Holden Dealer Racing Team

Last updated April 22, 2024

The Holden Dealer Racing Team was an Australian motor racing team, covertly backed by General Motors-Holden's through their dealer network so as to get around GM's worldwide ban on the company being involved in motorsport. The HDRT contested the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 endurance race at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, as well as the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon using GMH's latest car, the Holden HK Monaro.

1968 London–Sydney Marathon

In early 1968, the Holden Dealer Racing Team was set up by David McKay, who already ran the Scuderia Veloce race team in various forms of motor sport in Australia. A motoring journalist with Sydney's Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers (both of which were owned by Sir Frank Packer), McKay learned of the upcoming London–Sydney Marathon which was sponsored by race organiser Sir Max Aitken and his UK newspaper, the Daily Express . The marathon would begin on 24 November in Crystal Palace in London, and finish on 18 December at the Warwick Farm Raceway in Sydney.

McKay convinced his own editor David McNicoll and Telegraph owner Packer to get involved in the event, which they did with co-sponsorship (it reportedly took less than 5 minutes to convince the astute Packer). McKay also convinced GMH to get involved by supplying him with three of the yet to be released Holden Monaros in which to run in the event. Contrary to popular belief at the time, the Monaros were actually prepared for the 7,000 mi Marathon that would travel through eleven countries by GMH under the supervision of its Sales Director John Bagshaw and chief engineer Bill Steinhagen, and not by Scuderia Veloce. Also, the cars would not be entered under the name of Scuderia Veloce or the Holden Dealer Racing Team, but instead were entered in the event under the name of their major sponsor, The Sydney Telegraph, with the words "Sydney Telegraph Racing" prominently painted on the side of the cars.

While the team did not feature strongly in the results due to mechanical woes, the team's second car driven by leading Australian Rally Championship driver Barry Ferguson finished 12th outright, while the 3rd car driven by triple Australian Grand Prix winner Doug Whiteford finished 14th. The Monaro driven by team leader David McKay failed to finish the marathon. McKay's Monaro was rolled over while competing a rally section near Broken Hill, NSW, hospitalising one of the crew. This disqualified it from the rally. A new windscreen was fitted and was driven straight to Sydney allowing McKay to watch the finish.

1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500

The day following the official launch of the Monaro on the Gold Coast, prominent Melbourne based Holden dealer and former racer Bill Patterson reportedly asked McKay (who was on the Gold Coast covering the cars launch) what it would cost to run three of the new Holden Monaro GTS327s in the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Mount Panorama for Group E Series Production Touring Cars. This led to an agreement being reached where McKay's Scuderia Veloce team, under the name Holden Dealer Racing Team, would run three Monaros which were separately financed by three different Holden dealers, Patterson Motors (Victoria), Midway Motors (Queensland) and Sutton Motors (NSW), with each dealer named on all three cars. The Monaros (not, as rumour had it, the London-Sydney cars) were delivered to the team's base in Wahroonga on Sydney's Upper North Shore where they were prepared by Scuderia Veloce chief mechanic Bob Atkins.

Car #23D was driven by international sports car and Formula One racer Paul Hawkins and Bill Brown, #24D was driven by New Zealander Jim Palmer (a Tasman Series regular) and Phil West, while car #25D was driven by 1964 Armstrong 500 winner George Reynolds and veteran touring and sports car driver Brian Muir.

The race was won by the privately entered Monaro of Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland. The Palmer/West Monaro finished second outright, with the Muir/Reynolds car in fifth, while the Hawkins/Brown car was disqualified for receiving outside assistance after breaking a wheel in The Cutting. Palmer and West had actually finished 3rd on the road, but the 2nd placed Des West / Ron Marks Monaro was disqualified in post-race scrutineering, lifting the HDRT car to second place.

It was not until the 1969 Datsun Three Hour at Sandown that a permanent Holden Dealer Team, managed by Harry Firth, had its first outing. None of the six Holden Dealer Racing Team drivers from 1968, nor David McKay or Scuderia Veloce were involved in Firth's 1969 Holden Dealer Team campaign.

Related Research Articles

The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and Sports Sedan races during the 1970s. From 1980 the Holden Dealer Team, by then under the ownership of Peter Brock, diversified into producing modified road-going Commodores and other Holden cars for selected dealers via HDT Special Vehicles.

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.

Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the team has competed in a variety of touring car series in Australia ranging from relatively modest Nissan production cars to Chevrolet NASCAR race cars to building the GT specification Holden Monaro 427C. The team won the Bathurst 1000 in 2000 and also won both of the Bathurst 24 Hour races which were held in 2002 and 2003. In 2013 the team celebrated its 50th year in racing since Rogers made his debut.

Bruce Alexander McPhee was an Australian motor racing driver. He is most famous for winning the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500, defeating both the Holden and Ford factory teams.

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.

Henry Leslie Firth was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works team and then the famed Holden Dealer Team (HDT) well into the 1970s. Firth’s nickname was "the fox", implying his use of cunning ploys as a team manager.

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 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 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.

The 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was a production car race held on 6 October 1968 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was the ninth running of the Bathurst 500.

The 1970 Rothmans 12 Hour was an endurance motor race for Group E Series Production Touring Cars. The event was held at the Surfers Paradise International Raceway in Queensland, Australia on 4 January 1970 with the field divided into four classes determined by the retail price of the vehicle.

Norm Beechey is a retired Australian race car driver, who was given the nickname "Stormin Norman" by his fans. To some, he was the closest thing Holden had to a star racing driver, before Peter Brock. Beechey competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1963 to 1972 winning the title in 1965 driving a Ford Mustang and in 1970 at the wheel of a Holden Monaro. Along the way, he achieved seven round wins, and one pole position. His championship win in 1970 was the first victory by a Holden driver in the Australian Touring Car Championship.

Antony Martin Roberts was an Australian race and rally driver.

George Reynolds was an Australian racing driver.

David McKay was an Australian journalist and prominent motoring identity.

Scuderia Veloce was an Australian motor racing team founded by journalist racer David McKay and his chief mechanic Bob Atkin. The team, which competed in many motor racing categories in the 1960s, is regarded as the first professional motor racing operation in Australia. It was based in Wahroonga on Sydney's upper North Shore. It later became a motor car dealership Specialising in Volvo, Porsche and Ferrari with Bob Atkin as the Managing Director.

The National Motor Racing Museum (NMRM) is located in the regional New South Wales city of Bathurst, approximately 200 km west of Sydney. The museum is situated adjacent to the Mount Panorama motor racing circuit at the end of Conrod Straight, close to the city.

Jim McKeown was an Australian racing driver who competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1964 to 1972, with a best finish of 2nd in the 1970 ATCC. McKeown was part of the successful Neptune Racing Team alongside Norm Beechey and Peter Manton. The team later became known as the Shell Racing Team and consisted of McKeown in a Porsche 911S, Beechey in a Holden Monaro GTS350 and Manton in a Morris Cooper S.

Spencer Martin is an Australian championship-winning racing driver. Martin's short career was highlighted by two Australian Drivers' Championship victories in 1966 and 1967, racing for Bob Jane Racing.

References

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.