1972 Southern Cross Rally Event Story

Day One

The first competitive was an 18 mile loop using the twisty tarmac on Booral Road and the adjacent Nerong Forest. A poorly marked route check created some controversy with several cars passing through without stopping but the penalties were not applied. Aaltonen had a puncture but still cleaned the section together with cowan, Stewart, Older, Hilton, Holden, Chivas, Ferguson, McLeod and Iwashita. But Herrmann had become bogged and dropped 9, and Wilkinson broke a distributor and dropped 15. Janson had gearbox issues and Hilton a slipping clutch, so it was a difficult start for many.
The next daylight section was cleaned by most, although Aaltonen punctured again and Green dropped 1, also with a puncture. Iwashita had a dropped valve but continued.

The dinner break near Forster provided some respite before a tricky section up the coast to Black Head where Aaltonen and Taylor were the only ones on time. Cowan joined Aaltonen to be the only ones to clean the section in Kiwarrak just south of Taree, with Herrmann, Green, Older, Ferguson, Chivas and Watson on 1. Stewart went off over a crest and lost 20 minutes with suspension damage while Riley clobbered a bank and dropped nearly an hour. Somewhere in here Kahler left the road on the Capri but was able to continue.

Two sections followed in Wang Wauk, the first of which caused dramas for several drivers at a tricky crest that then lead down to a bridge. Cowan was on two wheels, Barr-Smith spun and Wilkinson ended up in the creek and needed to be winched out. Then several more cars ended up in the creek. But Cowan and Aaltonen were fastest.
On the dusty run up Tipperary Road Cowan and Aaltonen were joined by Herrmann to be quickest with locals Chivas, Green and Older next best. On the long 100 km section up into the Dingo Tops, Green clobbered a rock and broke the suspension, with temporary repairs getting them back to service. Peter Lang passed the stricken Escort then crashed in a big way, landing in a tree.

The final section of the night was 50 km up the Wingham Road, almost into Comboyne then down Toms Creek to the Oxley Highway. Aaltonen was clean to Cowan and Chivas on 2.
So at Port Macquarie Aaltonen held a one point lead over Cowan on 15, both well clear of Ferguson 26, Chivas 28, Green 35, Herrmann 36 and Older equal with Holden on 38.

Day Two

The second night had only three sections of 235 km, 157 km and 99 km. The first was essentially from Kempsey to Yarras through the Mount Boss area, and had Cowan dropped 4 to Aaltonen’s 9 after the latter punctured, also allowing Cowan to be first on the road. Next was Chivas 10, Herrmann 12, Watson 14 and Ferguson 15 with a jamming throttle and several off road excursions. Green and Holden both retired with engine problems, as well as Riley, with some suspicion that there had been dodgy fuel in Kempsey. McLeod, Janson and Goetz all alternator issues. A violent thunderstorm created some havoc for later runners with Lidbury slipping into a tree.

The next section looped southwards into the Doyles River area but was stopped by a large fallen tree, probably a result of the thunderstorm. The section was cancelled, but this was little consolation to Ferguson who had rolled and retired.
The third and final section of the night again had Cowan and Aaltonen fastest on 2, well clear of Chivas 6, Older 7, Herrmann 9 and Wilkinson, Jackson, Watson and McLeod on 10. But the big loser was Bolitho whose Volvo erupted in flames and was unable to be saved. The road was blocked for a time and Director White initially neutralised the section, but the scores were later reinstated.

So on the two sections, Cowan had dropped only 6 to Aaltonen’s 11 and therefore held a four minute lead on 21 and 25 respectively. Chivas was a distant third on 44, Herrmann 57 and Watson up to fifth on 65. Arthur Jackson was driving steadily to be first privateer on 74 then McLeod 86, Older 96, Lund 97 and Mulligan into the top ten on 102.

Day Three

The third night looped northwards to Grafton taking in some traditional Southern Cross section such as Horseshoe Road, Black Mountain, Bucca, Wedding Bells, Newry and Tamban, as well as a rarely used section in the Barcoongerie Forest. Dampness gave way to dust.

It seems that the first section through Tamban may have been cancelled with a fallen tree blocking the route and some evidence of locals placing logs and rocks on the route.

The Horseshoe Road section appears to have also been cancelled due to a changed road that rendered the route instructions incorrect. However, with several cars, including Cowan and Aaltonen, taking the wrong route, the road order was shuffled. Then Both Cowan and Aaltonen required service time on the following transport, Cowan to change brakes and Aaltonen an axle, dropping 3 and 10 points respectively. While this put Cowan into a comfortable lead, he and Aaltonen were now further down the field and having to deal with the dusty conditions. It was Charlie Lund who took up the position at the head of the field and was able to set good times, ultimately winning the division!

On the run over Black Mountain before Grafton, Cowan dropped 12 to Aaltonen and Chivas on 14, then Herrmann and Stewart on 17. McLeod’s Torana retired by Grafton with gearbox failure while the all-girl Escort of Ransom and Cole developed engine problems.

Three sections took crews south from Grafton to Coffs with cowan and Aatonen continuing to dominate the scores. After Coffs only two sections remained for the night, one in Newry and the final one a reverse of the night’s first section through Tamban. Harris’ Mazda retired with mechanical issues while Watson’s Gordini had gearbox failure.

Scores back in Port showed Cowan well in control on 50 from Aaltonen on 61, Chivas 78, Herrmann 102, Lund climbing to an impressive fifth on 124, Jackson 147, Robertson 160 then Mulligan equal with Stewart on 193. Helmet Goetz had climbed to tenth on 198.

Day Four

Only 26 of the original field of 59 started the final night and all but two would make it to the finish. These were Bruce Cheeseman with electrical issues and Ransom’s Escort with confirmed engine problems.

The night began with a lengthy section starting in Middle Brother and ending in Coopernook then a short section north of Wingham where a questionable instruction lead Halloran to take a wrong road allowing Chivas and Herrmann to get in front of Aaltonen in the dusty conditions.

A series of sections followed west of Elands then a run over Collings Pass to Comboyne. Another questionable instruction lead several cars down a wrong road including Aaltonen and Cowan. Cowan recovered reasonably quickly to drop 13 to Chivas on 9 and Stewart and Jackson on 10, but Aaltonen lost 25 and any chance of catching Cowan.

The event’s final long section back through the Mount Boss area did not change the placings, although Cowan took a further 5 minutes off Aaltonen. Crews then returned to Port for breakfast. All that remained were two daylight sections, 18 km of Rollover Road and 24 km in Cairncross. There were plenty of spectators but ultimately the gaps were too big for any change to the placings.

Ed Mulligan and Helmet Goetz both had problems on the final night, Mulligan reportedly using lots of oil, and the scores indicate that Goetz had skipped some controls. This allowed Robert Jackson to climb into the top ten ahead of Mulligan, who had been overtaken by Stewart. Then Stewart withdrew under protest from Nissan, allowing Goetz to reclaim his tenth place.

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