ACC1010 Shannons Porsche Day

8/6/2019 ACC1010 Shannons Porsche Day

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ShannonS SportS and Muscle car spectacular

Mullets and muscle

cars mixed with sleek Teutonic sixes in an

event that proved warring factions can

sometimes get along

the

are coMing! GermanS

Words B Dll

Photos n Duff

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Queensland Raceway was abuzz with the

sound of music on the weekend of June 26-27.

Fortunately for the assembled crowd, the line-up

was filled with screaming V8s, sixes and fours

rather than the muted tones of jazz or the sickly

ear-candy of pop music.

This year’s Shannons Sports and Muscle Car

Spectacular was a festival of extreme machines

coming together in the tarmac moshpit better

known as Queensland Raceway.

From the Trans Am racers to the Group N

Historic Touring Cars and the Muscle Car

Sprint classes, there was enough energy to

make an AC/DC concert look like a Tupperware

party. Acca Dacca also had nothing on the

volume of some of the cars as they passed by.

The ear-piercing note of one particular Porsche

911 had more than a few spectators wincing in

pain as it screeched past.

The age-old pub/class argument of American/

Australian cubic-inch aggression versus German

efficiency often results in bloodied noses, but

today the assembled crowd’s passion for the

cars was the same, regardless of the underlying

mechanical theory.

The 911s howled down the main straight in

excess of 250km/h, leaving in their wake a

momentary absence of sound soon filled by the

contrasting burble of the Trans Am series cars

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in the pits waiting for their turn to take to

the stage. If ever a festival encouraged peace

between automotive beliefs, this was it.

The headline act was a collection of Porsches

brought out from the Porsche Museum in

Zuffenhausen, along with Klaus Bischof,

Porsche race-engineer turned curator of the

‘rolling museum’.

The three Porches drew punters like a pub

with free beer whether the cars were stationary

or screaming down the main straight.

The two big bangers were the road-going

version of the 911 GT1 that was victorious in the

1998 Le Mans 24 Hour and the 935, replete in

Martini colours, that took the 1976 FIA Group 5

Special Production with famed F1 drivers Jacky

Ickx and Jochen Maas at the wheel.

The GT1 wasn’t competing, but to see this

700hp street-registered (in Germany) monster

take to the track at all was an act of greatcourage from Porsche, and one that motoring

enthusiasts will remember for quite a while.

The 935 was there for a few quick laps

though, and when it took to the track with

Bischof at the wheel all were treated to a rare

experience – the sight and sound of an all-time

great Porsche. This car was a very close relative

to the most famous road-based Porsche of all

time, the 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’.

Indeed, this particular 935 is very close to

Bischof, as he worked on it as a race mechanic.

It also helped cement the success of the brand.

The third Porsche on loan from the museum

was a 1963 356 B-based Carrera GS/GT, which

Bischof used in this year’s Targa Tasmania. Out

on the track, the 365B Carrera made all the right

noises and turned quite a few heads with its

ability to keep on the coat-tails of the more

muscular Germans, despite the lower power

output and the fact it was worth a cool $1 million.

The price tag didn’t seem to bother driver

Warwick McKensie – he kept his foot flat to the

boards in the little Porsche all the way around

Queensland Raceway.

While the Porsches were the top act, the

support acts were just as popular with punters.

The pit area carpark was rev-head nirvana,

with an incredible diversity of cars taking up

every inch of available tarmac in the ‘Shannons

Show and Shine’ event.

The depth of variety was staggering. There was

a swathe of V8 Falcons ranging from XR to XC –

a green Superbird was a stand-out – as well as

American muscle, more Holdens than you couldpoke a stick at, and even some more modern

machinery such as a brand-spanking new ZR-1

Corvette and an incredibly sinister matte-black

Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SV.

While the majority of cars on show were

Aussie and Yank muscle, odd contrasts existed

everywhere. Where else would you see an

original 1960s Lotus Elan sitting right next to

an imperious Ford Galaxie from the same era

that looks big enough to eat it?

A call from the stewards soon saw the carpark

erupt into an explosion of sound as the Show

and Shine spectators’ cars were ushered into pit

lane for a demonstration lap of the circuit.

