Division S

Adelaide to Perth

Cars departed Adelaide pre-dawn on Tuesday morning for the long run to Perth via Broken Hill, Coober Pedy and the horrifying rocks of the Nullarbor Plain. The only official break was in Broken Hill for an hour but the leading crews got an unplanned rest just before the Nullarbor at Immarna when the fuel tanker was late arriving. The first car would not reach Perth until late Thursday afternoon. The route is shown below.

The route comprised only 1 special stage of 25.9 km, 13 trial stages totalling 2,818.2 km and 13 transport stages totalling 1,145.5 km for a total division distance of 4,689.6 km of which 61% was competitive. This was the highest competitive proportion in any division.

Detailed descriptions of the stages, conditions and stories are split into five parts:

Full route instructions are available here.

This division, and the run across the Nullarbor in particular, was decisive in the final results of the event. Numerous cars had multiple punctures on the razor sharp flint stones that cover the Nullarbor. For some who refused to back off, such as Portman, it meant running out of spares and either driving on the rim or desperately scrounging a spare from another competitor. Portman lost over 2 hours on the Nullarbor and dropped to eighth. For many others it meant backing off to a snails pace to avoid further punctures with time losses also running into hours. At the front, the 10 minute lead into Perth held by Bond over the leading two Commodores was deceptive as his car was already in trouble, as were the other factory Cortinas that were in fourth (Carr) and fifth (Fury). By Perth the number of cars that had completed the entire course dropped to 26.

Scores were as follows (division then total):

  1. Bond/Riley/Dawson-Damer (Cortina) 47.13/53.36
  2. Ferguson/Bell/Boddy (Commodore) 58.03/1.03.21
  3. Brock/Philip/Richards(Commodore) 1.12.08/1.15.53
  4. Carr/Morrow/Gocentas (Cortina) 1.27.33/1.45.17
  5. Fury/Bonhomme/Suffern (Cortina) 1.40.20/2.04.35
  6. Johnson/Vanderbyl (Volvo 242) 1.51.10/2.05.10
  7. Cowan/Reddiex/Beaumont (Citroen CX) 1.55.15/2.23.18
  8. Portman/Thompson/Hammond (Stanza) 2.32.26/2.35.19
  9. Mehta/Aaltonen/Lake (Commodore) 2.56.11/3.04.23
  10. Rowney/Wilson/Tyson (Datsun 180B) 3.00.40/3.18.39
  11. Dunkerton/McKay/Jones (Volvo 244) 2.58.54/3.20.41
  12. Mason/Hicks/Horley (Commodore) 4.10.26/4.46.39
  13. Nalder/Richards/Boyd (Celica) 4.50.46/5.16.24
  14. Loader/Hill/Neale (Lancer) 4.35.59/5.39.37
  15. Davis/Eather/Toner (Datsun 180B) 4.20.45/5.42.39
  16. Barth/Kushmaul (Porsche 924) 5.29.27/6.06.35 (Results erroneously show 5.49.27 for the division)
  17. Stewart/Parry (Commodore) 6.00.46/6.19.14
  18. Watson/Harrowfield (Peugeot 504 Diesel) 5.02.43/6.31.32 (Results erroneously show 5.38.43 for the division)
  19. Herrmann/Rainsford (Porsche 911) 5.31.42/6.43.55
  20. Roberts/Waterson/Carrol (Commodore) 4.55.16/6.56.24
  21. Hilton/Bourke/Pattenden (Celica) 6.12.12/7.14.19
  22. Jackson/West/Jackson (Commodore) 6.44.02/8.26.59
  23. Lund/Elliott (Mazda RX7) 6.44.21/8.55.17
  24. Mizel/Hall/Fricker/Mortimer (Chevy Blazer) 6.27.01/9.00.59
  25. McCubbin/Kelly/Guyatt (Monaro GTS) 8.37.20/9.49.05
  26. Warmbold/Willemsen/Schleuter (Audi 100SE) 9:24:00/9.58.15
Additionally Giddings/Jones/Seaman (Datsun 200B) had placed 25th on the division with a loss of 8.26.00 but had missed 6 controls on the first division. The significant errors in the arithmetic for Barth and Watson would ultimately persist into the final results and would adversely affect the final results.

The final 13 cars that completed the course were placed 3rd, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 4th, 13th, 14th, 19th, 16th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 22nd.

130 cars were classified as reaching Perth within late time although Saville/Fyvie/Harris (Peugeot 504) were not shown in the official results but were mentioned in Tuckey's book. The 104 cars that had missed controls to Perth are shown below. The times are not shown as it was always somewhat academic to compare the time losses of those who may have missed different stages!

