In 1988, the World Rally Championship put Australia on the global motorsport map. Occurring just two years after we won the rights to F1, the rally title cemented our country’s claim to international significance.
Its director, and innovator, was Garry Connelly.
For almost two decades Garry Connelly AM ASM has been Australia’s most senior representative in international motorsport. Much more than a bureaucrat, Garry ‘s teams have won awards for breakthroughs in presentation and safety, Rally Australia voted world’s best on three occasions. The Langley Park Super Special Stage in the centre of Perth established new standards and the world followed.
Garry entered motorsport as a rally navigator, became NSW manager for the Confederation of Australian Motorsport, developed the Australian Off Road Racing Championship, and in 2006 succeeded Hall of Famer John Large OAM as Australia’s delegate to the FIA governing body in Geneva.
His contribution has been substantial, one of four chairman of stewards presiding over the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, and importantly a leading influencer in the Global Institute for Motorsport Safety.
In 2020, Garry and his wife Monique formed Racing Together, a not-for-profit team dedicated to assisting indigenous youth to enter Australian racing.
Named a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009 for his contribution to motorsport, Garry typically downplays his role, a quiet achiever. But he is, without question, a very worthy inductee into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame.