Trophy List: (click/tap on trophy name for quick access)
- The MG (Morrie) Maurice Trophy for State Champion Driver
The Lynn Matthews Trophy for State Champion Co-Driver
The Rod Van Der Straaten Trophies for State Champion 2WD Driver and Co-Driver
The Rob Herridge Trophy for State Champion Rookie Driver
The Glenn Macneall Trophy for State Champion Rookie Co-Driver
The John Macara Trophy for Champion Clubman Driver
The Australian Rallysport News Trophy for Champion Clubman Co-Driver
The Ross McFarlane Trophy for Clubman Masters Champion Driver
The Darge & Golding Trophy for Clubman Masters Champion Co-Driver
The Don Hall Trophies for Champion Clubman Rookie Driver and Champion Clubman Rookie Co-Driver
The Warren Leary Trophy for Rally of the Year
The Ernie Hastie Trophy for WA Rally Official of the Year
The Ross Tapper Trophy for Young Rally Official of the Year
The Pink Panther Trophy to Encourage Participation in Rallying
The MG (Morrie) Maurice Trophy for State Champion Driver
M.G (Morrie) Maurice was born in NSW in 1910, moving overseas at age 18, and flying in the Canadian Airforce in WWII. Morrie moved to Perth in 1947, and in 1951 he started racing in a Chrysler special. He became a very accomplished driver, most successfully racing a HRG Special at Caversham, and was also heavily involved in the administration of motorsport.
As president of the WA Sporting Car Club, who in those days ran both circuit races and rallies, most notably the BP Trials, he was instrumental in the formation of CAMS as the convening authority for motorsport, replacing ‘mobility clubs’ (the forerunners to RAC etc).
From its inception in 1953, until his death in 1958, Morrie was a foundation member of the WA State Council of CAMS, holding the role of Secretary and Delegate to CAMS Australia, and also served as President of the National Control Council of CAMS Australia. He passed away from cancer in 1958.
His significant contribution to all forms of motorsport is memorialised in the trophy for the WA Champion Rally Driver.
The Lynn Matthews Trophy for State Champion Co-Driver
Lynn Matthews fell in love with rallying after watching cars competing on the original London to Sydney in 1968, and knew she wanted to compete. She started rallying with Alan Stean, becoming the first female navigator in the Australian Rally Championship, and the first woman to win ARC points.
Lynn retired from competing when she became a mother, and turned her attention to administration of the sport. She became a three time Clerk of Course of the Experts Cup, and was a key member of the sporting council which conceived and created Rally Australia, for which she then ran field communications. Lynn was a long time member of the WACC, where she held the role of Treasurer, and was the long time manager of field communications for the Forest Rally.
Lynn also had a long involvement with circuit racing, managing Wanneroo raceway for nearly 10 years, and becoming the West Australian delegate to the national motor racing promoter’s council. Her son remains active in motorsport today.
Lynn bought and donated the Lynn Matthews Trophy for Champion Co-Driver when the arts of navigating with maps and co-driving diverged.
The Rod Van Der Straaten Trophies for State Champion 2WD Driver and Co-Driver
Rod van der Straaten competed for over 30 years, mainly in Western Australia, but also in Malaysia, New Zealand, Scotland and other states of Australia. Along with John Large, Rod remains the most successful of any West Australian Rally Championship competitor, with six State Championships to his credit. A title maker, he co-drove with the state’s best – Jeff Dunkerton, Ross Dunkerton, Danny Bignell, Clive Slater, John Macara, Tolley Challis, and Dean Herridge.
Starting his career when rallies were ‘trials’, and mostly about navigation, Rod was very skillful in guiding his drivers along the right route and was also notorious for setting challenging and tricky routes for others as an event organiser.
Rod adapted as the sport adapted and became one of Australia’s foremost proponents of the art of pace-notes, developing a pace-note book which became ‘the standard’, was the forerunner to many still being produced today, and was widely used by both Australian and international competitors.
An icon of our sport, Rod died of illness in 1997. The Rod van der Straaten trophies are a reminder to us all of Rod’s dedication to the sport, and his commitment to encouraging and developing new people in it.
External link to an article on Rod written in 1997 by Barb Clews: “Man behind the map” (courtesy of 50megs.com and Australian Auto Action).
The Rob Herridge Trophy for State Champion Rookie Driver
With five state titles, and two national ARC titles, Rob Herridge is one of the most successful rally drivers WA has produced. After success in other sports including Motocross, Water Skiing, Clay Target Shooting, Offshore Powerboats, Rob started Rallying quite late, at just under 30 years of age. He quickly moved up the ranks behind the wheel of a Datsun 1600 however the move to a Subaru RX Turbo netted his first outright championship in 1988 and is second in 1990.
