1966 Australian Touring Car Championship

1966 Australian Touring Car Championship
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The 1966 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group C Improved Production Touring Cars.[1] The championship was contested over a single 75 mile race staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on Easter Monday, 11 April 1966.[2] It was the seventh Australian Touring Car Championship.[3] Ian Geoghegan, driving a Ford Mustang claimed his second Australian Touring Car Championship victory, the first of four consecutive titles he would achieve in Mustangs.

Race summary

Geoghegan secured pole position while Norm Beechey practiced two cars, choosing to start the more powerful Chevrolet Chevy II Nova over his Mustang despite the Mustang recording the faster lap time. Beechey led the race by a gradually increasing margin until lap 9 when Geoghegan increased his pace and began to reduce Beechey's lead. Beechey faded after Geoghegan took the lead on lap 14. Kevin Bartlett, driving an Alfa Romeo GTA entered by Alec Mildren's race team, was the only other driver to complete the full 20 laps.

John Harvey placed fourth in an Austin Cooper S ahead of the Morris Cooper S entries of Phil Barnes and John French. Despite the three Holden EHs qualifying well, none finished the race within the top ten positions.

Results

Position [4] Driver [4] No. [5] Car [4] Entrant [5] Class Pos. Class [5] Laps [4] Grid [5]
1 Ian Geoghegan 1 Ford Mustang Total Team 1 [6] Over 3000cc 20 1
2 Norm Beechey 3 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova Neptune Racing Team 2 [6] Over 3000cc 20 3
3 Kevin Bartlett 12 Alfa Romeo GTA Mildren Racing 1 [6] 1501–2000cc 20 4
4 John Harvey 76 Austin Cooper S RC Phillips Sports Car World 1 [6] 1101–1500cc 19 5
5 Phil Barnes 99 Morris Cooper S Vaughan & Lane 2 [6] 1101–1500cc 19 8
6 John French 15 Morris Cooper S J French 1 [6] 0 – 1100cc 18 10
7 Bill Brown 71 Volvo 122S Scuderia Veloce 2 [6] 1501–2000cc 18 13
8 Bob Holden 13 Morris Cooper S BMC Australia Pty Ltd 3 [6] 1101–1500cc 17 17
9 Don Holland 38 Morris Cooper S Don Holland Motors 4 1101–1500cc 17 18
10 A Patterson 42 Ford Cortina GT AR Patterson 5 1101–1500cc 17 22
11 Peter Mander 75 Morris Cooper S Marque Motors 6 1101 - 1500cc 17 19
12 David Frazer 64 Renault R8 Gordini [5] Renno Motors 7 1101 - 1500cc 16 ?
13 John Hall 23 Holden X2 H Taylor 1 2001 - 3000cc 16 24
14 A Barrow 82 Holden FJ [5] A Barrow 2 2001 - 3000cc 16 28
15 John Prisk 33 Morris Cooper Varsity Auto Centre 2 0 - 1100cc 16 25
16 Digby Cooke ? Morris Cooper Marque Motors 3 0 - 1100cc 16 ?
17 M Schneider 54 Morris Mini Deluxe Marque Motors 4 0 - 1100cc 16 ?
18 Ross Edgerton 43 Renault R8 Ross Edgerton 5 0 - 1100cc 13 ?
19 G MacDonald 45 Ford Cortina GT Esso Servicentre Waterloo 8 1101 - 1500cc 7 ?
DNF Charlie Smith 100 Morris Cooper S [5] GC Smith - 1101 - 1500cc 17 12
DNF Bill Stanley ? Morris Cooper Marque Motors - 0 - 1100cc 16 27
DNF Warren Weldon 119 Holden EH Special S4 Waggott Engineering - 2001 - 3000cc 15 7
DNF Bruce Wright 28 Morris Cooper S Peter Owen Racing - 1101 - 1500cc 14 15
DNF R Lindsay 32 Renault R8 Gordini [5] R Lindsay - 1101 - 1500cc 13 26
DNF Terry Allen 2 Holden EH Special S4 Syndal Motors - 2001 - 3000cc 12 9
DNF Bob Edgerton 66 Morris Cooper S Bob Edgerton - 0 - 1100cc 7 23
DNF M Bailey 53 Ford Zephyr M Bailey - 2001 - 3000cc 5 ?
DNF T McGee 11 Morris Cooper Esso Servicentre Waterloo - 0 - 1100cc 4 ?
DNS Norm Beechey 4 Ford Mustang Neptune Racing Team - Over 3000cc – 2
DNS [5] A Boddenberg [5] 105 Chrysler Valiant [5] Advanx Gosford Motor Service - Over 3000cc – 11
DNS [7] Don Smith [7] 55 Holden EH S4 [8] Smiths Auto Accessories - 2001 – 3000cc – 6

References

  1. ↑ Conditions for Australian Titles, 1966 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 70 to 73
  2. ↑ Geoghegan Again, Modern Motor, June 1966, pages 64 to 65
  3. ↑ Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, Australian Touring Car Championship, 30 fabulous years, 1989, page 5
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Graham Howard, Stewart Wilson, David Greenhaigh, 1966 – The clash of giants, The official history – Australian Touring Car Championship – 50 Years, 2011, pages 64 to 69
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 John Medley, Bathurst, Cradle of Australian Motor Racing, pages 359 to 360
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Graham Howard, Geoghegan – The Greatest, Racing Car News, May 1966, pages 26 to 27
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, The Clash of Giants, Australian Touring Car Championship, 30 fabulous years, 1989, pages 66 to 72
  8. ↑ Stewart Wilson, Holden, The official racing history, 1988, page 329

Further reading

External links