1972 4 - 8 October Sydney – Port Macquarie

Andrew Cowan/John Bryson in the Mitsubishi Galant GS – from the cover of the 1973 regulations booklet

1972 4 - 8 OCTOBER SYDNEY – PORT MACQUARIE

PREAMBLE

Again the rally returned to Port Macquarie and it was now evident the town would be ‘home’ for the event for the foreseeable future. Dan White took over from Alan Lawson as Road Director, having assisted him in 1971. Dan held this position until after the 1977 event, and his presentation of the course each year, and the road books, was quite outstanding. The overseas drivers came in force again and took out three of the top four placings, with the outright position undecided until the last few stages. Nissan and Mitsubishi attended in full force with a number of cars and flew their mechanics from Japan.

Dan White spent considerable time studying the forests and the 1972 event proved to be the most competitive of all the ‘Crosses’ run to date, with a very high percentage of competitive distance in the total distance; he also introduced longer stages than those experienced in the past.

The biggest pre-event shock was the announcement that the organisers were enforcing the FIA vehicle eligibility regulations. This left the Holden Dealer Team in a quandary, for it wasn’t that all cars had to be homologated with FIA papers to prove the legality of any modifications, the Team had strengthened some of the suspension and basic structure to provide a virtually maintenance-free car for a full year of rallying. As the Team was in the midst of preparing for the Bathurst 1000, Dulux Rally and final rounds of the Australian Rally Championship it didn’t have the time to prepare another car for the Southern Cross, or ‘de-modify’ the existing cars. So, the HDT didn’t start in the event (ironically, the cover of the regulations booklet showed the HDT winning car from 1971).

For the first time a two-way radio link was established between the headquarters at Port Macquarie and the organisers’ vehicles, working satisfactorily. As well as better control of the rally in the field it also allowed the getting of times of the leading crews back to HQ and enhanced the publicity for the event.

SUMMARY

Andrew Cowan and John Bryson – second of 6 wins for Cowan and first of 3 wins for Bryson

The lead was battled for throughout the four nights of the 3200 kilometre event by the London to Sydney Marathon winner Andrew Cowan (with John Bryson) in a Mitsubishi Galant 1600 sedan, and his arch-rival Rauno Aaltonen from Finland, a former Monte Carlo winner and European rally champion, in a Datsun 240Z. He was navigated by Steve Halloran. The latter pair led for the first 725 kilometres, only to surrender the lead to Cowan when a puncture in a very muddy section on the second night cost them 5 minutes.

‘Supporting players’ were Doug Chivas/Peter Meyer in another Galant 1600 sedan (3rd), and East African Safari winner Edgar Herrmann with Mike Mitchell in a Datsun 180B SSS (4th). Hermann gradually lost ground as the event unfolded, consistently losing considerably more points than both Cowan and Aaltonen and he wasn’t happy with the car’s handling, although it lacked nothing in servicing but it was too heavy for the power-plant.

Arthur Jackson, with Peter Godden, drove his Datsun 1600 to be 5th outright and the first privateer home. Unsponsored, he was equal 8th on the first night, 6th after the second and 5th on both the third and last nights. A wonderful drive. Charlie Lund put in a great effort also. With Nigel Collier in his Mazda RX3 he was 16th after the first night and then gradually worked his way up to finish 6th outright.

Galant 1700 GTO coupes were seen in Australia for the first time in the hands of Barry Ferguson/Gary Connelly, and Doug Stewart/Dave Johnson, but these were not as fast as the lighter sedans and did not handle as well. Ferguson (twice winner of the event) was running a comfortable fourth until into the second night he rolled the car and retired. Stewart left the road on the first night and knocked over a few small trees and lost time recovering.

Model of Doug Stewart/Dave Johnson in the two-door Mitsubishi Galant 1700 GTO

A Renault R12 Gordini, crewed by Bob Watson and Jeff Beaumont retired on the third night with gearbox failure, and Norm Bolitho suffered a severe setback when his well-prepared Volvo was gutted completely by fire – the crew had no time to salvage anything from the car.

The competition was followed by long post-event vehicle eligibility protests and counter-protest by Mitsubishi and Nissan and in the end only one minor protest was upheld (see Highlights below).

