The Castrol International Rally was a major Australian rally held in the forests around Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, between 1974 and 1981.

The rally originated as the Don Capasco Rally in 1974 and by 1976 had attracted major oil company Castrol

Castrol

Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications...

 as sponsor and was then run under the name 'Castrol International Rally'. Local Canberra rally driver Greg Carr

Greg Carr (driver)

Greg Carr is an Australian former rally driver. Carr won the Australian Rally Championship three times and dominated the prestigious Castrol International Rally in the 1970s as well as winning numerous other rallies....

 dominated the event with six successive victories from 1975 to 1980. The first two wins were in Gerry Ball sponsored Datsuns and Carr then won four titles in a row for Colin Bond

Colin Bond

Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...

's Ford works team

Ford Works Team (Australia)

The Ford Works Team was a former Australian motor racing team that was supported by the Ford Motor Company of Australia. The team was formed in 1962 and was wound up when Ford withdrew from motor racing at the end of 1973...

 driving Ford Escorts.

The Castrol International Rally drew huge crowds to the forests around Canberra and in the late 1970s was second only to the famous Southern Cross Rally

Southern Cross Rally

The Southern Cross Rally was a major international rally mainly held in the Port Macquarie region of New South Wales, Australia, between 1966 and 1980. The rally attracted many of the world's leading rally drivers and factory teams....

 in prestige.

The event attracted leading rally drivers and teams from Australia and New Zealand and in its heyday the Castrol International lured world rally champions Ari Vatanen

Ari Vatanen

Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and Member of the European Parliament 1999–2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times....

 and Stig Blomqvist

Stig Blomqvist

"Stig" Lennart Blomqvist is a Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 and finished runner-up in 1985...

 to compete.

In 1988 the Rally of Canberra

Rally of Canberra

The Rally of Canberra is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Canberra, Australian Capital Territory first held in 1988. The event is currently a round of the Australian Rally Championship ; it has been part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in the past.- History :The...

was first held in the forests near Canberra utilising some of the same roads as the earlier Castrol International Rally.