Cougar spotted at Queensland Raceway

The

word ‘cougar’ has taken on a life of its own in recent years, but here at AMC it’s fi rst and foremost the Mercury division of Ford’s version of the Mustang. Honest!

The long-awaited debut of Len Balme’s 1967 Mercury Cougar was a highlight of the Australian Trans-Am series’ third round, at Queensland Raceway in June.

“We chose the Mercury Cougar because it was different, it looks good in race trim and powered by Ford, and I also haven’t seen another one here,” Balme said.

“The colour scheme is of the Bud Moore Racing Cougars of 1967 which gave a good challenge to the factory Mustang team in the Trans-Am series.”

Balme didn’t expect to threaten the leaders in its fi rst meeting while the bugs are still being ironed out of the newly built red coupe, and that indeed proved to be the case at the Paperclip. But then, no one got near Shannon O’Brien, who recorded a clean sweep of race wins in a Pontiac Firebird.

Can any reader tell us when a Mercury Cougar last competed in circuit racing in Australia, if ever?