MotorSport Legends Issue 1

T H E M A G A Z I N E T H AT B R I N G S Y O U R M O T O R S P O R T M E M O R I E S B A C K T O L I F E

John Harvey How he was robbed of the 1976 Bathurst victory

Nissan GTRs return to the race track, but can they rule Group A again?

GODZILLA IS BACK! Quarterly magazine

ISSN 1835-5544

February/April 2008 $6.95

Volume #1 Issue #1

Brock and Bathurst ‘72

Goodwood Revival

Sir Jack Brabham

Speed on Tweed

T H E M A G A Z I N E T H AT B R I N G S Y O U R M O T O R S P O R T M E M O R I E S B A C K T O L I F E

Contents Editorial Welcome to the first edition of Motorsport Legends.

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Godzilla is back!

06-11 Nissan’s GTR dominated in the early ’90s, and now it returns to the track.

Jack Brabham 12-17 In this exclusive interview Australia’s multiple world champion recounts his career, including his unsuccessful attempts on the Bathurst 1000.

John Harvey 18-23 ‘Slug’ talks about his racing career, including winning Bathurst in 1976, even though the records say otherwise.

Peter Brock 24-31 In an interview recorded a few years ago, Brocky recalls the race that began his legend: Bathurst 1972.

Sandown Historics 32-33 Multiple Bathurst champion, Jim Richards, declares the meet a success.

Speed on Tweed 34-37 ‘Goodwood of Oz’ gains momentum.

Goodwood Revival 38-43 Reunion at the world’s Mecca of historic motor racing.

Classic Adelaide 44-46 Kevin Weeks and Bec Crunkhorn take the prize in a 1975 Porsche 911RSR. Foges’ Flashback 48-49 Australia’s leading motorsport journalist remembers days gone by.

Elfin Museum 50 A new shrine to Cooper’s creations Car Goodies 51 The latest motoring books and DVDs 2

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Contributors in this issue Darren House After begining his career as a photographer, Darren crossed the fence to become one of Australia’s most respected motorsport scribes.

His exclusive interview with Jack Brabham in this issue showcases his outstanding talent.

Mark Fogarty Foges began his career over 30 years ago, after an editor gave in to his constant pestering. He has since become the doyen of Australian motorsport journalism. Here he gives an insight into how much things have changed since his first article was published.

Brian Reed Brique has competed at Bathurst 12 times.

He is also a respected motor racing historian, so it just made sense that he was the first we called when we decided to publish an historic motor racing magazine.

T H E M A G A Z I N E T H AT B R I N G S Y O U R M O T O R S P O R T M E M O R I E S B A C K T O L I F E

Managing Editor Allan Edwards Pole Position Productions Address: PO Box 225 Keilor, Victoria, 3036 Phone: (03) 9336 3433 Email: mslegends@bigpond.com Artist/Design House Natalie Delarey Raamen Pty Ltd (03) 9873 8282 Contributors Darren House, Grant Nicholas, Brian Reed, Mark Fogarty Photographers Autopics.com.au John Doig/Torque Photos Advertising Manager David Brown DB Media & Marketing Phone: (03) 9762 7018 Mobile: 0408 562 962 Email: dgbmedia@bigpond.net.au Motorsport Legends is printed by Impact Printing Pty. Ltd. Melbourne

Material in Motorsport Legends is protected by copyright laws and may not be reporoduced in any format. Motorsport Legends will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Motorsport Legends is factual, no responsibility will be taken for any material which is later found to be false or misleading.

The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.

ALLAN’S

Editorial Welcome to the first edition of Motorsport Legends magazine. Motorsport Legends will include motor racing nostalgia and historic motorsport events.

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erusing through the photographs of John Harvey during his speedway days as we were in production of this issue reminded me so much of the reason I got involved in motorsport.

It was growing up looking at very similar pictures of my Dad racing speedway in the ’60s that sparked my interest in the sport. Dad raced TQs or three-quarter midgets at Garfield and Tracey Speedways. As a kid I used to admire his photo albums full of interesting race cars – from the frontengined examples through to the more ‘modern’ rear-engined machines.

My father gave up racing soon after I was born in 1969. With two children, he was under pressure to look for a less dangerous hobby! It is one of my greatest disappointments that I never saw him race, and to my knowledge there is no footage of him on the track – the only evidence of his racing days were still photos in big old albums and a handful of trophies that resided on our family mantelpiece.

When I was old enough, I purchased a little Formula Vee. It was log-booked as a ‘Sterling’. The guy I bought it from told me that it was a one-of, and that it had originally been a Venom Mark II before some modifications to strengthen the rear-end, which, apparently, had a habit of twisting on the Venoms. Ironically, that car would be considered historic

Top: Allan Edwards with Lorraine Cooper at the opening of the Elfin Heritage Centre.

Above: The ex-Edwards Sterling Formula Vee.

today, and I could have raced it in the historic Formula Vee class had I not sold it in disgust some years ago. Let’s just say, as a racing car driver, I made a bloody good journalist, so I gave up my helmet and driving suit and concentrated on my writing. During my journalism career I have edited and written for many motor racing titles, but the prospect of working on Motorsport Legends really excites me.

One of the reasons I am so enthusiastic about the project is because of the calibre of people I have convinced to join me for the ride – people like renowned racing driver and historic writer, Brian ‘Brique’ Reed, well-known journalists Darren House, Mark Fogarty and Grant Nicholas, specialist motorsport photographer John Doig, and respected graphic artists Neville Wilkinson and Natalie Delarey.

Back to 1969, the same year I was born, a young bloke called Peter Brock was making his debut for Holden at

Bathurst. Brockie finished third at the Mountain in his Monaro that year alongside experienced driver Des West.

Of course, we all know that he went on to become ‘King of the Mountain’, winning there on nine occasions (10 if you count his 24-Hour race win in 2003). Growing up, Brock and the Mountain went hand-in-hand, and it was hard for people my age to ever imagine Bathurst without Brock. When he was tragically killed in Targa West in 2006 our generation was robbed of its greatest racing hero. One of the main reasons for producing Motorsport Legends magazine is to make sure stories like Brock’s and those of the other Australian motor racing pioneers who came before him are never lost. The interview with Brock recounting his maiden Bathurst victory in 1972 in this issue was recorded a few years ago. Most of it has been seen before in another magazine, and with so much written about Brock since his death, I thought long and hard before reproducing it. However, I decided that this magazine should be about the men who created the Australian motorsport legend, and where better to start than with Brock and our own three-time world Formula One champion, Sir Jack Brabham!

I hope you enjoy the pages that follow and I’m looking forward to you joining me on the journey. Cheers, Allan Edwards, Managing Editor MotorSportLegends

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PHILLIP ISLAND

LEGENDS SET FOR ISLAND CLASSIC

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he Australian Legends meeting at Phillip Island on the long weekend in March (7-9) is shapping up to be the biggest historic motorsport carnival ever held in this country.

John Bowe has been announced as the patron of the event. At the time of writing over 280 entries had been lodged and that was expected to grow to a fully-subscribed field of 500.

A number of feature cars had already been confirmed for the event, including the Penske Porsche 917-30, which will be sent out from the Porsche museum in Germany. The Porsche was raced by Mark Donahue in Can-Am in the early ’70s.

The Porsche 917-30 was one of the fastest Sportscars ever built. With its 1100hp on tap, it has been clocked at 220kmh while racing in the US. The Phillip Island event will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Formula Junior category worldwide and a special race will be held for the class.

There will be 50 Formula Juniors competing in total including eight from the UK, 11 from New Zealand, one from the Neverlands, and a host from the US. Following the Phillip Island meeting the Formula Juniors will also head to Mark Donahue last drove this Porsche 917-30 in Can-Am racing in the early ’70s before it was retired to the Porsche museum in Germany.

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New Zealand for a race.

A number of Formula 5000s will once again visit from New Zealand along with four from England.

Formula 5000s will be combined with old Formula One cars. Confirmed entries include an ex-Alboreto Ferrari, and an ex-Jones Beatrice, while negotiations were continuing to secure four F1s from the US, including a Tyrell and two Williams cars.

Organisers are also confident of a number of big Sportscars, including Paul Stubber’s Lola, and a GT40 from the UK. Over 25 Group C and Group A touring cars are expected.

Peter Giddings has also shown interest in bringing his 1930s P3 Alfa Romeo Grand Prix car to the meeting, which

has never before been seen in Australia.

Famous drivers present at the meeting will include Norm Beechey, Bob Jane, John Bowe, Alan Hamilton (who will have particular interest in the Penske 917-30 as he owned a similar car at one stage), Vern Schuppan; Frank Matich, and Sir Jack Brabham.

Glenn Seton has entered his Capri and John Bowe is also hopeful of racing (if he can find a car to steer).

The meeting will be held over three days with practice on Friday and racing all day on both Saturday and Sunday. ML

For more information visit www.vhrr.com or call Ian Tate on (03) 9877 2317.

The Penske-built Porsche 917-30, which was one of the fastest Sportscars ever made, is confirmed for the Australian Legends meeting at Phillip Island.

NISSAN GTR

Gavin Strongman ‘debuted’ the GIO GTR at the recent Sandown historic meet.

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Xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xxx xxx xxxx xxxxxx xx xxx xxxxx xxxx x

WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF? Nissan’s all-conquering GTRs have returned to the race track a decade on and are set to dominate Group A racing again.

STORY BY ALLAN EDWARDS PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU AND JOHN DOIG/TORQUE PHOTOS

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he GIO Nissan GTR driven in the early ’90s

by Mark Gibbs and Rohan Onslow is back racing in historic Group A racing. And perhaps the most controversial car in Australian motor racing history – the Winfield GTR driven to victory at Bathurst by Mark Skaife and Jim Richards in 1992 – could soon also return to competition.

They dominated Group A racing in the early ’90s to the point where the sport’s governing body, CAMS, was forced to change the regulations that decided the Australian Touring Car Championship.

You could say that the Nissan GTRs were the catalyst for the V8 Supercar regulations that we have today.

