Rallying comes of age

The 1970s was a decade of massive transition for Australian rallying.

In 1970 the “half” round Australia Ampol Trial was run, continuing the tradition of endurance events. This, combined with the impetus of the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon, the continuance of the international Southern Cross Rallies and the ongoing success of the Australian Championship, ensured that interest in rallying among enthusiasts and the general public continued to grow.

Each year there were more clubs running events and more competitors keen to complete. By mid-decade there were many hundred of rallies being conducted across the country, often with large fields of competitors from works teams to rank amateurs.

State championship series were blossoming in every state, some with a continued focus on navigation, but a growing number of driver oriented events. The last of the BP Rallies was run in 1973 and by the end of the decade most state championship events were fully route charted.

A unique kind of event was conducted in 1972 and 1973 – the Dulux Rallies combined traditional rallying with circuit racing and hillclimbs.

1974 saw the emergence of fully closed roads special stage events timed to the second. The first was Canberra’s Don Capasco Rally, which then became the International Castrol Rally. The second was the RACV 500, initially a round of the Victorian Rally Championship, and followed by the Holden Dealers Rallies in 1975 and 1976. The state’s premier event, the annual Alpine Rally, rose to international status and from 1978 was also a special stage event.

The 1970s was also the era of Group G vehicles, a largely “open slather” formula that made rallying relatively cheap, with the most common car being the Datsun 1600. The national series was a different matter, with eligibility limited to CAMS Group C (Touring Cars) until 1977 when the vehicle eligibility was relaxed. Until 1977 it was not uncommon for many cars in ARC events to not be eligible for ARC points because they did not comply with CAMS Group C. This craziness was even more evident when cars eligible to complete in the Southern Cross Rally (mainly FIA Group 1 & 2 cars such as Datsun 710s) would win an ARC round but be ineligible for points.

And to complete the decade and give a further boost to rallying, 1979 saw the running of Australia’s toughest long distance rally, the Repco Reliability Trial, capturing the imagination of enthusiasts and the public alike.