Day One
It was perfect weather for the Surfers Paradise start which was a lively promotional event. The first afternoon was all about publicity as crews headed south into NSW on a long transport to the new Ocean Shores development just north of Brunswick Heads. A one mile blast up a hill and back got the competition under way, presenting no problems for crews. Not so the other short sandy section just north of Pottsville where only Bond/Hope cleaned while some crews struck problems. Kilfoyle bent a suspension leg on the Cortina which would be replaced before the night stages. The Mullins/Browne Daihatsu lost 20 minutes stuck in sand, as well as a $50 note that Mullins dropped while digging! Cheeseman broke a drive shaft in his Mini and dropped a control.
Kilfoyle started well and kept the pressure on Cowan throughout
After returning to Surfers the night began with a short stage at Reedy Creek west of Burleigh Heads. Roberts fell from contention when a rock smashed the Cortina’s oil pump but they continued after repairs. The first serious stage was up the Springbrook road to Mount Wunburra. Eleven cars cleaned, including most of the favourites except Ferguson, who dropped a minute as he came to grips with the big Monaro on narrow tight gravel roads.
The remainder of the first night moved into the Northern Rivers region of NSW after a long transport. A fast loop through Bilambil to the north of Murwillumbah had Bond, Cowan, Keran, Kilfoyle, Vaughan dropping a minute together with quick privateers Dave Boddy in the big Falcon and Philp in the VW. Upon leaving the Murwillumbah service, Vaughan’s Cortina broke the gearbox which was replaced with a loss of two hours. After Roberts’s earlier problems, Ford’s prospects were looking grim with only Kilfoyle’s Cortina in contention.
Two competitives followed in a loop to the west of Murwillumbah. The first was a long and often rough through the Brays Creek forest and had plenty of drama. Keran left the road in thick dust and was assisted back onto the road by Max Stahl, presumably with a loss of more than half an hour. Bond lost rear brakes and left the road, but with minimal time loss. McPherson lost some time when the petrol cap came lose. Cowan was quickest dropping 11 and was only matched by the amazing Dave Boddy well down the field. Stewart dropped 14, then Kilfoyle, Hansen, Taylor and Holden on 16, matched by the Williams/Lumby Holden. The quick run up to Chillingham was cleaned by 30 cars but was no less eventful. Green’s Austin blew a head gasket, while Watson, Bond and Janson all left the road at a concealed T-junction. Back at Murwillumbah for another service and Bond needed work on the Colt’s front end after the off-road excursions while Janson’s Renault was retired with a blown piston. Several crews, including Kilfoyle, Watson, McPherson, Collier and Holden dropped a minute on the tight transport northwards out of Murwillumbah while Bond dropped 12 minutes when the lower radiator hose needed attention after the front-end work at service.
The next rough stage through some banana plantations right up against the Queensland border took time from everyone. Cowan was now first on the road, taking advantage of the dust free run and quickest on 1, then Bond and Kilfoyle in 3, then Ferguson, Vaughan, Holden, Roberts and Kabel on 4. Hansen went off the road and lot an hour while Horsley’s Cortina lost time with alternator troubles. Many thought Cowan was pushing too hard on these rough stages and that it was just a matter of time before the Austin would break something but it was proving stronger than anyone expected.
After a refuel in Tweed Heads crews headed south through a stage in the Mooball forest where Cowan, Keran, Kilfoyle, Vaughan, Roberts and Boddy all dropped 3, then Bond, Ferguson, Holden, Stewart, Lloyd on 4 as well as privateers Johnson/Sproule in the Datsun 1600. A short competitive at Burringbar was uneventful then a lengthy run across the range to Uki had Cowan, Marant, Keran, Kilfoyle, Roberts and Boddy drop a minute with Bond, Collier, Vaughan, Stewart, Chivas, Hansen and Williams on 2. Ferguson dropped 11 with a puncture while Horsley’s Lotus skipped pretty much to the division end in Lismore.
