1984 James Hardie 1000

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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 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship. This race was celebrated as 'The Last of the Big Bangers', in reference to the Group C touring cars, which were competing at Bathurst for the last time.

The race winning Brock/Perkins Holden Commodore Brock-vk.jpg
The race winning Brock/Perkins Holden Commodore

The race was won by Peter Brock and Larry Perkins driving a Holden VK Commodore for the Holden Dealer Team, the third consecutive victory for Brock, Perkins and the HDT. It was the most dominant team performance for the HDT in the history of the race as the team claimed a 1-2 finish with John Harvey and David Parsons backing up their team leaders by finishing second. Third place was taken by the Mazda RX-7 of Allan Moffat and Gregg Hansford. Moffat privately disputed the Harvey/Parsons Commodore finishing second as it had spent almost 3 laps in the pits mid-race with a gearbox problem, but saw little value in protesting as it would not win him the race so decided to settle for third.

The race also saw the first appearance of the international Group A cars at Bathurst (the category had made its Australian debut in the Castrol 500 at Sandown 3 weeks earlier). The Group A class was won by the TWR Mobil Rover Vitesse V8 of race rookies Jeff Allam from England and Armin Hahne from West Germany who finished 12th outright. Second in class and 15th outright was the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of 1967 Formula One World Champion Denny Hulme and Bavarian Prince Leopold von Bayern. Third in Group A and 20th outright was the Barry Seton / Don Smith V8 Ford Mustang. For Seton, who had won the race outright in 1965, it would be his final start at Bathurst as he quietly retired from race driving at the end of 1984. Dick Johnson Racing, who started 4th on the grid with their Group C Ford XE Falcon, also entered a Mustang in the Group A category and although 1984 Australian Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson qualified the underpowered car in 48th, it was only there as insurance should there be a repeat of 1983 where he destroyed his Falcon in a famous Hardies Heroes crash and the Mustang, which Johnson had purchased from the German Zakspeed team, was officially withdrawn the day before the race.

Class structure

Group C

This was the last Bathurst 1000 to include Group C Touring Cars, which had first contested the Bathurst 1000 in 1973. While a production based category, continual parity adjustments to keep the leading vehicles roughly at the same pace had seen the cars become wildly over-specified. That led to a decision by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) in mid-1983 that Australian touring car racing would abandon its locally developed Group C rules and would be run under regulations based on the FIA's international Group A rules from 1 January 1985.

The major contenders in Group C were the V8-engined Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, the lone V12 Jaguar XJ-S and 6 cylinder BMW 635 CSi, the rotary Mazda RX-7s, and the Nissan Bluebird turbos. Also running in Group C were the now outdated Chevrolet Camaro Z28s.

It would be the final Bathurst appearance for the Bluebird turbo which would be replaced in Group A in 1986 by the Nissan Skyline DR30 RS. After the car made its debut in the inaugural 500-mile race at Phillip Island in 1960, it would be the final Bathurst 1000 for the Ford Falcon until 1992. The Commodore (in various models), Jaguar, BMW and Mazda all saw action during the Group A years in Australia (1985–1992).

Group A

The international Group A formula was allowed to enter for the first time as a prelude to their adoption for Bathurst and the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1985. The Group A cars were closer to pure bred racing cars in concept (notably the allowing of the cars interior to be removed, as well as the cars having a lower ride height), but without the extensive performance modifications allowed for Group C. Without the performance upgrades, aerodynamic aids and larger tyres of the Group C cars, the Group A cars were much slower (the lead 3.5L V8 Rover Vitesse of Jeff Allam and Armin Hahne qualified 10 seconds slower than the pole time set by George Fury in the Nissan Bluebird turbo), and thus formed their own class. The low slung V8 Rovers did prove to be sensationally quick in a straight line though, with both cars being regularly recorded at over 240 km/h (149 mph) on Conrod Straight, putting them on par with many of the lower ranked privateer Commodores, Falcons and RX-7s. The Rover's main Group A challenger would be the BMW 635 CSi run by JPS Team BMW.

