The Midyear Rally was held on July 20.
VCS Round 6 – 1974 MSCC Midyear Rally
Jeff Beaumont takes up the story…
This Midyear Rally was directed by Bernie Peasley, winner of the recent VRC Experts Rally. With his knowledge of the area, it was certainly not coincidental that he used many of the roads that were featured in that last VRC event.
Thirty-eight crews started in Melbourne and headed for the start at Michelton. The long highway transport gave the navigators plenty of time to plot the competition route that was to follow.
Action got underway through the abandoned and bare gravel streets of Graytown, previously a gold mining village. This was immediately followed by a 35 km drivers’ section to Redcastle, then a transport to Toolleen and the Axedale Forest.
Dyer / Wallace were running near the front but booked in early on the transport to drop them down a place.
At the break, the second Division route instructions were handed out, then crews headed off for the 177 km final challenge.
A section near Kangaroo Flat caused a confusion after a drop off route chart onto unmapped, sloppy tracks. Advisory arrows helped but the conditions claimed Jean Reid, when she badly bogged her Galant, ending her event.
Three forests sections beside the McIvor Forest followed: Knowsley, One-Eye, and Argyle.
After a refuel at Heathcote it was onto the final special stage section, again through the bare streets of Graytown. It gave spectators and service crews a fine view of rally cars splashing through expanses of water and along the boggy, rutted roads.
