The 1989 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 22nd season in the history of the competition.
Greg Carr and navigator Mick Harker in a Lancia Delta Integrale won the 1989 Championship convincingly, with a record setting five wins from the six starts, giving Carr his third Australian Rally Championship title. Murray Coote and Iain Stewart in the Mazda 323 4WD were consistently in the placings and finished the season on 81 points compared to Carr's 115. Ross Dunkerton and Fred Gocentas in the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 were the only other team to win an event, the final round in the ACT.
The 22nd Australian Rally Championship was held over six events across Australia, the season consisting of one event each for Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and Australian Capital Territory.
The six events of the 1989 season were as follows.[1]
| Round | Rally | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rally Tasmania | 1–2 April 1989 |
| 2 | BP Alpine Rally (VIC) | 29–30 April 1989 |
| 3 | Forest Rally (WA) | 3–4 June 1989 |
| 4 | Festival State Rally (SA) | 1–2 July 1989 |
| 5 | Rally Queensland | 14–15 October 1989 |
| 6 | Esanda Rally (ACT) | 16–18 November 1989 |
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Carr | Mick Harker | 4h 13m 34s | |
| 2 | Wayne Bell | Dave Boddy | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 17m 25s |
| 3 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 17m 47s |
| 4 | Mark Tolcher | David Tolcher | Subaru RX Turbo | 4h 25m 57s |
| 5 | Peter Glennie | Peter Clark | Subaru RX Turbo | 4h 33m 16s |
| 6 | Jon Waterhouse | Russ Witty | Mazda RX-7 | 4h 36m 44s |
| 7 | Jim Middleton | Dale Payne | 4h 38m 17s | |
| 8 | Geoff Keys | Bill Thurley | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 38m 19s |
| 9 | Adrian Taylor | Dave Ambrose | Ford Sierra XR 4x4 | 4h 40m 04s |
| 10 | Graham Alexander | John Woodbury | Toyota Corolla GT | 4h 41m 23s |
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Carr | Mick Harker | 5h 43m 09s | |
| 2 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 5h 46m 55s |
| 3 | Ed Ordynski | Lyn Wilson | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 | 6h 02m 54s |
| 4 | Pat Barber | Jim Maude | Ford Laser TX3 4WD | 6h 08m 21s |
| 5 | George Kahler | Tony Best | Mazda 323 4WD | 6h 08m 45s |
| 6 | Peter Glennie | Peter Clark | Subaru RX Turbo | 6h 08m 50s |
| 7 | Jon Waterhouse | Russ Witty | Mazda RX-7 | 6h 10m 15s |
| 8 | Geoff Keys | Bill Thurley | Mazda 323 4WD | 6h 14m 11s |
| 9 | Dean Nixon | Trevor Nixon | Subaru RX Turbo | 6h 16m 30s |
| 10 | Bruce Robertson | Ian Enders | Mazda 323 4WD | 6h 18m 36s |
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Carr | Mick Harker | 3h 35m 42s | |
| 2 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 3h 39m 03s |
| 3 | Ed Ordynski | Lyn Wilson | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 | 3h 41m 38s |
| 4 | John Macara | Leo Eriks | Subaru RX Turbo | 3h 44m 02s |
| 5 | Adrian Taylor | Dave Ambrose | Ford Sierra XR 4x4 | 3h 50m 07s |
| 6 | Frank Johnson | Rod VanDerStraaten | Mazda 323 4WD | 3h 50m 24s |
| 7 | George Kahler | Tony Best | Mazda 323 4WD | 3h 52m 23s |
| 8 | Geoff Keys | Bill Thurley | Mazda 323 4WD | 3h 53m 41s |
| 9 | Tolly Challis | Reg McKinley | Mazda 323 4WD | 3h 54m 32s |
| 10 | David Johanson | Dale Hynes | Nissan Gazelle | 4h 02m 09s |
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Carr | Mick Harker | 2h 07m 20s | |
| 2 | Ed Ordynski | Lyn Wilson | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 | 2h 09m 40s |