  • Missed 2 controls:
    Clarke/Davis/Burge (Datsun 180B)
    Penny/Kennard/Brown (LH Torana)
    Jensen/Johnson/Wellington (Volvo 242)
    Faulkner/de Vaus/Bateson (Peugeot 504)
    Murray ('Gelignite' Jack)/D'Albora/Murray (Commodore)
  • Missed 3 controls:
    Beveridge/Heaney/Jarman (Volvo 244)
    Maloney/Vitnel/Daley (Leyland P76)
    Koseki/Takaoka (Subaru Leone)
    Finlay/Sullivan/McLeod (Commodore)
    Birrell/Smith/Nixon (Renault 16TS)
  • Missed 4 controls:
    Glennie/Shaw/Amos (Stanza)
    Lockhart/Dunstan/Finlayson (Commodore)
    Tattingham/Geue/Kemp (EH Holden)
  • Missed 5 controls:
    Sawyer/Halliday/Mortimer (XD Falcon)
    Potter/Bain (Mazda RX3)
    Hurrey/Geddes (Celica)
    Miettunen/Morgan/Suominen (Volvo 244)
  • Missed 6 controls:
    Giddings/Jones/Seaman (Datsun 200B)
  • Missed 7 controls:
    Wilson/Baker/Freeze (Mercedes 280S)
    Lloyd/Crockenberg/Dick (Colt)
    Goldsborough/Flanagan/Ground (Commodore)
  • Missed 8 controls:
    Lahiff/Beath/Clarke (HR Holden)
    Sheridan/Reid (Datsun 1600)
    Foden/Baker/Young (Leyland P76)
  • Missed 9 controls:
    Ingerson/Wilson/MacCulloch (Peugeot 404)
    Turner/Donohue/Sparrow (Leyland P76)
  • Missed 10 controls:
    O'Donnell/Geissler/Gibson (LX Torana)
    McDiarmid/Phegan/Travis (Datsun 180B SSS)
    Enter/Enter (Galant)
    Stanley (Trevor)/Harrison (Volvo 244)
    Caudle/Drew/Elsden (Datsun 1600)
  • Missed 11 Controls:
    Boys/Vonthien (Ford F100)
  • Missed 12 controls:
    Nicholson/Crawford (Lancer
    Pittaway/Boston (XY Ford Ute)
    Taylor/Hunt (Rover 3500)
    Quill/Quill/Ellis (Commodore)
    Walsh/Whitby/Wunderlich (Ford 'Grey Ghost')
    Corr/McKimmie/Johansson (Saab)
  • Missed 13 controls:
    Boaden/Pritchard/Atkin (Mazda RX4)
    Ellis/Wall (Datsun 120Y)
    Kuss/Wraight/Knight (Escort)
    Kipling/Potticary (Holden HJ Ute)
    Wallis/Cochrane/Davies (Peugeot 404)
    Colless/Johnston/McCoy (Datsun 1600)
    Lance/Craft/Robinson (Commodore)
    Feizaks/Molan (Citroen D)
  • Missed 14 controls:
    Tholstrup/Perry (Chevvy Pickup)
    Craig/Wansborough (Mini Cooper S)
    Heaton/Shepherd/Mann (HJ Holden Panel Van)
    Minett/Chapple/Watson (Datsun 1600)
  • Missed 15 controls:
    Herdy/O'Kane/Gramenz (Peugeot 504)
    Neilson/Stewart/Tyre (HQ Holden)
    Easton/Rayner/Bell (Datson 1600)
    Bray/McMahon/Smith (Valiant Charger 770)
    Jones/Jones/Webber (Riley)
  • Missed 16 controls:
    Hayden/Phillis/Hogan (Mazda RX2)
    Bell/Vaughan (Peugeot 203)
    Walker/McCann (Renault 12)
    Caddey/Mulach/Hanrahan (Fairmont)
    Richardson/Daniel/Fullerton (XD Falcon)
    Farmer/Farmer/Fraser (Leyland P76)
    Meehan/Gifford/Gardiner (Monaro GTS)
  • Missed 17 controls:
    Feizaks/Molan (Citroen D)
    Glover/Burke/Hather (VW)
  • Missed 18 controls:
    Kahler/Partridge/Simeon (Mazda RX4)
    Donoghue/Logan/Grace (Celica)
  • Missed 19 controls:
    O'Shanesy/Dean/O'Shanesy (Fiat 131)
    Moore/Sethna (VW Beetle)
  • Missed 20 controls:
    Darby/Clark/Stewart (HR Holden)
    Myers/Myers/Sinfield (Peugeot 504)
    Suth/Gros/Suth (VW)
  • Missed 21 controls:
    Ohta/Ohnuma/Kabayashi (Toyota TE61 Coupe)
  • Missed 22 controls:
    Cafe/Gurney/Dawson (Mazda RX4)
    Cleaves/Stone (Mini Moke)
    Spanbroek/Compton/Plywright (Datsun 240K)
  • Missed 23 controls:
    Ferrier/Smith (Honda Civic)
    Stockley/O'Neill (Porsche 911E)
    Gough/Hutton/Bishop (LJ Torana)
  • Missed 24 controls:
    Johnson/Marsh (Mazda R100)
    Clyborne/Hayes (Ford Pickup)
    Reinders/Lewis (FJ Holden)
  • Missed 25 controls:
    Saville/Fyvie/Harris (Peugeot 504)
    Hargrave/Hutton/Trinks (Torana)
    Bolch/Keane/Owen (Monaro HJ GTS)
    Garner/Madden/Corban (Torana)
    Fullagher/Fullagher/Fullagher/Fullagher (Monaro GTS)
    Roggenkamp/Adair/Eakin (Escort)
    Mitchell/Rowe/York (Cortina Mk2)
  • Missed 26 controls:
    Koch/Darling/Koch (Commodore)
    McArthur/McArthur/McArthur (XY Falcon)
  • Missed 27 controls:
    Bird/McKinnon (Corolla)
    Sparkes/Clayton (Ford Fairmont)
    Cuthell/Harris (XU1 Torana)
  • Missed 28 controls:
    Rayner/Campbell/Loader (HT Holden)
    Webster/Jolly/McIntyre (FJ Holden)
  • Missed 29 controls:
    Barnes/Smith (Hillman Hunter)
  • Missed 31 controls:
    Cleworth/Comley/Ballestrin (Mini GT)
  • Missed 33 controls:
    Lunney/Tyler/Tyler (Peugeot 504)
    Hall/Smith/Lott (Escort)
  • Missed 34 controls:
    Bryson/Cable-Cumming (Escort)
  • Missed 36 controls:
    Duyveston/Kirk/Comley (EH Holden)
  • Missed 38 controls:
    Haslam/Bing (Ford Sedan)
    McTigue/Sheridan/Wilson (HQ Holden Panel Van)
  • Missed 39 controls:
    Parsons/Parsons (Mazda 323)

