Shannons Rally of the Heartland has been run and won in 2025.
2024 caught us out with steering failure and a roll. We came back with an Amazing Pillar Rebuild and Full Body Restoration so our goal in 2025 had to be the finish with the Monaro nice and straight.
Thursday was the Charity Media Day where a bunch of teams take lucky passengers for a short but full on stage experience. It had blind crests, a deep drop off to avoid, sump banging rocks and a fast stretch with car launching bumps. Oh and Toby Price was one of the drivers taking people for rides, how good is that.
Friday was ANZAC Day with huge attendance at the Dawn Service by the Burra RSL. After paying our respects it was time to get ready for the rally proper, Monaro Game On. The first three stages were between 11 and 17km long making a nice introduction to the 500km event.
Stage 1 went very well with the road much smoother than last year and a smooth and sensible flow through it. Stage 2 felt as good however after crossing the finish flag a smell of oil raised concerns even though pressure and temp were perfect. We pulled over and popped the bonnet to find an oily mess, dam what had caused that.
A close look and we found one of the oil cooler stainless steel braided lines had rubbed through on the bottom of the engine mount. I thought these were unbreakable so lesson learnt there and glad it was not something more serious.
With help from service man Nick White we hot plumbed the oil system to allow us to get back to the service park. Better to miss some stages than risk the engine with no oil filter plumbed in.
We didn’t have any spare AN10 braided hose or suitable speed flow fittings to repair the damaged hose properly. So we had a go at a make shift repair leaning on peoples past experience doing this and a bit of learning on the run.
Unfortunately the oil pressure and existing hose had other ideas and we popped the repair once and split the hose once dumping about 5 liters into the engine bay each time.
Thankfully this was heading to the stages and not in competition so did not empty the sump. Brother Cam and Niece Jess were on the way from Adelaide by now with suitable spares fresh from Outlaw Speed Shop so twice burnt we waited and third time we did it right and were back in.
Following a short stage, close watch of the oil pressure gauge and a good check under the bonnet just in case and we were lined up at the 70km stage confident the new hose was good.
This stage has history with us as the one we had steering failure on in 2024. Time to get that monkey off the Monaro roof and show these roads the Monaro is back and built stronger than before. It was good crossing the finish flag on that marathon stage, we were now truly back where Rally Monaro Legacy is meant to be.
From here on it was rally rhythm knocking over stages, quick post stage checks of steering, hoses and any new squeaks and rattles that were asking to be found.
Servicing checks, plenty of fuel and a couple of tire changes all aimed at avoiding problems proactively before they took hold.
This event is so friendly and it does capture the essence of rally so well with everyone helping everyone to ensure as many cars are on each stage as possible. We had so much support and thank everyone who offered and gave help in any way they could.
Bogan Racing in particular teamed up with us despite the Holden vs Ford rivalry. They threw all hands (and tools) on deck when the Monaro came in with an oily engine bay and helped get everything sorted in time to get back out there. The stages are great but the people you share this experience with really make the adventure of marathon rally amazing.
Saturday night had a bunch of tight and twisty stages that were great even in the big Monaro. There is something about racing on dirt roads at night that is so very special to connect with the history of these sorts of events.
Sunday felt like the home straight even though we had a lot of K’s still to go. Today was a day to push a little more having built confidence in the team package and just for the fun of sharing the Monaro with everyone at the event.
The 70km stage flowed fantastic with the Monaro really feeling at home on the fast Burra roads. We did have one small mishap with a diff lock spin on a corner but a quick flick and refocus and we were off again for a fast finish.
The Diesel and Dust stage with the jump in front of the Midnight Oil house was the last stage. We got a bit of cautious air on day 1 and Neil thought we should give it a bit more this time through. Well we celebrated the last stage Dukes of Hazard style, full flight.
Thanks Bruce Keys for capturing Rally Monaro in full flight to finish this epic marathon rally event.
Thanks Nick White with a ripper pool room addition with the Midnight Oil House in the background.
So until next time we encourage everyone to get involved in any way you can and enjoy getting out there and a bit dusty while making friends and helping each other out.