GOING TOPLES

Porsche GT1 drawsa crowd – 935 goelooking for worms

Wh wo yo oii 1960 lo e

k x o Fo gxi?

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men anD theirmachineS

WayNE Park

POrSchE 956c

Former V8 Supercar driver Wayne Park was

there to pilot one of the most exciting cars

in the paddock: the 956 Porsche that VernSchuppan drove to victory in the 1983

Japanese National Sports Car Championship.

In period ‘ISEKI’ (tractors and farm

equipment) livery, the 956 looked silky smooth

as it traced the racing line around the track,

cornering flatly and blaring down the straight

with unassuming ease.

PhIL rOSS

1966 FOrd MuSTaNG

Classic Mustangs don’t get much better

than Phil Ross’ 1966 example. Phil has

owned the car for 12 years and regularly

competes in events like this, as well as

helping to organise them.Headline figures for the 289ci V8

’Stang are 420hp at the flywheel run

through a four-speed Toploader gearbox.

This was definitely one classic that drove

as beautifully as it looked.

JOE BauEr

harrISON cOBra rEPLIca

With almost 900hp available at the wheels, Joe

Bauer’s Cobra replica was one of the toughest

cars in the field. Motivated by a supercharged

Holden LS1 V8, stroked to 393ci, it certainly made

all the right noises and spat flame like its serpent

namesake spits venom.

Joe’s Cobra does tend to kill windscreens,though. “Just driving on the highway in third gear,

I hit the throttle and the screen cracked. It just

has too much torque,” said Joe.

TOdd raNSOM

drB GT40

Todd’s GT40 was a real stand-out, both for

the sound it made and the way he drove it.

Throughout the weekend Todd was consistently

at the pointy end of the field in the ‘GT40 &

Cobra Challenge’ class, showing the punters

what these cars are famous for.

The DRB cornered flatter than a pancake,

with just a hint of oversteer on the exit when

Todd’s right foot hit the loud pedal. In its unique

orange and blue colouring, along with a worked

Cleveland V8, it was one car you couldn’t missseeing or hearing.

JIM rIchardS

1964 FOrd SPrINT

Racing legend Jim Richards was at the ev

driving his 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint. Jim to

us that it pumped out approximately 535h

It certainly sounded the part as the

pocket-bike/Goggomobile ‘challenge’

demonstrated. With historic racing becom

increasingly popular, it is great to see lege

like Jim joining the fray and giving the s

a boost in profile.

If disbelievers still insisted after the Show

and Shine that muscle cars don’t rule, the Trans

Am racers formed up on the grid to erase any

doubt. This class brought together classic

sledgehammers like the Mustang and Camaro

in an old-school battle where cubic-inches and

big carbs reigned.

Seriously, if you want to convert someone to

the ‘bent-eight’ religion, just get the heretic up

close to a Trans Am race car. Even the most

stoic believer in the merits of technical progress

will get a shiver down his/her spine upon

hearing the melodious push-rod symphony.

Highlight of the day was the race between a

pocket-bike, the Shannons Goggomobile Dart,

and Jim Richards in his 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint.

Suffice to say a handicap was given to the

pocket-bike and Goggomobile; Jim’s Falcon

sounded every inch the angry V8 as it roared

away from the line two minutes and 20 seconds

after the pocket-bike had left the start/finish

line. As the Ford thundered around the circuit,

eyes strained to catch sight of either the pocket-

bike or Goggomobile.

On the wide expanse of Queensland Raceway,

both looked like mosquitoes being hunted down

by a roaring lion. Amazingly, all three vehicles

exited the last corner onto the main straight at

the same time, though the corner seemed to last

a lot longer for some.

Bringing rev-heads together under any sortof communal banner is a tough job. About the

only thing most of us agree on is that the vehicle

needs four wheels (and even then there are often

murmurings of dissent).

The fact the Shannons Sports & Muscle Car

Spectacular brought such an exciting array of

cars and people to one venue was a huge plus

for anyone with even a little petrol in their veins.

All that was needed to make this event truly

rock-tastic was for some bands to turn up and

start jamming.

Wonder if Shannons would spring for AC/DC

to play at next year’s event?


Jim rih, i hiFo, v h

ok-bik miv wo-mi,

20-o !

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ACC1010 Shannons Porsche Day

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