The other contenders in the Group A class included the Ford Mustang, Ford Capri Mk.III, Alfa Romeo GTV6, Toyota Sprinter AE86, Mitsubishi Starion, Audi 5+5, and Toyota Celica Supra.

Hardies Heroes

Conditions on Mount Panorama were bitterly cold for the 1984 edition of Hardies Heroes with snow having fallen at the top of the circuit early in the morning. This saw a number of cars, notably the lighter (980 kg (2,160 lb)) Mazda RX-7's struggle to get sufficient heat into their tyres.

The pole winning Nissan Bluebird turbo as driven by George Fury (image from 2006) 1984 Nissan Bluebird Turbo - 1984 James Hardie 1000 (5133172804).jpg
The pole winning Nissan Bluebird turbo as driven by George Fury (image from 2006)
PosNoTeamDriverCarHHQual
Pole15 Nissan Motor Co. Flag of Australia (converted).svg George Fury Nissan Bluebird Turbo 2:13.8502:14.81
205 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock Holden VK Commodore 2:14.0392:14.31
317 Palmer Tube Mills Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson Ford XE Falcon 2:14.7102:15.07
46 Roadways Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore 2:14.8862:14.74
543 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 2:16.4112:15.54
631 JPS Team BMW Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 2:16.7952:16.49
72Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Masterton Ford XE Falcon 2:17.0552:16.33
842 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gregg Hansford Mazda RX-7 2:18.0512:15.85
941Chequered Flag Magazine Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Morris Mazda RX-7 2:18.1072:16.05
1012 John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Walkinshaw Jaguar XJ-S 2:18.9602:16.09

* Nissan scored the first ever Bathurst 1000 Pole Position by a car fitted with a turbocharger when George Fury recorded a time of 2:13.85 in his Nissan Bluebird Turbo. Fury's time in the runoff would not be beaten until 1991, ironically by another Nissan, the R32 GT-R. As it was the last year of Group C, Fury's time remains the fastest ever at Mt Panorama by a Group C touring car. Early morning snow on the mountain and the cold conditions were thought to favour the turbo over the V8 powered cars. Almost 20 years later Fred Gibson, who was by 1986 the Nissan team manager, confirmed that the Bluebirds had a turbo boost adjuster on the dashboard, used to tune boost pressure once track conditions were better understood in order to preserve the turbocharger.[ citation needed ]
* It was the first time in the seven-year history of Hardies Heroes that a V8 powered car did not claim Pole Position at Bathurst, and the first time since qualifying first counted for grid positions in 1967 that a V8 had not been on pole. It would be the start of a run of 8 pole positions in 9 years for turbo powered cars at Bathurst and a V8 powered car would not sit on pole again at Bathurst until 1993.
* The 1984 Hardies Heroes holds the Top 10 shootout record for the most number of marques competing with six with (in order) Nissan, Holden, Ford, Mazda, BMW and Jaguar represented. The record was equaled in both Super Touring races in 1997 and 1998.
* Jaguar became the 7th marque to represent in Hardies Heroes, making the first of only two appearances in the top ten runoff with Tom Walkinshaw (a Bathurst rookie despite being the 1984 European Touring Car Champion which included winning the 24 Hours of Spa in his own Group A Jaguar XJ-S) qualifying John Goss' V12 Jaguar XJ-S in 10th place. During qualifying (using one of TWR's more highly developed Group A V12 engines) the Jaguar had been recorded at 290 km/h (180 mph) on Conrod Straight, the fastest ever by a Touring Car before the addition of Caltex Chase in 1987. The next fastest cars were Dick Johnson's V8 Ford XE Falcon at 285 km/h (177 mph) and Peter Brock's V8 Holden VK Commodore at 280 km/h (174 mph).
* With three Mazda RX-7's in Hardies Heroes, 1984 was the only time Mazda had the greatest representation of cars in the Top Ten runoff. Not surprisingly the factory backed Peter Stuyvesant RX-7 of Allan Moffat was the quickest of the trio ending up 5th on the grid.
* 1984 was the only time either Steve Masterton and Gregg Hansford would appear in the Top 10 runoff.
* 1984 was also the last time that 1976 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 winner Bob Morris would appear in the runoff. After his impromptu Bathurst drive in 1983, Morris had come out of semi-retirement in 1984, purchasing the ex-Barry Jones Mazda RX-7 and actually winning the Oran Park round of the ATCC. Unfortunately, with the coming Group A being projected as more expensive than he believed he could manage, Morris would quietly retire from racing at the end of 1984.

