13/01/2025
Some of you may know Peter Landan through his Instagram account, where it quickly becomes evident that Peter is the conservator of perhaps the most striking Hakosuka Skyline build in existence, alongside other provocative Japanese and European cars. What you might not know is that in 1994, Peter competed in the star-crossed Australian Cannonball Run. These photos, taken by Peter during the event, capture a unique chapter in his motorsport journey. Over the years, he competed in various Australian categories, including open-wheelers, production cars, and Targa. When news broke of an Aussie Cannonball Run in the NT, Peter entered a Porsche 930, joining a field of 118 entrants. Pete’s photos include the Maserati Barchetta shown here, later to become part of the Berlina stable. In 1994, Alex Danilo and co-driver Craig Brown campaigned this Barchetta at Cannonball. Of the few brought to Australia for its launch, Dick Johnson had raced a near-identical Barchetta in that year’s Targa Tasmania, later returned to Italy. Alex and Craig’s car, however, remained in Australia and eventually found a home with Berlina. In ‘94, NT highways were free from speed limits. Organised by Ford legend Alan Moffat, the event had the support of NT chief minister Marshall Perron and some sanction from the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Billed as a high-speed desert sprint, it was, according to Moffat, “not a race [and] not a rally.” Sections featured 100-kilometer timed stages, where entrants lost points for arriving too late or more than three minutes early. Other stages were shorter, single-mile top-speed runs. Tragically, poor regulation and organisational flaws led to the deaths of two Japanese entrants and two event marshals. Akihiro Kabe, a Japanese dentist, and navigator Takeshi Okano died when their Ferrari F40 lost control at ~220km/h on a sweeping right turn, hitting a checkpoint where marshals were stationed. Wheels Magazine wrote, “The trip odometer in the wrecked Ferrari showed 103 km. On a 94km stage, this adds weight to the theory that the two Japanese were confused about the exact location of the control and their average speed.” More below.
