The Castrol Rally and its predecessor, the Don Capasco Rally, were at the forefront of the move to special stage rallying in Australia, adopting the format of many European events. Indeed, the visionaries in Canberra, including 1973 national champion Peter Lang, as well as Danny Scorpecci, Grahame Elliott and Geoff Sykes, modelled the event on Britain’s RAC Rally. The many daylight stages were short and timed to the second, with maximum access for spectators as well as significant television coverage.

The Castrol also saw the emergence of Canberra local, Greg Carr, who won six consecutive Castrol Rallies, seeing off international stars Stig Blomqvist and Ari Vatanen.

The organisers had high hopes for the Castrol Rally, which was observed by the FIA in 1981 for inclusion in the WRC, but it wasn’t to be. The following year the Southern Districts Motor Sports Association ran the Castrol Stages, effectively the final edition of the Castrol Rallies.