Based in
Sydney, Australia
Built on Passion,
Driven by Ambition
Shakewell Racing follows the motorsport journey of Michael and Rachael — a rookie driver paired with an experienced navigator, pushing the limits of privateer racing in Australia.
Their paths crossed through a Facebook post when Michael was searching for a co-driver. Rachael brings years of rally navigation experience from Perth, while Michael — based in Sydney — takes on the driving challenge. 4,000km apart, they come together at events, building and racing out of Michael's Sydney workshop.
"We're not professionals — we pay our own way and do it purely for the love of racing. This is grassroots motorsport."
3 Subarus. 2 Disciplines.
Workshop-built machines ready for tarmac and gravel combat.
Maintained by
Ichiban & Shakewell
Tarmac Weapon #1
* Targa-proven, stage-ready
Full profile & build story →Targa New Zealand
Five days. Hundreds of kilometers. One goal: Conquer New Zealand's most demanding tarmac rally.
Production 4WD Class
Dominated our class against fierce competition
Overall Finish
Top 10 against purpose-built race cars
Days of Racing
Grueling stages across New Zealand
The Journey
"Winning Production 4WD at Targa NZ proved our preparation was right. Now it's time to take everything we learned and apply it to gravel."
2026: The Gravel Era
We swapped tarmac trophies for dust and loose stones. Half a season into our first year on gravel — learning to slide, one rally at a time.
Tarmac Rally
- Maximum grip on sealed roads
- Precision driving lines
- Predictable surface conditions
Gravel Rally
- Controlled sliding and drifting
- Reading changing surfaces
- Managing unpredictable grip
The Learning Curve
New Surface
Trading smooth tarmac for loose, unpredictable gravel — a whole new game.
Car Modifications
Suspension, protection and setup reworked to survive the rough stuff.
Mental Reset
Learning to trust the car sliding — the hardest habit to build.
New Pace Notes
Fresh gravel-specific pacenotes, refined rally by rally.
Season Progress
We're mid-season and posting every week. Subscribe to catch every stage, every recovery, and every result.
Don't Miss a MomentThe Calendar
19 events. 4 tarmac. 14 gravel. 1 international adventure.
14 of 19 rounds done
Next up this season
Marysville Stages
Victoria
Yarra Ranges forest gravel out of Gallipoli Park — 171 competitive km, back on the calendar after three years, and six days before the Great Tarmac Rally in the same town.
Great Tarmac Rally
Victoria
The tarmac season finale, and the longest event on the calendar: 25 stages and 450+ competitive km across Lake Mountain Road, the Eildon-Jamieson Road and the Reefton Spur.
Oberon Rally
NSW
AMSAG round on the Vulcan and Essington forest roads out of Black Springs, at 1,113 m — the first of two Oberon-area rallies a fortnight apart.
Rally of Oberon
NSW
Rally Car Club returns to the Jenolan forests — the finale of the NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic and NSW Clubman series.
Gippsland Rally
Victoria
ARC finale out of West Sale Airport, with the stages still in the Heyfield forests. The last gravel round on home soil.
Car Builds
Following along as we build something special in the workshop.
E36 M3 S58 Swap
6-Month Build Series
The car found its way back to us. Now it's getting the heart transplant it deserves — a current-gen M3/M4 engine in a 90s icon.
The Car
BMW E36 M3
Black, Coupe, Manual
The Engine
BMW S58
3.0L Twin-Turbo Straight-Six • 473hp Stock
The Goal
Weekend Warrior — Street/Track Dual-Use
Timeline
6 Months to First Drive
Technical Partner
Kazz Engineering
Build Phases
Setup
Month 1- Ep 1: "I'm putting an S58 in my E36 M3"
- Ep 2: "Everything Wrong With My E36"
- Ep 3: "Road Trip to Brisbane"
- Ep 4: "Teardown"
Subscribe to follow the build from start to finish.
Latest Videos
Raw, unfiltered stage footage from our rally adventures. Subscribe to follow along.
Latest Reports
Rally-by-rally recaps and results from our 2026 gravel season.
Rally Barossa 2026: 6th Outright, 2nd in P6, and a Guest in the Left Seat
Ten stages through the Barossa Valley's hills, the last of them in the dark — with 2021 SARC champion co-driver Adam Branford calling the notes. How a 31-year-old wagon finished 6th outright, 5th in the SA Rally Championship round and 2nd in P6, holding off a brand-new GR Yaris.
Ada River Rally 2026 Preview: Car 21, Blind Again, in the Noojee Forests
This Saturday we're in the Latrobe State Forest for the Ada River Rally — 8 blind stages, 180 competitive kilometres, a 36-car seeded field, and us starting 21st at 10:10. Here's the shape of the day, one week after Queensland.
Classic Queensland Rally 2026: 2nd in Classic 4WD, Blind and Into the Night
Nine blind stages at Manumbar — no recce, no pace notes, the last three run in reverse in the dark. How our first Queensland rally became 2nd in Classic 4WD, 14th outright, and a pair of horseshoe trophies.
Join the Journey
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