The field now headed westward on a long transport through Kyogle where apparently Cowan missed a checkpoint but it was later deleted. Two competitives over the Richmond Range and back were similar to those used in the 2009 Rally Australia. Over twenty cars cleaned the first and most cleaned the second, although Cowan and Bond both lost some time after encountering other road users in the early daylight. Bullock scrapes the side of a slow moving timer jinker! Dave Boddy was running second outright, an amazing performance, but put the Falcon off the road on the quick run across to Lismore.
At Lismore the top ten scores were Cowan 20, Kilfoyle 27, Stewart 31, Holden 36, Taylor 38, Garard 41, Lloyd 44, Robertson 46 and Ferguson tied with Mackay on 47.
Day Two
The second night began with a tight and somewhat tricky transport through and to the south-west of Casino. It is not clear whether there was a route chart but Holden lost 18 minutes when George Shepheard explored an impassable road looking for a non-existent navigational trap. The event then came to an unexpected delay when the control officials were located by the setup car. Kilfoyle used the time to panel-beat the Cortina after hitting a large roo.
The short first competitive had Cowan and Boddy clean then Bond, Garard, Taylor, Green and Kilfoyle on 1. Some lengthy transports and easy competitives took crews northwards to Woodenbong with only one serious competitive along the way, a run up the tight Paddys Flat Road where Cowan dropped 3 to Green and Kilfoyle on 5, Garard and Roberts 6, then Taylor, Ferguson, Keran, Collier and Lloyd on 7. Bond, Watson, McPherson, Vaughan, Holden, Stewart and Hansen each dropped a minute on the tight transport into Woodenbong.
The event crossed back into Queensland with an easy run across to Maroon then a long stage through the border ranges back to near Killarney where Cowan, Ferguson, Green, Kilfoyle, Robert and Harvey all cleaned, with Taylor and Keran on 1.
Cowan and Johnson really won the event on the first two nights
After the Warwick refuel the route crossed back into NSW with quick stage from Cullendore Gate through six gates to Maryland. Boddy was amazingly on time (gates perhaps open?) then Cowan, Bond, Collier, Kilfoyle, Vaughan and Roberts on 2, Taylor, Green, Holden, Stewart and Bullock on 3. A short rough stage at Maryland had Cowan on 1 then Bond, Watson, Keran, Collier, Kilfoyle, Vaughan, Holden, Roberts, Hansen, Keefe, Mackay, Williams, Elliott, Horsley, Lloyd, Mecak, Crossley, Boddy and Philp all on 2. Garard and Ferguson both missed a tricky turn dropping 6 minutes each.
Back into Queensland and the route took in only a couple of short competitives at Queen Mary Falls and The Head. Bulluck’s Volvo made the first on time with 20 crews on 1 minute late. At The Head Boddy dropped 1 to Cowan, Kilfoyle, Bond, Chivas, Green and Holden on 2. Garard lost 5 minutes, probably on the easy run up to Croftby, making repair to his Austin.
Cowan had again blitzed the field on the division to Toowoomba, dropping only 8 to Kilfoyle’s 12, Green 15, Roberts 16, Collier 20 and Taylor 21. The outright placing were Cowan 28, Kilfoyle 39, Taylor 59, Garard 71, Ferguson and Lloyd 73, Mackay 87, Harvey 88, Holden and Bond 91, Watson and Stewart 96.
Day Three
The third night began with a 100 km navigational section to the north-west of Toowoomba, finishing at a deliberately unmanned control from where crews scurried southwards to a refuel in Dalby. It should have been straightforward but 37crews lost time, including the New Caledonians who had had their instructions translated into French!
Well south of Dalby was a rough section near the strangely named “Fish Hole Mountain” where Keran blasted through to cleansheet, way ahead of Bond and Bullock on 6, Kilfoyle 7, Watson and Cowan 8, Ferguson and Jackson 9, then Green and Vaughan 10. After a refuel in Texas, a section had to be deleted due to a typing error but it is not clear which one. Certainly the run across to Arsenic Mine, west of Stanthorpe, had seven crews cleansheet on a stage that was apparently longer than it was billed and some crews became confused.
