It was a closely fought ARC this year with Colin Bond eventually winning the title by a single point from Stewart McLeod. George Shepheard won the navigator championship more clearly, having accompanied Peter Lang to victory on the first round which was not contested by Bond.
Tom Snooks has provided the full story here.
To see other years of the Australian Rally Championship go to the ARC series page.
![Colin Bond & George Shepheard [Chris Brown]](https://www.rallypedia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/1973-Alpine-Colin-Bond-George-Shepheard-Chris-Brown-A096-A100.jpg)
Events were run under the National Rally Code.
Vehicle eligibility was CAMS Group C – Australian Touring Cars, with additional requirements as per the NRC and state addenda. In several events winners or significant placegetters were not eligible for ARC points. These were generally FIA Group 2 cars imported for the Southern Cross, as well as heavily modified CAMS Group G cars.
Points were awarded down to sixth: 9-6-4-3-2-1, probably all results to count.
The series was enlarged to seven rounds with Western Australia included for the first time. All events were now navigationally straightforward.
| Place | Driver | State | WA | Akademos | Bega | SA | Qld | Bun/Curr | Alpine | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin Bond | NSW | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 42 | ||
| 2 | Stewart McLeod | SA | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 41 |
| 3 | Ross Dunkerton | WA | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 16 | |||
| 4 | Peter Lang | ACT | 9 | 6 | 15 | |||||
| 5 | Bill Evans | Vic | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 6 | Dean Rainsford | SA | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 12 | |||
| 7 | Adrian Taylor | Qld | 4 | 4 | 8 | |||||
| 8 | Bob Riley | NSW | 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| 9= | Bob Watson | Vic | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| 9= | Tom Barr-Smith | SA | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||
| 9= | Bob Pike | SA | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| 12= | Bruce Cheeseman | NSW | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 12= | Brian Hilton | NSW | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 12= | Murray Coote | Qld | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 12= | Bob Moore | NSW | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 16 | Dennis Sutton | WA | 1 | 1 |
| Place | Navigator | State | WA | Akademos | Bega | SA | Qld | Bun/Curr | Alpine | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Shepheard | NSW | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 51 | |
| 2 | Adrian Mortimer | SA | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 41 |
| 3 | John Large | WA | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 16 | |||
| 4 | Mike Mitchell | Vic | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 5 | Graham West | SA | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 12 | |||
| 6 | John Souminen | Qld | 4 | 4 | 8 | |||||
| 7 | Fred Gocentas | ACT | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| 8 | Rod van der Straaten | WA | 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| 9= | Rob Hunt | SA | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||
| 9= | John Carli | SA | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| 11= | Tom Snooks | NSW | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 11= | Brian Hope | NSW | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 13= | Graham Lockie | NSW | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 13= | Brian Marsden | Qld | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 13= | Roger Moore | NSW | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 16= | Graham Szatmary | NSW | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 16= | Bruce Mudd | NSW | 1 | 1 |