The 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 14th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. This was the first race to be held under the new metricised distance of 1000 kilometres, rather than the 500 miles previously contested. It was held on 30 September 1973 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race was open to Group C Touring Cars competing in four engine capacity based classes. It was the third round of the 1973 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
Allan Moffat claimed his third win in the event and Ian Geoghegan his first. They shared a Ford Falcon GT. It was the seventh and final win for the factory Ford Australia racing team. Peter Brock and Doug Chivas dropped from contention after their Holden Torana ran out of fuel, forcing Chivas to push the car uphill along the pit lane to make it to the Holden Dealer Team pit bay. Brock and Chivas finished on the same lap as Moffat and Ian Geoghegan, ahead of their teammates Colin Bond and Leo Geoghegan, also on the same lap, in third position.
For cars up to 1300cc capacity, it was contested by Datsun 1200, Fiat 128, Honda Civic, Morris Cooper S and Renault R8.
For cars 1301cc to 2000cc, it featured Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV, Datsun 180B, Ford Escort, Mazda RX-3 and Subaru 1400 GSR.
For cars 2001cc to 3000cc, it was contested by 2.8 litre Holden Torana and Mazda RX-2.
For cars over 3,000cc capacity, it featured Chrysler Valiant Charger, Ford Falcon, Holden Monaro and Holden Torana GTR XU-1.
Pole sitter Goss got off to a great start leading the Falcons of Moffat, French and Gibson from Brock's Torana. Gibson went out early with engine trouble and French made an unscheduled stop. This left Goss to make his first stop on lap 43 with a 40 second lead over Moffat and Brock, the later pair hardly separated by more than a few seconds until Moffat spun at Griffins on lap 44, losing about 20 seconds before making his first stop on lap 45 where he handed over to Geoghegan. Brock stopped on lap 54 and handed the car over to Chivas, whom they hoped could run the car long enough to only make one more pitstop in the race and one less than the Falcons, despite Brock reporting that the fuel gauge on the car had failed. [1] Bond momentarily took the lead of the race until making his stop on lap 61, well past a third distance proving that the Torana could do the race on just two stops.
Despite Moffat's spin and the Torana having a minute shorter pitstop than the Falcon, Geoghegan made up the difference to Chivas - taking second place from brother Leo Geoghegan (driving with Bond) and then retaking the lead of the race on lap 78. Bartlett (driving with early leader Goss) pitted on the same lap but Goss would be involved in a collision with Garth's overturned Torana and pitted for repairs on lap 105 putting them out of contention. Geoghegan was able to build a lead over Chivas before stopping and handing the car back to Moffat. Chivas held a 1'40" advantage over Moffat some time after the stop and was given the instruction from his pit board to "get max laps" only to run out of fuel on the top of the mountain and coast back to the pit entry. However, with the start of pitlane being uphill Chivas had to climb out and push the car, he also had to do this unassisted on penalty of disqualification until he himself had gotten the car far enough for his team to be allowed to assist. Moffat and Leo Geoghegan both passed Chivas as he strained to slowly push the car against the gradient after a long stint at the wheel. [2]
Moffat made his final stop on lap 123 of just 1'24", which was over a minute faster than his first, and was able to resume still leading Bond's Torana and cruise home to victory, the only danger being the #35 Mazda RX-2 rolling over ahead of him on his final lap. Any chance of Brock putting pressure back on Moffat was thwarted by the need to make a 15 second stop for more fuel on lap 147. He did however regain second place when Bond's left rear tyre blew across the top and he had to make an unscheduled stop of 30 seconds. Brock would have his own tyre failure with the right rear blowing out on the final lap but he continued to the finish at pace knowing the car only had to survive the remainder of that lap. [3]
Although the best surviving highlight reel of the day available now [4] clearly promotes the narrative of a certain Holden victory being lost due to miscalculation (Chivas running out of fuel) this is questionable at best with the benefit of hindsight (the film is credited to General Motors and their sponsors at the time). Clearly Moffat slowed significantly when no longer challenged for the race lead, so while it is possible he may have had his own trouble if pressed harder, it is certainly a hollow claim that because Brock and Chivas were able to finish within a lap of Moffat and Geoghegan despite running out of fuel they lost a certain race win. The race pace of the Torana's may have been compromised by trying to run to only two stops with Geoghegan able to make up about two and a quarter minutes over Chivas in his stint alone. Brock was the only driver to not haemorrhage time to the race winner but never got close to achieving the fuel economy required for his strategy to work, falling short on both his stints by as much as 16 laps. Brock obviously would have had to slow significantly more to complete the required laps. The real victim of this narrative is the incredible effort by John Goss not being a bigger part of the story. Despite Goss building his race car in his spare time [5] he was able to take pole position, set a new lap record and lead the factory entered cars by 40 seconds at his first pitstop. If not for some small exhaust issue, and a collision with a car that had illegally re-joined the race (after being towed), the 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 may well have been celebrated as a Goss/Bartlett victory in the David versus Goliath style.
