1977 Victorian Rally Championship

The VRC was hotly contested over six events with four different winners. Gil Davis and David Long emerged victors by a narrow margin from rising stars Geoff Portman and Ross Runnalls, both crews with two wins apiece.

This was Gil’s second VRC title and all the more remarkable because he was out of the country for much of August and September driving the fourth “service” Peugeot for the three car Australian team in the  Singapore Airlines London to Sydney Marathon. A bad accident in Turkey saw him spend some time in a Turkish jail, but he returned to Australia and recovered in time for the next VRC heat at the beginning of October.

To see what else happened during 1977 in Victorian rallying, go to the 1977 year page.

To see other years of the Victorian Rally Championship, go to the VRC page.

Gil Davis on the 77 Overture

Series Regulations

There were no specific restrictions on the kinds of events that could be rounds of the VRC. There were no special stage events. All events were timed to the minute, resulting in some tied placings. Two events, the Experts and Derrick, involved map reading.

Only the outright award was given. Points were allocated 9-6-4-3-2-1 for first to sixth with the best five results to count.

Events

The 1977 VRC comprised six rounds as follows. Click on each round to see the full story and results.

  1. Mountain Rally
  2. Marchal Rallye
  3. Semperit Experts Trial
  4. Forester Rally
  5. Chrysler Safari
  6. George Derrick Memorial Trial

Pointscores

Best 5 results count, total shown in brackets where different.

Drivers Pointscores

PlaceDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6Total
1Gil Davis5929227
2Geoff Portman952925
3David Dyball91122316 (18)
4Chris Power42612
5Bob Waterhouse99
6=John Dixon66
6=Peter Corkran66
8=Norm Crofts55
8=Chris Brown55
10=Wayne Muldoon224
10=Garry Harrowfield44
10=Warwick Smith64
10=Peter Janson44
10=David Jones44
15=Graham Toner33
15=Alan Heaphy33
15=Ian Smith33
18=Ian Swan22
18=Phil Bernadou22
20=Doug Chapple11
20=Ian Sichlau11

Navigators Pointscores

PlaceNavigatorR1R2R3R4R5R6Total
1David Long5929227
2Ross Runnalls952925
3Noel Kelly91122316 (18)
4Paul Paterson9413
5Mick Brasier42612
6Geoff Boyd4610
7=Ian Richards66
7=Ian Ellis66
9=Bill Johnston55
9=Simon Brown55
11=Warwick Smith224
11=Ian Pearson44
13=Mike Mitchell33
13=Mike Prendergast33
13=Jim Maude33
16=Jeff Marsh22
16=Phil Rainer22
18=Bruce Ford11
18=David McKenzie11