We believe that the Western District Car Club ran its first Otway Trial in 1949, soon after its formation in 1947. The old Otway Trials were mostly daylight romps from Geelong down to Apollo Bay for an overnight stop then back to Geelong on the Sunday.
We believe that the Otway Trial ran every year until 1983. It was included as a round of the inaugural Victorian Trials Championship in 1961 but reverted to being an open non-championship event in 1964, after which it’s place was ultimately taken by the club’s other event, the Cooper Memorial Trial. As the name suggests, the Otway Trial always ran in the Otways!
The Otway Trial became a round of the Victorian Clubman Series in 1974 then rose to VRC status from 1978 to 1980, the final two VRC editions under the directorship of the late Jim Maude. The final three editions were club events.
Our records of the Otway Trial/Rally summarised below are incomplete. If you can fill any gaps or have any corrections, please let us know.
