NEWS: Lotus Exige on the podium at Targa Rally Adelaide 2021

Rob & Alex secured 3rd Place in their first attempt at Targa Rally Adelaide 2021 in their Lotus Exige Sport 410

By Simply Sports Cars
Written March 31, 2021
Category Targa Rally

Lotus at Rally Adelaide Tarmac Rally

This year marks 25 years since the Classic Adelaide Rally first ran in 1997. In the quarter of a century since that first event, tarmac rallying has been embraced by South Australians and the Shannons Adelaide Rally now boasts the largest field of any tarmac rally in the southern hemisphere. The Rally capitalises on Adelaide’s unique geography, which features the magnificent scenery of the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Fleurieu Peninsula and McLaren Vale in close proximity to the city, creating a world-class driving experience for participants and bringing visitation and international exposure to these key tourism regions. Along with spirited competition, the Shannons Adelaide Rally delivers an unparalleled opportunity for Tour category entrants to experience the freedom and challenge of closed road stages on sensational roads. This year’s event saw more than 150 entries in the various Tour groups with an incredible mix of automotive machinery on display

Father & son combination secure 3rd place in their first attempt

Rob continued his 2021 rally journey to build on his experience by competing in the Modern Challenge class at Adelaide Rally for the first time with his son Alex as navigator. With the help of Simply Sports Cars Lotus we provided assistance to get the car over to Adelaide and prepared for the event. The 2021 Adelaide Rally was actually a postponed event from 2020 that had over 300 entrants for this rally event that has been running for over 20 years. Rob entered the Modern Challenge class which is speed restricted (similar to GT Sports Trophy at Targa Australia.

"After the fabulous Targa High Country, we participated in our first Adelaide Rally, where my son navigated for the first time. We had support at Rally Adelaide from the Simply Sports Cars technicians who flew down and looked after the Lotus entries – this made it so easy to participate.

The Lotus competitors even enjoyed a meal out with the tech crew as well – a truly amazing connection with the SSC team which is unusual for a dealership. The rally stages were much shorter and known well to the very quick locals drivers - the Exige was fantastic and took us to a number of stage wins and to another podium finish, 3rd in class and ahead of two rear engined GT3 cars. On the tighter stages, again we were able to beat many of the outright class cars including a Dodge Viper Extreme LHD race car and a GT3, despite our speed restriction. This was a fantastic event held on the Adelaide hills, with the magnificent vineyards and tourist towns as backdrops.

The local drivers and the Adelaide people were very welcoming and friendly and we ended up having dinner out most nights with other competitors and great food and of course the local wines.

What a great time and to share the podium with your son and some newly made friends was fabulous. Once we get more experience in reading the roads and communication, I can see us moving to the Open 2WD GT class… we’re not quite ready at this early point of the learning curve.
Rob Bryden

Husband and wife combination finish in the top 10 in their first attempt

Tony and Sandra decided to try Adelaide Rally for the first time in their Lotus Exige. They entered the Modern 2WD Trophy class which is an open competition category and followed their entry at Targa High Country at Mount Buller. It was a solid first outing for the duo who finished in 7th place in class at their first attempt at the event. They now prepare to head down to Targa Tasmania shortly for the next round of the Targa Australia championship.

We enjoy seeing driving crew combinations like this where a father and son, husband and wife, or best mates can enjoy a driving experience together. Targa rally events in Australia are very inclusive & welcoming whether you are a first timer or seasoned campaigner with a very relaxed, social atmostphere at each event.