“The Great Alpine Contest” – 100 years of Alpines

Bob Watson has written and published The Great Alpine Contest – The history of the Australian Alpine Rally 1921-2021. 

The book has 250 pages and hundreds of photos of the Alpines from 1921 to the present day. It contains a comprehensive history of the event, including: 

• the pioneering pre WW2 Alpine events originated by the RACV (usually referred to as Alpine Contests) and what they achieved,
• how a competitor in one of the 1920s events put out a fire in his brakes with beer,
• how a male committee member of the Victorian Light Car Club almost won the lovely legs contest at Mount Buffalo Chalet,
• the transition to the modern Alpine rallies from the early 1950s,
• contributions from directors Bruce Ford, Ian Richards and Stuart Lister who greatly influenced the format of the event as it exists today,
• words from those heroes who have won the event on a number of occasions – Harry Firth, Frank Kilfoyle, Greg Carr and Geoff Portman, in their own words, 
• the controversial change from Group G to Production Rally Cars explained in detail By Bruce Keys, long time Rally Manager for CAMS,
• the misguided effort to introduce the FIA coefficient system to the ARC and its effect on the Alpine,
• the near demise of the event and its rescue by the AWDCC and finally the HRA, and 
• a complete list of winners, directors from 1921 to the present.

And many other fascinating insights into the history of the world’s second oldest rally.

The book is $40 and is available from Bob Watson’s website  or RallySport Magazine.