Pos | No | Entrant [6] | Driver | Car | Qual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pole | 5 | McLeod Ford Pty Ltd - Shell Racing | John Goss | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:33.4 |
2 | 1 | Holden Dealer Team | Peter Brock | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:34.4 |
3 | 9 | Ford Motor Company Australia Ltd. | Allan Moffat | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:34.5 |
4 | 4 | Bryan Byrt Ford Pty. Ltd. | John French | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:35.3 |
5 | 24 | Holden Dealer Team | Colin Bond | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:35.4 |
6 | 7 | Ron Hodgson Motors | Bob Morris | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:36.3 |
7 | 6 | Ford Motor Company Australia Ltd. | Fred Gibson | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:38.2 |
8 | 19 | Cessnock Motor Works Pty. Ltd. | Allan Grice | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:38.2 |
9 | 2 | Bob Jane Racing | Bob Jane | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:39.3 |
10 | 3 | Pacific Film Laboratories Pty. Ltd. | Don Holland | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:40.5 |
Pos | Class | No | Entrant [6] | Drivers | Car | Laps | Qual Pos |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | D | 9 | Ford Motor Company Australia Ltd. | Allan Moffat Ian Geoghegan | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 163 | 3 |
2 | D | 1 | Holden Dealer Team | Peter Brock Doug Chivas | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 163 | 2 |
3 | D | 24 | Holden Dealer Team | Colin Bond Leo Geoghegan | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 163 | 5 |
4 | D | 2 | Bob Jane Racing | Bob Jane John Harvey | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 161 | 9 |
5 | D | 10 | Lakis Manticas | Bob Forbes Dick Johnson | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 154 | 11 |
6 | D | 21 | Roamer Watches Australia Pty. Ltd. | Ray Kaleda Peter Granger | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 150 | 18 |
7 | D | 15 | Murray Carter - Shell Racing | Murray Carter Lawrie Nelson | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 150 | 19 |
8 | B | 49 | A.F. & M. Beninca Pty. Ltd. | Ray Harrison Mal Robertson | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | 149 | 23 |
9 | B | 45 | Mazda Racing Team | Mel Mollison Bruce Hindhaugh | Mazda RX-3 | 144 | 36 |
10 | C | 34 | Bernie Haehnle | Bernie Haehnle Wayne Rogerson | Mazda RX-2 | 144 | 36 |
11 | D | 31 | Tony Roberts Automotive Centre | Brian Ovenden Max McGinley | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 143 | 29 |
12 | C | 37 | John Palmer Motors | Bob Beasley Enno Buesselmann | Mazda RX-2 | 143 | 39 |
13 | B | 44 | Camper-Ford Pty Ltd | Geoff Leeds Jim Murcott | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | 143 | 32 |
14 | B | 41 | Datsun Racing Team | John Roxburgh Doug Whiteford | Datsun 180B SSS | 143 | 40 |
15 | A | 56 | Datsun Racing Team | Bill Evans James Laing-Peach | Datsun 1200 | 142 | 46 |
16 | A | 55 | Formula 1 Europa Garage | Lakis Manticas Peter Lander | Fiat 128SL | 142 | 43 |
17 | C | 33 | W.H. Motors Pty. Ltd. | Herb Taylor Don Smith | Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 | 141 | 28 |
18 | D | 3 | Pacific Film Laboratories Pty. Ltd. | Don Holland Max Stewart | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 141 | 10 |
19 | B | 39 | Ray Gulson | Ray Gulson Peter Brown | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | 140 | 27 |
20 | D | 29 | Peter Kilmore | Peter Kilmore Kevin Kennedy | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 138 | 41 |
21 | A | 66 | Clement Motors | David Clement Neil Mason | Morris Cooper S | 136 | 50 |
22 | A | 54 | Lordoco Aust Pty. Ltd. | John Lord Peter Janson | Honda Civic | 134 | 53 |
23 | B | 38 | Chris Heyer | Chris Heyer Peter Mill | Subaru 1400 GSR | 133 | 55 |
24 | A | 63 | Bennet & Wood Pty. Ltd. | Ken Brian Noel Riley | Honda Civic | 131 | 52 |
25 | A | 68 | Bob Williamson | Chick Audsley Bob Williamson | Morris Cooper S | 131 | 56 |
26 | A | 67 | Caroline O'Shanesy | Caroline O'Shanesy Peter Williamson | Morris Cooper S | 131 | 57 |
27 | A | 64 | David Frazer | David Frazer Bob Edgerton | Renault R8 Gordini | 130 | 49 |
28 | B | 43 | Bryan Byrt Ford Pty. Ltd. | Bob Holden Lyndon Arnel | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | 129 | 44 |
29 | B | 48 | Mazda Racing Team | Geoff Perry Brian Reed | Mazda RX-3 | 126 | 34 |
30 | A | 59 | Phillip Arnull | John Symon Philip Arnull | Datsun 1200 | 125 | 58 |
DNF | C | 35 | James Mason Motors | Gary Cooke Len Searle | Mazda RX-2 | 142 | 38 |