The following year saw Rob step up to the ARC, winning the Championship in 1991 as a privateer and then backed this up the 1992 title while driving the Subaru Australia Factory Group N Car with Possum Bourne as teammate. After some further factory drives in and around the Asia Pacific, Rob scaled back his competition program while helping his son Dean start in the sport. Rob returned to the WARC in 2001 with Bill Hayes as Co-Driver and went on to win three titles in a row. (2001, 2002 and 2003, joining Ross Dunkerton as the only drivers to achieve this in the WARC.
Robs State Championship record is matched only by John Macara, whilst Rob and Ross Dunkerton remain the only drivers from WA to win the Australian Rally Championship drivers’ title.
The Glenn Macneall Trophy for State Champion Rookie Co-Driver
Glenn Macneall is the most successful and accomplished rally competitor that WA has produced. Starting like us all at club level, Glenn has competed successfully at the outright championship category of every level of the sport – WARC, ARC, APRC and WRC, with a range of other country and regional championship rides along the way. Along with Chris Atkinson, Glenn was the first Australian competitor to have a fulltime drive with a WRC factory backed team. Glenn not only blazed a path, but represents an aspiration that every new competitor to our sport can have, and that it is achievable with commitment and dedication to the sport.
The Glenn Macneal trophy represents both a testament to Glenns achievements, and a fitting example for our Rookie Champion to seek to emulate.
The John Macara Trophy for Champion Clubman Driver
Considered by many of his peers to be the driver of his generation, the enigmatic John (Chuck) Macara has driven at the top level in WA for 5 decades, winning 5 state championships along the way. Along with Rob Herridge, John is the most successful driver to have competed in our sport in WA.
Coming to the sport after dragging off an off duty policeman in his hot Datsun1600, who suggested there were better paces to be racing, John first started competing in 1975. In 1976, he placed 4th outright in the local ARC round, but his breakthrough Championship didn’t come until 1983, the year after seeing Barry Lowe run a Dazda in the 1982 Broken Hill ARC round. Developing his own version from a $125 1600 and the engine from his own RX3, John won 4 rounds of the championship, to beat Ross Dunkerton. He won the title again in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 2009.
Alongside his 5 championships, Johns highlights include running 2nd to Greg Carr in a works Fiat Arbath in the 1983 Safari, an 11th outright in Rally Australia in a Group N car, and running second outright at the Bathurst ARC in 1984 against Carr, Portman, & Bell before a trailing arm broke.
The Australian Rallysport News Trophy for Champion Clubman Co-Driver
Started by Jeff and Peter Whitten in newspaper format just prior to the first Rally Australia in 1989, Australian Rally Sport News is an icon of rallying in Australia. At the time, rally reporting was negligible, with some minor snippets making it to the back pages of other motorsport publications. Jeff and Peters creation became the indispensable source of information for the rallying fraternity, and took our sport to a far broader audience. Many here will remember the religious visit to the newsagent each month to grab their copy.
ARN changed to glossy magazine format in 2005, but with changes to the publishing industry, to the way in which people wanted their news, and the decline of advertising in print media, ARN moved on line in 2007. Continuing today in subscription style, ARN continues to promote our sport, and the people who are its fabric.
Competitors themselves, the Whittens were passionate supporters of grassroots rallying, and loved to help promote and support new competitors as they established themselves and progressed to the highest levels. Their donation of the Australian Rallysport News trophy for champion Clubman Codriver is a manifestation of that support.
The Ross McFarlane Trophy for Clubman Masters Champion Driver
Ross McFarlane was educated Scotch College, and mechanical by nature, subsequently worked with Ralph Sarich on the development of the Orbital Engine. Ross started rallying in the early 1970s in a well built Datsun 1600. He was very safety conscious, and was one of the first drivers in the state to add side intrusion bars to his roll cage.
Ross was a fast and highly competitive driver, regularly to be found in the top 5 at events. He met David Burton in 1973, and they started competing together in 1975. Tragically, Ross was killed on the 1976 Pathfinder event, when they failed to take a 90 degree bend, and rolled the car onto the roof, without injury. Unfortunately, as Ross was climbing out his window, the next car made the same mistake, went off the road, and ran over Ross.
The Ross McFarlane Trophy was presented by Ross’ parents, and originally was awarded based on points scored on a nominated ‘Ross McFarlane’ stage at each event. Today, we present it to the Champion Clubman Masters Driver.
The Darge & Golding Trophy for Clubman Masters Champion Co-Driver
Gordon Darge was by day the Assistant Crown Prosecutor, but on weekends a highly accomplished and capable map navigator, who among others, navigated for Jeff Dunkerton in the early days. Rhett Golding, drove a VW Beetle in the 1960s at car club run level, but was also a very capable map navigator.