It didn’t matter how much CAMS tried to handicap the all-conquering GTRs with weight penalties and turbo restrictions, Gibson Motor Sport – which had been contracted to oversee the preparation and running of the

2.4-litre, six-cylinder, twin-turbo, fourwheel-drives from Japan – just kept coming up with a way to make the cars faster every time.

In fact, the man who originally built the cars, Fred Gibson, believes they were the best touring cars in the world and statistics back up his claim.

Richards claimed the 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship in a Nissan GTR, while Skaife claimed the title in a GTR the following year. Together they won Bathurst in 1991 and 1992.

It all came to a head at Bathurst in 1992. Richards crashed the Winfield GTR in the rain, but the race was redflagged due to the torrential conditions which had resulted in many cars coming off the track.

Under the regulations the race results were declared a full lap before the red flag, which meant that Richards and Skaife were acknowledged as the winners.

In an incident that has become Australian motor racing folklore the ❯ MotorSportLegends

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Gavin Strongman (left) with Jim Richards and the GIO GTR at the recent Sandown historuc meet.

GODZILLA RETURNS Gibson Motor Sport built five Nissan GTR Group A touring cars. However, one was totally written-off in a racing accident. Of the others, one currently resides in the LinFox Museum in Melbourne’s Docklands; one is owned by restaurateur, Terry Ashwood; the ex-GIO car is owned

by Melbourne’s Gavin Strongman; and the other – which was the car sold to Asian racer, Phan Prurinat, in the early ’90s – was still somewhere in Asia until recently. However, it is rumoured that car has been purchased and brought back to Australia. Its whereabouts, however, is yet to be made public.

Strongman raced the ex-GIO car in the Group A category at the historic Sandown meeting last November and Ashwood is planning to bring his back to the track early this year.

However, Gibson is not convinced that the return of Godzilla to the race track will be good for the historic Group A class.

“It is disappointing in some ways because they will be expensive to run and somebody running it properly will kill the class and that is a shame,” Gibson said.

Strongman actually agreed with Gibson.

“I think with a bit of time they would ban it – again!” he said.

He plans to build up his exGeorge Fury Nissan Skyline DR30 to race in the category, though he indicated that he will continue to run the GTR in “occasional” events.

Another reason for being selective

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with the number of events he runs the GTR is to reduce the risk of the car being damaged in a racing incident.

“Imagine if you tore the front off a $500,000 car in front of 20,000 people!” he said.

When Strongman – who worked for Gibson Motor Sport in the early ’90s – first approached Bob Forbes (who still owned the car) to purchase the GIO GTR, Forbes was not keen to sell it.

Strongman then came across the DR30 and purchased that car instead.

Later Forbes rang him back and said he had changed his mind. Luckily, however, he gave Strongman enough time to raise the funds in order to purchase the piece of Australian motor racing history.

As well as the car, Strongman took home an eight-tonne truck threequarters full of spares – including engines and gearboxes.

When Strongman purchased the GTR in September 2006 it was exactly as it was when it finished Bathurst in 1992.

“There hadn’t been anything done to it except a wash and a polish,” Strongman said.

The battery in the digital readout on the dash was flat and Strongman had to source a new one and get the unit reprogrammed. Apart from that, and an oil and spark plug change, Strongman has done virtually nothing to the GTR before racing it.

He described the GTR as “awesome” to drive.

“It is the fastest car out there on the track without a doubt. I didn’t really want to push it too hard and do something silly, so I hung back a little bit. Out of the corners the acceleration and the grip is unbelievable. It is like it is on rails; there is no sign of any oversteer or understeer; it is like a bullet!”

Because the GTR is such a hightech machine, Strongman has to purchase special fuel which is 109 octane, and costs $6.50 per litre!

Ashwood owns what could perhaps be described as the most infamous car in Australian motorsport – the 1992 Bathurstwinning Winfield GTR. “It is still very controversial. A lot of people still remember it from that 1992 Bathurst race. I have had it spat on. I have been called names for owning it. It still carries a fair bit of emotion,” Ashwood said.

“This car changed the course of motor racing in Australia... ” He purchased a collection of ex-Gibson Motor Sport race cars about five years ago.

Most of them have been on display at his restaurant in Gosford NSW, but the GTR has been kept in mothballs until now. It was totally rebuilt by Gibson Motor Sport after the crash at Bathurst.

Ashwood and Gibson completed the deal to buy the collection of cars – which also included trophies and team uniforms – on the back of a napkin over a meal and “a bottle of red wine” at a restaurant.

Ashwood asked Gibson if he wanted to sell the collection as he was thinking of putting them on display in his restaurant.

“I was half joking at the time to be honest with you. But he said ‘that sounds like a good idea’, so I grabbed a paper napkin and we wrote out the deal. We shook hands on it and as I walked out of the restaurant I asked Fred if he wanted to formalise it through legal channels and he said ‘Terry, if you have to do that then the deal is off; if I can’t trust you and you can’t trust me then I don’t want to do business with you’; and that’s how it all happened,” Ashwood explained.

NISSAN GTR

Left: The GTR in The Dipper at Bathurst in 1992.

Below: Skaife did many laps of testing in the GTR in the early days and matched Richards for pace on race days. Bottom: Gibbs and Onslow claimed third at Bathurst in 1991 in the GIO GTR.

Bathurst spectators turned on Richards and a young Skaife. The hostile crowd booed the Bathurst winners and there were even reports of objects being thrown at the podium.

Richards was disgusted and uttered some words in his victory speech that he is not proud of to this day.

Skaife describes that experience as one of the most disappointing that he has been involved in during his long and successful motor sport career.

“As sportsman – it doesn’t matter if you are in a Ford, a Holden, a Nissan, or whatever – you expect people to respect the level of effort and your performance… and that’s what I was really disappointed about.

“I think that is also the thing that really hit home with Jimmy. Not only had one of his best friends died on that day (fellow Kiwi Denny Hulme had a heart attack behind the wheel of his BMW M3 during the race), he also knew how treacherous the conditions were on that day; he had crashed out of the race himself. It was very emotional.

It was a real rise and fall of the day’s

“It was very emotional... when that happened, it was pretty hard to take.” proceedings and when that happened, it was pretty hard to take.”

Even before that race began plans were underway at CAMS for a new set of regulations for the 1993 season, which effectively outlawed both the GTRs and the internationally developed Ford Sierra, which had been extremely successful before the arrival of the GTRs (although the Sierras were still allowed to run in the two-litre class for the next few years without their turbos).

At the time no-one in the Nissan camp was thrilled with the sport’s rulemakers.

In fact, Nissan has never seriously returned to any Australian motorsport category.

With the passing of time, both Richards and Gibson believe that the decision taken by CAMS was probably the best thing for the sport in Australia.

“I suppose that’s when the sport was changing to entertainment and not motor racing – it’s now all about entertainment,” Gibson told Motorsport Legends when asked if he was still disappointed the car had effectively been banned.

“We had the best mousetrap; the biggest budget and the most people; and we were doing it to the best of our ability and we were being strangled by people who wanted to handicap the car all of the time.

“That was disappointing in a way, but I can understand what they were trying to do.”

Richards was equally as philosophical.

“If you wanted to win anything consistently, you had to have one of those cars and I really believe that is why CAMS decided to change the class structure,” Richards said.

“They were probably the most labour ❯ intensive cars around because you MotorSportLegends

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NISSAN GTR

had four drive-shafts instead of two and two turbo-chargers instead of one.

Everything needed a lot of labour, and they were very expensive as well. So probably the decision that they made, in hindsight, was the right decision for motorsport in Australia.

“Had the class stayed in for a couple of more years then Skaifey and I would probably have had another couple of Bathurst wins and another couple of Australian Touring Car Championships,” he added, laughing.

Richards indicated that the GTR was the most dominant touring car he has ever driven.

“At Bathurst in 1992 I was behind a pace car and it was very wet. I was at the front of the queue and I think Bowey (John Bowe in a Sierra) was one or two cars back, and after one lap I had a 10second lead. That was how good they were. You could put your foot flat on the throttle coming out of a tight corner and all 600 horsepower would be put to the road with no wheelspin. They were brilliant,” he said.

Gibson and Skaife both consider the GTR project the biggest ever undertaken in Australian motorsport from an engineering point of view.

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“It was a very exciting time for us because the team was given a massive project. It was the most technologically advanced touring car in the world at the time,” Skaife said.

Gibson said the GTRs were very different to engineer from what his team had previously done.

“The cars that we had before then were just road cars made into race cars, like the DR30 and the HR31 Skyline, but the GTR was a purpose-built race car that Nissan had manufactured. It was exciting for us getting involved in that program,” he said.

“It was a technical nightmare to start with, but we were lucky enough to have a decent budget to be able to do it properly.”

The GTR certainly was an expensive

“They were so good, in fact, that Nissan in Japan refused to allow Gibson Motor Sport to compete in the Fuji 500.”

race car. The overall cost for each car is believed to have topped the half million dollar mark and replacement parts were just as expensive. Engines were reported to cost $100,000 each; gearboxes $35,000 and the differentials $15,000.

“Nowadays they are talking about V8 Supercars being $500,000, but the GTRs were costing that sort of money in the early ’90s!” Gibson said.

“Before we started Australianising it, we had to buy all sorts of special parts from Japan, which cost us plenty of money.”

To lower the costs of the GTR and in an effort to improve its reliability – its Achilles’ heel when it was first introduced – Gibson Motor Sport started developing its own parts – such as drive-shafts and suspensions. It also started to develop its own turbochargers and engine components. Before long the Australian GTRs were the best in the world.

They were so good, in fact, that Nissan in Japan refused to allow Gibson Motor Sport to compete in the Fuji 500 for fear that the Australian-built GTRs would embarrass the local factory cars.

“We did build the best GTR in the world,” Gibson told Motorsport Legends.

Right: Richards, Skaife and Gibson discuss tactics. Top: The GTR was a little unreliable early, but once it was sorted, it was a weapon. Above: The GTR dominated at Bathurst.

“Nissan in Japan controlled the engines [in their cars] because they had a lot of customers running GTRs in their touring car championship.