Official results

Christine Gibson & Glenn Seton drove a Nissan Pulsar EXA (image from 2015) Nissan Pulsar EXA - Gibson & Seton.JPG
Christine Gibson & Glenn Seton drove a Nissan Pulsar EXA (image from 2015)
Garry Willmington & Mike Griffin drove a Ford XD Falcon (image from 2015) Ford Falcon (XD) - Willmington & Griffin.JPG
Garry Willmington & Mike Griffin drove a Ford XD Falcon (image from 2015)
PosClassNoTeamDriversCarLapsQual
Pos
Shootout
Pos
1C05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins
Holden VK Commodore 16312
2C25 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Harvey
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Parsons
Holden VK Commodore 16112
3C42 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gregg Hansford
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allan Moffat
Mazda RX-7 16168
4C8K-Mart Auto Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warren Cullen
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones
Holden VK Commodore 16113
5C28Bayside Spare Parts Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Lawrence
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Browne
Holden VH Commodore SS 15817
6C10John Sands Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rusty French
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Geoff Russell
Holden VH Commodore SS 15431
7C47Brian Callaghan Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Graham
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Callaghan
Ford XE Falcon 15421
8C33Michael Burgmann Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Burgmann
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Stevens
Mazda RX-7 15339
9C35Goodyear Car Owners Club Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ron Gillard
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Gibbs
Mazda RX-7 15319
10C27Bryan Byrt Ford Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alf Grant
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Harris
Ford XD Falcon 15342
11C52Fred Geissler Flag of Australia (converted).svg Fred Geissler
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ralph Radburn
Holden VH Commodore SS 15327
12A61 Mobil Rover Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jeff Allam
Flag of Germany.svg Armin Hahne
Rover Vitesse 15236
13C19Ken Mathews Prestige Cars Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ken Mathews
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greg Toepfer
Holden VH Commodore SS 15132
14C21Lusty Engineering Pty. Ltd. Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Lusty
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Lusty
Holden VH Commodore SS 14835
15A62 JPS Team BMW Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme
Flag of Germany.svg Leopold von Bayern
BMW 635 CSi 14849
16C15 Nissan Motor Co. Flag of Australia (converted).svg George Fury
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gary Scott
Nissan Bluebird Turbo 14621
17C7Qld Highway Patrol Racing Team Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lester Smerdon
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Park
Holden VK Commodore 14553
18C51Tokico Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Mulvihill
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Nightingale
Mazda RX-7 14044
19C37Graham Stones Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Stones
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ian Stones
Mazda RX-7 13847
20A69Nu-Truck Spares Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Seton
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Don Smith
Ford Mustang 13656
21A65Hulcraft Autos Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Craft
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Les Grose
Ford Capri Mk.III 13560
22A67Ray Gulson Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ray Gulson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grant O'Donnell
Alfa Romeo GTV6 13158
23C24Scotty Taylor Holden Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Taylor
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Kennedy
Holden VH Commodore SS 13033
24C45James Keogh Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bernie Stack
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Clift
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Shiel
Holden VH Commodore SS 13023
25C38Bayswater Auto Wreckers Pty. Ltd. Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Campbell
Flag of New Zealand.svg John Faulkner
Holden VH Commodore SS 13023
26A73Racing Car News Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Holden
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alexandra Surplice
Toyota Sprinter AE86 12563
27C32Berklee Exhausts Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Clearihan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Grose
Mazda RX-7 12350
28A63Chris Heyer's Kingswood Import Centre Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Heyer
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gerard Murphy
Audi 5+5 11764
29A60 Mobil Rover Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Soper
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ron Dickson
Rover Vitesse 11638
DNFC13Bruce Keith Smith Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Smith
Flag of New Zealand.svg Graeme Waswo
Holden VH Commodore SS 12337
NCC49Kenmar Agency Pty. Ltd. Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Donnelly
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Harrex
Ford XD Falcon 12255