Gordon Darge and Rhett Golding donated the trophy for the State Champion Navigator, a title which started in 1964, and continued on until the end of the map navigation era in 1987, the year of the last Pathfinder Rally. Until 1983, the champion map reading co-driver and state champion co-driver were one and the same, but with the introduction of special stage rallying and route charts, the Darge and Golding Trophy continued to be awarded to the champion map reading co-driver, whilst the Lynn Matthews trophy was introduced for the overall state champion.
The trophy is now awarded for the Clubman Masters Co-Driver.
The Don Hall Trophies for Champion Clubman Rookie Driver and Champion Clubman Rookie Co-Driver
Don Hall was an avid and successful competitor in the 1970s in both speedway and at Caversham, where he ran a hot Lotus Elan. A mechanic by trade, Don owned a speed shop in Subiaco which serviced a broad range of motorsport competition needs, including all the necessary rallying gear of the day. He loved all forms of motorsport and was to be found helping people out at all types of motorsport events, from speedway to rally, usually as part of service crews.
Don was active in encouraging new people into the sport, and helping them out to get going, and originally donated trophies for the champion driver and navigator in the novice trials series. Today we fittingly present these trophies to our Champion Clubman Rookie Driver and Co-Driver.
The Warren Leary Trophy for Rally of the Year
Warren Leary was senior banker by trade, and also a committed and passionate rally competitor and administrator. A long time member of the WACC, as a competitor he navigated for John Neal in an XU-1, and regularly featured with John in the top 5. Director of the Pathfinder Rally in 1974, Warren was also a State Councillor, and Secretary of the State Rally Committee.
Sadly, Warren passed away from a brain tumour in the mid 70s, but is remembered today for his commitment to excellence in the sport through the award of the trophy for best event director.
The Ernie Hastie Trophy for WA Rally Official of the Year
Ernie Hastie served rallying in WA in a variety of roles for over 25 years. Originally a drag racer in the 60s, Ernie was convinced to become a service crew for Martin Morris and Brian Allen at the 1985 TOCOAN Trial, and fell in love with the sport. He soon started racing himself, winning the state novice championship in 1987. Two years later, whilst competing at the Forest Rally in Manjimup, he had a big accident, hitting a tree, and ending his driving career.
A member of the SWTCC, Ernie was a prime mover in building the first Benger autocross track. Hasties workshop in Bunbury became the pseudo CAMS office in town, where Ernie helped prepare cars for others, doing log booking and scrutineering. Ernie became the state Chief Scrutineer in 2006, serving in the role for 8 years before passing away in 2014.
He is survived by his wife Beth, who still serves the sport as a control official today, his daughters Brianne & Tiffany, 6 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
The Ross Tapper Trophy for Young Rally Official of the Year
Ross Tapper represents the epitome of a lifetime commitment to our sport. Ross joined the WA Car Club in 1976, and whilst he was also a competitor, he has held every official role and helped wherever and whenever he can in the cause of promoting, furthering and supporting our sport in the years since.
Starting as a junior official, in 1977, as a 21 year old, Ross assisted the event director to run the Pathfinder Trial, before becoming the event director in 1978. Since then he has run events at all levels, – Motorkhana’s, Khanacross, Autocrosses, Rallysprints & Rally’s. Ross has run the West Australian round of the ARC for 34 years, and has also a varying times run two other rounds of the ARC – Melbourne and Tasmania.
Ross has been the main driver of tarmac rallying in WA, running Targa West and a range of support events for 18 years, and a passionate – and successful – advocate for encouraging tarmac drivers to cross pollinate to the gravel form of the sport. Event Organisation has taken Ross around Australia and around the world, but his passion remains the sport in WA, where, when he is not running his own events, he continues to help out as a control official, or any other role the organisers might need.
A worthy recipient of an OAM in 2020 for his lifetime service to the sport, Ross stands an inspiration for any young official.
The Pink Panther Trophy to Encourage Participation in Rallying
Noel Glass and Jack Lock hailed from Sth Australia, and in 1975 travelled to WA to compete in the TOCOAN Rally. Their chosen mount was a baby pink Torana XU-1, named and known by all as The Pink Panther. In an era before the road across the Nullabor was fully sealed, Noel & Jack overcame a range of obstacles and hurdles to come and compete in the West. They finished in the top 5 at the event, beating a number of established local crews.
In recognition of their effort, The Pink Panther trophy was established to encourage participation in the sport, and over the years has been awarded to a ‘whos who’ of people who have gone on to succeed and contribute substantially to our sport.