The following account was written in 2012 by Bob Taylor for the 2012 Reunion. Bob Taylor was certainly the official at Bethanga in 1966, as recorded by Graham Hoinville in his account of the 1966 event, although Bob appears to recall the year as 1967, but it does not appear that the event went to Bethanga in 1967, and in 1968 it used Hume Weir raceway. Bob also recalls quarter minute timing being used but in 1966 the route instructions suggest that it was sixth minute (10 second) timing. His account is presented below unchanged.
Google Earth shows things a little different from my recollections 45 years ago. The roads are better and the angle of the intersection seems different.
However, the request from Bob Selby-Wood and the Australian Sporting Car Club to take it on was accepted. The difficult part was how to run quarter minute timing accurately up to 150 metres away from a central point.
The lights mentioned below were purchased on the road on the way down and prepared in Bethanga. Co-operation at the local level ran power through a drain under the road to the signpost at the eastern side of the main intersection.
A set of 4 coloured lights hung from the signpost and were visible to one of the "in" controls at the bend in the road to the west of the intersection. The other "in" control was just to the north on the main road from the north east.
The "out" controls were located to the south of the signpost and just north of the main building on the dirt road. Forty-five years ago, that second "out" control must have had another outlet, perhaps around what appears to be an oval to the north.
One person (relieved often) was to change the colour of the lights by looking at a larger clock with a second hand and manipulating the switch every 15 seconds. Another changed the large minute sign also attached to the signpost.
Assistance was available either from Melbourne or Albury clubs but arrived somewhat under the weather - not a good start.
The biggest issue was concentrating on the clock and getting the "in" and "out" controls to remember the colours for each quarter minute, and to read the minute before entering on the cards.
I do not remember the order of the colours, but the blue was not strong enough and it was replaced with a clear one for sight across the wide intersection to the bend in the road to the north west, now the middle of the shopping centre.
My main issue was correcting the "out" cards to ensure that two cars did not leave the "out" control on the same minute. Unfortunately, this seemed to happen occasionally.
There were no protests. Perhaps the confusion on the night was too great for any rational argument. And today, perhaps the confusion still reigns.