| 3 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 2h 11m 23s |
| 4 | David Eadie | Chris Shearer | Mazda 323 4WD | 2h 18m 09s |
| 5 | George Kahler | Tony Best | Mazda 323 4WD | 2h 18m 20s |
| 6 | Geoff Keys | Bill Thurley | Mazda 323 4WD | 2h 21m 20s |
| 7 | Bruce Robertson | Ian Enders | Mazda 323 4WD | 2h 25m 42s |
| 8 | John Long | Damien Long | Holden Commodore V8 | 2h 26m 14s |
| 9 | Steve Winwood | Rod Winfield | Holden Commodore V8 | 2h 28m 46s |
| 10 | Denise Collins | Doug Morrison | Mitsubishi Starion | 2h 29m 29s |
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Carr | Mick Harker | 4h 12m 12s | |
| 2 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 15m 34s |
| 3 | George Kahler | Tony Best | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 33m 19s |
| 4 | Ian Reddiex | Ross Perry | Peugeot 205 GTi | 4h 43m 48s |
| 5 | Jon Waterhouse | Russ Witty | Mazda RX-7 | 4h 44m 46s |
| 6 | John Goasdoue | Ford Escort | ||
| 7 | Greg Summerville | David Underwood | Subaru RX Turbo | 4h 51m 03s |
| 8 | Pat Roberts | Steven Green | Daihatsu Charade Turbo | 4h 52m 56s |
| 9 | Tony Kabel | Del Garbett | 4h 54m 39s | |
| 10 | Peter Carruthers | Gary Proffit | Mitsubishi Lancer | 4h 55m 14s |
| Position | Driver | Navigator | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Dunkerton | Fred Gocentas | 3h 40m 08s | |
| 2 | Greg Carr | Mick Harker | 3h 42m 34s | |
| 3 | Murray Coote | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 3h 47m 18s |
| 4 | Ray Wilson | Jeff Grove | 3h 49m 28s | |
| 5 | Steve Ashton | Rosemary Nixon | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 RS | 3h 58m 34s |
| 6 | Neil Bates | Dave Jorgensen | Subaru RX Turbo | 3h 59m 28s |
| 7 | George Kahler | Tony Best | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 04m 37s |
| 8 | Peter Glennie | Peter Clark | Subaru RX Turbo | 4h 05m 30s |
| 9 | Barrie Smith | Ray Winwood-Smith | Datsun 280Z | 4h 06m 10s |
| 10 | Bruce Robertson | Ian Enders | Mazda 323 4WD | 4h 09m 48s |
Final pointscore for 1989 is as follows.[2]
| Position | Driver | Car | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Carr | 115 | ||
| 2 | Murray Coote | Mazda 323 4WD | 81 | |
| 3 | Ed Ordynski | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 | 39 | |
| 4 | George Kahler | Mazda 323 4WD | 36 | |
| 5 | Ross Dunkerton | 20 | ||
| 6 | Jon Waterhouse | Mazda RX-7 | 18 | |
| 7 | Peter Glennie | Subaru RX Turbo | 17 | |
| =8 | Wayne Bell | Mazda 323 4WD | 15 | |
| =8 | Geoff Keys | Mazda 323 4WD | 15 | |
| =10 | Adrian Taylor | Ford Sierra XR 4x4 | 10 | |
| =10 | Mark Tolcher | Subaru RX Turbo | 10 | |
| =10 | Pat Barber | Ford Laser TX3 4WD | 10 | |
| =10 | John Macara | Subaru RX Turbo | 10 | |
| =10 | David Eadie | Mazda 323 4WD | 10 | |
| =10 | Ian Reddiex | Peugeot 205 GTi | 10 | |
| =10 | Ray Wilson | 10 |
| Position | Navigator | Car | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mick Harker | 115 | ||
| 2 | Iain Stewart | Mazda 323 4WD | 81 | |
| 3 | Lyn Wilson | Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 | 39 | |
| 4 | Tony Best | Mazda 323 4WD | 36 | |
| 5 | Fred Gocentas | 20 | ||
| 6 | Russ Witty | Mazda RX-7 | 18 | |
| 7 | Peter Clark | Subaru RX Turbo | 17 | |
| =8 | Dave Boddy | Mazda 323 4WD | 15 | |
| =8 | Bill Thurley | Mazda 323 4WD | 15 | |
| =10 | Dave Ambrose | Ford Sierra XR 4x4 | 10 | |
| =10 | David Tolcher | Subaru RX Turbo | 10 | |
| =10 | Jim Maude | Ford Laser TX3 4WD | 10 | |
| =10 | Leo Eriks | Subaru RX Turbo | 10 | |
| =10 | Chris Shearer | Mazda 323 4WD | 10 | |
| =10 | Ross Perry | Peugeot 205 GTi | 10 | |
| =10 | Jeff Grove | 10 |