1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500

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Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986) Mount Panorama 1938-1986.png
Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)

The 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the tenth running of the Bathurst 500 production car race. It was held on 5 October 1969 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. Cars competed in five classes based on purchase price (Australian dollars) of the vehicle.

The race was won by the newly formed Holden Dealer Team with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts with teammates Peter Brock and Des West finishing third in their Holden Monaro GTS350's, with the team's third car finishing sixth. In between them in second position was defending race winners Bruce McPhee and his single-lap co-driver Barry Mulholland driving a Phase 1 Ford Falcon GTHO. McPhee and Mulholland, who had won in 1968 driving the Holden Monaro GTS327, had originally intended to race a Monaro 350 in 1969 but after receiving no help from Holden, instead decided to race one of the new Falcons.

Peter Brock and Canadian Allan Moffat made their Bathurst débuts in the race. Brock with Harry Firth's Holden Dealer Team, and Moffat driving a works Falcon GTHO with Alan Hamilton. Between them, Brock and Moffat would go on to win 13 of the next 17 Bathurst 500/1000s (until 1987), with Brock winning a record nine times (all for Holden), and Moffat winning four times for Ford.

The Ford Works Team were the favourites to win the race with their new Falcon GTHOs which with their new 5.8-litre (351 cui) V8's proved to have a speed advantage over the 5.7-litre (350 cui) Monaros. However, the decision by Ford Works Team's American manager Al Turner to import special racing tyres for the Falcons proved to be a disaster. During the race numerous tyre failures put the Works cars out of contention. After early tyre failures on the Ian and Leo Geoghegan car, as well as the Fred Gibson and Barry Seton car, Turner called Moffat into the pits for a tyre change. There it was found that Moffat had been far easier on his tyres than either Ian Geoghegan or Seton and that the stop was not necessary. As of 2016, Moffat believes that this decision cost himself and co-driver Alan Hamilton the race win. The day after the race, Ford ran a full page newspaper advert stating "We were a little deflated" referring to the tyre failures.

1969 was also notable for the first lap crash which saw at least one third of the field forced to retire or continue with accident damage. Bill Brown rolled his Falcon GTHO coming through Skyline, all but blocking the track while John French, who qualified 21st, rolled his Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV trying to avoid the carnage that Brown's rollover caused. One driver lucky to escape the carnage was Allan Moffat who had pulled up just out of The Cutting on the first lap with his Falcon stuck in neutral. Once he got going he was able to weave through the bedlam at Skyline and continue on his way. [1] For Brown, it would be the first of three rollovers at Bathurst on the same piece of road (McPhillamy Park - Skyline), with the second in 1971 bringing a lucky escape from death.

Class structure

The winning Holden Monaro GTS350 (pictured at Lakeside in July 1970) Bond Monaro 1970 Graham Ruckert.jpg
The winning Holden Monaro GTS350 (pictured at Lakeside in July 1970)

Cars competed in five classes based on the purchase price (in Australian dollars) of the vehicle.

Class A

Class A was for cars which retailed for up to $1,860. It was made up of Datsun 1000, Hillman GT, Morris Mini K and Toyota Corolla.

Class B

The $1,861 to $2,250 class was dominated by the Datsun 1600, but also contained Ford Cortina, Hillman Gazelle, Morris 1500, Renault 10 and Volkswagen 1600.

Class C

The $2,251 to $3,100 class saw a mix of Chrysler Valiant, Fiat 125, Ford Capri, Mazda R100, Morris Cooper S and Renault 16.

Class D

The $3,101 to $4,500 class featured the outright contenders, Ford Falcon GTHO and Holden Monaro, but also contained a single Toyota Corona 1900.

Class E

For cars over $4,500, had a single automatic gearbox version of the Ford Falcon GT but otherwise was all Alfa Romeo with 1750 GTV and a single 1750 Berlina.

Top 10 Qualifiers

PosNoEntrantDriversCarQual
Pole59 Ford Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ian Geoghegan Ford XW Falcon GTHO 2:48.9
251Fair Deal Car Sales Flag of Australia (converted).svg Digby Cooke Holden HT Monaro GTS350 2:50.0
346Kloster Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce McPhee Ford XW Falcon GTHO 2:50.1
461 Ford Australia Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allan Moffat Ford XW Falcon GTHO 2:53.6
560 Ford Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg Fred Gibson Ford XW Falcon GTHO 2:53.7
656Alto-Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg David McKay Ford XW Falcon GTHO 2:53.7
744 Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Bond Holden HT Monaro GTS350 2:53.8
842 Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Macrow Holden HT Monaro GTS350 2:54.5
950McLeod Ford Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Goss Ford XW Falcon GTHO 2:55.3
1043 Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Des West Holden HT Monaro GTS350 2:55.4

