A total of 84 entries were received, with even stronger factory support than in 1966. Ferguson was one of four VW factory entries, while Harry Firth lead a team of new Cortinas. Volvo and Mitsubishi also had strong teams. BMC returned with a squad of Minis for Timo Makinen, Paddy Hopkirk and Tony Fall.
Day One
The rally proper got underway after Mittagong, using the notorious Wombeyan Caves Road, followed by Mount Werong and Richlands. At Collector, some 250 miles into the event, Makinen, Fall and Hopkirk were clearly in the lead after some scorching times. But they all needed tyres and brake pads.
Accidents reduced the field heavily enroute to Canberra, with four cars rolling on one corner, and Makinen just keeping control of his "S"/ At Canberra the score were Makinen on 7 followed by Fall 19, Hopkirk 22, Bond 27 in the Colt, Keran 29 in the Volvo and Ferguson, biding his time on 32. It is assumed that most points were lost of special sections where quarter minute timing was used.
Day Two
The 48 m.p.h. section across the Brindabellas was awe-inspiring, being rough, narrow and very precipitous. As George Shepheard aptly put it, "thousands of anxious trees!" The section ended the rally for both Makinen and Hopkirk, both wiyj blown gearboxes, and almost for Peter Janson with a holed sump in his Hillman. Doug Chivas' run also came to an end with no oil pressure in his Morris 1100S.
On to Victoria and Frank Kilfoyle forged into the lead in the muddy conditions down the Omeo Highway. Firth struck disaster when the LSD failed on a tight corner and the Lotus plunged backwards over a 50 foot drop. Fortunately the crew were OK. Greg Garard matched them soon aftewr, his Holden slipping off a bridge to land upside down in a creek. Two hours later they were back on the road again and heading for a class win.
At the Bairnsdale, the halfway point, Ferguson had hit the front on 90, with John Keran just one point behind and Kilfoyle third on 114.
Day Three
Keran was threatening Ferguson when navigator, Steve Halloran, called a wrong turn, and they went 40 miles up the wrong road before realising their mistake. Then, backtracking at a fast rate, the Volvo slipped off a corner and fell into a lake.
Day Four
The return to Sydney was Ferguson's all the way, while behind him the mud and sluch took a heavy toll with cars bogged and late time limits being applied and then removed. The dramas continued to the end, with Evan Green's Mini almost going over a high cliff and Doug Stewart's Colt rolling after hitting a dip "doing something over 80 mph". Thirty nine cars made it to the finish at Bankstown Square, however once late time limits were re-applied, only 26 were officially classified as finishing.
