The 1966 Gallaher 500 was an endurance motor race for production cars, held on 2 October 1966 at the

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hou ...

just outside

Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. It was the seventh running of the

Bathurst 500 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rec ...

raceIncludes 1960, 1961 & 1962 Armstrong 500 races held at Phillip Island 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.Bill Tuckey, Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1981, pages 114-121 The race was dominated by the

Morris Cooper S The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

. It was won by the BMC entered example of Finnish rally star

Rauno Aaltonen Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s. Career Before WRC was established Aaltonen comp ...

and experienced Australian Mini racer

Bob Holden Robert Lee Holden Jr. (born August 24, 1949) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 53rd Governor of Missouri from 2001 to 2005. Previously, he served as the State Treasurer of Missouri from 1993 to 2001 ...

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 Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

, 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 dollar The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Is ...

Class A

The Up to $1,800 class was contested by Datsun 1300,

Fiat 850 The Fiat 850 (''Tipo 100G'') is a small rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car manufactured and marketed by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1964 to 1973. History Overview Its technical design was an evolution of the successful Fiat 600. The interna ...

, 1.2 litre

Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fiv ...

, Morris Mini De Luxe and

Morris 850 ''For codepage, see CP850.'' __NOTOC__ Year 850 ( DCCCL) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 1 – King Ramiro I dies in his palac ...

Class B

The $1,801 to $2,040 class featured 1.5 litre

Hillman Minx The Hillman Minx was a mid-sized family car that British car maker Hillman produced from 1931 to 1970. There were many versions of the Minx over that period, as well as badge-engineered variants sold by Humber, Singer, and Sunbeam. From t ...

Isuzu Bellett The Isuzu Bellett is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Isuzu between 1963 and 1973. Designed by Isuzu, the Bellett replaced the Isuzu Hillman Minx, manufactured by Isuzu under license with the Rootes Group. The car was av ...

, Morris Cooper,

Prince Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...

, Renault R8 and

Toyota Corona The is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota across eleven generations between 1957 and 2001. On launch, the Corona was Toyota's next to highest product in their range, just below the Crown. The Corona was marketed ...

Class C

The $2,041 to $2,700 class entry list was dominated by the

, but also included a Fiat 1500, and a

Toyota Crown The is an automobile which has been produced by Toyota in Japan since 1955. It is primarily a line of mid-size luxury cars that is marketed as an upmarket offering in the Toyota lineup. Introduced in 1955 as the Toyopet Crown, it has served ...

Class D

The $2,701 to $4,000 class featured

Holden HD X2 The Holden HD series is a range of automobiles which were produced by Holden in Australia from 1965 to 1966. Overview The Holden HD Sedan (car), sedans and station wagons were released in February 1965 with coupe utility and panel van body styl ...

Studebaker Lark The Studebaker Lark is a compact car that was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966. From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" fr ...

Triumph 2000 The Triumph 2000 is a mid-sized, rear wheel drive automobile which was produced in Coventry by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. It was introduced on 15 October 1963. It was styled by Giovanni Michelotti. It competed with the c ...

and Volvo 122S.

Results

Statistics

* Fastest Lap - #21 Frank Matich - 3:10 (lap record) * Average Speed - 112 km/h * Race Time - 7:11:29.1

References

External links

Race results at www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au

{{Australian Touring Car Racing Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales Gallaher 500