DNF | D | 8 | Muirs Motors (Ashfield) Pty. Ltd. | Ron Dickson Bob Stevens | Holden HQ Monaro GTS | 130 | 20 |
DNF | B | 50 | Chesterfield Filter Racing | Herb Vines Chris Batger | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | 116 | 54 |
DNF | D | 5 | McLeod Ford Pty. Ltd. - Shell Racing | John Goss Kevin Bartlett | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 110 | 1 |
DNF | D | 4 | Bryan Byrt Ford Pty. Ltd. | John French Bob Skelton | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 91 | 4 |
DNF | A | 57 | Geoff Newton | Geoff Newton Cam Richardson | Morris Cooper S | 89 | 51 |
DNF | D | 17 | G. Ryan | Graham Ryan Ray Lintott | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 89 | 14 |
DNF | D | 26 | Ray Thackwell Racing | Ray Thackwell Barry Coleman | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 89 | 22 |
DNF | A | 58 | Jack Haywood | Lynn Brown Paul Hamilton | Morris Cooper S | 77 | 45 |
DNF | C | 36 | McLeod Kelso & Lee Pty. Ltd. | Bruce Stewart George Garth | Holden LC Torana GTR | 75 | 31 |
DNF | D | 12 | Dustings of Burwood | Rod McRae Tony Niovanni | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 64 | 21 |
DNF | B | 42 | Strapp Ford | Graham Ritter Tony Farrell | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | 64 | 25 |
DNF | D | 27 | Leo Leonard | Leo Leonard Ernie Sprague | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 62 | 17 |
DNF | D | 30 | John Stoopman | John Stoopman Dennis Martin | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 61 | 30 |
DNF | D | 23 | Bob Holden Motors | Jim Hunter Phil Ward | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 58 | 16 |
DNF | A | 53 | Rolls Motors Pty. Ltd. | Ian Cook Terry Finnigan | Honda Civic | 56 | 48 |
DNF | D | 16 | Formula 1 Europa Garage | Tony Allen Phil Brock | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 45 | 13 |
DNF | D | 19 | Cessnock Motor Works Pty. Ltd. | Allan Grice Keith Murray | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 42 | 8 |
DNF | D | 13 | Bruce McPhee | Bruce McPhee Tom Nailard | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 41 | 15 |
DNF | B | 47 | W.D. Electrics | Warren Thompson Rod Dale | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | 36 | 33 |
DNF | A | 60 | Fourway Motors Pty. Ltd. | Gary Leggatt Bob Wedd | Morris Cooper S | 27 | 42 |
DNF | D | 20 | Chas Tierney Pty. Ltd. | Ray Strong Ron Gillard | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 25 | 37 |
DNF | D | 11 | Geoghegans Sporty Cars | Des West Bill Brown | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 17 | 12 |
DNF | D | 6 | Ford Motor Company Australia Ltd. | Fred Gibson Barry Seton | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 17 | 7 |
DNF | B | 40 | Grace Bros. Racing Team | Christine Gibson Sue Ransom | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | 5 | 24 |
DNF | D | 7 | Ron Hodgson Motors | Bob Morris John Leffler | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 4 | 6 |
DNF | A | 66 | Mini Bits | John Dellaca Jon Leighton | Morris Cooper S | 3 | 47 |
DNF | D | 25 | D & P Traders Pty. Ltd. | Pat Peck Darrylyn Huitt | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 3 | 26 |
DNS [9] | D | 14 | Freds Treads Pty. Ltd. | John Duggan Gordon Rich | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | ||
DNS [9] | D | 28 | B. Nitschke | Bill Nitschke John Lewis | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | ||
DNS [9] | B | 46 | Alan Cant | Alan Cant Tony Maw | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | ||
DNS [9] | D | 32 | Gosford Motors Pty. Ltd. | Kingsley Hibbard Brian Shead | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | ||
DNS [9] | B | 51 | Barry Lee | Barry Lee Ron McPhail | Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I | ||
DNS [9] | A | 62 | Pete Mac's Towing Service Pty. Ltd. | Geoff Wade Robin Dudfield | Morris Cooper S |
The Bathurst 1000 is a 1,000-kilometre (621.4 mi) touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recent incarnation of the Australian Touring Car Championship. In 1987 it was a round of the World Touring Car Championship. The Bathurst 1000 is colloquially known as The Great Race among motorsport fans and media. The race originated with the 1960 Armstrong 500 with a 500 mile race distance at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit; it was relocated to Bathurst in 1963 also with the 500 mile distance and has continued there every year since extending to a 1,000 kilometer race in 1973. The race was traditionally run on the New South Wales Labour-Day long weekend in early October. Since 2001, the race has been run on the weekend following the long weekend, generally the second weekend of October.