“They built the engines to a specification where they knew that they would be reliable and they knew that all of the customers would be happy and wouldn’t have any trouble.

“Here, we had competition, so we developed the cars as much as we could.

I once told Nissan in Japan that we had 600hp and they asked us to send them our dyno sheets so that they could see how we had done it.

“They had about 530hp, but they stuck at that because they leased engines to customers.”

In fact, Skaife admitted that the GTR had closer to 700 horsepower on tap during qualifying for an endurance race in New Zealand – where the GTRs weren’t as handicapped as they were in Australia – late in its development.

The Gibson Motor Sport cars were so good that potential customers were screaming for them.

Gibson ran a car for Bob Forbes,

which was driven by Mark Gibbs in the Australian Touring Car Championship in GIO colours. Gibbs and co-driver, Rohan Onslow, had success with the car in endurance races. The pair won the 1991 Sandown 500 by six laps (a race the main Gibson cars didn’t compete in) and also qualified second and finished third at Bathurst that year.

However, Gibson also had another less well known customer.

The team sold one of its GTRs to Asian racer, Phan Prurinat, who used to race it in Thailand and Indonesia. Gibson Motorsport used to fly a crew to Asia to oversee the preparation and running of the car.

During the period where the GTRs dominated, many inside the sport were not convinced that a young Skaife was as talented driver as his results were indicating. They believed that anyone could have driven the GTRs to championship and Bathurst victories.

Of course, Skaife has proven he is a talented driver with his results since, including another four championships and a further three Bathurst 1000 wins.

But, even back then, Skaife wasn’t too concerned about his critics because he knew he could match it with one of the best touring car drivers in the world.

“At that stage Jim Richards was at the height of his career; he was probably the best touring car driver in the world in those days. Jim and I were very competitive with each other,” Skaife explained.

“The GTRs had big power, small tyres and were very heavy by the end of their life, so they were hard cars to drive; anyone who says they weren’t are kidding themselves. Jim and I had to drive the cars very hard to get the best results from them – especially as they were handicapped.”

Gibson, Skaife and Richards all indicated that the GTR era was one of their favourite times in motorsport.

“We enjoyed our motor racing, which a lot of teams don’t do these days,” Gibson said.

“We always had a drink afterwards, but when we needed to, we got on with the job... that era would be the best part of my motor racing career!”

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Though they got in plenty of miles during practice for Bathurst in 1976, the muchtouted international entry of Brabham amd Moss didn’t go far in the actual race.

Jack Brabham during the Tasman Series at Warwick Farm, Sydney in 1967.

Brabham finished sixth at Bathurst in 1978 sharing a Holden Torana A9X with Brian Muir.

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JACK BRABHAM

THE SHORTEST RACE The Bathurst 1000 can be cruel… even for a three-time World Formula One Champion.

STORY BY DARREN HOUSE, PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU

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s an international sporting hero, Sir Jack Brabham is used to the eyes of the world gazing upon him.

But as he sat on the grid in his Torana L34, counting the seconds until the start of the 1976 Bathurst 1000, he would have preferred the attention was focused on other drivers.

As Allan Moffat and Peter Brock raced each other into Hell Corner, followed by Colin Bond, Bob Morris and the rest of the field, Brabham was left stranded on the grid with 50-odd cars on the charge behind him.

It was almost inevitable that the ‘denim’ Torana would be ‘cleaned up’. Theory became fact when the John Dellaca/Terry Wade Triumph Dolomite slammed into the back of Brabham’s stricken Holden.

The Australian was racing seriously for the first time since retiring from Formula One at the end of the 1970 season, while Moss had only competed in an historic event at the 1976 US Grand Prix at Long Beach since a career-ending crash at Goodwood in 1962.

In addition to its two high-profile drivers, the Brabham/Moss Torana was also memorable for the unique blue with gold ‘stitching’ paint scheme applied in honour of major sponsor, Blues Union jeans.

The car, which now resides in Bathurst’s

National Motor Racing Museum, was perhaps lucky to make the race at all after the brakes failed at the end of Con-rod Straight during practice. Travelling at around 260km/h, the car sailed past its current resting site and down the escape road, Brabham skillfully bringing the car to a safe halt by throwing it into a spin.

Nevertheless, Brabham qualified in the top 10, but the infamous startline incident soon put paid to the pair’s challenge. Moss eventually got behind the wheel after a marathon three-hour repair job; however, the team’s hard work amounted to nothing after the engine let go shortly after.

Brabham had rarely raced at Bathurst and the two heartbreaking problems ensured his relationship with Mount Panorama remained at that time distant.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the opportunity to drive very often at Bathurst because I was mainly overseas but the four or five times that I did I really enjoyed,” Brabham told Motorsport Legends.

“I drove here [Bathurst] once in a Cooper formula car and then I came again in the ’60s in a Brabham so it’s only really been two or three times that I’ve been here in a single-seater. Of course, I drove here with my son Geoffrey in 1977 and again with Brian Muir in 1978 but the race with Stirling Moss is one I won’t forget for a ❯ MotorSportLegends

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“Racing was very dangerous. I lost more than 30 friends in my time and it’s great to be a survivor, I can assure you.”

Jack Brabham, Sandown Tasman Series 1965.

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JACK BRABHAM

while!”

According to Brabham, the result may have been very different had the original plan been followed.

“I enjoyed the experience really, except that car wasn’t the one we were supposed to be driving in the race.

They were building a new car for us, which never got finished, so we had to drive the old car. That had its downfall, I can assure you,” he said.

“The team had changed the gearbox just before the race start and in those days you went straight onto the grid – there was no parade lap. I put it into first gear and it was in two gears – first and reverse, so the car was locked – I couldn’t move.

“As the flag was about to go up I was fighting with the gearlever and it came out of a gear and I thought ‘ah, that’s fantastic’. I dropped the clutch and the car went backwards. (It had jammed in reverse) so I had no option but to sit there and put my hand out of the window. Of course somebody way back at the end of the field didn’t see the car and ran straight into the back of us.

“I was expecting somebody to run into me but I thought by the time that bloke had arrived everybody would

have known about it, but he came right at the end. I couldn’t believe it when he was coming down. I was watching the rear vision mirror as he was coming down and there was nothing I could do about it except brace myself for the accident.”

Television coverage clearly shows what Brabham describes – log onto http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLJJFbOBUc and you’ll see the L34 travelling backwards as Brabham struggles to find first gear.

The Bathurst incident proved that even for a multiple world champion, things don’t always go your way!

Further evidence occurred in 1966 – the year of Brabham’s third F1 World

Sir Jack in a Repco Brabham at Speed on Tweed in 2002.

Championship and his first using the Australian developed and built Repco engines. While the Repco V8s were successful power-plants, sending them half way around the World presented a challenge.

“We really wanted that engine so I got someone to make sure that someone saw the engine get on the plane,” explained Brabham. “They took it to Sydney and put it on a British Airways plane and when it got to England we went out to pick it up and it wasn’t there. They couldn’t find it.

“They got in touch with everyone along the way and it had just disappeared. Three weeks later I was in the office and British Airways rang up and said ‘We’ve got an engine that has been here for a long time. When are you going to come and get it?’ I went out there feeling I was going to hit somebody. It turns out that the engine had been taken off the plane and put around the side of the hanger and had spent three weeks in the rain.

“It wasn’t easy working 12,000 miles (19,300km) apart. A lot of the bits and pieces that were sent over there got lost in all sorts of places around the world. It was unbelievable. We had a set of pistons ❯

Start of the 1958 Melbourne GP Albert Park. Front Row: Moss-Cooper, Brabham-Cooper, Jones-Maserati.

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we were really desperate for on a baggage carousel in New York for a week before they found out who they were for.”

Despite the difficulties, Brabham remembers the period with great affection.

“That was a fantastic era because it was a really good car – it was reliable and it had a fantastic engine. The Repco engine really worked well for us. It had a lot of torque; it just made the car so much better to drive. And of course we had a fantastic season, and winning the championship was a great thrill.”

During that time, Brabham also became the first and only man to win the World Championship in a car bearing his name after leaving the team that gave him his first two world titles in 1959 and 1960, Cooper.

“When I was driving for Cooper all I had to do was turn up and sit in the car. (But) it just appeared to me that we weren’t going to go any further with Cooper so I decided the best thing to do was build our own car. The first racing I ever did was in a car that I built myself so building my own car was something I wanted to do anyway.

We put it all together and the rest of it is history.”

Apart from winning the F1 crown with Cooper, Brabham also made

Jack Brabham, Warwick Farm, Sydney 1967.

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history with the company in 1961 when he raced a tiny rear-engined car in the Indianapolis 500 against the might of the traditional bigger capacity, front-engined Indy cars.

“Going to Indianapolis was quite an experience,” said Brabham. “In those days they had great big motor cars with 22 or 24-inch wheels and God knows what? And our little Cooper – when it was sitting alongside the other cars I used to look up at the driver and think ‘my God, fancy having to race against these people’.

“During the race I could get around the corners much quicker than they could but going down the straight their extra power came to the fore. It was just one of those races where I could pass them in the corner, they could pass me on the straight and it went on for

the whole race.

“Unfortunately we didn’t have the right tyres. If we’d have had tyres that were any good for that meeting I’m sure we would have blown them off. The tyres we had only lasted about 30 laps and I had to come in and change tyres regularly and lost position every time.”

According to Brabham, the locals were quite amused at the radical-forthe-time Indy racer.

“The Americans called it the funny car. They all sort of laughed at it when it first arrived but by the end of the race they were taking it very seriously. That really cost them a lot of money because they all had to throw their cars away and make rear-engine cars. Even today when I see some of the old people who owned those cars they tell me how much money I cost them,” he laughed.

“British Airways rang up and said we’ve got an engine that has been here for a long time. When are you going to come and get it?’ It had spent three weeks in the rain. I went out there feeling I was going to hit somebody.”

Above Left: Brabham BT31. Note the detached rear wing support. Bathurst 1969.

Above Centre: Repco Brabham, Sandown 1966.

