1977 CAMS AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP THE EVENTS The 1977 CAMS Australian Rally Championship: 1 North Eastern Rally Victoria North East Club of Victoria Morrow/Shepheard 2 Rally of the West West Australia West Australia Car Club Dunkerton/Beaumont 3 Lutwyche Village Rally Queensland Brisbane Sporting Car Club Stewart/Faulkner 4 Bega Valley Rally New South Wales Australian Sporting Car Club Carr/Gocentas 5 Endrust Forest Rally South Australia Walkerville All Car Club Fury/Suffern FINAL POINTS =1 George Fury Vic 21 =1 Monty Suffern Vic 21 =1 Ross Dunkerton WA 21 =1 Jeff Beaumont Tas 21 3 Doug Stewart NSW 14 3 George Shepheard NSW 13 4 Dave Morrow NSW 13 4 Neil Faulkner NSW 12 5 Greg Carr ACT 11 5 Fred Gocentas ACT 11 6 Clive Slater WA 7 6 Brian Hope NSW 7 7 Bob Riley NSW 7 7 Manufacturers Award Nissan Motor Co Australia (Datsun) Dual 1977 Australian Rally Champions: (top) George Fury/Monty Suffern (Datsun 710 SSS) (bottom) Ross Dunkerton/Jeff Beaumont (Datsun 260Z) – also drove two events in a Datsun 710 SSS 77 SUMMARY After a number of years of the Australian Rally Championship languishing in the doldrums as a second-rate series things really came to life in 1977. Colin Bond, long time Holden Dealer Team Driver, winning three Australian Rally Championships in four years, resigned from the team and joined Ford to race with Allan Moffat in a determined bid to win touring car supremacy. Bond’s decision to go with Ford had other benefits. His rally expertise was immediately snapped up and, with Canberra’s Greg Carr, the Ford Escorts burst onto the national rally scene with sensational wins in three of the country’s major rallies. This almost became four wins when Carr, in the remarkable Escort RS 1800, was ‘’robbed’’ of a certain win in the Southern Cross Rally when the car developed alternator problems late in the event and he was relegated to fifth place. 1977 saw five different winners in five rounds and the championship title was shared by two Datsun crews – George Fury/Monty Suffern and Ross Dunkerton/Jeff Beaumont – the former in a Datsun 710 and the latter in a Datsun 260Z for three rounds and a 710 for the remaining two rounds. The year produced first-class competition and a string of exciting events, and any one of the five who won a round could have won the series in the last event and it was hardly all that surprising that the championship ended in a tie. The dramatic change in the status of the series came about as a result of changes to the regulations on vehicle eligibility. In past years highly restrictive regulations not only discouraged many leading private entrants but also some of the works cars entrants, although they competed with FIA requirements. For 1977 there were fewer eligibility requirements and as a result interest in the series ran higher than ever, with some 20 crews scoring championship points, and many others ran in more than one championship event. All five events in the series were well run, and tough events, and a true test of cars and crews. ROUND ONE: NORTH EASTERN RALLY - Victoria Rally enthusiasts could hardly have dared hope for a better opening to the year’s series than the North Eastern Rally. A top-class field in the 60 car entry list, a well thought-out route with plenty of spectating opportunities and a top organisation. And to cap it off an exciting battle for the lead right up to the end of the last stage. The rally proved a triumph for the new Holden Dealer team Holden Gemini crewed by Dave Morrow and George Shepheard. The car proved to be much quicker than its predecessor in 1976. Morrow was the early leader and then always up near the front, finally holding off Ross Dunkerton/Jeff Beaumont (Datsun 260Z) by a single minute, with Geoff Portman/Ross Runnalls (Datsun 1600) third three minutes later. Dave Morrow/George Shepheard in the Holden Gemini In the first division Morrow, on 35 points, was able to grab a lead from Dunkerton on 38, George Fury/Monty Suffern (Datsun 710) on 39, equal with Bob Watson/Wayne Gregson (Datsun 120Y). Then followed Bob Waterhouse/Paul Patterson (Datsun 1600) and Danny Bignell (Datsun 240Z). Greg Carr/Fred Gocentas (Ford Escort RS 2000) was out of contention with a rear axle mislocated but they continued well down in the list. In the division Dean Rainsford/Adrian Mortimer (Saab EMS) suffered from electrical problems Things really started to happen in the second division where Morrow held off challenges from Fury and Dunkerton before these two drivers ran into minor problems. Dean Rainsford retired with a blown alternator as did Bob Riley (Mitsubishi Galant), Waterhouse rolled and Bob Watson’s 120Y retired after the fuel tank was topped up with water at a service break. Positions at the