DustTrails, by RallySport Magazine

In part two of our chat with Western Australian event director, Ross Tapper, he talks about tarmac. From bringing the popular side of the sport to the west coast, to the many events of today, he highlights just how it gets off the ground each year. However, it hasn’t been all positives. Close to the 20th anniversary of Peter Brock's tragic passing, Tapper provides a raw, behind-the-scenes account...

Ross Tapper is one of Australia's most experienced event directors, having taken charge of Western Australia's Forest Rally an incredible 37 times. In the latest episode of our DustTrails podcast series, Tapper sits down to unpack a staggering 50-year career in the sport. From holding major operational roles during the golden era of Rally Australia to pioneering tarmac rallying on the west coast,...

After bursting onto the scene as the winner of the inaugural Daihatsu Challenge, Western Australian Leigh Hynes quickly turned heads with standout performances at both Rally Australia and Rally New Zealand. Remarkably, while still only in his early twenties, Hynes earned a dream opportunity to test drive a factory Lancia ahead of Rally Australia, putting him on the cusp of far bigger things with t...

Like many Flying Finns, Pasi Hagström was a rising rally talent in the 1990s. When a full-time factory seat didn't materialise, he didn't let it stop him. Instead, he pivoted to become one of the most renowned WRC test drivers with Subaru. Speaking in late 2025, Pasi reflects on his unforgettable appearances at the Otago Rally in the 2000s and his enduring love for the iconic Dunedin event. He als...

On this episode of RallySport Magazine's DustTrails Podcast, we head to Tasmania to speak to Les Walkden, one of the real unsung heroes in Australian rallying. Les is a guy who's more known behind the scenes than behind the steering wheel, but that certainly doesn't lessen the impact that he's had on the sport.  A member of the Australian Rally Hall of Fame, Les, who's now 77, began his rallying i...

With a nickname like ‘Dinta’, you’d expect that David Officer started his rallying career in the Colin McRae mode, but that’s not the case. From early days rallying Mini Coopers and even a 1960 DeSoto, the Victorian quickly made a name for himself by winning the 1983 Victorian Rally Championship. He followed that up a year later by winning the national championship as a privateer, driving a Mitsub...

It’s 1994 and some of the best Australian rally talent are converging on Canberra for the inaugural final of the Australian Rallysport News Junior Challenge. The Challenge was a talent search program aimed at pitting the best young drivers from each state against one another, and over almost a decade, unearthed many top-notch drivers. Cody Crocker and Greg Foletta won that inaugural year, but how...

To finish off a stellar chat with Simon Evans, we rejoin at a critical point in his career. Toyota had just left the sport, and there is a new challenge incoming in the form of a return to production-based rally cars. The following two seasons in 2009 and 2010 would help cement his legacy as one of the best drivers in Australian history, and there was more to come… not least a 2016 season with its...

Part two of our podcast with Simon Evans kicks into gear right away as he rejoins Peter Whitten to talk about fighting at the top of the Australian Rally Championship. Learn about the ‘pizza car’ in his debut outright season of 2001 and uncover the heartbreak and emotion of the Rally of Melbourne in 2002. You’ll then share in the glory when he broke an amazing drought for privateers in 2003 before...

The DustTrails Podcast returns as we speak to popular four-time Australian Rally Champion Simon Evans. In part one of three, we go right back to the start where Evans began his career in a Holden Commodore. RallySport Magazine’s Peter Whitten asks about the one-make Corolla Cup series and its subsequent rewards, followed by the impressive Volkswagens he drove in Australia and overseas in 1999 and...

Photographer Neil Blackbourn is well-known for his stunning images from the stages, and in this episode, he shares his first-hand stories from his years in the sport. ‘Blacky’ is one of the most well-travelled snappers and has transitioned from the film age to digital and is still involved in the sport nowadays. RallySport Magazine’s Peter Whitten chats with Neil about his experiences worldwide an...

When we left Part 1 of our chat with Stewart Reid, he was just about to get his hands on a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 – one of the first in Australia. He talks to Luke Whitten about the devastating and near catastrophic crash he had in the car in Tasmania in 1999 and talks of moving forward after that accident. From debuting a Subaru before the factory team could, to driving a number of new-spec Toyo...