Above Right: On the grid. Jack Brabham Cooper, Sandown 1962.

Though he began his career as a speedway racer, Brabham found oval track racing quite a change from the European road racing he was used to.

“It was different. It was quite a dangerous place to drive on. So many cars spun and you can have an accident there without it being your fault whatsoever. It was like racing in a canal and it was very difficult to find somewhere to go if somebody had an accident.”

But danger was never far way on the Formula One circuit, either.

“It was very dangerous,” said Brabham. “I lost more than 30 friends in my time. Unfortunately that was out of my control. There was nothing I could really do about it. It was just one of those things we had to live with. We were very conscious of it when we were driving and we tried to make sure we weren’t one of those killed. It’s great to be a survivor, I can assure you.

“Grand Prix racing in my day was a sport and we enjoyed racing with one another. We all respected one another, which we had to because of the danger. We never ever put anybody in an awkward situation or made it dangerous for another competitor.

After the race there would be a party and we would all talk together. They are things that don’t happen today.”

While still a Formula One fan, Brabham laments other aspects of

Brabham leads the field at Hume Weir in 1961.

modern Grand Prix racing.

“I don’t think it is anywhere near as good as the era when we were racing,” he said. “They don’t even look like motor cars today. I only go to one or two events a year now. I have always gone to the Australian Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix and I occasionally go to Monaco. I very seldom do any others. I always watch it on TV, and now I occasionally go to sleep watching it on TV,” he laughed.

“The odd thing is they are driving cars they can’t get hurt in. Everything is programmed for them on computers.

The drivers just press buttons and the car changes gear and all the rest of it. They can’t over rev it. I don’t know what they get paid for,” he said, laughing again.

So Motorsport Legends asked Brabham to rate the sport’s best drivers.

“That’s pretty difficult to say because

of the different eras and different sorts of cars,” he replied. “But if you look at the original era there is no doubt that [Juan Manuel] Fangio was the best. Then we had the era of Moss and people like Jochen Rindt and Jim Clark. It varied quite a bit.

And overall we have got to look at [Michael] Schumacher.

“He’s not only a fantastic driver, he is a brilliant man in himself – very switched on and it is incredible how he controlled everything and what he achieved. He really got the Ferrari team up and running.”

Amazingly, despite his incredible achievements, Brabham said his initial move to Europe wasn’t motivated by a desire to be World Champion.

“I didn’t go away overseas for that reason. I only went away for one season to get some experience but it took 27 years to come back!” ML MotorSportLegends

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THE UNASSUMING HERO STORY BY GRANT NICHOLAS PHOTOGRAPHS BY WWW.AUTOPICS.COM, JOHN DOIG/TORQUE PHOTOS & THE HARVEY FAMILY COLLECTION

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He won Bathurst in 1983 with Peter Brock and Larry Perkins, but John Harvey should have had his name on the trophy seven years earlier in 1976. To this day Harvey believes he and Colin Bond won at The Mountain on that day, and he has plenty of evidence to support his claims.

But regardless of how many Bathurst wins he has officially, no one can dispute that Harvey is the unassuming hero of Australian motorsport.

JOHN HARVEY

Harvey believes he and Colin Bond should have been declared the winners at Bathurst in 1976.

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tanding tall amongst our motorsporting legends is former Sydney-sider John Harvey, the master of the Nation’s dirt speedways in Speedcars before venturing across to the road racing scene in the mid-1960s to establish himself as one of our finest openwheeler, Sportscar, Sports Sedan and Touring Car racers. While currently celebrating 50 years of trackside

action, he is contemplating contesting a series of openwheeler or Group C Touring Car events in 2008.

Harvey was born in Stanmore, an inner-west suburb of Sydney in February 1938, and during his teenage years worked on the Speedcars of Don Murray and local hero Len Brock. In the following interview, Harvey tells Motorsport Legends in his own words of some of his significant motorsporting activities

IN MID 1957 HE HIT THE DIRT TRACKS IN A SPEEDCAR

I had my first drive in a car that was owned by Len Brock and had been driven by a guy called Peter ‘Lucky’ Thorley, who was killed in it during a race at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. He went over the fence and rolled all of the way down and died as a result. The car sat at Len’s place for two or three years and I was mechanicing for car owner Don ❯ MotorSportLegends

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JOHN HARVEY

Murray, who had various drivers including Brock racing for him. Chat came around to me racing Speedcars and Len asked me if I was interested and I said immediately that I certainly would. I had already had a run in one of Don’s cars at the Tempe mudflats while we were down there testing and I was pleased with that performance and quite excited about it.

Len offered me the Thorley car to race provided I repaired it and got it up ready to race. It was powered by a V-Twin motorcycle engine with Harley-Davidson bottom-end, Norton barrels and cylinder-heads and Amal TT carburettors. The car was a little rough, but we worked hard and got it up and running. It had wire wheels and front tractor tyres; the power-toweight ratio was fantastic as the car was so light. It wasn’t in the top half dozen cars but definitely in the next rung; it just needed money spent on it as the ingredients were there.

My first race meeting was at Windsor and I started off the front and won my first race. It seemed pretty easy to me as I won a few more races at several other events before I had a bit of a bingle;

Harvey on 1976 Bathurst “Why would I be disappointed when I won it even though Bob Morris was declared the winner? Funnily enough I didn’t even get the second-place trophy, maybe team boss Harry Firth or someone from Holden collected it from CAMS, I just don’t know what happened to it. I certainly haven’t seen it.” nothing serious and Len took the car off me, which was fine as it only had minor damage.

19-YEARS-OLD AND YOUNGEST NSW SPEEDCAR CHAMPION

My father and I had an Ampol Service Station on Parramatta Road in Haberfield and one of our customers, Tim Devonshire, had a beautiful V8-60 that he had imported from the USA and had been fitted with a six-cylinder Holden engine. Their driver had left and out of the blue they 20

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asked me to drive the car and that basically got me my full-time start in motorsport. It was a second tier car, but I managed to promptly gain some wins and the first of my three New South Wales Speedcar Championships in it – the youngest champion at age 19 after only a few drives, so I was pretty chuffed. After that I switched to Don MacKay and never looked back whilst racing his three cars. The one I did like was the ex-Werner Greve car. It was an ex-American car that was built in 1948 and was driven

by Andy McGavin, Ray Revell and people of that calibre as it was owned

by Empire Speedway for drivers from the US to race during our summer – it was the best car in town at the time. It was the greatest Speedcar that I have ever driven – I won many major races and titles in it before moving across to the famous US-built Offenhausers.

1972 MOUNT FUJI, JAPAN, IN M6 MCLAREN SPORTSCAR – FASTEST EVER!

In 1971 and ’72 I won the Australian Sportscar Championship in Bob Jane’s

Brock (leading) and Harvey may have spent a lot of time as teammates, but they were still fierce rivals on the track.

Seen here competing in XU-1s at Calder Park in 1971.

McLaren M6 which was an extremely quick car as it ran a five-litre V8 Repco engine, and I reached between 192 or 193 miles per hour (308 kmh) when we raced it at the tremendously fast Mt Fuji circuit in Japan during 1972. That was at the old circuit, not the current Formula One example. It featured the enormous banking that made Calder Park Thunderdome’s banking look like a child’s slippery dip – the banking wasn’t as steep as the old Monza circuit in Italy. You would go down the straight that was over two-kilometres long before entering the banking that was built into the side of the mountain, if you slipped off it, it was a long way to the bottom. As you exited the banking you went downhill for half a kilometre or more and you were still gaining speed before the track started to straighten out – these were fast top-gear corners in the McLaren.

I qualified third behind some US CanAm McLarens powered by seven-litre alloy engines and ahead of some really fast stuff, including a Japanese driver in a Porsche 908 who was really quick,

Perkins, Brock and Harvey share the winners’ podium at Bathurst in 1983 with then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke.

plus other McLarens and Lola T70s and a whole gaggle of production type cars including the first model of the Datsun 240Z. The main two Can-Am cars weren’t being raced by regular Can-Am drivers so that helped me, plus because their cars were heavier, they were bottoming out and had to backoff where our McLaren had the light all-aluminium V8 and that allowed me to go around the outside of them on the banking as I was considerably quicker than them.

On the Sunday, the venue was hit by a monsoon, I’d never seen rain like it and even though they had a good crowd there, we thought that they would cancel our two 240kilometre races, which were part of an annual event – the Grand Champion Series. An official in a white dustcoat assembled the drivers in a reasonably large room and with the use of a white board and a diagram of the track he proceeded to tell us where the water overflowed across the racing surface ❯

Harvey in the McLaren M6 Sportscar.

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JOHN HARVEY

John Harvey in his Repco Brabham Ford at Sandown during the Tasman Series in 1966. Photographer Peter D’Abbs.

John Harvey with father after winning the first of his three speedcar titles.

Bond and Harvey on their way to second at Bathurst in 1976 in the Torana L34 SLR5000.

Harvey is not sure where the trophy ended up!

– making the point that it would be very, very dangerous and we would all have to be very careful.

Only moments after taking the rolling start one of the Can-Am cars aquaplaned before hitting a wall and crashing out and I slipped from one puddle to another as the Japanese 908 raced past and into the lead. He had his tail lights on as he was used to competing in these conditions and as we came over the last hump the fog had formed around the mountain and you couldn’t even see the bloody banking.

‘Shit, what do I do next,’ I thought. I simply followed his taillights through the banking at close to 220 kilometres per hour then it cleared and on the next lap the fog had gone. He went on to win the race as I had a couple of big spins as the water across the track was 22

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between three to four-inches (75-100 millimetres) deep. After about six laps I pulled into the pitlane and almost everyone was in already except the production cars, which were cruising around with their wipers and heaters operating at full blast.

