1963 Ford, Firth and Frank yet again
This year it
appears that for the first time route instructions were handed out for an
entire division at a time, not at each control, and there were no constant
average speed sections. Getting soft?
Manufacturer
supported teams were entered by Ford, Holden and BMC with lower level support
from Volkswagen.
Once again, crews
rallied from four interstate locations to Bendigo then to Ballarat for the
start of the Trial Stage at 11 am Thursday 2 May. Four divisions, each with an a and b
component followed with approximately
two hour breaks every five to six hours at Donald (depart 3.30 pm Thursday), then
overnight at Swan Hill for the first time in BP history (depart 8. am Friday), Nagambie
(depart 3.30 pm) then Wangaratta (depart 11 pm) loop back to Wangaratta again
(depart 7 am Saturday), Tallangatta (depart 12 noon) to another overnight break
at Sale (depart 9 am Sunday), to Glen Waverley before parade into the waiting
12,000 people at Chadstone Shopping Centre finish.
On the first
division, Maryborough from the south east via Mosquito Flat was the subject of
some contention. Firth lost 13 points
here, then no more for the rest of the event.
A feature of
the event was the run from Tallangatta south via Mitta Mitta, Omeo, Brookville and
Bullumwaal to Sale, especially “The Knocker Track”, the original wagon trail
from Glen Wills to Omeo. Crews were
warned “This is the most mountainous and remote area of Victoria. The narrow roads are mostly good, but one
track is rough and steep… don’t attempt to pass unless the front car
stops. DO NOT LEAVE ANYONE ALONE IN
TROUBLE - everyone helps each other on this Division. If the road is blocked, get your card signed
by another crew, and hop into it with axe and spade. ABOVE ALL, if you go down a wrong road, do
not return as quickly as you went in, as someone else may be en route to the
same dead end. MANNERS? COMMONSENSE and
DETERMINATION – TAKE NO SILLY CHANCES”
Graeme Hoinville told the story many years
later that when sweeping the section in 1963 in an Austin Freeway, he came
across the abandoned Morris Major of Ken Tubman after hitting a tree and holing
the radiator on the Knocker Tk. They
towed the car out of the section, having to cut the fan belt and crank up the
Major, minus cooling, to get up the hill out of the 9 Mile Ck. When they got into Omeo, they discovered that
Ken had headed off in the borrowed Ford 100 tow truck up the Omeo Hwy to the
other end of the Knocker Tk. A phone
call to the Blue Duck Inn at Anglers Rest just missed them. Ken got quite a shock, when he could not find
the car where they thought they left it.
Having convinced themselves that they had gone too far and missed the
car, they tried to turn the truck around and promptly broke the steering. Weren’t
they surprised to find the Major in Omeo when they finally trudged back into
town, the Rally having moved on.
On the Sunday
run through the Strzelecki ranges along the classic Grand Ridge Road, Gerry
Crown and Laurie McCall rolled their Morris 850 down a 100 foot cliff. The blackberries cushioned their fall enough
that they were able to get to the finish, a little late.
Harry Firth,
Frank Kilfoyle and Geoff Thomas along for the ride and a bit of training, in a
Ford Falcon were winners, Don Opie and Doug Rutherford in a Ford Anglia were
second and Tony Theiler, Martin and Bill Hartigan in a VW third. Despite a big Ford presence, VW won the Teams
prize.
39 crews
started and 32 finished.
The
Director’s bronze medals were awarded to the crew of Keith Gamble, Bruce Ford
and Bruce McPhail.
Details:
General Supplementary Regulations
Final Supplementary Regulations
No Organiser's Master Schedule
Trial Stage Route Instructions
Route map
No Official
Results incorporating Director’s report
Media
reports: Australian Motor Sports and Automobiles June 1963
Australian Auto Sportsman July 1963
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