5 – 9 OCTOBER 1966
SYDNEY – MELBOURNE – SYDNEY

1966 Southern Cross International Rally winners Harry Firth/Graham Hoinville in their Ford Cortina GT Mk1
– from the cover of the 1967 Supplementary Regulations

Summary

The inaugural ‘Southern Cross’ Rally in 1966 directed by Bob Selby-Wood brought classic international rallying to Australia. Attracting 69 starters, including European stars Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen in their state-of-the-art Cooper S rally cars, the 3500 kilometre event ran from Sydney to Melbourne and return, via Canberra.

The event was not conducted for ‘amateurs’ or novices. After commencing with relatively easy stages the rally intensified as the kilometres passed with the final night from Canberra to Sydney testing the endurance of all the crews and their will to finish.

There was no limit on the amount of the course that could be missed provided the late time limit was achieved at the end of a division; missing a control led to a penalty of 200 points.

Final Outright Placings