Fancy tossing a coin between emigrating to Australia and working for Toyota Team Europe? That’s what Scotsman-turned-Queenslander Stewart Reid did, and Australia’s rallying community has benefited significantly. Reid joins RallySport Magazine's DustTrails Podcast to talk about his early career in Starions, Celicas, Lancers and Imprezas and details just some of his impressive performances behind th...

Colin Clark’s lover for rallying is clear for all to see, and he shares his opinions on where the sport is heading in this episode of DustTrails. We delve into the forthcoming changes in the World Rally Championship as the series moves away from hybrid power and where the next set of regulations might fall in an important time for not only rallying but motorsport generally. The Scotsman shares som...

The legendary voice of world rallying, Colin Clark, joins Peter Whitten on our DustTrails Podcast as we dive deep into the Scotsman’s experiences on the world stage. In Part 1 of our chat, Colin takes us on a journey back to his beginnings in rallying with the Subaru World Rally Team, sharing memories of his time working for the famous team. He tells of his transition to a stage end reporter for '...

John Kennard is a well-respected member of any service park he enters, and on this episode of the podcast, he discusses his longtime partnership with New Zealand’s best, Hayden Paddon. From humble beginnings in 2005, while still settling back into New Zealand life, Kennard was impressed by the teenage Paddon who had the highest of ambitions. He explains to Peter Whitten the ups and downs of the ea...

New Zealander John Kennard is best known for his co-driving days with Hayden Paddon, but as we learn in this podcast, his career was long and decorated before that. Kennard takes time out of his busy schedule to chat on our DustTrails Podcast and in the first episode of two, he explains his early career and the steps that took him to the top of the sport. After getting his start with Brent Rawstro...

With over 100 WRC starts to his name and more than 300 rallies under his belt, Glenn Macneall is Australia’s most decorated co-driver. Having begun his career by winning the inaugural Daihatsu Challenge alongside Leigh Hynes, the West Australian quickly made his mark and climbed the co-driving ranks. He sat beside his boyhood idol, Greg Carr, in a works Hyundai, then teamed up with international s...

So often besides our heroes are irreplaceable partners, and to Possum Bourne, it was his wife Peggy. She would be at events, following and supporting Possum around the globe to the point where she was a regular in the service park, her ever-smiling face instantly recognisable. In this episode of our DustTrails Podcast, Peter Whitten speaks to Peggy about her life with the seven-time Australian Ral...

The name Roger Oakley might not be one of fame and fortune in the world of rallying, but he’s a huge part of the success that is the Otago Rally. In this wide-ranging interview with RallySport Magazine’s Peter Whitten, Oakey explains all things about the New Zealand favourite and how he became involved in the event. He dives into how the rally secures their international stars and some of the nerv...

From a rally family, John Allen did not venture into the sport until his 30s but took to it like a duck to water and carved out a successful career. Initially in tarmac rallying, Allen won several events and came close to getting a Targa Tasmania win, before moving to gravel where events in New Zealand, Argentina and China were both challenging and rewarding. Co-driving for the likes of Kevin Week...

Back in early-1989, Jeff Whitten had an idea. Australia had just secured a round of the World Rally Championship, but there was no publication dedicated to rallying in Australia. Sick of trying to find rally news in the circuit racing-rich weekly and monthly motorsport magazines, he set out to start his own publication. Together with his son, Peter, things quickly snowballed and by late August 198...

Multiple Australian Rally Champion Cody Crocker speaks to Peter Whitten on the 18th iteration of our DustTrails Podcast and opens up about many things from his Subaru career in the Australian Rally Championship. From building his first factory car in two weeks to explaining his key flaw identified by Subaru boss, Nick Senior, Crocker is candid about where his career began. Crocker’s amazing highs...

Listen to the first part of Peter Whitten’s interview with Cody Crocker as he tells how he got involved in the sport, how he managed to win the Australian Rallysport News Junior Challenge, and the rise that followed. His chance meeting at the side of the Hume Highway with co-driver Greg Foletta, his short-lived run in a Mazda 323, and the Rally Australia trip that saw their Subaru Legacy fall off...

Phil Rodgers is perhaps best known as team manager for Subaru Rally Team Australia in Cody Crocker’s championship-winning years, but his history goes back much further than that. Typically, he started rallying a Datsun 1600, but it wasn’t too long before his talents moved into the management side of the sport. He’s been a driving force behind names such as Jamie Drummond, Eric Pietila, Nobuhiro ‘M...