The rally on 19-23
November will be the first classic-car event for the
32-year-old South Australian and his Italian Lancia,
although he has established his tarmac-racing credentials
beyond question by winning Targa Tasmania in a late-model
Mitsubishi this year.
And after
completing two days’ of testing the 1988-model Lancia near
Hobart this week, the South Australian says he’s aiming to
be on the pace with past Classic Adelaide winners Kevin
Weeks and Rex Broadbent and the eight-time Targa champion
Jim Richards, all of whom will be Porsche-mounted. “We’re out there to
win and would like to think we’re at least a podium chance,”
he said. “The Lancia is less powerful than the Porsches, but
we hope to make it up in the corners because it has
all-wheel drive. You can really throw it at the corners,
whereas the Porsches need a bit of finessing.”
The 12th annual
Classic Adelaide will see up to 300 cars from Australia and
overseas, representing 88 years of motoring history, tackle
around 1000 kilometres of challenging and scenic roads in
the Adelaide region. Working hard on his Classic Adelaide
preparation, Glenney is shelving his interest in a different
kind of horsepower at the current Spring Racing Carnival.
Usually, he divides his time between professional driving
and work at his family’s Glen Brae thoroughbred horse stud
at Wistow, near Adelaide.
“Sometimes we keep
a few horses but we don’t have any running in the spring
carnival and currently motor-racing is my passion. Classic
Adelaide is such a great, iconic event and my Home Loan
Centre Australia team has been striving to be in it for a
while. It’s one of the big ones and I’ve been frustrated
sitting on the sidelines of my home event.”
Glenney promises
the turbocharged Lancia Delta Integrale, based on a model
that won 46 World Championship rallies in the 80s and 90s,
will provide a great experience for the thousands of
spectators who follow Classic Adelaide. “The fans will love
it because the exhaust crackles and pops and spits flames
like the World Rally Cars – it makes an angry sound. The
Lancia is something very different and has a huge
international following.”
The nimble little
hatchback with left-hand drive, fat wheels and bulging
mudguards will add spice to a field already packed with
Ferraris, Mercedes-Benzes, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Aston
Martins, Porsches, Alfa Romeos, De Tomasos, Jaguars and
other desirable makes.
Cars will compete
in either Competition or Touring categories, with a Prologue
to determine starting order followed by four days’ of
closed-road driving in the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley,
Southern Vales, Fleurieu Peninsula, Victor Harbor and
McLaren Vale regions. The event provides entrants with
superb driving opportunities and a busy social diary,
including a car show, crews’ welcome party, street parade,
nighttime street party, winery and motor museum visits and a
black-tie presentation dinner.
