Amaroo Park touring cars and Alfa Romeo Series 1984

[murche]

Colcol, your brothers sud was actually owned by my father. He is still farming on the same property and is turning 70 next year. I remember attending the odd race, I was about six years old. Also took the odd trip to school in the sud when the family car conked out (alfetta sedan). Not very legal but it was pretty cool rocking up in the race car! Glad and amazed to hear it is still running. Dad struggled in the series, and probably lacked the finance and time to get too serious. That was his last outing in competitive racing. Hope the sud runs another 30 years!

[colcol]

Hello murche, haven't seen you in 20 years, the last time i saw you was at an Alfa Club Sprint day at Calder, in an Alfetta.
Hope your dad Robert is doing well, send him my best regards.
Too much biff and barge in the Sud series for privateers, Ok for people like Tony Longhurst and co with wealthy parents.
I heard that Robert was a bit of a whizz at Motorkahnas due to his ability to round up the sheep in his Alfa Romeo.
Now the bad news, the poor little Sud was written off about 3 years ago, when Stephen stopped to give way to a garbage truck pulling out, and the Hyundai driver wasn't watching and rear ended the Sud at 60 kph and wrote it off, but he was still able to drive it home, lucky to get away with it without any injuries.
Club member purchased the wreck for spare parts, and as strange as it may seem, lives in the same street as me!, hope to catch up with you sometime, Colin.

[murche]

20 years...time does slip away doesn't it. You must be Colin who had the Alfa 33? Thanks for steering me around Phillip Island and giving me some pointers that time! I gave the club racing away because at the time (and even though it was relatively cheap thrills) I didn't have the funds to keep the car up to a reasonable standard. It is still to this day the best fun I have had behind the wheel. I still have a flicker of desire to get a dedicated track car though...one day. Sorry to hear of the Sud's demise. I never realized your brother brought the car from dad when we met on the odd track day. Might see you again some time. Regards, Edward.

[colcol]

I actually blame the twin carb Sud for getting me addicted to Alfa Romeo's, when i drove the Sud, i thought, well this is it, thats where i have to go, if only i had been introduced to something less addictive like ICE, instead of that Sud.
Never owned a Sud, but was 'caretaker' for about 7 years, loved that car, my favourite Alfa Romeo, broke down once in 7 years when a dodgy mechanic put an even dodgier distributor in it.
The mechanic of course was me, it was my cleanest dirty shirt, to get it going!
Swapped it over with a goodin out of the 33, and i was on my way.
Drive past the place everyday, where the Sud spluttered to a halt and always think of it, and how i miss it.
If you are in Melbourne on November, Sunday the 29th, call into Wesley College for Spectacolo, be good to catch up, Colin.

[murche]

Wish I could pop down for Spectacolo but I'm on the gold coast until January. Nothing permanent though and I may be more Melbourne based in the future. After 20 years farming I think I need to try something else! So perhaps I will see you sometime, hopefully at the track. I don't really have any memory of the performance of the sud because I was to young but my sister had one. I think it was an "L" series? Quite an early model I think. It was a fun and nimble car. Currently parked in the barn alongside the alfetta I used to use. They might be valuable barn finds in about 1000 years!

[colcol]

Not likely to see me and the 33 at the track, except for parade laps these days.
Alfasud recently sold on Gumtree or Ebay for mid teens, if i remember rightly, was about a 1975 model, so don't be too sure that they are worth nothing, there are so few left now, keep it and look after it, Colin.

[Paul Newby]

It was interesting to see that Mike Raymond interviewed Allan Grice and Tony Longhurst before the final race. Also interesting to hear them being interviewed after the race! Grice was ever the politician (of course he really did become one!) in not revealing his future intentions.

Of course Grice did protest and when that was thrown out he took the case to court!

Tony Longhurst won the Alfa 33 which he promptly sold and pocketed about $13K. Grice sued Longhurst, the promoter (the ARDC) and the prize giver (Alfa Romeo Australia) and actually won the case! It took over 10 years to work its way through court system and by good fortune (I was working in the legal industry at the time) I managed to see the settlement document. It made interesting reading... 

Today if you tried such a blatant tap as Longhurst did on Grice you would get a black flag or a pitlane drive-by penalty and there would be no disputing who the winner should have been. That would have saved all fo the protagonists a lot of grief, not to mention a lot of cash as well...

[Sheldon McIntosh]

I managed to see the settlement document. It made interesting reading... 

There must be something you can tell us, even if it's in code.... 

[Paul Newby]

I managed to see the settlement document. It made interesting reading... 

There must be something you can tell us, even if it's in code....

It was a long time ago...

However Grice won the case and the other parties (Longhurst, ARDC and ARA) had to pay the settlement amount which would have been the sale price of the 33 plus interest accrued and I presume also Grice's legal costs. But don't quote me...