There were 32 retirements between Adelaide and Perth, or at Perth, as shown below. Several of these were shown as reaching Perth (and are also shown above) but did not start Dvision W:

  • Behret/Schmidt/Schmidt (Audi 100SE) - hit kangaroo on South Flinders Range stage
  • Madgwick/Hanna (Ford F100) - hit roo, also in Flinders Ranges?
  • Harris/Ross/Boyd (Citroen CX) - hit roo and rolled, also in Flinders Ranges?
  • Moore/Delmont/McCarthur (Leyland P76) - broke suspension, possibly before Broken Hill
  • Murray (Jack 'Milko')/Myers (Peugeot 504) - broke suspension, possibly before Broken Hill
  • Hunt/Barnes/Hayes (Datsun 180B)- broke suspension, possibly before Broken Hill
  • Larkin/Conner/Larkin (EH Holden) - broke suspension, possibly before Broken Hill
  • Coleman/Boot (Honda Civic) - broke suspension, possibly before Broken Hill
  • Tucker/Maidment/Finch (LH Torana) - retired, possibly at or before Broken Hill, reason unknown
  • Mills/McDonald/McCulloch (EH Holden) - out of late time at Broken Hill
  • Barkell/Breese (Escort) - retired in Broken Hill
  • Taylor/McCulloch/Taylor(Peugeot 504) - out of late time still in SA
  • Perkins/Perkins (VW Beetle)- Rolled on Blinman stage
  • Carter/Stephens/Draper (XC Falcon) - exceeded late time limit around Marree but continued under protest
  • Bennett/Gleeson/Ogilvie (EH Holden) - faded after Kingoonya, reason unknown
  • Stevenson/Eassie/Lincoln (Austin 1800) - out of late time still in SA
  • White/Austin/Hogarth (Mazda Coupe) - out of late time still in SA
  • Leighton/Mason/Cohn (Datsun 1600) - blew engine, SA?
  • Phillips/Drew/Prentice (XD Falcon) - retired on/at Nullarbor, reason unknown
  • Cleaves/Stone (Mini Moke) - out of late time at Perth, supposedly retired at Nullarbor
  • Gawler/Gawler (Celica) - reportedly ran out of funds at Eucla
  • Kurnuszko/Lillie/Jones (Commodore) - blew clutch in WA
  • Fritter/Kelly/Fritter (Datson 1600) - Retired after Cocklebiddy
  • Hodgson/Houghton/Mitchell (Falcon) - broke rear end out of Cocklebiddy
  • Sutton/Williams/Brock (Datsun 1600) - broke engine before Kalgoorlie
  • Bolton/Ebzery (Dodge Kingsway) - broken timing chain, before Perth?
  • Kaitler/Kay/Harper (Datsun 1600) - broke piston, unclear where
  • Stanley (Eric)/Manning/Burr (VW) - retired on division, reason and location not known
  • Hedderwick/Forsyth (Renault 16TS) - retired on division, reason and location not known
  • Ohta/Ohnuma/Kabayashi (Toyota TE61 Coupe) - out of late time at Perth
  • Enter/Enter (Galant) - out of late time at Perth after encountering problems near Cocklebiddy
  • Barnes/Smith (Hillman Hunter) - out of late time at Perth

Next: Division W

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