Results

PosClassNoEntrantDriversCarLapsQual
Pos
1D44 Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Bond
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Roberts
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 1307
2D46Kloster Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce McPhee
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Mulholland
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 1302
3D43 Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Des West
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 13010
4D61 Ford Australia Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allan Moffat
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Hamilton
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 1294
5D59 Ford Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ian Geoghegan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Leo Geoghegan
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 1281
6D42 Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Macrow
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Henk Woelders
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 1288
7D54Wright Ford Motors Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Beasley
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Muir
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 12718
8E71 Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Bartlett
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Len Goodwin
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV 12622
9E68C Smith Flag of Australia (converted).svg Charlie Smith
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Ford
Ford XW Falcon GT Automatic 12620
10D58Byrt Ford Flag of Australia (converted).svg Martin Chenery
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ernie Johnson
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 12519
11E69Canberra Speed Shop Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brown
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ray Gulson
Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina 12227
12D63R Genders Flag of Australia (converted).svg Joe Butta
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Genders
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 12224
13D48Rowell Thiele Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Savva
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Wilkinson
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 12111
14C30Waterloo High Performance Tuning Centre Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ron Gillard
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warren Gracie
Morris Cooper S 11936
15C38Grenville Motors P/L Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Finlay
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Forbes
Fiat 125 11934
16C31Zanardo & Rodriguez Sales & Service Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ron Kearns
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gerry Lister
Fiat 125 11937
17C22Graham Ryan Auto Repairs Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Ryan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Kable
Chrysler Valiant Pacer 11830
18B18W.H. Motors Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Stewart
Flag of Australia (converted).svg George Garth
Datsun 1600 11741
19C25G Cooke Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gary Cooke
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Geoff Spence
Mazda R100 11735
20C32Marque Motors Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ian Hindmarsh
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Stanley
Morris Cooper S 11733
21C23Trevor Mason Developments Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trevor Mason
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Neil Mason
Mazda R100 11732
22C26Regal Motors Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Les Grose
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Moore
Morris Cooper S 11745
23B15Datsun Racing Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Roxburgh
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Doug Whiteford
Datsun 1600 11744
24B17W.H. Motors Flag of Australia (converted).svg Don Smith
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Wilson
Datsun 1600 11443
25B19McInnes Automotive Conversions Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dave Morrow
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Wootton
Datsun 1600 11451
26D57P Bradford Flag of Australia (converted).svg Roy Griffiths
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glyn Scott
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 11417
27B14Datsun Racing Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg William Coad
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jon Leighton
Datsun 1600 11346
28C28D Frazer Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Frazer
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Johns
Morris Cooper S 11342
29A2 AMI Toyota Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Sampson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Morris
Toyota Corolla 11252
30A6Datsun Racing Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Evans
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Tapsall
Datsun 1000 11055
31B20McLeod Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Max Dickson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Diane Dickson
Ford Cortina Mk.II 240 10857
32B10Provincial Motors Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gary Campbell
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gerry Murphy
Volkswagen 1600 10758
33C27President Car Sales Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Bryden
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John T. Smith
Renault 16TS 10753
34A7Kent BMC Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Bye
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Richard Willis
Morris Mini K 10461
35B9R Edgerton Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Edgerton
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ross Edgerton
Renault 10 10062
36A8P & R Williams Flag of Australia (converted).svg Arthur Olsen
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sandra Bennett
Morris Mini K 9963
37B12R. G. Lanyon Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alf Barrett
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mel Mollison
Morris 1500 9756
38D52Harry Gapps Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Harry Gapps
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Hann
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 9423
39A4C.J. Cronin Flag of Australia (converted).svg Martin Cortese
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Parkes
Toyota Corolla 9360
40C35T Meehan Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trevor Meehan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mal Brewster
Morris Cooper S 9339
41B16M.T.R. Services Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nick Ledingham
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Damon Beck
Hillman Gazelle 8449
42C36E.M. Automation Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Mander
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Phil Edwards
Morris Cooper S 8229
DNFD51Fair Deal Car Sales Flag of Australia (converted).svg Digby Cooke
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Bowden
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 962
DNFD60 Ford Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg Fred Gibson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Seton
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 935
DNFC24K Grose Flag of Australia (converted).svg Keith Grose
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Wright
Ford Capri Mk.I 1600GT 9238
DNFA1A Johns Flag of Australia (converted).svg George Geshopulos
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ray Scanlan
Hillman GT 8859
DNFC37Grand Prix Auto Services Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ann Thomson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Carole Corness
Morris Cooper S 8247
DNFD56Alto-Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg David McKay
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Foley
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 786
DNFD45 AMI Toyota Flag of Australia (converted).svg Max Stewart
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Reed
Toyota Corona 1900SL 7828
DNFB21M.T.R. Services Flag of Australia (converted).svg Hans Tholstrup
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Connell
Datsun 1600 7364
DNFD50McLeod Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Goss
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Denis Cribbin
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 509
DNFC33Brian Foley Motors Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Christine Gibson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lynne Keefe
Fiat 125 4840
DNFD62Anthony Horden & Sons Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nick Petrilli
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Max Stahl
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 4515
DNFD64Boyded of Bankstown Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Tuckey
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sib Petralia
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 4413
DNFD53B Arentz Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Arentz
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Michelmore
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 3612
DNFC39D.H. Whitehead Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bernie Haehnle
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Wherrett
Mazda R100 3131
DNFB11Dependable Motor Sales Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Darke
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dennis Cooke
Datsun 1600 450
DNFC29Central Motors Penrith P/L Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Cook
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Cant
Ford Capri Mk.I 1600GT 148
DNFD55Alto-Ford Pty Ltd Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Brown
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Phil West
Ford XW Falcon GTHO 016
DNFE72 Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo Flag of Australia (converted).svg John French
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Doug Chivas
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV 021
DNFE67Bryan Thomson Motors Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryan Thomson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Ritter
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV 025
DNFC34Varsity Auto Centre Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Prisk
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Cameron
Morris Cooper S 027
DSQA3 AMI Toyota Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Ferguson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jim Laing-Peach
Toyota Corolla 10354
DNS [2] D [2] 49 [2] Young & Green Pty. Ltd. [2] Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Sheldon
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Don Holland
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 15
DNS [2] C [2] 40 [2] Teterin Engineering Pty. Ltd. [2] Flag of Australia (converted).svg R. Marquet [2]
Flag of Australia (converted).svg J. Andrews [2]
Morris Cooper S [2]
DNS [2] A [2] 5 [2] Datsun Racing Team [2] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Holden
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Don Toffolon
Datsun 1000 [2]

Statistics

References

  1. "- YouTube". YouTube .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Complete Results, 1969 Bathurst 500, Australian Motor Manual, January 1970, pages 26 & 27