In the second race, I was second again behind the Porsche 908 driver as it wasn’t raining as heavily; however the rain found its way into the gearshift and progressively washed the lubricant out of the mechanism. Going into the hairpin, which was taken in third gear in the McLaren – not really a hairpin by our standards – I got a ’box full of neutrals. I couldn’t get a gear and spun facing the wrong way with two wheels off on the verge. I climbed out and pushed it back up a slight hill and back onto the track then jumped in

and got a gear, jump-started it and did a U-turn and headed to the finish line without my seat-belts on as I knew it was the final lap, only to be disqualified because the rules didn’t allow for push starting anywhere on the circuit even if you push started yourself. Basically the whole thing was a total disaster thanks to the monsoonal weather; however the car did perform pretty well, especially in qualifying and due to that several companies wanted to support us in the races. One was a company that the mechanics and I hadn’t heard – it was Mitsubishi and we carried their stickers on the front guards.

HE WON THE 1976 HARDIE FERODO BATHURST 1000 BUT DIDN’T

When asked if the 1976 Hardie Ferodo Bathurst 1000 endurance race

was standing in the pitlane and was worn out and commentator Evan Green was playing the whole thing up as much as he could for the Seven Network’s viewers. There was all of this drama and emotion surrounding the privateer victory over the factory car.

To turn the result around would have been awful, today there would be no question about it happening.

Harry or Joe Felice from Holden said to leave the result as it was – it would have looked bad to the public with the factory team claiming the victory and Ron Hodgson was the biggest Holden Dealership in Sydney and Holden had scored another one-two result at the Great Race. I don’t think Colin knew anything about what happened regarding the lap charts and our winning the race, as I wasn’t aware of what was happening and the meeting between Harry and the officials until a week after the race. It wasn’t until motoring journalist Bill Tuckey was writing ‘The Rise & Fall of Peter Brock’ book in 1987 that I spoke about what actually happened at the 1976 Great Race.

ANOTHER LAP-SCORING COCK-UP AT THE 1977 PHILLIP ISLAND 500!

John Harvey in his first ever race car in 1957.

was the most disappointing event in his illustrious career, Harvey simply leans forward in his chair, thumps the desk and declares – “Why would I be disappointed when I won it even though Bob Morris was declared the winner? Funnily enough I didn’t even get the second-place trophy, maybe team boss Harry Firth or someone from Holden collected it from CAMS, I just don’t know what happened to it. I certainly haven’t seen it.”

The race officials announced Bob Morris and his English co-driver John Fitzpatrick in their Ron Hodgson Torana L34 as the race winners and had Colin Bond and myself listed as coming second in our Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Torana.

We knew after the race that we had won it; we managed to get some other

lap-scoring sheets from other teams along pitlane that verified our position, armed with that information Harry went to the race officials. That evening the officials carried out their own enquiry and check of the official lap sheets; they then advised Harry that we had actually won the race. They said we could protest the race result, but we didn’t intend to put in a protest, we expected them to do what they had to do to rectify the problem.

They (the race officials) asked the Holden folk what they wanted to do about it as a Holden team had won the race plus we had run second. There was the television coverage of the MorrisFitzpatrick Torana smoking in the closing stages of the race plus Morris crossing his fingers and hugging his wife. Their mechanic Bruce Richardson

Another time the officials cocked-up the lap scoring at a championship round was at the last Phillip Island 500-kilometre race in 1977, before they closed the track because it was breaking up and causing lots of punctures.

After the chequered flag everyone was coming up and standing around saying that they had won the race. In the end it worked out that whoever did the best presentation to the officials was awarded the race victory – Allan Grice apparently made the best of the presentations and the latest one, so he ML took home the winner’s spoils.

In the next edition of Motorsport Legends we speak to Harvey about his lucky escape from a horrendous accident across the top of Mount Panorama at 200 kilometres per hour in a Repco Brabham openwheeler plus other Speedway exploits and his time with Peter Brock and the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team.

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THE RACE THAT MADE A LEGEND STORY BY ALLAN EDWARDS PICTURES BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU

When Peter Brock was killed in a tarmac rally in Western Australia in 2006, motorsport in Australia lost more than just a racing car driver. Brockie was an icon of the sport and a hero to many. We all have our favourite memories of Peter Brock. Exactly which race or moment that is usually depends on how old you are. Over a career that spanned more than three decades, Brock had many great races; but, there is no arguing that the race that made the legend was his first Bathurst endurance race victory in 1972. Brock drove that 500-mile race solo – which was not uncommon in those days and the images of him standing on the Bathurst winners’ podium have become almost as legendary as Brock was himself. Following is an edited version of an interview done a few years ago where Brock recalled that great day in 1972. ❯ 24

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PETER BROCK

The Legend is made: Peter Brock waves to the crowd after his first Bathurst victory in 1972.

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What the nimble Torana XU-1 lost going up the hill it more than made up for across the top.

P

eter Brock won 10 Bathurst endurance races. Many motorsport purists will argue that the final one doesn’t count because it wasn’t a true touring car Bathurst 500-mile or 1000-kilometre race. It was a 24-hour production car race, and Brock drove one of Holden’s all-conquering sevenlitre Monaros that had little, if any, real competition that year. But regardless of how many Bathurst victories you believe Brock won, there is no arguing that he was the ‘King of the Mountain’.

The iconic touring car event which would become the Great Race that we know today was only seven years old when a young Peter Brock made his Bathurst debut – ironically that year he also drove in a Monaro, with experienced driver Des West. West and Brock finished a credible third, but it wasn’t until 1972, when Brock won the Great Race for the first time in a little six-cylinder Holden Torana LJ XU-1, that Australian racing fans knew they were about to witness a very special era.

“It was the victory that changed my life; there is no doubt about that,” admitted Brock.

The race favorite was Allan Moffat in 26

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“I felt a bit out of my depth, thinking I am sharing the track with these people who are truly professional.” the awesome Ford Falcon XY GTHO, but this race was destined to be the race where a new legend was made.

The rivalry between Brock and Moffat had been building when Brock started winning a few races in 1972.

“There were a number of ingredients which are timeless… there were two guys representing Holden [Brock

and Colin Bond] and almost one guy representing Ford… I suppose there was a couple of Ford guys – Fred [Gibson] and Allan Moffat – but Allan was the man with the mantle on his shoulder,” Brock explained.

“It had been building for some time: this whole rivalry thing. I had started winning a few races in ’72. There was a bit of a feeling around that it would be Peter Brock versus Allan Moffat [at Bathurst], that this young up-start would give Moffat a bit of a go.

“I didn’t know I could do it, not being an established race driver, just a kid really. I felt a bit out of my depth, thinking I am sharing the track with these people who are truly professional, truly established and internationally renowned.”

The stage was set for an exciting battle.

But it wasn’t just a battle between two men – this was also a duel between two very different cars. The XU-1 Torana was light and nimble, but not as powerful as the big V8 Falcon GTHO. But the Holden was supposed to be extremely reliable and would not be as heavy on fuel, or as hard on brakes, but were they as bullet proof as Holden thought?

When Holden developed the Torana ❯

The sweet taste of success: Brock on his victory lap.

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Peter Brock, Holden Torana XU-1, leads Allan Moffat, Falcon GTHO, during Bathurst 1972.

THE PRESS TAKE NOTICE After Bathurst 1972 the Australian press started to take the Brock name very seriously indeed.

“All of a sudden when the press rated who would be the favourites for an upcoming race or race series my name was elevated into that level rather than it being ignored.

All of a sudden I was the man to beat, or Moffat and I were going to have a hammer and tongs battle with each other,” Brock said.

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LJ XU-1 it was thought that the engines were bullet proof, but they hadn’t been tested for the ‘Brock factor’.

The two cars were driven back to Melbourne from the factory in Elizabeth, Adelaide by Brock’s father Geoff and brother Phillip.

“When the guys pulled the engines apart back in Melbourne they discovered that the pistons were cracked. They thought ‘my God we have a production problem’,” Brock said.

“They thought these engines were going to be bullet proof, and all they had done was come from Adelaide to Melbourne and the pistons were already cracked, but what they didn’t realise was that Phil and Dad had got to about Nhill and thought ‘well let’s open these things out and have a bit of a dice’.

“Of course the engines didn’t have any piston clearance, not being properly ran in, so they had nipped up a bit …”

When Brock and co. first started to race the XU-1, they thought they were developing a bit of a lemon.

“The cars were not a success; the 202 LJ XU-1, straight off the production-line, just wasn’t a winner,” Brock said.

“We pressed on and we got to about April or May or something like that and some genius at the advertising agency, George Paterson, thought that this fluorescent sign writing on a silver car reminded everyone of the

“We painted my car... stood back and thought this is the best looking race car we have ever seen” Philadelphia experiment, where they made a ship disappear.

“Well we reckon we made a car disappear, because, you couldn’t pick the race car either in a photo or on the track.

“We had this silver car with fluro writing, and all you could see was the background of flag-waving marshals and crowd, but

PETER BROCK

you really couldn’t see the car.

“So the agency came up with this new paint-scheme. It was quite revolutionary for its time. It was red, white and black. I remember we painted my car and dropped it down on the ground and cleaned the mag wheels up and stood back and thought this is the best looking race car we have ever seen in our lives.”

Brock was convinced that the new livery changed the destiny of the XU1, turning it from a lemon to a race winner.

“It coincided with a little bit of tyre development, but I believe primarily it was the fact that we had totally changed our opinion on the car … we went straight out and immediately started winning races,” Brock said.

“It defies logic. Nothing much mechanical had changed, it just looked good. You looked at the car and thought ‘that car is going to win races’, that’s it.

“There were some tyre changes and maybe some other things you could quantify it with, but as far as we are concerned a coat of paint and it was sensational. We got ourselves pretty primed up so far as reckoning that we could do the job.

“It was bloody quick, small and nimble and its power-to-weight ratio was very, very good. It would do about a 2 minute 38 lap if you were going absolutely flat out around Bathurst.”

Back in the ’70s there were no big transporters to take the race cars up to Bathurst. Instead the actual racing cars were driven up from Melbourne on the same public roads the spectators used to get to The Mountain.

“I remember [engine builder] Ian Tate and I drove the cars up the highway, and in those days, in the out-back of New South Wales, there was no speed limit, but you had to prove you could drive safely. We drove fairly carefully, but we did get to one stage there, down near West Wylong, were we decided to open them out a bit just to see how they went,” Brock recalled with a cheeky grin.

