AMSAG 2023 Bago 150 Rally
August 12, 2023
Saturday, August 12, saw the running of the AMSAG 2023 Bago Rally. I expected to see roads that I remember from the Southern Cross rallies back in the day. And I did.
 Supplementary Regulations |  Spectator Instructions |  Service Instructions |
Click to see some action in the Service Park
The Wauchope area turned on some almost perfect weather for the Australian Motor Sport Action Group's 2023 Bago Rally. The event was jointly organised by AMSAG and the Hastings Valley Sporting Car Club and was Round 3 of the AMSAG 2023 Pipe King Southern Cross Rally Series.
It was just coincidental that a round of the series went over some roads that had been used in the international Southern Cross rallies in the 1970s, but that was part of the attraction to competitors, many of whom had fond memories of nights in the forests back then, either as officials, spectators or competitors trying to beat some of the world's best rally drivers. One of the officials was Rosie White, whose husband Dan was the director of the Southern Cross for several years back then.
61 cars started the rally, with 44 classed as finishers. The 17 nonfinishers mainly dropped out because of mechanical problems. This couldn't be blamed on the condition of the roads which were in almost perfect health. One disappointment was the retirement of former Australian Rally Champion Nathan Quinn who would have been a real contender for the win. His Hyundai I20 had a mechanical fault and despite attempting a fix and rejoining the rally it wasn't going to be his day.
The only serious incident was when the Datsun 120Y of Jarrad Gotch and Amanda Williams lost a fight with a tree. Nobody was injured and Jarrad displayed photos of the damaged car on Facebook with the message "We'll be back".
That'll buff out. Photo by Jarrad Gotch from Facebook
Dust was a problem throughout the day and with little wind it was sometimes not clearing completely in the two minutes between cars, but rallying is always about driving to the conditions so nobody could complain. Photographers out on the course could complain but nobody would take any notice.
The outright winners were Mal Keough and Pip Bennet in an Audi Quattro S1 E2 replica (the model numbers are important, as the Quattro went through several evolutionary changes after introducing all wheel drive to rallying in 1980). Second went to Josh and Matt Redhead in a Mitsubishi Lancer GSR, with Chris Giddins and Tara McIlroy third in a Lancer EVO9. Maintaining a connection with the original Southern Cross rallies, Brad and Hunter Goldsbrough brought a Datsun 1600 from that era home in fifth place, showing how good and competitive some of those older cars can be.
Peter Leitch and his team from Hastings Valley Sporting Car Club must be congratulated for running an excellent and enjoyable rally over roads that haven't been used for some time. The organisers had to overcome some very last minute problems in the days leading up to the event (change in presentation venue, rerouting a stage because of resident objections, …) but nobody noticed any problems on the day. Thanks also have to go to AMSAG for their assistance and the Forestry Corporation, without whom there would be no places to hold these events.
Everyone is looking forward to a repeat next year and the event is almost certain to become a regular part of AMSAG's annual series.
Where the rally went
Click the picture for a larger view
or go here to see an interactive map on Google Maps
Click to see some pictures of the cars in action
A report on the rally appeared in the Manning River Times
Information about this and other events can be found at https://www.amsag.com.au