Another refuel at The Summit north of Stanthorpe preceded a competitive over much of the Cullendore stage from the previous night, but in reverse, but this time with 16 gates, many of which were open. Bond and Vaughan cleaned, Boddy, Montgomery, Stewart, Roberts and Hansen dropped 1 with Cowan, Bullock and Houghton on 2. Taylor retired the Mini with a broken driveshaft.
Allan Montgomery and Bill Rudd put in some great times in the Bellett
Back through Warwick and only one more competitive remained before crews bedded down in Toowoomba again. The run over East Egypt Road saw Cowan drop 4 to Bond, Ferguson and Montgomery on 5 then Keran on 6. The wet conditions presented challenges for later crews who could not get up one hill. Fifteen cars took a wrong direction while twelve missed the section altogether.
Keran had showed his form dropping only 10 over what had been a fairly straightforward division. Bond was also on a flyer dropping 11 and climbing from ninth to fourth. Kilfoyle had dropped 15 to pick up a minute on Cowan. The outright placings were Cowan 44, Kilfoyle 54, Ferguson 92, Bond 102, Watson 120, Mackay 129, Green 130, Harvey 143, Keran 145 and Lloyd 147. Holden had dropped from contention with a broken axle.
Day Four
The final night began with a couple of runs around the Echo Valley Autocross Circuit (or was it then a hillclimb combined with the return road?). A big crowd of spectators were treated to plenty of entertainment but the times would ultimately not make any real difference, with most crews dropping either 1 or 2 points. Chivas lost time after hitting a ditch in the Pacer.
The early part of the night was a mostly easy run up through Nanango, Goomeri and Maryborough with only one serious competitive, a 17 mile run around the Nanango pine plantation where Kilfoyle was quickest on 2 from Bond on 3 and Cowan, Keran and Vaughan on 4. Roberts had diff problems and had to skip five controls while David White’s Mazda needed a tractor to retrieve it after going off the road in dust.
While the conditions out west had been dry and dusty, by the time the crews reached the traditional “Rally of Queensland” territory about Amamoor, Imbil, Jimna and Kenilworth, conditions deteriorated to mud and slush. The story is somewhat vague, but somewhere near Amamoor was a treacherous stage where Cowan slid off the road but was soon joined by many others. Half an hour of pushing and shoving and in the end, twenty cars got through, but the section was ultimately deleted or rerouted.
On Upper Kandanga Kilfoyle dropped 4 to Bond, Keran, Collier, Holden, Stewart and Kabel on 5. The length run across the range to Gallangowan used generally good forestry roads and only Bond and Kilfoyle cleaned, with Keran, Collier and Stewart were on 1. Kilfoyle was now closing in on Cowan, Bond was closing on Ferguson, and Stewart was steadily climbing up the leaderboard. Another great section took crews from Jimna to Monsildale before a refuel in Kilcoy. Placing did not change with Cowan, Kilfoyle, Ferguson, Bond all clean and joined by Watson, Keran, Holden, Bogunda, Mullins and Eedy.
Bond and Hope overcame early problems to take third place
After Kilcoy was a long section back to South Kenilworth where Kilfoyle and Bond were again quickest on 2, with Cowan on 3 now picking up the pace as he realised there was a chance that Kilfoyle might catch them. Likewise, Ferguson also dropped 3 as he realised that Bond had almost caught them for third place. Keran dropped 4 then Collier and Vaughan on 5.
What would effectively be the event’s final section was a long run from Imbil across to Monsildale on general good mountainous roads that were becoming increasingly treacherous with the poor weather. At the start, Cowan lead Kilfoyle by just one or two minutes while Ferguson was only a minute or two ahead of Bond. Cowan put his stamp on the event to drop 1, beating Kilfoyle by 2 minutes. Likewise, Bond dropped 2, beating Ferguson by 3 minutes to take third place. Keran had also dropped 3 but it was not enough for him to catch Collier. Adams also put in a great time in his Monaro, dropping 4.
Well that wasn’t quite the end as crews transported first to Lakeside raceway and then to the Surfers Paradise raceway for two special sections. With some of the scores so close, anything was possible. Bond was trying and did a 360 degree spin at Lakeside, and several others speared into banks or into the lake! But in the end, the overall placings did not change, and at Surfers Paradise, pretty much everyone did the same times.