end of the second division were: Morrow, Dunkerton, Portman, Watson and Fury. 78 Doug Stewart/Brian Faulkner and the Mitsubishi Lancer The last division was again close with Fury and Dunkerton trying to get on terms with Morrow but the former went out not far from the finish with rear end failure. Dunkerton finally caught Morrow only to lose time on a transport section and miss victory by one minute. Clive Slater (Toyota Corolla), who was steadily moving up the list, was forced to retire with a blown differential on the last stage and Peter Janson (Mitsubishi Lancer) rolled spectacularly just before the end. Doug Stewart/Neil Faulkner (Mitsubishi Lancer) came in fourth, four minutes behind Portman, then came Murray Coote/Brian Marsden (Datsun 120Y) a further 13 minutes away fifth and sixth went to West Australians Frank Johnson and Ben Williams in the Mazda RX2 a further three minutes away. Murray Coote/Brian Marsden in the Datsun 120Y 1 Dave Morrow George Shepheard Holden Gemini 59 pts 2 Ross Dunkerton Jeff Beaumont Datsun 260Z 60 3 Geoff Portman Ross Runnalls Datsun 1600 63 4 Doug Stewart Neil Faulkner Mitsubishi Lancer GSR 67 5 Murray Coote Brian Marsden Datsun 120Y 80 6 Frank Johnson Ben Williams Mazda RX2 83 79 ROUND TWO: RALLY OF THE WEST – Western Australia The Rally of the West, with its 35 starters, got under way with a number of special daylight stages as the field moved south away from Perth towards Mandurah, Bunbury and Busselton, with early short, sharp stages. One of these was the undoing of Greg Carr/Fred Gocentas (Ford Escort RS 2000) when Carr hit a partly-buried rock on a sandy track and smashed the car’s sump and front suspension. When the field reached the evening mealbreak on the first night George Fury/Monty Suffern (Datsun 710) held a narrow lead over Danny Bignell/Bob Bousefield (Datsun 240Z) and Ross Dunkerton/Jeff Beaumont) and Dave Morrow/George Shepheard (Holden Gemini). The night run started from Busselton and thick dust and perfectly windless conditions were a problem for the crews and the placings then changed markedly, with first Fury and then Morrow losing time from off-road excursions, with Morrow having a puncture (indeed tyre problems generally), and Dunkerton also punctured. With one stage to go for the night Fury, chasing Dunkerton, ran up a bank in the dusty conditions and was passed by Morrow, Stewart and Clive Slater/Andy van Kann (Toyota Corolla).At the end of the night at Manjimup, Bignell 10 led Dunkerton 11, well clear of Clive Slater 18, closely followed by Fury 30 and Doug Stewart/Rod Van der Straaten (Mitsubishi Lancer), also on 30. Bruce Hodgson/Chris Heaney (Ford Escort RS 2000) were on 31. Cars in trouble on this division included Adrian Taylor/Syd Smith (Honda Civic) with a blown piston and David Jones/Ian Pearson (Mitsubishi Lancer) with unknown causes. The second division’s rallying took the remaining 24 car field from the overnight stop at Manjimup via large loops back to Perth. Bignell miscued on an early stage, hitting a bank, lost a wheel and retired, while Dunkerton blew a tyre to lose time but he held on to the lead and was first on the road. Dunkerton had a substantial lead over Slater as well as a dust-free run at the head of the field and this allowed him to drive to conserve his car, whilst Fury tried desperately to make up for his indiscretion of the first night but was unable to make any impression to overhaul the leader but he did catch Slater, relegating him to third. Morrow holed the Gemini’s radiator and soon retired with a cooked motor, while Bruce Hodgson/Chris Heaney rolled the Ford Escort RS 2000 in a big way when holding a top position. Stewart took a wrong turn and became bogged in loose sand as he tried to reverse and while Fury pushed him out but he lost considerable time. George Fury/Monty Suffern slide around the Dean Mill in the Datsun 710 At the finish it was Dunkerton 12 points up on Fury, then Slater six points away in third, fourth to Dean Rainsford/Adrian Mortimer (Saab 99 EMS) 13 points in arrears of third, then Stewart 11 points away in fifth and in sixth was Brian Smallwood/Ian Thorpe (Mitsubishi Lancer) after another 13 points. 1 Ross Dunkerton Jeff Beaumont Datsun 260Z 40 pts 2 George Fury Monty Suffern Datsun 710 52 3 Clive Slater Andy van Kann Toyota Corolla Sprinter 58 4 Dean Rainsford Adrian Mortimer Saab 99 EMS 71 5 Doug Stewart Rod van der Straaten Mitsubishi Lancer GSR 82 6 Brian Smallwood Ian Thorpe Mitsubishi Lancer 95 80 ROUND THREE: LUTWYCHE VILLAGE RALLY - Queensland The Lutwyche Village Rally had normally been conducted in September but as the 1977 London to Sydney Rally was going to be run through Queensland at the same time the organisers arranged with CAMS to conduct it in May.