DNFC22P.F. Motor Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryan Thomson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Mann
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 12145
DNFA75Laurie Hazelton Flag of Australia (converted).svg Laurie Hazelton
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jerry Strauberg
Ford Capri Mk.III 11962
NCC30Tony Kavich Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Kavich
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Duggan
Mazda RX-7 11743
DNFC44Chequered Flag Magazine Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Moore
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter McKay
Mazda RX-7 11630
NCA70 Network Alfa Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Bond
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alfredo Costanzo
Alfa Romeo GTV6 11152
DNFC40King George Tavern Flag of Australia (converted).svg Joe Moore
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Muir
Ford XE Falcon 11024
DNFC3 Cadbury Schweppes Pty. Ltd. Flag of New Zealand.svg Peter Janson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Rogers
Holden VH Commodore SS 10916
DNFC17 Palmer Tube Mills Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John French
Ford XE Falcon 10733
DNFC26Everlast Battery Service Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill O'Brien
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gary Cooke
Ford XD Falcon 10428
DNFA72 Toyota Team Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Smith
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stephen Brook
Toyota Sprinter AE86 10057
NCC41Chequered Flag Magazine Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Morris
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Jones
Mazda RX-7 9779
NCA68Greville Arnel Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greville Arnel
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lyndon Arnel
Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 9554
DNFC29Freedom Fence Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Jones
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Hopwood
Ford XE Falcon 8820
NCC39John Bundy Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bundy
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Norm Carr
Mazda RX-7 8334
DNFC16 Nissan Motor Co. Flag of Australia (converted).svg Christine Gibson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Seton
Nissan Pulsar EXA 7626
DNFC6 Roadways Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Grice
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Harrington
Holden VK Commodore 7024
DNFC9K-Mart Auto Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Harris
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ron Harrop
Holden VH Commodore SS 5118
DNFC4Terry Finnigan Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Finnigan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Geoff Leeds
Holden VH Commodore SS 4814
DNFC31 JPS Team BMW Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst
BMW 635 CSi 39106
DNFC50Petrolon Slick 50 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter McLeod
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graeme Bailey
Mazda RX-7 3915
DNFC11Magic Eleven Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Willmington
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Griffin
Ford XD Falcon 3741
DNFC14John English Flag of Australia (converted).svg John English
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Gulson
Ford XD Falcon 3429
DNFA66 Equipe Sixty Six (Hong Kong) Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Bartlett
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Fitzgerald
Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 2761
DNFC20Jim Keogh Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jim Keogh
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Shiel
Holden VH Commodore SS 1725
DNFC2Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Masterton
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Stewart
Ford XE Falcon 1697
DNFC43 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allan Moffat
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gregg Hansford
Mazda RX-7 1555
DNFC36 Roadways Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Harrington
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Grice
Holden VH Commodore SS 711
DNFA64Capri Components Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lawrie Nelson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Jones
Ford Mustang 159
DNFC18Valentine Greetings Flag of Australia (converted).svg Murray Carter
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Murdern
Mazda RX-7 022
DNFC12 John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd. Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Goss
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Walkinshaw
Jaguar XJ-S 0810
DNFC34Pennant Hills Suspension Centre Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Tesoriero
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Tindal
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 046
DNFA77Peter Williamson Toyota Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Williamson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Charlie O'Brien
Toyota Celica Supra 051
DNSA71 Palmer Tube Mills Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John French
Ford Mustang 48

Notes

Statistics

References

  1. 1 2 Barry Naismith, Bathurst 1984/85, pages 73 & 127
  2. Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1984/85, page 309
  3. 1984 James Hardie 1000