“We got to around about Cowra as night began to fall and there were some road works. I was just sitting behind Tatie and all of a sudden my headlights disappeared and he thought ‘Brockie’s playing funny buggers; he ❯

RACING FOR THE PASSION Motor racing was simple back in the 1970s. There were no big fancy transporters or hospitality suites and race crews didn’t stay in fancy hotels, but that’s just the way they liked it back then.

“Budgets weren’t high and everything we had went into the car or the process,” Brock said.

“We didn’t care about any of the trappings. It wasn’t a case of thinking we should be treated better. As far as I was concerned I was just totally focused, to a degree that you could label it selfish and it would be quite an

apt adjective to use, nothing else mattered as much as driving.

“I just had a passion, an obsession for getting behind the wheel of a car and I was just loving it.

“I didn’t have a long-term plan which said I had to be world champion by a certain date or anything like that. As far as I was concerned I just wanted to race at The Mountain. I wanted to race there in Holdens because I had been brought up with them, and I just wanted to race them as often as I possibly could.

The weather conditions gave Brock an unexpected helping hand in 1972.

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PETER BROCK

has switched his headlights off – I’ll fix him’. So he gets stuck into it and he is roaring along trying to lose me.

“But I had no lights whatsoever because he had gone through these road works thrown up a spray of gravel and absolutely wrecked the headlights and the blinkers on my car.

“Finally he realised I was in trouble and backed off. So the first thing we had to do the next morning in Bathurst was organise to get my car to the local Holden dealer to get it cleaned up.”

The XU-1 struggled to hold a candle to the Falcon GTHO in qualifying with Moffat claiming pole and Brock nearly three seconds behind in fifth, but as race day dawned the Gods decided that the time had come to create a new legend.

Steady but constant rain fell as the cars lined up on the grid to start the race and it didn’t ease until well into the race.

Brock knew that the little XU-1 would be much better suited to the wet and slippery conditions than Moffat’s big grunty GTHO. “The race played into our hands; there was no doubt about that. If ever I had a chance of knocking off Moffat around there I needed everything going for me,” Brock said.

“It rained, which I wasn’t too happy about at first, but then I told myself that ‘this is good, the wetness is good, because I will be able to hang right in there’.”

Tyre choice for the day was the talking point in pitlane, with Brock choosing to use a set of hand-cut slicks, with three zig-zag grooves, while his Holden Dealer Team teammate Colin Bond opted for a set of Goodyear RR12s – the standard Goodyear wets.

Brock’s choice was the right one as Bond ended the race on lap three after a massive roll at Reid Park.

Peter Perfect believed he and then HDT team manager Harry Firth developed a new tyre that day.

“I just ran on them all day. They were just fantastic. Harry cut them that morning and it had never been done that way before. It became a bit of a favoured tread pattern. Everyone used to think that was the tread pattern to have,” Brock explained.

With the GTHO having much more straight-line speed, even in the wet, Brock knew he had to drive a tactical race if he was going to beat Moffat.

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“Moffat was holding me up going over The Mountain, so I kept on attacking him,” Brock said.

“A few times I passed Moffat, but I knew I had to pass him by a certain point [on the circuit] to get enough distance on him so that he couldn’t pass me down Con-rod and I never managed to do that.

“I was just hounding him and hounding him. I guess it was more than an hour into the race – we had pretty big fuel tanks in those days, from memory we only did two pit stops, over six hours and I didn’t change drivers, so I was busting for a pee and things like that, but you just press on – and by this time Moffat and I had cleared off a bit because it was partially dry, but it was still wet in places, with puddles.

“We came into Reid Park, the same corner where Bondie had crashed earlier, and I was down the inside. I put

When Colin Bond rolled his XU-1 early in the race, Brock became Holden’s great hope.

The powerful was1972. expected P.Brock victoryFord lap,Falcon Bathurst to Bathurst but Brock 1stwin Outright andwith Classease, Winner, Holden and theXU1, weather Gods had otherBlanch ideas.

Torana Photograph David

A RACE OF LASTS The 1972 Bathurst was a race of lasts. It was the last time any driver was allowed to complete the entire race distance solo – as Brock did.

And it was the last race for series production cars and it was the last time the Bathurst event was held over 500 miles, as it became a 1000 kilometre event from 1973.

Brock and Harry Firth enjoy the spoils of victory.

it up the inside just playing. I had no intention of passing him there. I was just pretending.

“I could see Moffat’s eyes in his mirror as he glanced up to see what I was doing, and the next thing he was about half a tyre width off the line, and he spun. As he spun in a big long gyration, I lifted off and went down the inside of him and I reckon you could have just fitted a feeler gage between the right-hand side of my car and the front and rear bumpers of his car as he was spinning around and I went by.”

As Moffat pulled the big Falcon up on the side of the road before gathering things together and rejoining the race, Brock took off like a scolded cat.

“Immediately my lap times picked up

“I could see Moffat’s eyes in his mirrors as he glanced up to see what I was doing...” because I wasn’t held up anymore,” Brock said.

“I put as much of a gap between myself and him as I possibly could. I drove flat out, even though it was damp conditions, gapping him.”

Moffat tried his hardest over the next few hours to reclaim the lost ground, but struggled with tired brakes on the

NO TIME FOR A LEAK With no co-driver Brock was behind the wheel for six hours at Bathurst in 1972. And while today racing car drivers have medical experts to ensure they are re-hydrated, there was no such luxury in 1972.

“I remember signaling to Harry and the guys for a drink [at

a pit stop], but they wouldn’t give me one because they thought it might make me want to have a pee and that might upset my concentration.

So I finished the race totally dehydrated. It probably didn’t do my damn kidneys any good at all,” Brock said.

big Falcon. To add salt to his wounds, he copped a one-minute penalty for allegedly starting his engine before refueling was complete during one of his stops, and finally a late-race blown tyre put paid to any chance he had of closing the gap. All this allowed Brock to drive to his first Bathurst victory.

However, there was still one more drama to be played out. Brock was also given a one-minute penalty for a pitlane infringement during his last stop.

“An official reckoned that I had started the engine before the filler cap was put on, although we reckoned we hadn’t,” Brock explained.

In the wash-up the penalty didn’t really matter as Brock won the race by enough that it wasn’t a concern.

“Once I had succeeded in that area I guess your understanding of who you are and what you can achieve and where you place yourself in the pecking order of things changes,” he said, reflecting on what the victory meant to him.

“It’s not a matter of being over confident. It’s just a sense of thinking ‘hang on I can play this game. I’m allowed to be out here and I’m allowed to be out here participating with these people’ – that was the major turning ML point in my life!”

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John Briggs heads the Formula 5000s in the ex-John Bowe Veskanda Sportscar.

Paul Atkins in his Cortina GT.

Roderick Markland in his Group A Nissan HR31.

Nigel Gray in his Singer Le Mans Special.

SANDOWN BRINGS HISTORY BACK TO LIFE

Memories came flooding back as beauties of yesteryear took centre stage at one of the biggest historic meetings in Australia

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he clock was turned back to eras gone by in November for the 2007 version of the Sandown Historic Race Meeting.

The venue was bathed in beautiful sunshine as a huge crowd of racing car enthusiasts enjoyed cars from pre-war through to Group C and Group A touring cars.

Meeting organiser and Victorian Historic Racing Register vice-president, Noel Robson, declared the weekend one of the most successful Historic Sandown meetings ever held.

“The weather was obviously on our side all weekend but we were also 32

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blessed with plenty of close racing which kept a big crowd on their toes,” Mr Robson said.

“We also had some very good feedback about the magnificent off-track displays including a strong showing of Mustangs and Ferraris, plus some highly significant racing cars of yesteryear.

“There is definitely some strong interest in historic racing and now we’re looking forward to our next event at Phillip Island in March.”

Spectators were thrilled to the sights and sounds of awesome machinery from eras past including Don Thallon’s thunderous 1951 Cooper Climax, Perry Spiridis’ 1972 DeTomaso Pantera and

historic tourers including the ex-Glenn Seton 1992 Ford Sierra of Robert Tweedie and the ex-Mark Skaife 1988 Nissan Skyline of Rod Markland.

Meeting patron Jim Richards, a seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner, was so impressed by what he saw over the weekend that he now wants to join in.

“This is the first historic meeting such as this I’ve been to and frankly, I’m blown away,” he told the crowd. “I’m going to start looking for a car that I can race.”

One of the meeting’s feature events and a perennial crowd favourite, the Formula 5000, Q & R category, provided plenty of drama with a gaggle of ground-shaking Formula 5000s

SANDOWN HISTORICS

Anna Cameron in her Group C Torana.

Tony Hubbard leads the Group N field in his Chev Camaro.

John Hardy in his Renault Alpine.

Bill Hemming in his Formula 5000 Elfin MR8.

Jim Richards was patron of the meeting.

taking on John Briggs’ 1984 Veskanda and the awesome 1978 Porsche 935 of Rusty French.

It was over before it began for the leading F5000 contender, Andrew Robson. He qualified on the front row, but a start-line incident with French in the first race ended his weekend. Briggs cruised to victory in the first two races, but a safety car period in the final race resulted in a one-lap dash for the flag and D’arcy Russell got his 1972 Lola T330 in front of the Veskanda for a popular win.

Asked what happened, a rueful Briggs said afterwards: “It was a case of DCN – driver caught napping.”

The highly modified Sports Sedans turned into a showdown between the 1998 Holden Calibra of Daniel Tamasi and the 2001 Saab Aero of Dean Randle, Tamasi taking the first stanza before Randle saluted in the subsequent races.

The meeting’s theme this year was the ‘Mighty Mustangs’ and a strong contingent of the legendary American muscle cars turned out to contest the “Group N Over 3000cc” category.

However, they lowered their colours to Tony Hubbard’s 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, which clean swept the threerace program.

Highly competitive as always were the

Formula Fords with wheel-to-wheel racing and plenty of lead changes a feature. Nick Lubransky narrowly took the first two races in his 1983 Reynard but Jonathan Miles in a 1982 Reynard turned the tables on him to sneak ahead for victory in Race 3.