Crews were required to report to at least 25% of main controls in each division to be eligible for general classification and awards. The late time limit was reduced from 180 minutes in 1971 to 100 minutes for 1972. For the first time a maximum number of points could be lost on a section – 300.

Final Placings 1 Andrew Cowan John Bryson Mitsubishi Galant 90 points 2 Rauno Aaltonen Steve Halloran Datsun 240Z 114 3 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant 124 4 Edgar Hermann Mike Mitchell Datsun 180B 158 5 Arthur Jackson Peter Godden Datsun 1600 216 6 Charlie Lund Nigel Collier Mazda RX3 235 7 Peter Robertson Brian Allery Ford Escort TC 280 8 Ed Mulligan John Trumpmanis Mazda Capella 309 9 Robert Jackson Graham Roser Holden Torana XU1 389 10* Helmet Goetz Peter McFalzean Datsun 1600 SSS 567 *another record shows 10th as being taken by Col Parry/Eric Vigar in a Torana XU1 Class placings unfortunately not available.

VEHICLE ELIGIBILITY

Vehicle eligibility based on FIA Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and homologated in Appendix J of 1972 International Sporting Code:

• FIA Group 1 - Series Production Touring Cars with 5000 annual production units • FIA Group 2 - Special Touring Cars with 1000 annual production units • FIA Group 3 - Series Production Grand Touring Cars with 1000 units produced within 12 consecutive months • FIA Group 4 - Special Grand Touring Cars with 500 units produced within 12 consecutive months Fitting of a safety roll over bar or cage protection was compulsory for Groups 2, 3 and 4; and strongly recommended for Group 1. Safety helmets were not compulsory. 88

EVENT DETAILS/ ORGANISING TEAM

Event Details The course was very similar to that of 1971, with the total distance being 3200 kilometres, with 1900 (58%) conducted in 34 special sections.

Division No. Distance Competitive Comp Longest Late No, of No. of No. of Special kms kms % stage Time Entries Starters Finishers Stages One 11 920 400 44 104 100 Two 3 685 490 72 235 100 Three 9 750 330 56 104 100 Four 11 855 305 64 139 100 Total 34 3205 1350 58 235 66 59 ?

Organising Team Committee: John Whitton John Colthorpe Les Boaden Brian Mcllvenna

Headquarters El Paso Motel, Port Macquarie

Sponsors John Keran Dan White John Arter Rothmans Chairman Road Director Event Secretary Sydney Daily Sun & ASCC President (Clerk of Course)

Tom Snooks was Director of the Dulux Rally, also organised by the Australian Sporting Car Club and conducted one month after the Southern Cross International Rally, and therefore was not on the 1972 Organising Committee.

ENTRIES

There were 59 starters, of which four drivers and one navigator came from overseas.

Manufacturers: Mitsubishi Galant 1600 GS: Andrew Cowan (Scotland)/John Bryson, Doug Chivas/Peter Meyer 1700 GTO: Doug Stewart/Dave Johnson, Barry Ferguson/Garry Connelly,

Datsun 240Z: Rauno Aaltonen (Finland)/Steve Halloran 180B: Edgar Hermann (Kenya)/Mike Mitchell, Bruce Wilkinson/Roger Bonhomme 1600: Yoshio Iwashita (Japan)/T. Gotoh (in a Bruce Wilkinson car)

Locals included: Datsun Peter Lang/Ed O’Cleary, Arthur Jackson/Peter Godden (1600) Ford TC Evan Green/Roy Denny, Bob Holden/John Dawson-Damer, Peter Robertson/Tony Wunderlich (Escort) Holden Stewart McLeod/Adrian Mortimer, Peter Janson/Mike Osborne, Robert Jackson/Graham Roser (XU1) Mazda Charlie Lund/Nigel Collier, Ed Mulligan/John Trumpmanis (Rotary) Mitsubishi Bob Riley/Brian Gemmell (Galant 1600) Peugeot Brian Hilton/Barry Lake (404) Renault Bob Watson/Jeff Beaumont (R12 Gordini)

