# 1984 Australian Rally Championship

The 1984 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 17th season in the history of the competition.
David Officer and navigator Kate Officer in the Mitsubishi Galant won the 1984 Championship, becoming the first husband and wife team to win the championship.

## Season review

The 17th Australian Rally Championship was held over six events across Australia, the season consisting of one event each for Queensland and Western Australia and two each for New South Wales and Victoria. It was an unusual season, with very little manufacturer backing and a mix of classes with the introduction of the Production Rally Car category.

## The Rallies

The six events of the 1984 season were as follows.
| Round | Rally | Date |
| 1 | The Canon Zodiac Rally (VIC) | 24–25 March 1984 |
| 2 | Mid-State Television Rally (NSW) | 7–8 April 1984 |
| 3 | James Hardie National Rally (QLD) | 5–6 May 1984 |
| 4 | The Sunday Times Safari (WA) | 2–3 June 1984 |
| 5 | Dunlop 2GO Rally (NSW) | 11–12 August 1984 |
| 6 | Enka-Fill Alpine Rally (VIC) | 24–25 November 1984 |

### Round One – The Canon Zodiac Rally

| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | David Officer | Kate Hobson | Mitsubishi Galant | 4:34.14 |
| 2 | Chris Brown | Noel Richards | Datsun 180B | 4:39.49 |
| 3 | Peter Clarke | Mick Harker | Datsun Stanza | 4:42.00 |
| 4 | John Atkinson | Stephen Robertson | Datsun Stanza | 4:44.14 |
| =4 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Datsun 120Y | 4:44.14 |
| 6 | Phil Horan | Adrian Ward | Datsun Stanza | 4:52.16 |
Production Rally Cars
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Ed Mulligan | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 5:05.55 |
| 2 | Caroline O’Shanesy | Meg Davis | Fiat Superbrava | 5:19.40 |
| 3 | Terry Kuss | Bob Durrant | Mitsubishi Starion | 5:38.40 |

### Round Two – Mid-State Television Rally

| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Greg Carr | Fred Gocentas | Fiat 131 Abarth | 242.38 |
| 2 | Ian Hill | Phil Bonser | Ford Escort | 246.06 |
| 3 | Geoff Portman | Ross Runnalls | Datsun Bluebird | 248.31 |
| 4 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Datsun 120Y | 251.10 |
| 5 | Peter Glennie | Brian Smith | Datsun Stanza | 255.16 |
| 6 | Brian Smith | Peter Mignot | Mitsubishi Galant | 256.21 |
Production Rally Cars
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Ed Mulligan | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 274.33 |
| 2 | Jim Middleton | Garry Marshall | Holden Commodore | 283.56 |
| 3 | Rob Worboys | Bob Carpenter | Ford Laser | 287.50 |

### Round Three – James Hardie National Rally

| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Greg Carr | Fred Gocentas | Fiat 131 Abarth | 254.12 |
| 2 | David Officer | Kate Hobson | Mitsubishi Galant | 261.57 |
| 3 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Datsun 120Y | 262.56 |
| 4 | Peter Clark | Mick Harker | Datsun Stanza | 268.35 |
| 5 | Jack Wightman | Jon Thompson | Datsun | 279.56 |
| 6 | Robert Bell | Ray Temple | Ford Escort | 282.22 |
Production Rally Cars
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Ed Mulligan | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 283.39 |
| 2 | Jim Middleton | Peter Young | Holden Commodore | 284.07 |
| 3 | Rob Worboys | Bob Carpenter | Ford Laser | 285.57 |

### Round Four – Sunday Times Safari

| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Bob Nicoli | Peter Macneall | Datsun Stanza | 237.07 |
| 2 | Clive Slater | Rod Van Der Straaten | Toyota Corolla | 239.50 |
| 3 | David Officer | Kate Hobson | Mitsubishi Galant | 241.28 |
| 4 | Rolly Waters | Geoff Mills | Ford Escort | 249.29 |
| 5 | Adrian Stafford | Roger Forester | Toyota Corolla | 250.02 |
| 6 | Mark Anderson | Peter Baesjov | Datsun | 256.34 |
Production Rally Cars
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Greg Carr | Fred Gocentas | Holden Commodore | 267.04 |
| 2 | Ed Mulligan | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 272.24 |

### Round Five – Dunlop 2GO Rally

| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Ian Hill | Phillip Bonser | Ford Escort RS1800 | 7h 27.31 |
| 2 | David Officer | Kate Hobson | Mitsubishi Galant | 7h 32.25 |
| 3 | Ross Dunkerton | Steve McKinnie | Datsun 1600 | 7h 36.32 |
| 4 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Datsun 1200 | 7h 36.52 |
| 5 | Rod Cremen | Ray Temple | Toyota Corolla | 7h 51.19 |
| 6 | Greg Carr | Fred Gocentas | Fiat 131 Abarth | 7h 53.02 |
Production Rally Cars
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | N Hotta | S Inada | Toyota Sprinter | 7h 43.03 |
| 2 | Wayne Bell | Dave Boddy | Fiat Superbrava | 8h 13.22 |
| 3 | Ed Mulligan | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 8h 20.18 |

### Round Six – Enka-Fill Alpine Rally

| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | David Officer | Kate Officer | Mitsubishi Galant | 5:36.12 |
| 2 | George Fury | Monty Suffern | Datsun 120Y | 5:37.11 |
| 3 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Datsun 1200 | 5:45.38 |
| 4 | Barry Lowe | Ted Dobrzynski | Dazda Rally | 5:48.52 |
| 5 | Peter Glennie | Brian Smith | Datsun 200B | 5:53.55 |
| 6 | David Jones | Peter Curtain | Holden Commodore | 5:54.36 |
Production Rally Cars
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalties |
| 1 | Jim Middleton | Garry Marshall | Holden Commodore | 6:05.55 |
| 2 | Ed Mulligan | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 6:09.45 |
| 3 | Terry Kuss | Bob Durrant | Mitsubishi Starion | 6:24.43 |

## 1984 Drivers and Navigators Championships

Final pointscore for 1984 is as follows.

### David Officer – Champion Driver 1984

| Position | Driver | Car |
| 1 | David Officer | Mitsubishi Galant |
| 2 | Ed Mulligan | Mazda RX-7 |
| 3 | Greg Carr | Fiat 131 Abarth |
| 4 | Murray Coote | Datsun 1200 |
| 5 | Jim Middleton | Holden Commodore |
| 6 | Ian Hill | Ford Escort BDA |

### Kate Officer – Champion Navigator 1984

| Position | Navigator | Car |
| 1 | Kate Officer | Mitsubishi Galant |
| 2 | Geoff Jones | Mazda RX-7 |
| 3 | Fred Gocentas | Fiat 131 Abarth |
| 4 | Iain Stewart | Datsun 1200 |
| 5 | Phillip Bonser | Ford Escort BDA |
| 6 | Gary Marshall Jnr | Holden Commodore |