The 9th BP Rally, organised by the Light Car Club of Australia, was held from May 3 to 8. The Director was Donald Thomson, assisted by Graham Hoinville and John Pryce. Ross Runnalls summarises the event …
The Innesfail or Innesvail? Controversy
The winners were only decided after alternating decisions by the event stewards, a CAMS Appeal Tribunal, and finally the Australian Motor Sport Appeal Court, on whether the letter “f” or “v” mattered. More on this later. Tony Roberts and Peter Haas in an X2 Holden were ultimately declared winners, the first BP victory for the General Motors brand.
The BP continued to be an international event, without any international entries. Non stop, or enter on sight controls were no more, and while only Broadbent’s were specified, 320 Western Half was not required, and some of the new “military” Wagga and Jerilderie 1:250,000 maps were recommended.
Given that a lot of the event was promoted as being in NSW, a record number of 16 NSW crews entered, with a sole SA entry being the only other interstater. 17 crews were considered to be factory entered or assisted by Ford, GMH, Renault, VW or BMC.
A wet Assembly Stage converged on Nathalia from three start points. For the first time Assembly Stage points from here counted to the overall score.
The field departed Albury on the Trial Stage at 10 am Thursday 5 May on six Divisions to Canberra for an overnight break (depart 8.30 am Friday), Wagga Wagga (depart 5 pm), Jerilderie (depart 11.30 pm), Wangaratta (depart 8 am Saturday), Bairnsdale for an overnight break (depart 8 am Sunday), Cranbourne (depart 1 pm to Chadstone).
The Melbourne starters were stuck first in the bog into Kaarimba in the very first Assembly Stage section. A further bog at Wilby took a few more, so that only McLeod/Lock were clean of clothing and points at Albury.
Lucyvale from the west was the only challenge on the run into NSW and through the Snowy Mountains to Canberra, where McLeod increased his lead.
An easy daylight run followed on well mapped roads to Wagga in daylight and into the night to Jerilderie, with no change to the top placings.
Back into Victoria, and there were no NSW crews in the top ten at Wangaratta, but Tony Theiler had snuck into the lead with Gary Chapman from SA as his navigator.
An innocuous Information very early in the exit section from Wangaratta asking for the name of a homestead on the east side of the road 1.1 mile N. of the Oxley-Targoora Rd, was missed by all but ten crews. Roberts/Haas may have missed it but wrote down Innesfail off the inch to the mile survey map, whereas the sign at the gate was spelt “Innesvail”. The organisers learnt a tough lesson. On a personal note, I remember the commotion in the media as a very young boy at the time. I assumed it had occurred at Innesfail in Qld on a round Australia event. I only learnt in recent years that the Innesfail homestead is now the site of Wangaratta airfield and the former Drage Airworld complex. Incidentally the front gate of the homestead is now the entry to the airfield, and where Jamie Drummond, an ex Datsun Rally Team mechanic and the creator of Shock Absorber Improvements and DMS Suspension was tragically killed in a car accident in June 2020.
Between Mt Hotham and Bairnsdale, a rugged detour off the Tambo Valley to the now deserted old mining settlement of Stirling put paid to McLeod. The final sections into Bairnsdale had to be scrubbed due to misplacement of officials at the appropriately named Donald’s Knob in the Bruthen forest. The major places were unchanged.
Theiler succumbed to the pressure and crashed badly near Briagalong, and both Roberts and Woodfall had some scary points losses on the way through Gippsland to Chadstone. The final placegetters were Woodfall/Forsyth second, and Christie/Dunlop third. Ford won the Manufacturers Award.
37 crews started and 25 finished.
Donald Thomson signed off BP rally number nine, that 1967 would be the last for his team, with “Time we had some new blood”.
Article in the Geelong Advertiser
Clyde Hodgins column in Sun Herald
Post appeal coverage