Datsun 240Z of Ranuo Aaltonen/Steve Halloran starting Division Two

Max Stahl introducing crews as they retsart in Port Macquarie

ENTRY LIST (not start order) NO CREW VEHICLE 1 Aaltonen, Rauno Finland Halloran, Steve NSW Datsun 240Z 2 Hermann, Edgar East Africa Mitchell, Mike VIC Datsun 180B 3 Cowan, Andrew Scotland Bryson, John NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 4 Riley, Bob NSW Gemmell, Brian NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 5 Green, Evan NSW Denny, Roy NSW Ford Escort TC 6 Lang, Peter ACT O’Cleary, Ed ACT Datsun 1600 7 Barr-Smith, Tom SA Hunt, Rob SA Renault 12 Gordini 8 Wilkinson, Bruce VIC Bonhomme, Roger VIC Datsun 180B 9 Stewart, Doug NSW Johnson, Dave NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 10 Older, Paul NSW McElhinny, Brian NSW BMW 2002 11 Hilton, Brian NSW Lake, Barry NSW Peugeot 504Fi 12 Janson, Peter VIC Osborne, Mike VIC Holden Torana XU1 13 Holden, Bob NSW Dawson-Damer, John NSW Ford Escort TC 14 Hodgson, Bruce NSW Gocentas, Fred ACT Ford Escort TC 15 Collier, Bruce NSW Adcock, Lindsay NSW Renault 12 Gordini 16 Iwashita, Yoshio JAPAN Gotoh, T JAPAN Datsun 1600 17 Chivas, Doug NSW Meyer, Peter NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 18 Mulligan, Ed NSW Trumpmanis, John NSW Mazda Capella 19 Johnson, R Datsun 1600 20 Ferguson, Barry NSW Connelly, Garry NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 21 McPherson, Mal VIC Thomas, Geoff VIC Renault 12 Gordini 22 Jackson, Ossie NSW Gregson, Wayne ACT Volvo 122S 23 Taylor, John SA West, Graham SA Austin Kimberley X6 24 Harris, Richard NSW Lockie, Graham NSW Mazda 1300 25 Watson, Bob VIC Beaumont, Jeff VIC Renault 12 Gordini 26 Lloyd, Barry NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 27 McLeod, Stewart SA Mortimer, Adrian SA Holden Torana XU1 28 Fitzgerald, M Schmidt, G Ford Cortina TC 29 Cheeseman, Bruce NSW Horsley, Allan NSW Datsun 180B 30 Tubman, Ken NSW Denny, Roy NSW Triumph 2.5Pi 31 Robertson, Peter VIC Wunderlich, Tony VIC Ford Escort TC 32 Coulter, Doug NSW Downey, G NSW Mazda ? 33 Lund, Chas QLD Collier, Nigel NSW Mazda RX2 34 Mecak, Garry NSW Ford Escort TC 35 MacDonald, G NSW McGuirk, Brian NSW Holden Torana XU1 36 West, Des NSW Lynch, R NSW Holden Torana S 37 Buchanan, J Michael, G Holden Torana GTR 38 Jackson, Arthur NSW Godden, Peter NSW Datsun 1600 39 Bolitho, Norm NSW Brown, Peter NSW Volvo 142GL 40 Alexander, Colin VIC Newburn, Graham NSW BMW 2002 41 Jensen, John QLD Jensen, Paul QLD Ford Capri V6 42 Taylor, Stephen NSW Taylor, Arthur NSW Holden Torana XU1 43 Neale, Frank NSW Jackson, Ross NSW Holden Torana XU1 44 Row, Ron NSW Fennel, G NSW Ford Cortina GT 45 Kahler, George QLD Partridge, Bruce QLD Ford Capri V6 46 Goetz, Helmet VIC McFadsean, Peter VIC Datsun 1600 SSS 47 Lidbury, Brian Lumby, Bob Mitsubishi Colt 1100SS 48 Longmore, M Croner, D Datsun 1600 49 Moore, Robert NSW Berriman, Peter NSW Mitsubishi Colt Galant 50 Parry, Col NSW Vigar, Eric NSW Holden Torana XU1 51 Ransom, Sue NSW Cole, Christine NSW Ford Escort TC 52 Jackson, Robert NSW Roser, Graham NSW Holden Torana XU1 53 Rochester, N Rochester, S Triumph Vitesse 54 Calver, Earl NSW Gillies, M NSW Ford Falcon GT 55 Bell, E ACT Elliott, Graham ACT Datsun 1600 56 Ross, Geoff NSW Bickley, G NSW Honda 9 Coupe 57 Elvy, John NSW Van Heyningen, F NSW Morris Mini Cooper S 58 Lawrence, N Brown, P Mazda RX3 59 Jones, K Hardy, P Toyota Corolla

