Following another incredible Tarmac West, the Tarmac Events GT Fabrications Bunbury Rallysprint was another fantastic example of just why we love these Western Australian Tarmac Rally events so much.
The two day celebration of speed began with the Shannons Show’n’Shine on the Bunbury foreshore where the race cars and alongside a collection of precious metals thanks to Lance East Exotics was on display for the competitors and general public to enjoy a fantastic night of cars, community, and family fun.
Come race day and the fantastic twenty-seven corner run through the Davenport industrial estate lay ahead of the 101 excited entrants. This unique and challenging road course is reminiscent of other well known tarmac rally town based stages in Australia with tight 90 degree bends and unforgiving roadside curbs to keep drivers in check.
With eleven classes split between the driven axles, engine capacity and vehicle age, there was plenty to play for. The event saw everything from a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car to an EV in its own class, the Hyundai Ionic 5N driven by Glenn & Cheryl Robertson, finishing 88th overall after suffering DNS’s in the final two runs of the day.
Clocking in the fastest overall time by just fourteen seconds was the absolutely bonkers Toyota Starlet driven by Matt Cherry & Bradley Searle, the little red rocket could be heard before it could be seen as its WRC style anti-lag system savaged the tight and complex road course. Second overall and Class 2 winners where Mark Cirillo & Adrian Burney in their 2022 Toyota Supra who rather gracefully slid the twin turbo weapon on the edge of grip, a fantastic pair to watch live out on stage. Coming in third place overall and taking Class 11 victory was the R32 GTR of Matt James-Wallace & Ben Tuck who finished just 4.9 seconds behind the Supra of Cirillo and Burney in an incredibly close duel for the remaining podium places.
Familiar front running contender Troy Wilson and his fluro Mitsubishi Evo X set blistering times winning the first three stages in extremely dominant fashion before a mechanical failure brought his weekend to a grinding halt. Wilson finished an impressive 13th overall despite failing to start a single one of the four afternoon stages. That Evo sure is a rocket!
A huge thank you to Ross Tapper and his team for another fantastic event, along with headline sponsors GT Fabrications, Shannons Insurance and Lance East Exotics as well as all the other event and team sponsors who support this fantastic event. Congratulations to all the drivers and navigators who braved the demanding Bunbury sprint and we look forward to Albany Rallysprint on the 3rd of March, 2025. Catch up on all the highlights on the Tarmac Events WA youtube channel right here.
