The 1972 VRC was keenly contested with six different winners across the first six rounds. Gil Davis and Peter Haas won the final round, Gil’s second win of the season, to secure the championship. Peter Haas, who directed the second round that was won by Davis, tied with Roger Bonhomme for the navigator’s title.
One welcome addition to the 1972 series was Peter Brock, in preparation for the upcoming Dulux Rally to be held later in the year. He drove a HDT Torana XU-1, partnered by his rallycross foe, Frank Kilfoyle. Peter tried his hand at navigating in the 1972 Experts but admitted that he was hopeless, particularly in such a demanding navigational event. He sent Frank up so many wrong roads that Frank finally told Peter to drive the rest of the event. They still managed to get to the finish, despite the atrocious snowy conditions in the hills around Marysville.
Two weeks after the Experts. Brockie and Kilf ran in the Midyear Rally. Frank made a navigational error, “I went to sleep“, he confessed. At the time they were challenging for the lead.
The Otway Trial (not part of the VRC) completed Peter’s preparation for the Dulux, with Warwick Smith as navigator. They started 2nd last in a field of 30 and were finally declared provisional winners. However they were penalised for a Wrong Direction entry to a control despite back tracking to come in the right way. They were deemed to have passed inside the control boundary.
… Jeff Beaumont
A summary of the year was published in Giant Killers, although some pointscores differ from our tally.
To see what else happened during 1972 in Victorian rallying, go to the 1972 year page.
To see other years of the Victorian Rally Championship, go to the VRC page.
