John Keran

[AmonFan]

Im hoping someone like Mal can give me some info here..... Not knowing much about rallying, at Bathurst 1970 a guy named John Keran from Rallying ran a Torana XU1 there and was very quick, sadly he crashed at McPhillamy and i think that was the end of his career....
There was mention of him in one of the recent Muscle Car Magazines.... Some things i wanted to know were, did he ever recover to rally again? was Bathurst a 1 off? or did he plan to do some circuit racing? did he do any circuit racing leading up to Bathurst?....Was there a possibility with HDT?
In the past when i have heard the name John Keran i have heard the words "brilliant" "fast" "brave" associated with him so he was certainly a talent.....

[moxo]

You'll read some about him in Bill Tuckey's 'From Redex to Repco'. He had a huge crash at McPhillarmy - nearly killed him - he went head-on into the fence post (which was a rather substantial piece of timber).

I don't really have much to add. Maybe there's some detail in Bob Watson's autobiography or in Barry Lloyd's books



Moxo

[david5]

Theres a few references to him if you google him Laz. Including one from the forum archives.

David

[AmonFan]

Thanks Moxo :) I have seen some pics of the accident, very nasty....

[singer]

Im hoping someone like Mal can give me some info here..... Not knowing much about rallying, at Bathurst 1970 a guy named John Keran from Rallying ran a Torana XU1 there and was very quick, sadly he crashed at McPhillamy and i think that was the end of his career....
There was mention of him in one of the recent Muscle Car Magazines.... Some things i wanted to know were, did he ever recover to rally again? was Bathurst a 1 off? or did he plan to do some circuit racing? did he do any circuit racing leading up to Bathurst?....Was there a possibility with HDT?
In the past when i have heard the name John Keran i have heard the words "brilliant" "fast" "brave" associated with him so he was certainly a talent.....

Mal's got a far more extensive library than I, but from everything I've read John Keran never raced after the McPhillamy Park crash in his 1970, Torana XU-1

[Poita]

http://www.djrclub17.com.au/cm/uploads/jkeran.jpg

[Poita]

A bit of info before his crash at Bathurst.

THE FIRST YEARS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS

1966
The inaugural Southern Cross Rally, directed by Bob Selby-Wood in 1966, brought classic international rallying to Australia. Attracting 69 starters, including European stars Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Altonen, the 4000 kilometre event ran from Sydney to Melbourne and back . After taking the lead on the second night and setting a cracking pace, the Volkswagen of Barry Ferguson and Tony Denham hit a tree only 360 kilometres from the finish, with victory going to Harry Firth and Graham Hoinville in a Cortina GT. Greg Garard and Frank Goulburn brought their HR Holden home in second place, while Ian and Roger Vaughan (Cortina) were third.

1967
This year Ferguson and Johnson made up for the disappointment of their 1966 accident with a runaway win in their Volkswagen. Again run from Sydney to Melbourne and return, the rally provided much drama. Ferguson overhauled early leader Frank Kilfoyle at Bairnsdale, while a navigational error removed a threat from John Keran. The run home was a Ferguson benefit and he led the 26 remaining crews into Sydney, with Frank Kilfoyle/Doug Rutherford second in their Cortina and Bob Holden/George Shepheard next in a Mini Cooper �S�.

1968
Allan Lawson took over the directing of the 1968 Southern Cross but retained the familiar Sydney � Melbourne � Sydney format. John Keran and Peter Meyer (Volvo 142S) set an unbeatable pace, chased by a determined Paddy Hopkirk, back in Australia for his third attempt at the event. Unfortunately water in the clutch, caused while trying to ford a deep river crossing on the first night, put paid to his chances. There were a total of 76 competitors in an event that saw plenty of action and excitement at Sydney�s Amaroo Park and Albury�s Hume Weir circuits. On-road action included loops in forestry country in the Alps around Tumbarumba and Tumut. With victory going to Keran and Meyer, the minor placings were filled by Frank Kilfoyle/Doug Rutherford (Cortina GT) and Colin Bond/Brian Hope in a Mitsubishi Colt Fastback.

In 1969 the �Cross moved north and was centered around Surfers Paradise, with the first half running down into the northern NSW areas around Grafton, Kyogle and Tenterfield. Twelve months later the event moved to Port Macquarie where it remained until its demise

[singer]

http://www.djrclub17.com.au/cm/uploads/jkeran.jpg
That Photo is in the XU1 Book by Steve Strathis

[singer]

Correction, there is another Photo post Crash in the Strathis Book:o