Highlights
The Holdens finally broke the dominance of the Ford factory team in 1966. Tony Roberts and Peter Haas won the Victorian Trials Championship in their X2 Holden and also won the annual BP Rally and Alpine Rally.
This story in Australian Motor Sports profiles the new Holden.
This was also the first year of the International Southern Cross Rally which ran from Sydney to Melbourne and back in October. Harry Firth and Graham Hoinville in their Cortina GT beat a classy field of competitors, including internationals Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen, both in Minis.
Major Events
The 1966 BP Rally of South Eastern Australia was conducted from 3-8 May, effectively starting in Nathalia and finishing at Chadstone Shopping Centre. Tony Roberts and Pater Haas were eventually declared winners in their X2 Holden, but only after a number of protests and appeals.
The first International Southern Cross Rally was held between Melbourne and Sydney in October. The route entered Victoria after a stopover in Wagga, using competitive stages through Whitfield, Jamieson and Warburton. After a mid-event stopover in Melbourne, the route took crews through Gippsland enroute to the next stopover in Canberra thence to the finish in Sydney. Winners were Victorians Harry Firth and Graham Hoinville in a Ford Cortina.
The 1966 Alpine Rally was also won by Roberts and Haas in their X2 Holden
