1972 Australian Rally Championship

The 1972 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the fifth season in the history of the competition.

1972 Australian Rally Championship
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Bond and Shepheard in the Holden Dealer Team Torana GTR XU-1 on their way to another win in the Warana Rally, round four of the 1972 Australian Rally Championship

Colin Bond and navigator George Shepheard won the Championship for the second year in a row in the Holden Dealer Team Torana GTR XU-1 .

Season review

After a late challenge to the HDT Toranas at the 1971 Southern Cross Rally, the works Mitsubishi Galants were expected to do well in the 1972 Australian Rally Championship and pose a major threat to Harry Firth's HDT domination of the series. However it was not to be, as the cars were poorly backed up and suffered from various incidents which cost them the chance of any outright wins. The HDT LJ Torana XU-1's won five of the six rounds, Mitsubishi's best finishes were a second place in the Alpine (for Doug Stewart and Dave Johnson) and thirds in the Warana (Doug Stewart and Dave Johnson) and Snowy Mountains rallies (Doug Chivas and Peter Meyer).

Another major challenge was expected from Renault. Their Renault R8 Gordinis had dominated the 1970 season and the new R12 Gordinis were faster and the team was hoping this would ensure some success for 1972. Tom Barr-Smith was second in the Walkerville 500, and Bob Watson managed a third in the Akademos, but other than that it was a disappointing season.

Colin Bond and George Shepheard dominated the championship, winning three rounds together and a fourth for Shepheard when he navigated for Frank Kilfoyle in the final round, The Alpine.[1]

The Rallies

The 1972 season featured six events, two each in New South Wales and Victoria; and one each for Queensland and South Australia.[2]

Round Rally Date
1 Bunbury Curran (NSW) 16–17 April
2 Akademos Rally (VIC) 27–28 May
3 Snowy Mountains Rally (NSW) 10–12 June
4 Warana Rally (QLD) 23–24 September
5 Rothmans Walkerville 500 (SA) 28–29 October
6 Alpine Rally (VIC) 25–26 November

Round One – Bunbury Curran – 16–17 April 1972

310 miles, 54 starters, 39 finishers

Position Driver Navigator Car Points
1 Colin Bond George Shepheard Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 25
2 Richard Harris Graham Lockie Mazda Capella RE 36
3 Doug Stewart Dave Johnson Mitsubishi Galant 1600 38
4 Stewart McLeod Jack Lock Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 43
5 Peter Lang Ed O'Cleary Datsun 1600 48
6 Paul Older Brian McElhinney BMW 2002 51
7 Brian West Gary Hartnett Mini Clubman GT 54
8 Grahame Elliott Fred Gocentas Datsun 1600 57
9 Brian Hilton Barry Lake Peugeot 504 59
10 Peter Robertson Chris Jessup Ford Escort Twin Cam 62

Round Two – Akademos Rally – 27–28 May 1972

320 miles, 38 starters, 23 finishers

Position Driver Navigator Car Points
1 Frank Kilfoyle Roger Bonhomme Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 31
2 Colin Bond George Shepheard Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 32
3 Bob Watson Geoff Thomas Renault 12 Gordini 34
4 Barry Ferguson Warwick Smith Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 37
5 George Fury Monty Suffern Ford Cortina GT 38
6 Mike Fitzgerald Geoff Schmidt Peugeot 404 46
7 Peter Janson Mike Mitchell Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 66
8 John Dixon Rex Muldoon Ford Escort 74
9= Mal McPherson Jeff Beaumont Renault 12 Gordini 75
9= Evan Green Roy Denny Ford Escort Twin Cam 75

Round Three – Snowy Mountains Rally – 10–12 June 1972

600 miles, 48 starters, 40 finishers

Position Driver Navigator Car Points
1 Colin Bond George Shepheard Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 58
2 Frank Kilfoyle Roger Bonhomme Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 60
3= Stewart McLeod Adrian Mortimer Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 65
3= Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant 1600 65
5 Doug Stewart Dave Johnson Mitsubishi Galant 1600 70
6 Peter Lang Ed O'Clery Datsun 1600 71
7 Barry Ferguson Warwick Smith Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 88
8 Bruce Collier Lindsay Adcock Renault 12 Gordini 92
9 Mark Sheridan Richard McMaster Volvo 142S 96
10 Arthur Jackson Peter Godden Datsun 1600 97

Round Four – Warana Rally – 23–24 September 1972

450 miles

Position Driver Navigator Car Points
1 Colin Bond George Shepheard Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 22
2 Frank Kilfoyle Mike Osborne Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 26
3 Doug Stewart Dave Johnson Mitsubishi Galant 1600 33
4 Bob Riley Brian Gemmell Mitsubishi Galant 1600 37
5 Mike Chapman Alan Lawson Holden HK V8 40
6 Stewart McLeod Adrian Mortimer Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 41
7 Ian Riedel Ray Wood Holden Monaro 350 45
8 Evan Green Roy Denny Ford Escort Twin Cam 50
9 Charlie Lund Brian McCloy Mazda RX-3 52
10 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant 1600 58

Round Five – Rothmans Walkerville 500 – 28–29 October 1972

320 miles

Position Driver Navigator Car Points
1 John Taylor Graham West Austin Kimberley 20
2 Tom Barr-Smith Rob Hunt Renault 12 Gordini 26
3 Gary Chapman Norm Vincent Mazda RX-3 41
4 Tony Pennell Jack Lock Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 42
5 Keith Intveld Ian Hese Citroen 49
6 Chuck Mora Colin Abbey Renault 16TS 56

Round Six – Alpine Rally – 25–26 November 1972

600 miles

Position Driver Navigator Car Points
1 Frank Kilfoyle George Shepheard Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 62
2 Doug Stewart Dave Johnson Mitsubishi Galant 1600 83
3 Peter Janson Mike Prendergast Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 85
4 Doug Chivas Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant 1600 100
5 Bob Riley Adrian van Loon Mitsubishi Galant 1600 103
6= Helmut Goetz Mike Mitchell Datsun 1600 SSS 111
6= Gil Davis Peter Haas Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 111
8 Sue Ransom Christine Cole Ford Escort Twin Cam 117
9 Len Shaw Jim McAuliffe Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 124
10 Warwick Smith Tony Walsham Renault Dauphine 153

1972 Drivers and Navigators Championships

Final pointscore for 1972 is as follows.[3]

Colin Bond – Champion Driver 1972
Position Driver Car Points
1 Colin Bond Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 33
2 Frank Kilfoyle Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 30
3 Doug Stewart Mitsubishi Galant 1600 16
4 John Taylor Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 9
5 Stewart McLeod Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 8
6 Doug Chivas Mitsubishi Galant 1600 7

George Shepheard – Champion Navigator 1972
Position Navigator Car Points
1 George Shepheard Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 42
2 Dave Johnson Mitsubishi Galant 1600 16
3 Roger Bonhomme Mitsubishi Galant 1600 15
4 Graham West Austin Kimberley 9
5 Peter Meyer Mitsubishi Galant 1600 7
6= Rob Hunt Renault 12 Gordini 6
6= Jack Lock Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 6
6= Graham Lockie Mazda Capella 6
6= Mike Mitchell Mitsubishi Galant 1600 6
6= Mike Osborne Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1 6
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References
  1. Australian Motoring Yearbook 1973
  2. Australian Motoring Yearbook 1973
  3. Australian Motoring Yearbook 1973
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