key word was ‘‘Arete’’, which is a Greek concept that excellence is king. Another year we went with the Japanese term ‘‘Kaizen’’, which means continual small improvements. Smithy always picked something that summed up how we wanted to live our lives that season.
We’d still have our day to day objectives, but there was always an inspirational goal.
I know those intangibles helped us, and I can see what it’s done for the Chiefs. Team unity is important when the chips are down. It regulates team culture, is a big driver of discipline and