THE EVENT

Division One: Sydney - Port Macquarie Starting from Hyde Park in the centre of Sydney, as part of the annual ‘Waratah Festival’, the first leg passed through Newcastle, Bulahdelah and Wauchope to Port Macquarie, taking in forest and shire roads to the west of the latter towns. It covered some 900 kilometres in 11 special sections of which 400 (44%) were competitive. The longest was just over 100 kilometres.

When the night sections started there was plenty of misfortune. Brian Hilton/Barry Lake suffered a blown clutch in their Peugeot 404, George Kahler/Bruce Partridge’s Ford Capri left the road, Ken Tubman/Roy Denny’s Triumph 2.5 Ti broke shock absorbers, John Elvy/Frank van Heyninghen had a speedo cable break in their Mini, whilst Bob Riley/Brian Gemmell’s Colt lost 37 points when they lost a bolt from the car’s front end, giving steering problems. All kept going except Tubman, skipping sections where necessary to stay within the late time limit.

In an early daylight section Hermann’s Datsun 180B bounced off the road at a muddy patch, and he lost 9 minutes winching back. To add insult to injury teammate Bruce Wilkinson’s 180B, in the same section, sheared a distributor drive. So, not an effective start for the 180B team. On a later section Wilkinson/Bonhomme had the car’s ignition drowned in a river crossing and they had to skip several sections to stay in the event.

Edgar Hermann runs to help Mike Mitchell winch their bogged 180B SSS back onto the road

Then Doug Stewart/Dave Johnson lost 33 points with front end problems with the Galant GTO until the service crew fixed it and they started to claw back time.

On the 100 kilometre section Evan Green/Roy Denny had their Ford Escort’s entire front end deranged by a rock and they used a length of chain to hold it together and struggle to the service crew. Peter Lang/Ed O’Cleary in their Datsun 1600 sped past the then disabled Evan Green (Ford Escort) and went straight on at a tight right-hander and came to rest hard against a tree.

Despite the furious driving and the hard conditions, the leaders (Aaltonen and Cowan) were only one point apart on arrival at Port Macquarie; whilst 3rd and 4th were separated by two points and 5th to 8th by 3 points.

After Division One 1 Rauno Aaltonen Steve Halloran Datsun 240Z 14 2 Andrew Cowan John Bryson Mitsubishi Galant GS 15 3 Barry Ferguson Garry Connelly Mitsubishi Galant GTO 26 4 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant GS 28 5 Evan Green Roy Denny Ford Escort TC 35 6 Edgar Herrmann Mike Mitchell Datsun 180B SSS 36 =7 Paul Older Brian McElhinney BMW 2002 38 =7 Bob Holden John Dawson-Damer Ford Escort TC 38 9 Not available 10 Not available

Division Two: Port Macquarie – Mount Seaview – Wauchope – Port Macquarie In light rain, the 47 starters began the second division, which consisted of 500 kilometres of competition in only three special sections – 235, 157 and 100 kilometres long. This total represented 72% of the total night’s distance of almost 700 kilometres.

The forest roads were well soaked and the three sections would be tests of continuous driving.

The first was over 235 kilometres and Cowan lost four points (ie: minutes taken over the time allowed for the section) and Aaltonen five, with Chivas third fastest on 12, and then Hermann with 14. Ferguson slipped off the road twice due to his Galant’s throttle jamming open and lost 15. This section saw the demise of Green and Riley. The Escort sheared a big end bolt and the Galant holed a piston. Aaltonen suffered from a punctured tyre and this allowed Cowan to slip through to take the lead on the road.

