1978 Camcrusher Rally

The Camcrusher was held on 6 May.

1978 VCS Round 4 – FFCC Camcrusher Rally

Jeff Beaumont tells the story…

The richest round of the Clubman Championship, the Camcrusher, was conducted by the Ford Four Car Club and directed by Andrew Trevillian and Chris Randell. It was run as a two division, fully route charted event over 250 kms.

The flying Datsun 1600 of Alex and Jan Fitcher finally took honorus after a tight battle at the front.

Starting and finishing at the Bonnie Doon Hotel, the rally ran up through the Strathbogie Ranges and the popular Warrenbayne Plantation.

The course opener John Bramman unfortunately rolled his Twin Cam Escort just after the start control.

The first route charted stage saw everyone lose a small amount of time. Adrian Kruger / Max Nathan managed to beach their Datsun on a bank, losing a heap of time getting their car back on the road. The Datsun 1600 of David Carten and Fritz Suederman suffered an engine fire and their efforts to put out the flames were hampered with a faulty fire extinguisher. Hands full of dirt finally did the job!

The next section, 15 kms down a narrow track, saw the top crews drop a few minutes. This included a good run from Charlie Bell / Yvette Polonyi from Canberra, who had come down from Canberra to taste the Victorian dust.

Minor losses continued through to the half way break back at Bonnie Doon, via Dry Creek Road. Three points covered the leading crews, with Ellis / McKay just in front of Thompson / McCallum, followed closely by the ultimate winners.

After a transport, the second division started at Lake Nillahcootie. The climb over Mt Stathbogie was challenging, with a very rough section towards the end of the 40 km stage. The Fitchers pushed hard towards the finish, with fastest times over the latter stages, including the 20 km loop into the final control. Their efforts resulted in a close victory over Mike Ellis and John McKay.

At the half way point in the 1978 Clubman series, the Boyds were leading quite comfortably from a close group of other competitors, with three rounds to go.

Media

The Shepparton NEWS published an article on 18 May about local crew, Martin Grigg and Terry Brain, who finished third.

Auto Action has a brief mid-season update

Results and entry list

PLACEDRIVERNAVIGATORCARPOINTS
1Alex FitcherJan FitcherDatsun 160023
2Mike Ellis John McKayDatsun 160027
3Martin Grigg Terry BrainDatsun 160029
=4Peter Thompson Ian McCAllumDatsun 160030
=4Warwick Fremantle Adrian SpringDastun 160030
=4StewartStewartCortina30