The VHRR enlisted the assistance of Greenfleet to calculate the carbon emissions of all competitor and support vehicles taking part across the threeday event, and a proportion of the gate takings has been donated to fund the planting of hundreds of trees.

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“This is the first historic meeting such as this I’ve been to... I’m blown away... I’m going to start looking for a car that I can race,” – Richards.

Mustangs were the feature car of the meeting and the display of show cars drew as much attention as those on the race track.

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A gaggle of Brabhams assembled in front of the legends autograph stand.

Roy Reeve’s replica ‘Brock’ Austin A30.

Ty Hanger set fastest time of the meeting (39.8875) in his 1977 March 77B.

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Special guest Sir Jack Brabham made his second appearance at Speed on Tweed.

SPEED ON TWEED

Former Reynard chief designer and technical director Malcolm Oastler in his home-built V12 Jaguar Special.

CLASSICS IN

PARADISE

Speed on Tweed gains momentum as ‘Australia’s Goodwood’ STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY DARREN HOUSE

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rive through Murwillumbah in the heart of the Tweed Valley during most times of the year and you’ll find a quiet, charming and picturesque town. A town not unlike the many others located in beautiful northern New South Wales.

But head there during September and you’ll find something very unique in Australia.

Each year, the Speed On Tweed – Festival Of Speed transforms the normally quite town into a vibrant, bustling motorsport Mecca.

The not-for-profit event is organised by a group of local enthusiasts and the Murwillumbah Rotary Club, and is headed by festival founder, Roger Ealand.

With nearly $3m injected annually into the local community, Speed on Tweed is the region’s biggest money spinner. Proceeds each year are donated to charity and to date, more than $140,000 has gone to worthy causes.

Often referred to as Australia’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the event attracts a who’s who of Australian motorsport – Sir Jack Brabham, Vern Schuppan, Frank Gardner, Tony Gaze,

Tim Schenken, Ron Tauranac, John Goss, Kevin Bartlett, Jim Richards, John Bowe, John McCormack, Bob Holden and Denis Geary are just some of the motorsport legends to have made the pilgrimage to Tweed on Speed.

In 2007 – the event’s sixth year - an amazing 25,000 spectators descended on the town that is home to just 9,000 residents. Two-hundred and eight competitors were accepted while more than 125 others were turned down to prevent overcrowding.

While not as big as other major Australian events such as the Phillip ❯ Island Classic, Speed on Tweed has MotorSportLegends

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SPEED ON TWEED

Aaron Lewis’ Matich A50 Formula 5000 is powered by a Repco Holden.

1966 Bathurst winner Bob Holden is a Speed on Tweed convert.

a charm and intimacy all of its own – historic sprints by day; street parties, entertainment and culture by night.

The festivities kick off at Friday lunchtime when spectators gather for a glimpse of the special vehicle parade that winds through town to the showgrounds.

Later that evening, cafes and pubs do a roaring trade as fans line four deep while participating drivers bring their cars in convoy down the main street and park for several hours.

On Saturday night, Murwillumbah transforms into Party Central as the town plays host to a cultural extravaganza. Main Street becomes a giant outdoor eatery with restaurateurs setting up tables on the closed thoroughfare and families gather around the central stage.

This year’s free on-stage spectacular, named Venetian Carnival Mystique, brought a touch of Broadway to rural New South Wales, as a combination of

pop-opera, classical music, aerial artists, dancers, a string quartet, stilt walkers and singing waiters captivated the audience.

Back at the track, entries are divided into 12 categories with all but one competing against the clock as they

“Cafes and pubs do a roaring trade while race cars form a convoy down the main street.” negotiate the winding, uphill 1.4km street hillclimb.

The one exception is the ‘Flat Cap Masters’ – a category for participants who want to drive in a spirited manner but without the pressure of being timed, and also for cars that lack the necessary

WW2 Dakota bomber

Openwheelers were well represented among the capacity field.

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John Goss chauffeurs Sir Jack Brabham around the circuit in Graeme Seinfort’s Austin 7.

safety requirements.

While many participants are serious about recording the fastest time, Speed On Tweed is more about having fun.

Speed On Tweed has a theme each year and in 2007 it was the Australian Grand Prix. More than 40 vehicles that have competed in various Australian Grands Prix participated, from Graeme Steinford’s Austin 7 (a replica of the car that won the first AGP in 1928 and which has the original engine and gearbox from the actual winning car) to Ian Ross’ ex-Alan Jones 1985 Beatrice

Lola Ford turbo.

A lunchtime parade featured Goss and Brabham in Steinford’s Austin, Nigel Tate in Brabham’s World Championship-winning BT19, Schenken in the Brabham BT36 he raced in Europe during 1971, Bartlett in a Mildren Waggott and John McCormack in Aaron Lewis’ Matich A50. In typical historic fashion, Speed On Tweed is a spectator-friendly event, with fans able to get close to the cars and talk freely with drivers. And for those with broader tastes, there is also

an impressive collection of historic road cars displayed by various car clubs at the Shannons Show ’n’ Shine.

Ealand says his aim is to stage the very best event possible and he won’t rest until he achieves his goal.

Going by the success of the 2007 ML event, he’s already there.

Speed on Tweed 2008 will be held on 20/21/22 September. For details visit: www.speedontweed.com

Event organiser, Roger Ealand during Main Street’s Saturday night masquerade party.

Martin Braden gasses his 1971 Porsche 911S out of turn one.

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GOODWOOD REVIVAL

GOODWOOD REVIVAL A magical step back in time STORY AND PICS BY BRIAN REED

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t’s an Australian we must thank for the motor racing circuit at Goodwood. The West Sussex location was an important airfield during World War 2 and played a key role in the Battle of Britain. It was from here that flying hero Douglas Bader flew his last sortie, and today an impressive statue is in place to perpetuate his memory.

But it was thanks to the foresight of Australia’s highly decorated Spitfire ace Squadron Leader Tony Gaze that Goodwood also boasts a fine motor racing circuit that equalled Silverstone between 1948 and 1966.

Soon after the end of hostilities, the ninth Duke of Richmond, otherwise known as “Freddie March” had a proposition put to him by Tony Gaze that the road around the perimeter of the aerodrome should be used as a motor racing circuit. The Duke, himself an amateur racer and engineer of some considerable standing, didn’t take much convincing, and the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit hosted its first race meeting in 1948 with 85 entries and 15,000 spectators in attendance.

Major meetings were held there until 1966, although since then Goodwood has remained an important test facility and venue for motor trade days – and the Goodwood Revival.

The 2007 Revival meeting from August 31 to September 2 drew a

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record crowd of 116,000 enthusiastic fans who came from all parts of the world to enjoy a magical step back in time. Most dressed for the occasion in fashions of the 1940s, fifties and sixties, bands played music ranging from traditional jazz to rock ’n’ roll, a sensational Marilyn Monroe lookalike was a major distraction (especially when she was modelling 1940s underwear), and Laurel and Hardy and Dad’s Army impersonators helped entertain the crowd. Scissors were busily snipping in an old fashioned barber shop, a seamstress showed skills that have long since passed, and a wonderful old bicycle shop attracted lots of lookers. Away from the main area were trade stalls selling period clothing, jewellery and other merchandise, a re-created garage and petrol station, and a children’s fun park – there was something for everyone. Modern vehicles were banned from the infield and a splendid array of vintage and classic vehicles, including dozens of WW2 military jeeps, were lined up to transport spectators to and from the car parks.

Even the course cars, tow trucks and ambulances were from the past.

Fifteen races were programmed for cars and motorcycles from the Golden Era of motor sport and attracted many of the great names from yesteryear – Sir Stirling Moss, Richard Attwood, Jackie ❯

Brian Reed driving the Maybach 1 to starting grid – a dream come true!

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WW2 Dakota bomber

Oliver, Derek Bell, Hurley Haywood, Rauno Aaltonen, Marc Surer, Henri Pescarolo, Mike Salmon and David Piper to name a few. Then there were saloon car aces Sir John Whitmore, Andy Rouse, Tony Dron and John Fitzpatrick who were joined on the track by celebrities such as Rowan Atkinson – (yes, ‘Mr. Bean’ is a serious racer behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang), and Pink Floyd drummer and gentleman racer Nick Mason who appeared with two superb Maseratis from his extensive stable. Well known female driver, Desire Wilson drove a Willmont Cobra coupe.

A special feature this year was a Tribute to Roy Salvadori, one of the most popular and versatile drivers of the 1950s and ’60s. Salvadori was a charismatic and intensely competitive driver who achieved great success in 40

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all types of cars from openwheelers to saloons. Yet perhaps his greatest achievements were in sports cars as both a privateer and a works driver culminating in outright victory in the

“Mr Bean is a serious racer behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang” 1959 Le Mans 24-hour race where he shared an Aston Martin DB1 with American Carroll Shelby The racing was fiercely competitive, no doubt spurred on by the presence of a pouting “Marilyn” at the finish line

to greet the placegetters, who were also presented with Cuban cigars for their efforts. (Goodwood had been declared a “free smoke zone” for the Revival).

Most successful driver of the meeting, which meant he gained the most attention from ‘Marilyn’, was sports car star and former F1 driver Jean-Marc Gounon. The dashing Frenchman scored more kisses than anyone else and was declared “Driver of the Meeting”.

Another feature in 2007 was a 40th anniversary celebration of the world’s most successful F1 engine, the famous Cosworth DFV that dominated motor racing at the highest level for many years. Ford’s Cosworth-designed, double four-valve engine came to the fore just shortly before Goodwood Motor Circuit closed – in fact the looming performance increases from

GOODWOOD REVIVAL

Far Left: Getting into the spirit of Goodwood Left: Classic lines of the 1960 Ferrari 246S Dino driven by Juan Barazi in the Sussex Trophy Race.