The second section of 157 kilometres was deleted (see Highlights below) due to a large tree falling across the road and bringing the field to a halt. Up to this point the course was tough and it took a heavy toll of cars. Worst hit was Ferguson, who slid the Galant a little too wide and the rear wheel arch caught a protruding log and the car rolled and was out of the event. Norm Bolitho/Peter Brown’s Volvo suddenly caught fire in the rear seat and they both jumped clear of the car and seconds later the fuel tank exploded with a roar, completely destroying it and everything in it

Crowds like this assembled each day to see the re-start

Norm Bolitho/Peter Brown - Volvo P1800 Coupe

1970 Australian Rally Champion Bob Watson, with Jeff Beaumont. They got themselves up to 5th at end of Day 2 and then the gearbox failed on Day 3

On the night,Cowan dropped 6 points, followed by Aaltonen on 11, Chivas 16 and Hermann 21. Ferguson, Green and Holden dropped out of the top ten to let in Arthur Jackson, Charlie Lund and Ed Mulligan. Watson dropped 29, McLeod and Jackson 31 each. Except for a couple of changes the field remained virtually unchanged to the finish.

Retirements included Iwashita (hit a tree), Hilton (clutch), Tom Barr-Smith (Renault 12 – gearbox), Mal McPherson’s Renault’ electrics failed and lots of others had troubles and were desperately waiting for the one hour service period after the rest break at Port Macquarie prior to starting on Division Three.

After Division Two 1 Andrew Cowan John Bryson Mitsubishi Galant GS 21 2 Rauno Aaltonen Steve Halloran Datsun 240Z 25 3 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant GS 44 4 Edgar Herrmann Mike Mitchell Datsun 180B SSS 57 5 Bob Watson Jeff Beaumont Renault R12 Gordini 65 6 Arthur Jackson Peter Godden Datsun 1600 74 7 Stewart McLeod Adrian Mortimer Holden Torana XU1 86 8 Paul Older Brian McElhinney BMW 2002 96 9 Charlie Lund Nigel Collier Mazda RX3 Rotary 97 10 Ed Mulligan John Trumpmanis Mazda RX2 Rotary 102

Division Three: Port Macquarie – Grafton – Coffs Harbour – Port Macquarie 35 crews started Division Three with its distance of 750 kilometres, of which 56% (400 kilometres) were competitive in 9 special sections (one to be deleted), this night’s course headed north along the coast to Grafton, then to Coffs Harbour before returning to Port Macquarie.

On the second section of 85 kilometres, new road works were carried out just days before the event and changed the appearance of the course in relation to the road book. All the lead crews missed the correct track leading off the new road work. The look of Charlie Lund and Nigel Collier, who found the correct route, when they were told they were first into the finish control was one of disbelief. The section was later deleted, but this meant that Cowan was now 12th on the road instead of 1st!!

The real competition now was for the minor placings with the top four well consolidated. Stewart, who hit a rock on the first night and was 31st, was flying and would be rewarded with equal 8th by the end of Division Three.

Enjoying a dust-free run at the head of the field for a time, honours for the night went to Charlie Lund in the Mazda RX3 with 27 points lost. He was followed by Cowan (29), Chivas (34) and Aaltonen (35). The next best was Jackson with 73! Watson, McLeod and Older dropped out of the top ten to let in Jackson, Lund and Mulligan.

Older’s BMW differential gave up with a mighty bang, McLeod’s XU1 flywheel shattered and Watson’s Renault’s gearbox packed it in.

After Division Three 1 Andrew Cowan John Bryson Mitsubishi Galant GS 50 2 Rauno Aaltonen Steve Halloran Datsun 240Z 60 3 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant GS 78 4 Edgar Herrmann Mike Mitchell Datsun 180B SSS 102 5 Charlie Lund Nigel Collier Mazda RX3 Rotary 124 6 Arthur Jackson Peter Godden Datsun 1600 147 7 Peter Robertson Tony Wunderlich Ford Escort TC 160 =8 Ed Mulligan John Trumpmanis Mazda RX2 Rotary 193 =8 Doug Stewart Dave Johnson Mitsubishi Galant GTO 193 10 Helmet Goetz Peter McFalzean Datsun 1600 SSS 198

Division Four: Port Macquarie – Forests Southwest and Northwest of Port Macquarie – Port Macquarie Two x 120 kilometre special stages were amongst the 11 for this last night, which took in forests to the south west of Port Macquarie and then to the northwest, including the Dorrigo plateau. The total distance was over 800 kilometres with almost 60% (550) competitive which included the two sections of 120 kilometres.

