Family shares love affair with Toyota Levin
Jeff Kilbride pops the bonnet on his 1996 Toyota Levin to share his family’s passion for rallying. This is a love at first rev kinda story.
Moreton Life
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IT was love at first rev for Jeff Kilbride and his wife Donna who met behind the wheel of a rally car.
Now thrillseeking runs in the family with their four children all involved in rallying.
Jeff and his daughter, Holly, are a driver-navigator team in their 1996 Toyota Levin, which Jeff says is a “giant killer”.
“I bought the car in 2013 and built it into a rally car, which took around two years to finish,” he says.
“It is a unique car, which isn’t necessarily common in Australian rallying. It is a giant killer so to speak of a car, it enables me to be competitive.”
Their rally car is a Japanese import version of a Corolla and is a two-wheel drive, front-wheel-drive car with a 4AGE 20 valve engine.
Jeff says it’s a “one-of-a-kind” in the Queensland Rally Championship. The duo races the car all over the state.
He says while motorsport can be an expensive hobby, maintaining the car himself helps to save money.
“I would one day like to add a bigger engine to the car,” he says.
“I maintain the car myself as it helps to lower the cost in a high-cost sport.”
But Jeff says the opportunity it’s given him to bond with his four children, far outweighs the financial drain.
“I met my wife Donna in rallying when she was initially navigating for other drivers, then she went on to begin navigating for me and not long after we got married.
“We won the Australian class P1 Rally Championship two years in a row in a Suzuki Swift GTI.
“All my children have been raised in motorsport and now all compete themselves one way or another. The whole family gets to spend time together.”
Jeff began rallying when he was 16 and says he has been “hooked on motorsports ever since”. And while he has a few race cars to his name now, Jeff says one will always have a special place in his shed.
“In terms of race cars, I own two, the Levin and a 1974 Mitsubishi Galant which the kids have all learnt to race and drive in.
“The Galant was actually my first-ever rally car that I learnt to drive and race in when I was 16, so it will always be a personal favourite.”
The drive to compete and do well keeps Jeff and his family on the road in pursuit of rallying glory.
“It is always enjoyable when things go smoothly and we’re able to be competitive.
“Breaking down is never a fun experience for us, but it is a part of rallying. Some things are out of your control when racing and it’s always a bit of an unknown whether something could fail, or you could make a mistake.”
Jeff says his family are all members of the Brisbane Sporting Car Club that was started more than 60 years ago.
The club is responsible for many of the rallies held in the Queensland Rally Championship, and has a large array of members who compete.
“Our main role within the car club is as competitors but whenever we aren’t competing in an event, we always offer our help to ensure events have enough help and run smoothly.”
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