Chris Knights writing in WSSCC magazine DASHBOARD 2005

The Last Express & Star

The 1966 'Star' was special in two respects. It was the last of the W&SSCC events which was sponsored solely by the Express & Star newspaper, and it also marked the course of future events by incorporating pure forestry stages as selectives along with the more traditional road route.

Clerk of the Course Richard Harper had arranged the route to start and finish in Llandindrod Wells with a 200 mile loop as far as Carmarthenshire forming the meat of the event. He reckoned that bogey for the rally was 1000 penalties and that it would probably be won by the current British champion, Malcom Gibbs. See the results below for how close he was!

17 special stages in the forests

The 120 competitors had to face 17 special stages in the forests. The night was wet and slippery and the winds were up to gale force at times. Nobody was surprised that there was a lot of damage to cars. Two cars rolled in the forests but the belts and hats that were obligatory for the first time on the stages ensured that no personal harm was done.
Most trouble was mechanical with Phil Derbyshire/Vaughan Jones losing all the electrics on their Cooper S and John Bloxham/Vaughan Bond losing brake fluid on their Cooper causing them to drive on handbrake only for several stages (what's new John?).