The duel between Cowan and Aaltonen continued, both aware that Chivas was waiting in the wings for one or both to make a mistake.

Rauno Aaltonen and Steve Halloran – Datsun 240Z – 2nd Outright

The third section of the night was only 20 kilometres but there was drama, with Cowan/Bryson turning right instead of left and after recovering they lost 13 points. However, Aaltonen/Halloran lost 25 and it was assumed that they did the same! Chivas, with no mistake, lost 9. Despite the problem the pressure came off Cowan as the gap with Aaltonen widened considerably. This was further expanded on the next 200 plus kilometre section when Cowan dropped 2 and Aaltonen 7.

After a break (Sunday morning) the crews headed out from Port Macquarie to take in two daylight ‘special stages’ designed for spectators and media coverage.

On the night Cowan ended up quickest losing 40 points, followed by Chivas on 46, then Aaltonen (54) and Hermann (56). Jackson lost 69 then it was a big gap to the others in the top ten. Stewart dropped out to let in Robert Jackson and Graham Roser in their XU1.

This year’s Southern Cross International Rally provided privateers with their greatest opportunity yet to place well, with Arthur Jackson/Peter Godden doing best with their very fine 5th outright.

Charlie Lund/Nigel Collier in their Mazda RX3 – 6th Outright

The great tussle between the lower top ten competitors continued, with Lund, Robertson, Mulligan, Jackson and Goetz fighting out the placings. Lund was quickest with 91 points, followed by Mulligan (whose Mazda was going through some 13 litres of oil each night) with 116 and Robertson 120. Goetz in the end lost a packet, 369.

Peter Robertson and Tony Wunderlich – Ford Escort TC – 7th Outright

Andrew Cowan and John Bryson – Mitsubishi Galant GS 1600 Sedan

Final Placings 1 Andrew Cowan John Bryson Mitsubishi Galant GS 90 2 Rauno Aaltonen Steve Halloran Datsun 240Z 114 3 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant GS 124 4 Edgar Hermann Mike Mitchell Datsun 180B SSS 158 5 Arthur Jackson Peter Godden Datsun 1600 216 6 Charlie Lund Nigel Collier Mazda RX3 Rotary 235 7 Peter Robertson Tony Wunderlich Ford Escort TC 280 8 Ed Mulligan John Trumpmanis Mazda RX2 Rotary 309 9 Robert Jackson Graham Roser Holden Torana XU1 389 10 Helmet Goetz Peter McFadzean Datsun 1600 SSS 567

EVENT SIDELINES

Post-Event Protests The competition was followed by long post-event vehicle eligibility protests and counter-protest by Mitsubishi and Nissan and in the end only one minor protest was upheld.

Andrew Cowan, driving a Mitsubishi Galant, was named provisional winner, but final placings were in doubt because of a protest. Provisionally second, Nissan Datsun works driver Rauno Aaltonen, from Finland, made two protests (on behalf of Datsun) against Mitsubishi's provisional win. • The first protest was over the organisers’ decision to neutralise certain sections of the event (Division Two) a move which cost Aaltonen the lead in the competition; • The second protest involves windscreens used by the Mitsubishi Galant entries.

The protests were eventually dismissed by the Stewards.

Initially Doug Stewart/Dave Johnson were placed 7th outright but after the protest hearings Stewart withdrew to placate the Datsun Team due to Datsun’s complaint that his Galant carried advertising above the window line which was not permitted under CAMS regulations at that time.

PHOTOGRAPHS ‘

Compere Max Stahl interviewing winners Cowan & Bryson – live to air on local station 2KM. On left is ASCC President and Event Chairman John Keran (making sure the trophy doesn’t fall), coatless Dan White (Director/Clerk of Course) and front far right Organising Committee member John Whitton.

Doug Chivas, with navigator Peter Meyer, took the Mitsubishi Lancer GSR to a fine third placing.