The Blue Ribbon Rally was held on September 24.
VCS Round 8 – 1977 Blue Ribbon Rally
The final round of the 1977 Victorian Clubman Championship was the Pitstop Toyota Blue Ribbon Trial run by LCCA and directed by Stuart Lister. Attracting a full field, the rally totalled 250 kms of competitive roads and was run in the Heathcote – Nagambie area, with three loops out of from a central control.
Whilst the event was route charted, dust became a problem due to almost zero wind.
At the end of the first loop, the leaders were settling into place, covered by just a few points. The roads had been fast but quite dusty. Graham Trounce and Lloyd Minifie were leading with 8 points lost, followed by a number of crews on 9 points.
Roberts / Gourlay rolled their Honda in loose gravel and Ric Kemp’s Cortina made heavy contact with a solid gum tree and retired on the spot. Jean Jones / Joan Bennett were having carbie issues, with their Galant sounding off key all night.
The second loop contained 110 competitive kilometres on relatively smooth roads. Whilst in a challenging position, Lindsay Dale / John Wilkinson broke the diff in their Datsun and retired.
The final 58 kilometre loop out of the central control saw Denvil / O’Reilly consolidate their lead, whilst the battle continued for the minor placings.
