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The Cooper S Conquers Bathurst.
Sunday October 2 1966, the day of the ‘Gallaher 500’ at the Mount Panorama race circuit at Bathurst. This race was billed as the first major international event in the history of the great race.
The race was run in classes acording to the retail price of the car. In class A there were Fiat 500, Morris 850, Datsun Bluebirds, Cortina 1200, Hillman Imps etc. In class B cars like Belletts, Toyota Corona, Prince Skylines, Cortina 1500 and the Mini Cooper. Class C saw 19 cars entered, 16 of which were 1275 Cooper S, and class D had Triumph 2000, Volvo B18, Valiant V8, Studebaker and a Holden X2.
The British Motor Corporation, BMC, put together a team of talented drivers from their British works team and from here in Australia, to drive the new S-type Coopers. They paired the three top international rally drivers with Australia’s Mini heroes – Rauno Aaltonen with Bob Holden, Paddy Hopkirk with Brian Foley, Timo Makinen with John French. Some of the drivers in the other Cooper S’ were Harry Firth & Ern Abbott, Ron Hodgson & Bob Beasley, Fred Gibson & Bill Stanley, Bo Seaton & Barry Arentz, Frank matich & Frank Demuth, Bruce McPhee & Barry Mulholland just to name a few of the motor sport legends.
In practice the Cooper S’ were lapping in times of 3min 11 sec to 3.13 and hitting top speeds of 110mph down conrod straight. Pole position was not an issue in 1966 with cars starting in order of their groups, with class D in front, on the basis that the bigger and more expensive cars should be faster. The big Studebaker won the start and at the end of the second lap 11 Cooper S’ were in the head of the field with the Aaltonen Holden car in front. In fact Minis filled 16 of the first 20 places after six laps.
The race was fast becoming a sprint race and something had to give. Lap six saw the Mini Cooper of Paul Mander hit the fence, then the next lap John French had an argument with a Valiant V8 and bent a wheel. On lap 10 Brian Foley pushed his S past Aaltonen to take the lead. The Minis had stole the show with a clear lead over the rest of the field, but a few were soon to bow out. Rick Radford missed the braking mark at the end of conrod and hit the fence putting his Cooper S out and the next lap Hann rolled his Cooper. Ron Hodgson lost his brick on the bend out of mountain straight and wrote it off around a tree and Matich came to pit with a flat tyre.
The BMC big boys were getting nervous as the 16 1275 Cooper S’s they started with were dwindling. Brian Foley bought in the No 28 works car with dropping oil pressure. Paddy Hopkirk was asked to take it out to check it for a lap but lasted 3 laps until it came in with a broken main bearing web.
Mind you, while all this was going on other makes were also falling by the way-side.
Another Cooper stopped at the top of the mountain with overheating problems. The driver jumped the fence and borrowed the ice from a spectator’s esky to put in the radiator and headed to the pits only to find the car had a blown head gasket. The Aaltonen – Holden Cooper was still in front, he came in to the pits to change a front tyre. A new Dunlop R7 racing tyre was fitted and Bob Holden jumped in the drivers seat ad re-joined the race still in front.
About the half way mark of the race the Ron Hayland Mini had caught Bob Holden and the two had a fierce race out braking each other and swapping the lead. The two drivers hurled their S’s over Skyline without braking and the rear wheel in the air. Holden and Haylen were lapping around the 3.12 and something had to give. It did, with the Haylen Mini blowing a tyre at the Mcphillamy Park corner and the car ending on its roof against the fence.
This left Holden a lap and a half in front. The next stop Aaltonen took over the controls but the other Minis with drivers like McPhee, Harry Firth and Bill Stanley, all old hands and veterans of Bathurst were starting to peg him back. Frank Matich was using everything he knew to try and catch Aaltonen, chucking the Mini from fence to fence and recording the fastest lap of the race a 3min10sec.
With two laps to go the great Frank Matich ended his race when he lost a wheel in the Dipper, the most terrifying of places where the Coopers were always going flat out, and wrapped it around a tree.
At 4.13pm the Aaltonen – Holden Cooper S took the chequered flag. The Mini Cooper S’ took out the first nine places.
Ed: The information and pictures for this article were courtesy of the book ‘Australia’s Greatest Motor Race – The Complete History’ by Bill Tuckey.
Bob Holden will be our special Mini 40 guest…….hear his Bathurst stories and re-live them with him.
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