1966 Gallaher 500
The 1966 Gallaher 500 was an endurance motor race for production cars, held on 2 October 1966 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales in Australia. It was the seventh running of the Bathurst 500 race[1] and the first time that the event had been staged under the Gallaher 500 name. 250 examples of a particular model had to be registered for a vehicle to be eligible for the race, up from the 100 examples required in previous years.[2]
The race was dominated by the Morris Cooper S. It was won by the BMC entered example of Finnish rally star Rauno Aaltonen and experienced Australian Mini racer Bob Holden a lap ahead of Fred Gibson and Bill Stanley, leading home a flotilla of Cooper Ss that filled the first nine outright race positions. The best non-Mini was a Chrysler Valiant, some six laps behind Aaltonen and Holden in tenth position.
Class structure[]
Cars competed in four classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian dollars.
Class A[]
The Up to $1,800 class was contested by Datsun 1300, Fiat 850, 1.2 litre Ford Cortina, Morris Mini De Luxe and Morris 850.
Class B[]
The $1,801 to $2,040 class featured 1.5 litre Ford Cortina, Hillman Minx, Isuzu Bellett, Morris Cooper, Prince Skyline, Renault R8 and Toyota Corona.
Class C[]
The $2,041 to $2,700 class entry list was dominated by the Morris Cooper S, but also included a Fiat 1500, and a Toyota Crown.
Class D[]
The $2,701 to $4,000 class featured Chrysler Valiant, Holden HD X2, Studebaker Lark, Triumph 2000 and Volvo 122S.
Results[]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Entrant[3] | Drivers | Car | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | 13 | BMC (Australia) Pty. Ltd. |  Rauno Aaltonen Bob Holden
|
Morris Cooper S | 130 |
| 2 | C | 17 | Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. | Fred Gibson
|
Morris Cooper S | 129 |
| 3 | C | 22 | Regal Motors Pty. Ltd. | Bruce McPhee Barry Mulholland
|
Morris Cooper S | 129 |
| 4 | C | 27 | Marque Motors |
|
Morris Cooper S | 128 |
| 5 | C | 10 | Baulkham Hills Service Station |
|
Morris Cooper S | 128 |
| 6 | C | 9 | L. Gordon Dent Pty. Ltd. | Harry Firth
|
Morris Cooper S | 128 |
| 7 | C | 24 | W. Jamieson[4] | John Leffler
|
Morris Cooper S | 127 |
| 8 | C | 23 | BMC (Australia) Pty. Ltd. | John French
|
Morris Cooper S | 127 |
| 9 | C | 16 | B. Arentz | Barry Seton
|
Morris Cooper S | 125 |
| 10 | D | 5 | Eiffel Tower Motors |
|
Chrysler VC Valiant V8 Automatic | 124 |
| 11 | D | 6 | Advanx (Gosford) Motor Service Pty. Ltd. |
|
Chrysler VC Valiant V8 Automatic | 122 |
| 12 | B | 41 | Gordon Stewart's Sports Car Centre |
|
Morris Cooper | 120 |
| 13 | D | 3 | Australian Motor Industries Ltd. | Max Stewart
|
Triumph 2000 | 120 |
| 14 | C | 20 | R. C. Kearns |
|
Fiat 1500 | 120 |
| 15 | D | 8 | British & Continental Cars | Kevin Bartlett John Harvey
|
Volvo 122S | 119 |
| 16 | C | 14 | Australian Motor Industries Ltd. | Bill Buckle
|
Toyota Crown | 119 |
| 17 | B | 33 | Vern Potts | Doug Chivas
|
Morris Cooper | 119 |
| 18 | B | 42 | Brian Foley Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Morris Cooper | 119 |
| 19 | D | 7 | M. Savva |
|
Holden HD X2 | 118 |
| 20 | B | 37 | Australian Motor Industries |
|
