Victoria 1965

Re-live the action from 1965

Year in review

Highlights

While we don’t have complete information on 1965, it appears that the dominance of the Ford factory team continued but with strong challenges coming from Holden with their new X2. Harry Firth and Graham Hoinville won the state championship in their Cortina GT, in a close tussle with Bob Watson and Jim McAuliffe in a Holden.

Reg Lunn and Geoff Thomas won the BP Rally in a similar Cortina and Frank Kilfoyle together with Roger Abrahams repeated their Alpine victory in a Falcon.

Major Events

The 1965 BP Rally of South Eastern Australia was conducted from 4-9 May, effectively starting in Daylesford and finishing at Chadstone Shopping Centre. The event was won by Reg Lunn and Geoff Thomas in a Cortina GT.

The 1965 Alpine was again won by Frank Kilfoyle and Roger Abrahams in a factory Ford Falcon. With sponsorship from Philip Morris, the event was renamed the Alpine Rallye.

Falcon Hardtop, Ken Harper and Mike Flanagan leaving the start of the BP Trial Stage from Fyansford, Geelong

Victorian Trials Championship

VTC events for 1965 were the Begonia, Akademos, Experts, Two Day, North Eastern and Cooper Memorial.

Outright champions: Harry Firth / Graham Hoinville, Ford Cortina GT

For more details, including event results and points tables, go to the 1965 VTC page.

Other Open Events

With only six events in the VTC, quite a few clubs ran other open events. Here are a few for which we have some information, others being listed in the calendar below.

The Car Club of RMIT again ran their annual George Derrick Memorial Trial, but towards the end of the year in October. Their Presidents Trial moved back to July.

The GMH Motoring Club ran their Classic Trial in April.

The Victorian Sporting Car Club again ran both the Midnight Trial in June and the Blue Ribbon Trial in September. They also ran an open Novice Trial in October.

The VW Car Club appeared to also run an open novice trial in November called the Jinx Trial.

While the Western District Car Club ran the final round of the VTC, the Cooper Memorial, they also ran their annual Otway Trial in July.

Closed Events

There were many clubs running closed events. Here are just a few for which we have some information.

The Melbourne University Car Club ran four closed events starting with the Summer Trial in February, then the Commencement Rally in March, the Mayday Rally in May, and the Night Trial in July.

The Car Club of RMIT possibly ran only two closed the Novice Trial, probably in March, and the Autumn Midnight Trial in May.

A few other closed events are listed in the calendar below.

The Rally Calendar for this year:

Many club events are likely missing from this calendar.

DateEventClubStatus
6 FebSummer TrialMUCCClosed
12 FebMotor Show TrialVSCCOpen
6 MarCaltex Begonia RallyBLCCVTC-1
? MarNovice TrialCCRMITClub
4 AprClassic TrialGMHCCOpen
25 AprGippsland TrialGCCOpen
28 MarCommencement RallyMUCCClosed
1 MayMayday RallyMUCCClosed
4-9 MayBP RallyLCCANational
15 MayAutumn Midnight TrialCCRMITClub
26 MayInvitation TrialVMCCClosed
29 MayAkademosMUCCVTC-2
13 JunCec Warren TrialAMSCOpen
19 JunMidnight TrialVSCCOpen
3 JulExperts TrialLCCAVTC-3
17 JulPresidents TrialCCRMITOpen
24 JulNight TrialMUCCClub
31 JulOtway TrialWDCCOpen
14 AugHorsham TrialWLCCOpen
15 AugNE Hill Country TrialM850CClub
15 AugInvitation Winter TrialVWCCClub
4 SepTwo Day TrialVADC/ VWCCVTC-4
19 SepBlue Ribbon TrialVSCCOpen
9 OctGeorge Derrick Memorial TrialCCRMITOpen
23 OctNorth Eastern TrialNECCVTC-5
24 OctNovice TrialVSCCOpen Restricted
7 NovInvitation TrialGMHCCClub
13 NovCooper Memorial TrialWDCCVTC-6
13 NovJinx TrialVWCCOpen Restricted
27 NovAlpine RallyeLCCANational
12 DecPolice Courtesy RallyVPMSCOpen