Known for his Hillman Hunter rally car, Steve ‘Bondy’ Bond has stories and memories pre-dating the original Daybreaker Rally and built a reputation that still delivers side-splitting tales of the adventures.
When the Daybreaker returned in 2023 Bondy made an effort to continue being involved – as a volunteer.
“It was about time I did something different,” he explained of his reason at signing up to be a block marshal. “I’m semi-retired, wasn’t competing, or servicing but wanted to be involved in some way.”
Although his rally adventures start at the formative years of the famed event, there is one that sticks in his mind.
“I remember going across North Range Road during the middle of a storm. The lightning was at cloud level – which was our window level, so there were lightning bolts whistling around us while we were going over the road. It was very, very scary.
“Following that stage was Forest Hill road, downhill. We ended up three seconds behind Greenie (Brian Green) who was in his BDA while we were in our Hunter,” he laughs.
It was that level of enthusiasm that was met with frequent excursions from the planned route. His Hillman Hunter had a reputation of being like ‘grandads axe’ – it had been rebuilt so many times that none of it was original.
Co-driver Brian Terry recalls one instance in 1998 where it required some repair. “The very first stage, we were going well and ended up about fourth fastest – in the rain. The next stage we had a fire under the dash. He’s yelling at me to pat it out with my gloves – which didn’t really achieve anything. Meanwhile he’s still going for it. In the end I put the fire extinguisher in there and that dealt to it – while he’s still charging on.
“Later in the rally, on the second pass of one of the stages, we were coming over a brow, and of course the wheels weren’t on the road. I called 200m and to go left. He argued it went right. In the end we did neither and flew straight ahead.”
“He did manage to tip me over two weekends in a row,” he added.
Past Daybreaker Rally Manager Dave Hayward recalls it was typical to ask the finish crew if Bondy had been through the stage yet. “He would put up an amazing time in one stage and then plough off into the scenery in the next. We often joked about the bits of body panel he’d leave on the side of the road and that he probably holds the record for the most money spent per stage kilometre. He was always good natured about it.”
Bondy agrees at the record claim: "I wouldn’t be surprised,” he laughed.
For 2024 he’s return-serving as service crew for Brian Terry and his Toyota Starlet but has fond memories of the time as a volunteer block marshal in 2023: “I had a great time watching the top guys and those who used to be top guys act like they thought they could. And the random conversations with strangers, farmers and those who came out for a watch – it was really worth it and I’d do it again. Most of all its about giving back after many years of needing them be where I was.”