Toyota Corona | 117 |
| 21 | B | 29 | Canopus Motors Pty. Ltd. | George Reynolds
|
Isuzu Bellett 1500 | 117 |
| 22 | A | 54 | Nissan Motor Company (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. |  Kunimitsu Takahashi
|
Datsun 1300 | 117 |
| 23 | A | 49 | Nissan Motor Company (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. | John Roxburgh Doug Whiteford
|
Datsun 1300 | 116 |
| 24 | A | 53 | Peakhurst Tyre Service Pty. Ltd. |
|
Ford Cortina Mk.I 220 | 116 |
| 25 | B | 45 | Motor Racing Components |
|
Hillman Minx Series 6 | 116 |
| 26 | A | 51 | Nissan Motor Company (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. |
|
Datsun 1300 | 116 |
| 27 | B | 32 | Australian Motor Industries | Brian Sampson
|
Toyota Corona | 116 |
| 28 | A | 47 | Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Fiat 850 | 113 |
| 29 | A | 55 | Marque Motors | Bruce Wright
|
Morris Mini De Luxe | 113 |
| 30 | B | 40 | John Rhodin Pty. Ltd. | Colin Bond
|
Isuzu Bellett 1500 | 111 |
| 31 | A | 56 | Radial Tyre Service Pty. Ltd. |
|
Ford Cortina Mk.I 1200 | 110 |
| 32 | A | 50 | Ken Lindsay Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Ford Cortina Mk.I 1200 | 110 |
| 33 | B | 34 | Peter Williamson Pty. Ltd. |
|
Toyota Corona | 110 |
| 34 | A | 57 | K. D. McCallum & Coy | Dennis Gregory
|
Morris Mini De Luxe | 109 |
| 35 | B | 43 | Renault R8 |
|
Renault R8 | 106 |
| 36 | B | 31 | Varsity Auto Centre |
|
Morris Cooper | 105 |
| 37 | B | 35 | Autobahn Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Isuzu Bellett 1500 | 104 |
| 38 | D | 2 | Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Studebaker Lark | 88 |
| 39 | A | 48 | M. Bailey |
|
Morris 850 | 87 |
| 40 | B | 38 | Wheelmar Distributors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Prince Skyline 1500 | 82 |
| 41 | B | 30 | Denis Geary Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 | 74 |
| DNF | C | 21 | Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. | Frank Matich
|
Morris Cooper S | 126 |
| DNF | A | 46 | Bill Burns |
|
Fiat 850 | |
| DNF | A | 58 | G. Shoesmith |
|
Vauxhall Viva | 94 |
| DNF | C | 26 | M. Crampton Engineering |
|
Morris Cooper S | |
| DNF | C | 18 | C. G. Smith |
|
Morris Cooper S | 64 |
| NC | C | 19 | Radford Carriers |
|
Morris Cooper S | 54 |
| DNF | D | 4 | British & Continental Cars |
|
Volvo 122S | 52 |
| DNF | C | 15 | W. Yates Pty. Ltd. |
|
Morris Cooper S | |
| DNF | C | 28 | BMC (Australia) Pty. Ltd. |  Paddy Hopkirk Brian Foley
|
Morris Cooper S | 28 |
| DNF | C | 12 | Ron Hodgson Motors Pty. Ltd. |
|
Morris Cooper S | 15 |
| DNF | C | 25 | P. Coogan |
|
Morris Cooper S | 12 |
| DNF | B | 39 | Wheelmar Distributors Pty. Ltd. | Jack Murray
|
Prince Skyline 1500 |
Statistics[]
- Fastest Lap - #21 Frank Matich - 3:10 (lap record)
- Average Speed - 112 km/h
- Race Time - 7:11:29.1
References[]
Further reading[]
- Greenhalgh, David; Thomas B. Floyd; Bill Tuckey (2000). "1966 The first international race". Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999 The first 40 years. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing Group Pty Limited. pp. 138–145 & 454. ISBN 1-875221-12-3.
External links[]
- Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales
- 1966 in Australian motorsport