What Happened to the Yellow Pages RX7?

Written by Kinsey Alexander -

As a young girl I heard the war stories about my dads racing career. It was Mazda this and RX7 that. A career that spanned decades and continents. It was hard to make head or tail of some of the stories because what my dad sees as “amazing” is very different to the outside world. Phil Alexander puts alot of stock into being the underdog and he holds high the value of being able to come out on top against all odds. It’s not neccesarily all about the wins or the accolades - it’s the gearbox that got rebuilt overnight and re-entered to finish the race.

For me, this meant that it took until I stood on the main straight of Bathurst as a 30 something-year-old to really understand the scope and enormity of my dad’s career. One that may be remembered by the Yellow Pages RX7.

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During the Bathurst 6 Hour in 2023, not one, but two “fans” popped in our garage to see Phil. One had brought in a model car of the Yellow Pages RX7. I’m used to picking up the “breadcrumbs” of stories and knowledge that naturally filter through as the manager of RaceAway, and it pinged in my brain, we need to do a story on this.

I had brought up Bathurst with Phil many many times. He always spoke about his beloved Tokico RX7 which top 10’d in the 1000 back in the early 1980’s, both under his driving and that of the Ron Gillards and Mark Gibbs teams. To say the Tokico RX7 was held high on the shelf was an understatement - many a time my parents had made the joke that I (their first born daughter) was to be named after this vehicle. It’s pretty rarified air to be pulling a top 10 in the Bathurst 1000 and again it wasn’t until recently I fully understood the enormity of this.

Turning the page quite literally to the Yellow Pages RX7. A call came in from the highly intelligent and very well spoken Carey McMahon (we got on like a house on fire). Carey was rebuilding the Yellow Pages RX7 and wanted Phil to be at the test run. I thought - why not - great for the socials. As car rebuilds go, it was sometime, maybe 6 months to a year later that this eventuated.

Pulling up at the garage, the stunning Yellow Pages RX7 was there in all it’s (very yellow) glory. Phil walks in and I can see him eyeing the car off thinking ‘old friend’.

Let’s get to the story. Phil is sitting at his desk at Alexander Rotary, #35 Paramatta Road. The air is thick with that “New Car Smell” which only faintly covers the gearbox oil smell. He’s checking out the Yellow Pages which Alexander Rotary has been advertising in and he says to himself “one of the squares is about $4000… that’s $16,000 a page.” I imagine at this point he scoffs to himself and thinks, boy i’m in the wrong business. So as legends go, he calls up his mate Nick Middenway who “…was apart of the ARDC somehow…” - more importantly was an artist. Nick paints up a Yellow Pages covered RX7 because “…back in those days there were no graphic designers, vinyl lettering or computers per say…”

Phil, with artwork underarm, marches up to the Yellow Pages offices “somewhere in North Sydney.” At this point in the story I asked him - Did you book an appointment? He cheekily smiled at me and replies as if I were accusing him “Yeah, of course”. As Phil tells it, he showed them the artwork and said something to the words of “How’s this then folks?” and they agreed to sponsoring the car.

As his Tokico RX7 was leased that year to Ron Gillard and Mark Gibbs, he snagged a drive with panel beater Tony Kavich who had a Bathurst ready (but not-yet-yellow) RX7.

I can understand, through the lens of my fathers eyes, why he didn’t speak about the Yellow Pages RX7 much as I was growing up. Phil was coming off of the back of a 9th place finish in 1983 in the Tokico car. The Yellow Pages car sadly didn’t live up to expectations and had “…issues” during the race. Starting off in 43rd position, the car was pulled after 177 laps with engine issues (did someone say rotary?). But this isn’t the point of the story.

The Yellow Pages RX7 was a striking car on the grid. Many of the touring cars featured lengthwise racing stripes in red and blue from top to tail. If you closed your eyes and imagined racing back in the 80’s you would be able to sum up the general vibe. The Yellow Pages in bold yellow with the black walking fingers logo certainly stood out, especially with how widely known the company was. I need not get on my high horse and explain to the younger folk that the Yellow Pages was an essential household item, the thick books full of businesses in every home right next to the family phone - and boy did they take up alot of space (not happy Jan). Coupled with the racing era of legends the Yellow Pages RX7 sat on the stage with the likes of Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat and Peter Brock, regulars in the Production Touring group C Class.

And this is the point of the story I would like to make.

Phil Alexander, self-made, mechanic, rotary expert, racer, had a pretty simple dream - to race at Bathurst. Strolled into the Australian Yellow Pages headquarters, armed with a piece of artwork and pitched his story. To this day, the Yellow Pages RX7 is a cult classic - the poster child of the Group C Production Touring Class. And, like my dad, it’s still ready to race - thanks to the diligent efforts of Carey McMahon and Nigel Bolling.

Phil Alexander, 1984 with the Yellow Pages Production Touring Class C RX7

Huge thank you to Carey McMahon & Nigel Bolling for rebuilding the Yellow Pages RX7 and allowing Phil to have a run. What a fantastic way to be reunited.