Brendan enjoying his return to Autocross

Despite having no rallies on his immediate radar, Brendan has been keeping his motorsport passion alive by returning to his rallying roots in Autocross events.

After competing in the first round of the 11-round Victorian Autocross Series (which includes events in Mt. Gambier, South Australia and Deniliquin, NSW), Brendan has made some upgrades to his Datsun 1600.

“We recently did the Deniliquin Autocross (round 1) with the L20 motor and then missed Swan Hill (round 2) to put in the SR20 NA and 5 speed Silvia gear box,” Brendan said. “ We also added a standard computer and a fitting kit from SW Motorsport. The total upgrades took lots of work but it was lots of fun, too.”

Brendan believes Autocrosses are a great introduction to motorsport for young drivers - he first competed in the series at age 14 - as they not only teach drivers important driving skills but are also a low-cost form of motorsport.

“The grass roots level of rallying is going as strong as ever,” he said. “With $55 entry fees (for each of the VCAS events) and a CAMS Level 2 speed licence costing about $119, it’s pretty affordable for everyone. The only other cost is a car club membership. My club, the Cerberus Car Club, charges just $40, so it’s a really cheap way to enjoy motorsport.”

“The other thing I love about Autocross is that one car or buggy can be shared by up to four drivers so my girlfriend, Cass Stanford, competes in the ladies class. It’s a great day out,” Brendan added.

Brendan competes in Class D for under 2 litre vehicles in the VCAS. Each of the Autocross tracks is around one to two kilometres in length and competitors have six laps each with their three fastest laps counting towards their overall score.

With the upgrades to the Datsun 1600 ready to be put through their paces, Brendan is looking forward to round 3 of the VCAS at Bagshot (Victoria) this Sunday and is being run by the Bendigo Car Club.

See photos of the upgrades to Brendan's Datsun 1600 here >>