The Shannons Adelaide Rally just gets bigger each year, and the 2026 event was no different with more competitors in the hotly contested Rally Pro/Competition category.  At the pointy end of the field was Alex Rullo/Ben Searcy (2022 Hyundai i20 Rally 2), Peter Rullo/Brad Jones (2023 Porsche 911 992 R-GT), Dermody/Doble (1978 Ford Escort RS 2500), Matt Selley/Hamish McKendrick (2003 Mitsubishi EVO8 RS) and the ever popular Jack Monkhouse/Neill Woolley (Datsun 180B SSS).  The event running for 3 days takes in some of the best tarmac roads in the Adelaide Hills extending from Hermitage in the north to Strathalbyn in the south.  Over 400 cars were entered with the vast majority in the non-competitive touring categories, with many entrants coming over on multiple occasions now, such is the popularity of this well run event.   The faster timed categories including the Rally Pro/ Competition, Challenge 130 (kph maximum), and Challenge 120, and TSD (regularity).  The Heritage Trophy was on offer for older cars entered in the Competition category.  Some of the stages are run twice, and some roads are run in the reverse direction on other days, eg Vista.  Longest stage on Day 1 (Friday October 16) was the Cherryville Plus stage at 19.44km, which was run twice.  The stages on Day 1 were located north of the South Eastern Freeway.  The remainder of the stages would be much shorter at under 4km.  Alex Rullo would win 5 of the timed stages, and tie with dad Peter Rullo on 3 of the stages.  He would only be beaten on one stage, by Peter, by 1 second.  Top 10 Rally Pro/Competition results for Day 1 were:

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Heritage Trophy leader at the end of Day 1 was Monkhouse over Dermody and Hegde.

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SS3 Knotts Hill

SS7 Cherryville Plus 2

 

On Day 2 (Saturday 17 October) the longest stage was SS16 Knotts Range (which included the iconic Deviation Road) at 10.36km, with most stages under 6km and some very short stages of 2km or less.  Stages started with Hermitage, the most northern stage and included the Chain of Ponds Long stage running alongside the Millbrook Reservoir and ended with 3 stages south of the South Eastern Freeway including the popular Windy Point stage at Belair and very short Wairoa stage between Aldgate and Stirling for spectators.  Earlier in the day the entrants tackled the challenging Black Hill stage which included the set of hairpins if Corkscrew Road.  Alex Rullo would continue his dominance over dad Peter Rullo with 6 fastest stage times of the 11 stages on Day 2 to Peter’s 4 fastest stages. and the rest of the field of Rally Pro/Competition cars.  Thomas Dermody, Matt Selley and Jack Monkhouse continued in 3rd to 5th place respectively, with Lovell and Lukasz swapping places for 7th and 8th, and Andrew Booker/Neil Branum (Nissan DR30) entering the Top 10.  Top 10 Rally Pro/Competition results at end of Day 2 were:

SS14 Black Hill

On Day 3 (Sunday 18 October) all stages would be south of the South Eastern Freeway. The day would start with the now traditional Mount Lofty stage SS23 at 7.56km (the longest of the day) first up culminating with a jump at the very end of the stage.  A repeat of Macclesfield at 7.41km was the next longest stage.  Alex Rullo would take 4 fastest stage times of the 8 stages on the day, and Peter Rullo 2 fastest stages, with both drivers cleaning 2 of the stages.  The Top 6 would remain in those positions by day’s end.  Lukasz and Booker would fall by the wayside, giving opportunities for Lovell/Radzixzewski, Hegde/Schippan and McDonough/Steve Hiser and Lepp/Herbert to finish in the Top 10 at the end of the event.  Dermody would win the Heritage Trophy.

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Top 10 of the Challenge 130 category at the end of the event were:

Final classifications for the Challenge 120 category at the end of the event were:

Final classifications for TSD category at the end of the event saw Anthony Dally and Kel Mocilnik (Hyundai i30N) add another TSD/regularity trophy to their cabinet.