Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)

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

Rauno Aaltonen and Bob Holden won the race outright driving this Morris Cooper S. The car is pictured in 2006.
George Reynolds and Barry Ferguson placed fifth in Class B driving this Isuzu Bellett. The car is pictured in 2015
Pos. Class No. Entrant[3] Drivers Car Laps
1 C 13 BMC (Australia) Pty. Ltd. Finland Rauno Aaltonen
Australia Bob Holden		 Morris Cooper S 130
2 C 17 Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. Australia Fred Gibson
Australia Bill Stanley		 Morris Cooper S 129
3 C 22 Regal Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Bruce McPhee
Australia Barry Mulholland		 Morris Cooper S 129
4 C 27 Marque Motors Australia Arthur Davis
Australia Paul Mander		 Morris Cooper S 128
5 C 10 Baulkham Hills Service Station Australia Peter Brown
Australia Bob Cook		 Morris Cooper S 128
6 C 9 L. Gordon Dent Pty. Ltd. Australia Harry Firth
Australia Ern Abbott		 Morris Cooper S 128
7 C 24 W. Jamieson[4] Australia John Leffler
Australia Bill Jamieson		 Morris Cooper S 127
8 C 23 BMC (Australia) Pty. Ltd. Australia John French
Australia Steve Harvey		 Morris Cooper S 127
9 C 16 B. Arentz Australia Barry Arentz
Australia Barry Seton		 Morris Cooper S 125
10 D 5 Eiffel Tower Motors Australia Jack Nougher
Australia David O'Keefe		 Chrysler VC Valiant V8 Automatic 124
11 D 6 Advanx (Gosford) Motor Service Pty. Ltd. Australia Alton Boddenberg
Australia Digby Cooke		 Chrysler VC Valiant V8 Automatic 122
12 B 41 Gordon Stewart's Sports Car Centre Australia Don Holland
Australia Peter Cray		 Morris Cooper 120
13 D 3 Australian Motor Industries Ltd. Australia Max Stewart
Australia Bob Young		 Triumph 2000 120
14 C 20 R. C. Kearns Australia Ron Kearns
Australia Barry Quayle		 Fiat 1500 120
15 D 8 British & Continental Cars Australia Kevin Bartlett
Australia John Harvey		 Volvo 122S 119
16 C 14 Australian Motor Industries Ltd. Australia Bill Buckle
Australia Allan Mottram		 Toyota Crown 119
17 B 33 Vern Potts Australia Doug Chivas
Australia Doug Chivas, Jr.		 Morris Cooper 119
18 B 42 Brian Foley Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Laurie Stewart
Australia Ray Morris		 Morris Cooper 119
19 D 7 M. Savva Australia Mike Savva
Australia Herb Taylor		 Holden HD X2 118
20 B 37 Australian Motor Industries Australia Brian Reed
Australia Des Kelly		 Toyota Corona 117
21 B 29 Canopus Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia George Reynolds
Australia Barry Ferguson		 Isuzu Bellett 1500 117
22 A 54 Nissan Motor Company (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. Japan Moto Kitano
Japan Kunimitsu Takahashi		 Datsun 1300 117
23 A 49 Nissan Motor Company (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. Australia John Roxburgh
Australia Doug Whiteford		 Datsun 1300 116
24 A 53 Peakhurst Tyre Service Pty. Ltd. Australia Brian Lawler
Australia Harry Gapps		 Ford Cortina Mk.I 220 116
25 B 45 Motor Racing Components Australia Lionel Ayers
Australia Max Volkers		 Hillman Minx Series 6 116
26 A 51 Nissan Motor Company (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. Australia John Colwell
Australia Fred Sutherland		 Datsun 1300 116
27 B 32 Australian Motor Industries Australia Brian Sampson
Australia Lew Marshall		 Toyota Corona 116
28 A 47 Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Trevor Meehan
Australia Ian Hindmarsh		 Fiat 850 113
29 A 55 Marque Motors Australia Mike Schneider
Australia Bruce Wright		 Morris Mini De Luxe 113
30 B 40 John Rhodin Pty. Ltd. Australia Arthur Treloar
Australia Colin Bond		 Isuzu Bellett 1500 111
31 A 56 Radial Tyre Service Pty. Ltd. Australia George Garth
Australia Ray Marquet		 Ford Cortina Mk.I 1200 110
32 A 50 Ken Lindsay Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Ken Lindsay
Australia Des West		 Ford Cortina Mk.I 1200 110
33 B 34 Peter Williamson Pty. Ltd. Australia Peter Williamson
Australia Alex Macarthur		 Toyota Corona 110
34 A 57 K. D. McCallum & Coy Australia John T. Smith
Australia Dennis Gregory		 Morris Mini De Luxe 109
35 B 43 Renault R8 Australia Bob Edgerton
Australia Ross Edgerton		 Renault R8 106
36 B 31 Varsity Auto Centre Australia John Prisk
Australia Mike Martin		 Morris Cooper 105
37 B 35 Autobahn Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Bruce Darke
Australia Don James		 Isuzu Bellett 1500 104
38 D 2 Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Warren Weldon
Australia Bill Slattery		 Studebaker Lark 88
39 A 48 M. Bailey Australia Malcolm Bailey
Australia John Hicks		 Morris 850 87
40 B 38 Wheelmar Distributors Pty. Ltd. Australia Carl Kennedy
Australia Doug Stewart		 Prince Skyline 1500 82
41 B 30 Denis Geary Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Gary Hodge
Australia Denis Geary		 Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 74
DNF C 21 Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. Australia Frank Matich
Australia Bruce Demuth		 Morris Cooper S 126
DNF A 46 Bill Burns Australia Bill Burns
Australia Alex Lazich		 Fiat 850
DNF A 58 G. Shoesmith Australia Gary Shoesmith
Australia Tony Robards		 Vauxhall Viva 94
DNF C 26 M. Crampton Engineering Australia Mick Crampton
Australia Geoff Leeds		 Morris Cooper S
DNF C 18 C. G. Smith Australia Charlie Smith
Australia Ron Haylen		 Morris Cooper S 64
NC C 19 Radford Carriers Australia Rick Radford
Australia David Bye		 Morris Cooper S 54
DNF D 4 British & Continental Cars Australia Gerry Lister
Australia Graham Porter		 Volvo 122S 52
DNF C 15 W. Yates Pty. Ltd. Australia Ken Stacey
Australia Mal Henderson		 Morris Cooper S
DNF C 28 BMC (Australia) Pty. Ltd. United Kingdom Paddy Hopkirk
Australia Brian Foley		 Morris Cooper S 28
DNF C 12 Ron Hodgson Motors Pty. Ltd. Australia Ron Hodgson
Australia Bob Beasley		 Morris Cooper S 15
DNF C 25 P. Coogan Australia George Forrest
Australia Frank Hann		 Morris Cooper S 12
DNF B 39 Wheelmar Distributors Pty. Ltd. Australia Jack Murray
Australia Bill Ford		 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

  1. ↑ Includes 1960, 1961 & 1962 Armstrong 500 races held at Phillip Island
  2. ↑ Bill Tuckey, Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1981, pages 114-121
  3. ↑ Official Programme, Gallaher 500 (1966)
  4. ↑ Craig Watson, The Giant Killers, Motor Sport Legends, August / Oct 2008, pages 40-45

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.
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