Driving on dirt in a beat-up Saab?
It's good fun for this CEO
2 November 2022
Mark Horwood is managing director of Captivate Connect, a telecommunications technology company. He lives in Perth.
When did you start rallying and why?
Having been brought up on a farm, I started driving old cars and motorbikes around the property when I was 14. One afternoon, a car salesman who was friends with my father came to our place with a brand new Ford Falcon automatic that he assured us could never be bogged”. I challenged that theory and won the bet – eight times.
How hard was it to get a rallying licence?
In those days, getting a CAMS [Confederation of Australian Motorsport] licence was easy. Things have changed: now you need to know how to drive – well.
Your view on rallycross?
What I love most in rallying is the element of surprise – an animal appears on the road, a creek crossing that was 20 centimetres deep yesterday is 60cm today, the surface of a road has rutted. Rallying requires 100 per cent concentration, a lot of skill and a modicum of luck.
What marques of rally car do you drive?
When I started driving competitively, I had a Mini Cooper S. After the Mini, I bought a Mitsubishi Galant. This was far more comfortable and quite fast but not as solid. Today, I drive old Saab 9-5 sedans. They are front-wheel drive and have strong bodies with a solid built-in cage.
Do you rally with a sponsored team?
My own company, Captivate Connect, is my most regular sponsor. It pays all the bills. Other sponsors come and go.
Do you have a permanent co-driver?
My co-drivers change from event to event. Some are highly skilled drivers, some are great fundraisers, and some are good fun. Over the last five years, the rallying has had the sole purpose of raising funds and awareness for charities in need of support.
What class do you compete in, where and how often?
I competed in the Rally WA Championships in my younger days.
Nowadays, I compete in charity fundraisers. In August, I did the Convent Run to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In October, I competed in the BulldustNBack Trial, which raises money for a number of charities including Global Hand Charity Inc, which I co-founded in 2009. The 2022 event looks to be on track to raise $100,000 from the 19 entrants.
What is your preferred rally – Australian Targa series or Dakar?
Somehow I doubt my 1998 Saab with 297,000 kilometres on the clock would survive either of those events, so I will stay home and raise serious money for charities. I want to raise $1 million before I retire.
Preferred race length?
If I had my own way, I would love to do 14-day events up through the north of Australia. I still have businesses to run, so I limit my time away to two days a week plus the weekends, so four-day events work well.
Do you have a routine for rally driving?
Limited fluids in the morning and copious drinks at night after racing.
Dream rally class and car?
The new Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing goes like the wind, is light and handles like a dream in the wet, dry and sand, so if I won Lotto, I would have one.
Which rally driver do you most admire?
Jack Murray was an Australian icon in the Redex Trials in the 1950s. The cars were basic and the safety questionable, but “Gelignite Jack” was just amazing. He is credited with climbing out of his upside-down car after a roll-over and asking for a spanner so he could adjust the brakes while they were accessible – a positive fella, was Jack.
Most memorable rallying moment?
Driving in the Pathfinder Trial, with an inexperienced navigator who managed to get us lost on the transport stage, which is the first section of the event-getting cars away from a shopping centre to the startline. We had so much time to catch up that the navigator didn’t plot our route. The organisers told us to travel “straight ahead for the next 30km”. The navigator’s job was to monitor where we were on the map, which would have shown a right-angle bend in the road. Neither of us saw the 30-metre high gum tree in our way on that bend. That created a long-term memory as I had to take a weekend job for two years to pay for the repairs.
Best advice you’ve ever received?
We are here for a good time, not for a long time – so do what you do with passion and gusto.
Best way to relax after a race?
A hot shower and a cold beer.e
