The Otway Trail was held on April 16.
VCS Round 4 – 1977 WDCC Otway Trial
The Otway Trial was directed by Tony Bond for the Western District Car Club. The event was won by Tony’s usual driver, Jim Uttleymoore, with stand-in navigator, Max Kruger. They took the lead right from the start and set a sizzling pace through the night.
The Rally started in Geelong with 35 starters. It was promoted as a drivers’ event, with straight forward navigation by numerous grid references. The action began just north of Anglesea, with the ultimate winners setting the pace in the slippery conditions, with dark, ominous clouds hanging overhead.
Points losses were minimal throughout the first division which finished at Yaugher Sports Ground. There had only been one retirement, being Trounce / Minifie with a broken distributor. Behind the leader, a bunch of crews were fighting for podium placings, with Barber / Bishop, Allamby / Baker and Bowden and Sharrock, all equal on points.
Division two took crews into the heart of the Otway Ranges, then up Mt Sabine before heading to Forest and back to Yaugher.
Amazingly, after a frantic two week rebuild, Hughes / Fiddyment returned after their car fire in the previous VCS Round. However their Torana slipped off the road and became stuck, forcing their retirement.
Darrington / Corkran blew the motor in their Peugeot 403, whilst Barber / Bishop wrong slotted in the last section, unfortunately dropping them off the podium after a strong performance.
The event finished with Uttleymoore / Kruger taking out a convincing victory by eight points, followed by a tight bunch of crews separated by just a few points.
And it was an outstanding result from the girls, Jean Jones / Joan Bennett in their Galant in equal fifth place