The Road to the Final
Five wins and two seconds from eight rounds
October 1975 to April 1976The leading South Island driver
The new Mini Sprint, first driven at a Tua Marina sprint in September, was equal 2nd at Rosedale in its first Gold Star round and set a record at Redwood Pass the next day. Russell Greer beat it at Ngapara in November, then Lyn won three weekends running in February and March: record runs at Kaitangata and Reefton, and the Dunedin round on Castle Hill Road. At Craigmore on 4 April he set fastest time of the day, 0.65 s off Leo Leonard's record.
"Hatton went into the final as the leading South Island driver, having won five and taken two seconds in the eight previous events." He took 16½ points into the final; the North Island leader, Kevin Ingram, the reigning champion, had 14½.
Sources: Marlborough Express, 28 October 1975, 1 and 10 April 1976; Timaru Herald, 5 April 1976
▶ Play the 1975-76 season, round by round
How the title worked: from 1975 the Gold Star ran as separate North and South Island series, and the best drivers from each met in a single inter-island final. Points were averaged before the final (North Island totals divided by 8, South Island by 11), and the title carries the year of its April final, so Lyn's 1976 championship is the 1975-76 season decided at Gebbies Pass. Source: David McKinney, Autosport Nostalgia Forum, "Photos from the New Zealand hills"
The Inter-Island Final
"Much too good for the country's top hill-climbing road machines"
Saturday 24 April 1976 · Gebbies Pass, Banks PeninsulaFour seconds clear
The final ran up a 2 km winding section of the Summit Road near Christchurch. "The road had been recently resealed and loose patches of metal made driving fiery and dangerous." Lyn "revelled in" it, driving his lightweight Mini Sprint sponsored by Middle Park Motels, and "easily won the final by over four seconds after having an 11-second lead at one stage".
Kevin Ingram rolled his 1420 cc Terrapin in practice and, after quick repairs, had time for only one official run; it was enough for third-fastest time and second in the championship. Russell Greer's Stanton Corvette didn't handle on the loose seal, lost a run to a timing fault and then holed its sump on a rock driving back down. Darryl Seymour's Terrapin "found the conditions tricky".
Sources: Christchurch Press ("Mini Sprint excels", John Fridd) and Marlborough Express ("Hillclimb to Lyn Hatton"), 26 April 1976
Gold Star event results
| Time order | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyn Hatton, Blenheim | Mini Sprint, 1293 cc | 1:48.67 |
| 2 | John Rush, Oamaru | Toyota Corolla | 1:52.67 |
| 3 | Kevin Ingram, Feilding | Terrapin, 1420 cc | 1:57.54 |
| 4 | Alan Hewlett, Kumara | Escort 2000 | 1:58.14 |
| 5 | Russell Greer, Renwick | Stanton Corvette, 5330 cc | 1:58.23 |
| 6 | Darryl Seymour, Wanganui | Terrapin | 2:00.78 |
The trophy Lyn took home reads "N.Z. National Gold Star Hill Climb Champion, 1975-76, L. Hatton". See it →
Times: Christchurch Press. The Marlborough Express gives the final placings with points included: Hatton 1, Ingram 2, Rush 3, Hewlett 4, Greer 5, Seymour 6. Bryan Hessey's Jim Beam Mazda RX3 was fastest of the Canterbury club entries in 1:59.95.
What Came Next
The champion keeps winning
Repainted red for Kinross Motors, the Mini Sprint won at Tua Marina, Reefton, Redwood Pass, Kaitangata, Ngapara and Craigmore through 1976-77, collected four course records and retained the South Island crown with 130 points out of 140. At the 1977 national final at Masterton Lyn was 5th and 3rd in the championship, which went back to Kevin Ingram.