The Alpine Rally Vibe Update - 2021 Alpine Rally of East Gippsland postponed

With the recent sad news of the postponement of the 2021 Alpine Rally of East Gippsland and therefore the delay in the 100th Alpine Rally celebrations I thought that my Alpine rally blog story “The Alpine Rally Vibe” needs an update.

This postponement by Alpine Rally C of C Owen Polanski came just as the Alpine Rally vibe was starting to ramp up with the expectation of entries opening on Sunday just a few weeks ago.

Rumors of old and new Drivers, Co-Drivers and Cars intending to make an Alpine Rally appearance were all over the net, Facebook, twitter, insta you name it.  There was even a tall one that Elvis was on the road from Parkes where he has been locked down since the last Elvis Festival was held there.

And I can imagine certain expectant rally competitors to be hummin the Jimmy Barnes classic road trip song Driving Wheels …

That only the road

Can tame the rebel in his soul

It's the rhythm of the highway

As he rolls on down

And city lights as they fade from sight

Drives the man behind the driving wheels ….

…. I know what happen behind those driving wheels

 

But alias we will now be sitting around watching Alpine Rally videos (!) and reading tales all true of course, so to start off here is are extracts from the HRA News November 2003 Alpine Rally Special Issue which I did when I was HRA News Editor for that issue.


Note # 1 below.  For this issue of the HRA News I contacted Frank Kilfoyle at his home near Castlemaine and cojoled him, as Frank was known to be a bit of a recuse at this stage, into writing down, in his words, his experiences about the Alpine Rally.

 

Frank is not only the only person to win the Alpine Rally as a Driver and a Navigator – a feat that is unlikely to be repeated, but you can also then add that he directed the 1974 and 1975 Alpine Rallies and continued to support many of the next generation of Alpine Rally Directors and Senior Officials.

His last a appearance at the Alpine Rally was 2007 where he was Guest of Honour.

 

A magnificent Alpine Rally person, Frank died in August 2013.


 

Feel free to add your own Alpine Rally experiences here.


Blog Entry 10.00am August 29th 2021


Front Cover HRA News November 2003

 









See Note #1 in this Blog




Full lyrics for Driving Wheels – Jimmy Barnes, Cold Chisel

Well, he's following the broken lines

Living on borrowed time

Motel rooms and broken hearts all left behind

You swear he couldn't close his eyes

As he shifts into overdrive

He's been up and down this road so many times

The man of his own

And searching just keeps him proving

That only the road

Can tame the rebel in his soul

It's the rhythm of the highway

As he rolls on down

And city lights as they fade from sight

Drives the man behind the driving wheels

Like a cowboy in a rodeo

Riding hard but never letting go

You'll be wand'ring through the twilight of his life

Waylon Jennings on the radio

Country music and engines roar

Like a shooting star across a desert sky

And he's got a home

But it's out on the blue horizon

Heaven only knows

There's still a rebel in his soul

It's the rhythm of the highway

As he rolls on down

And city lights as they fade from sight

Drives the man behind the driving wheels

And chasing southern lights

In the distant sky

And open plains with the mountains high

Drives the man behind the driving wheels

Well, he's thought about settling down

A little diner on the edge of town

But in this world of push and shove

He's still got freedom in his blood

It's the rhythm of the highway

And city lights as they fade from sight

I know what happen behind those driving wheels

And chasing southern lights

In the distant sky

And open plains with the mountains high

I know what happen behind those driving wheels

 

Songwriters: James Barnes, Jonathan Cain, David Roberts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQn7_EtIhUg 

 

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