1966 Lowood 4 Hour

Layout of the Lowood Airfield Circuit (1946-1966)

The 1966 Lowood 4 Hour was an endurance race for production sedans held at the Lowood circuit in Queensland, Australia on 27 March 1966.[1] The race, which was organised by the Queensland Racing Drivers Club,[2] was the third annual Lowood 4 Hour.[3] It was open to cars priced under $6000 in Australia, provided that 100 examples of the model had been manufactured.[4]

The 34 starters[3] competed in four classes based on vehicle retail price with an additional class for cars with automatic transmission.[5] Class winning cars were Morris Mini Deluxe, Morris Cooper, Ford Cortina GT500, Volvo 122S and Holden HD X2 179. Officially, only class placings were recognised but the unofficial "line honours" winner was the Scuderia Veloce entered Volvo 122S driven by David McKay and Bill Orr.[3] Initial reports had the Firth / Seton Ford Cortina GT500 listed as taking line honours,[6] but this was later corrected.

Results

Position[3] Drivers[3] No.[3] Car[3] Entrant[3] Laps[3]
Class A : Up to $1720[5]
1 M Schneider,[2] M Brewster[2] Morris Mini Deluxe Marque Motors 93
2 Joe Camilleri, L Gould Morris Mini Deluxe J Camilleri 91
3 H Beiers, I Beiers Morris Mini Deluxe H&I Beiers 90
4 J Humphrey, J Osborne Morris Mini Deluxe Humphreys Golden Fleece Service Station 90
5 Harrison Ford Anglia
? Williams Fiat 850S[1]
DNF[5] Kennedy,[5] Perrett[5] Morris Mini Deluxe[5]
DNF Gary Shoesmith, Wolders[5] Vauxhall Viva 76
Class B : $1721 – $2200[5][7]
1 Bill Stanley, Digby Cooke Morris Cooper Marque Motors 99
2 Max Volkers, Graeme Perry[4] Ford Cortina 1500[4] R O'Neill's Parking Station 98
3 B Tapsall, B Gates Datsun Bluebird SS B Tapsall 98
4 Ron Park, Paul Zacka 31 Holden EH R O'Neill's Parking Station 97
? Brown 37 Datsun Bluebird SS Scuderia Veloce
? Hughes Morris Cooper
? Bailey Isuzu Bellett
? Stewart Isuzu Bellett
DNF Woodford, Dellit[2] Ford Cortina[2]
DNF Lionel Ayers,[2] Warren Blomfield[2] Toyota Corona Swift Service Station[2] 44
DNF Hodgson,[2] Reynolds[2] Ford Cortina[2] Griffith Brake Service[2]
DNF[5][8] Grimson[5] & Mitchell[5] Ford Cortina[5]
Class C : $2201 - $3200[5][7]
1 Harry Firth, Barry Seton 51 Ford Cortina GT500 Ford Motor Company 106
2 Bob Holden, Ron Haylen[2] 58 Morris Cooper S B.M.C. (Australia) 105
3 Don Holland,[2] L Stewart Morris Cooper S Don Holland Motors 103
4 P Brown, J Sediatis Ford Cortina GT500 P Brown 102
5 R Page, B Tatham Prince Skyline GT R Page 102
6 M Bailey, J Hicks Prince Skyline GT M Bailey 100
? Morris Cooper S
? Morris Cooper S
DNF[2] Sachs Chrysler Valiant
DNF John French Morris Cooper S 92
DNF Beasley, Standfast[4] 62[4] Morris Cooper S 78
Class D : $3201 – $6000[5][7]
1 David McKay, Bill Orr 70 Volvo 122S Scuderia Veloce 107
2 Ron O'Neill, L Daly[2] Ford Cortina Lotus 102
Class E : Automatics only, unlimited price[5]
1 I Knowles,[2][6] Glyn Scott[9] Holden HD X2 179[10] M McDonald[2] 88
DNS Glyn Scott Ford Fairmont Ford Motor Company -

Notes & references

  1. ^ a b Big battle at Lowood, Brisbane Courier Mail, Saturday, 26 March 1966
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Volvo Wins Lowood Four Hour, Sports Car World, July 1966, page 46
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Des White, 4 Hours at Lowood, Racing Car News, May 1966, pages 24–25
  4. ^ a b c d e Lowood, Australian Motor Sports, May 1966, pages 50–51
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lowood Four Hours, Modern Motor, June 1966, page 65
  6. ^ a b Ford 2 Win at Lowood, Brisbane Courier Mail, Monday, 28 March 1966, page 14
  7. ^ a b c The Modern Motor report gives the Class B minimum as $1722, the Class C minimum as $2202 and the Class D minimum as $3202
  8. ^ Modern Motor does not mention which class the Grimson & Mitchell Ford Cortina was competing in. As Racing Car News states that there were 12 starters in Class B but only makes reference to 11, it has been assumed that this was the 12th car.
  9. ^ Racing Car News reports that Glyn Scott replaced a sick driver & Courier Mail reports that Class E was won by I Knowles & G Scott (Holden)
  10. ^ Racing Car News lists the Class E Holden as an "X2" and Modern Motor indicates that it was a "179", thus meaning it would have been a Holden HD