Colin John Bond is an Australian former 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. He quickly found success, winning the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 mile race at Bathurst, New South Wales in a Holden Monaro.
Allan George MoffatOBE is a Canadian-born Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four wins in the Bathurst 500/1000. Moffat was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 1999.
John GossOAM is an Australian retired motor racing driver who competed in his home country during the 1960s, 1970's and 1980's. He is the only driver to have won Australia's two most prestigious races, the Bathurst 1000, and the Australian Grand Prix (1976).
The 1983 James Hardie 1000 was a motor race for Group C Touring Cars contested at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on 2 October 1983. It was the 24th "Bathurst 1000" and the third to carry the James Hardie 1000 name. The race, which took place as part of Round 4 of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship, was contested over 163 laps of the 6.172 km circuit, a total distance of 1006.036 km.
The 1975 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 16th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was an endurance race for touring cars complying with CAMS Group C regulations. The event was held at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales on 5 October 1975 over a distance of 1006.036 km. The race was Round 3 of the 1975 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
Robert Morris is an Australian former racing driver. Morris was one of the leading touring car drivers during the 1970s and continued racing until 1984. Morris won Australia's premier Touring car race, the Bathurst 1000 in 1976. He also won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1979. Morris was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2004.
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The Ford works team was the unofficial name for an Australian motor racing team which was supported by the Ford Motor Company of Australia. The team was formed in 1962 and was disbanded when Ford Australia withdrew from motor racing at the end of 1973. Drivers for the works team included Allan Moffat, Fred Gibson, Harry Firth, Bob Jane, Barry Seton, Bruce McPhee, John French, Ian Geoghegan and his brother Leo Geoghegan. Ford Australia also supported a factory rally team in Australia from 1977 to 1980.
The 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 20th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1979, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with four engine capacity based classes.
The 1978 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 19th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 1 October 1978, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine capacity based classes.
The 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was a motor race for Group C Touring Cars, held on 2 October 1977 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was the 18th in a sequence of "Bathurst 1000" events commencing with the 1960 Armstrong 500.
The 1976 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 17th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 3 October 1976 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race was open to cars complying with CAMS Group C Touring Car regulations.
The 1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was an endurance race for Group C Touring Cars, held at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on 6 October 1974. The race was Round 3 of the 1974 Australian Manufacturers' Championship and was the 15th in a sequence of annual “Bathurst 1000” races commencing with the 1960 Armstrong 500.
The 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was an endurance motor race open to Group E Series Production Touring Cars. The race was held on 1 October 1972 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. Cars competed in four classes defined by Capacity Price Units, where the engine capacity, expressed in litres, was multiplied by the purchase price in Australian dollars to arrive at a CP value for each vehicle. It was the 13th running of the Bathurst 500 race and the last to be held over the original distance of 500 miles. It was also the last to allow drivers to compete for the full distance without a relief driver. The race was the third round of the 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
The 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was a motor race held on 3 October 1971 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was open to production vehicles competing in showroom condition, with the field divided into five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian dollars. Although an outright winner was officially recognised, all other official awards were for class results only. The race was the 12th in a sequence of annual "Bathurst 500" production car races dating back to the 1960 Armstrong 500. The outright winner was Allan Moffat driving a Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III.
The 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the 11th running of the Bathurst 500 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1970 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to standard production sedans competing in five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle.
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 of the vehicle.
Leo Francis Geoghegan was an Australian racing driver. He was the elder of two sons of former New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, both of whom become dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s. While his younger brother Ian "Pete" Geoghegan had much of his success in touring car racing, winning five Australian Touring Car Championships, Leo spent most of his racing career in open wheel racing cars.
Douglas Gordon Chivas (c.1922–2004) was an Australian rally and racing car driver. Chivas drove the first Lotus Mark 6 in Australia in the early 1950s winning many races.