WW2 Spitfire

this and other engines may have hastened the end of Goodwood as a top line racing venue, although ironically it remained as a test track for these cars. Some 20 Cosworth DFVpowered openwheelers and sports cars took part in special parade laps, including the 1967 Lotus 49 – that won first time out in the 1967 Dutch GP. Tyrrells, Shadow, Williams and Hesketh as well as Ford and Ligier endurance sports cars were also represented. Six times Le Mans winner and DFV pilot Jacky Ixkx led the parades in a Ford GT40 to showcase the engine that went on to win 155 Grands Prix over a 15-year period.

An equally impressive lineup of motorcycle champions contested the two-wheel events, the feature race ❯ being the Barry Sheene Memorial

Dean Butler’s Miller 4-WD Indy car getting hot under the collar in pit lane

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GOODWOOD REVIVAL

More classic lines – British ace Richard Attwood #17 (1960 Ferrari 246 Dino) and Rod Jolley #21 (1958 Lister-Jaguar “Monzanapolis”) face the starter in the Richmond Trophy Race.

“Marilyn” and friend (she looked even better in black!)

“Babs” (Parry Thomas’ world land speed record car)

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Trophy. Legendary riders such as John McGuiness, the first rider to break the outright TT record at the Isle of Man at more than 130mph, ex-MotoGP riders Jeremy McWilliams and Niall MacKenzie were there to do battle with the racing heroes of yesteryear, but none could catch Australia’s world champion Wayne Gardner. Other Australians seen in the four-wheel action included Bathurst veteran Scotty Taylor having a guest drive in a ‘big banger’ McLaren sports car, Greg Snape in the awesome sounding Cosworth-powered front-engined Keift, and Bob Harborow in Australia’s most famous ‘special’, Maybach 1 that first appeared at Rob Roy hillclimb in 1946.

The Maybach created tremendous interest because of its innovative design that utilises a powerplant from a discarded WW2 German half track vehicle. It performed creditably in the Goodwood Trophy race driven by its owner from Melbourne, Bob Harborow (or ‘custodian’ as he prefers

What might have been – the beautifully proportioned two-litre E.R.A. from 1938 driven by leading Historic racer Duncan Ricketts

to be called.) It was an unexpected thrill for me to be asked by Bob to drive this wonderful car from the pits to the assembly area on race day – this was the car that first got me hooked on motor racing when, as a schoolboy, I drooled over it at the 1954 Melbourne International Motor Show.

Caravans were out in force, too, as 2007 marked the centenary year of the country’s oldest caravan club.

Naturally, these old vans were towed by appropriate period vehicles – there was even a 1962 Bond three-wheeler with a van hooked on behind!

Not all the action was at ground level, and overhead there were some spectacular flying displays in iconic aircraft such as Spitfires, Hurricanes, Bearcats, Hellcats and Wildcats. A memorable moment was witnessing a fly past by a giant Lancaster bomber with two fighter planes as escorts.

Mock dog fights and stunt displays added to the ambience of this amazing place. Another innovation in 2007 was

the inaugural Freddie March Spirit of Aviation concours d’elegance where 25 of the world’s most elegant and rarely seen aeroplanes were assembled for all to enjoy. A panel of aviation experts hand picked the pre-1966 aircraft from around the world, and spectators

“Not all the action was at ground level... there were some spectacular flying displays” enjoyed the opportunity to walk amongst the planes without restriction.

The concours prize went to a 1930s Foster-Wikner ‘Wicko’ belonging to Irish aviator Joe Dible.

The late Duke of Richmond would be well pleased with his grandson the current Earl of March for not only the way he has preserved Goodwood’s

impressive facilities, but for his vision in fostering the annual Revival meeting, and for his attention to detail. For example, patrons could buy fish and chips wrapped up in newspaper, but it was no ordinary newspaper.

Instead, it was re-prints of the 1950s news, and the official program showing a purchase price of two shillings was a faithful reproduction of olden day programs, the 2007 cover featuring Mike Hawthorn in the ‘Thin Wall Special’.

If you are planning a trip to the Goodwood Revival, (and I strongly recommend this is something you put on your ‘must do’ list), be aware that tickets must be purchased in advance – there are no ticket sales at the gate.

The 2007 meeting was truly memorable, and it was well summed up by Melbourne’s Richard Bendell who said, “This is the best motor race meeting in the world.” He should know. After all, this was his eighth ML visit to Goodwood.

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Kevin Weeks and Bec Crunkhom celebrate the spoils of victory.

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CLASSIC ADELAIDE

Clockwise from Top left: Official ambassadors for the Classic Adelaide, racing legends Sir Jack Brabham (right), and Vern Schuppan. Jonathan Hills and Wayne Dempsey in their 1967 Ford Mustang.

The winners and placegetters celebrate their success in the 2007 Classic Adelaide. England’s Sir Paul Vestey in his one million dollar-plus Ferrari California Spider.

A FINE WEEKS WORK! Locals overcome last-day problems to win Classic Adelaide Rally

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outh Australians Kevin Weeks and Bec Crunkhorn overcame a last-minute drama to win their first Classic Adelaide rally in November last year.

After 33 special stages and 250 kms of competitive driving over four days, Weeks and Crunkhorn arrived at the finish in their 1975 Porsche 911 RSR just 12.1 seconds ahead of the winners of the past five events, Rex Broadbent and Michael Goedheer.

A further 37.7 seconds behind, Jim Richards and Barry Oliver made it a trifecta for Porsche on the podium for the fastest class in the Competition category, Late Classic.

Local crew Cameron Wearing and Rebecca Cochrane drove their 1971 Ford Capri V8 to victory in the Classic class, while Ray Jones and Wolf Grodd braved the elements more than most

to win the Historic class in their 1929 Chrysler 75 Le Mans roadster.

The 11th annual event finished in brilliant sunshine, with most of the original 260 starters making it across the line before a large crowd in Adelaide’s East Terrace.

Out on the stages, thousands of people packed the spectator points, including former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

Although Weeks won every leg of the event from the Prologue to the final day, it was in the end a lucky victory.

“We lost fourth gear in Mount Lofty and did Picadilly, Echunga and Paris Creek Long with only one gear before we were able to repair it at the lunch break,” Weeks said.

“When we were locked in fourth we thought it was all over, but then we realised anything can happen and pushed on.

“We had to really lay into the car to keep the speed up, but on the straight sections we were limited to 200 kmh when we should have been doing 250 in fifth.”

The gearbox problem dropped Weeks back towards the Porsche 911 RS of Rex Broadbent, who took two stage wins as he pushed hard to make up for an earlier mistake.

“I overshot a corner and lost about 12 seconds – and that’s the margin we lost by,” Broadbent said.

“We knew Kevin was stuck in fourth gear but quite frankly I wouldn’t want to have won because of his mechanical problem – he drove really well.

“I’m happy; Michael and I had a ball.

It doesn’t get much better than coming into the final day fighting over tenths of a second with a driver like Jim Richards.”

Despite having the eight-time Targa ❯ Tasmania winner at the wheel, the MotorSportLegends

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CLASSIC ADELAIDE

Jim Richards and Barry Oliver in their Porsche 944 Turbo Cup.

Classic (1948-1972), winners, Cameron Wearing and Rebecca Cochrane and their 1971 Ford Capri.

RESULTS Competition category (cars built 1972-1990) Kevin Weeks (SA) / Bec Crunkhorn (SA) 1975 Porsche 911 RSR - 7 min.

42.8 sec. behind target time Rex Broadbent (Vic.) / Michael Goedheer (Vic.) 1974 Porsche 911 RS - 7:54.9 Jim Richards (Vic.) / Barry Oliver (Tas.) 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup - 8:32.6 Tim Possingham (SA) / Darren Lee (SA) 1989 Nissan Silvia - 10:06.4 Dean Goess (SA) / Wayne Klar (Vic.) 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo - 11:57.5 Classic (1948-1972) Cameron Wearing (SA) / Rebecca Cochrane (SA) 1971 Ford Capri Perana - 13:25.2 Len Cattlin (Vic) / Gayle Cattlin (Vic.) 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Bill Brentzell (SA / Peter Stringfellow (Qld) 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Historic (up to 1947) Ray Jones (NSW) / Wolf Grodd (Qld) 1929 Chrysler 75 Le Mans - 42:22.9 Paul Chaleyer (Vic.) / Martin Utber (Vic.) 1933 Alvis Speed 25 - 54:40.9 John Felder (Vic.) / Steve Demmer (Vic.) 1930 Oakland 8-101 1:10:18.2

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four-cylinder Porsche 944 Turbo Cup of Jim Richards had no answers for the powerful 911s over the last eight stages in the Adelaide Hills and claimed the same finishing position as in 2006.

Richards’ co-driver Barry Oliver also said it wasn’t his best event.

“I fell off the pace notes a couple of times and it took me a couple of calls to get back on track. Jim drove superbly, as usual.”

Classic winner Cameron Wearing traded punches with Rick Bates and Jenny Brittain until their Porsche 911 retired with mechanical problems.

“After Rick and Jenny dropped off we decided to maintain our pace and try to keep our margin at the front,” he said.

“We had a puncture and a fuel tank problem, but we built this car to win Classic Adelaide and it has done it.”

High-profile Australian drivers included Formula One world champion Sir Jack Brabham, motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan and Le Mans 24-Hour winner Vern Schuppan.

Eight internationals included Britain’s Sir Paul Vestey in what is believed to be the rally’s most valuable car, a $1 million Ferrari California Spider built in 1959.

The rally is popular with spectators all along the route and attracted thousands to the annual street party and competitor display in Gouger Street, Adelaide, on the Friday night.

West Australian couple Zac and Christine Caudo tipped their 1980 Holden Commodore on its side through a slow corner, the Corkscrew. They were not injured.

“We had a puncture and a fuel tank problem, but we built this car to win Classic Adelaide and it has done it.”

Sydney brothers Adam and David Kaplan crashed out of second place when their Giocattolo Group B coupe left the road 2.5 kms into Norton Summit.

They were unhurt, but their rare Australian sports car was withdrawn from the event after suffering severe damage.

Wes and Di Wilkinson in their 1920 Frontenac Indianpolis Special.

West Australian couple Zac and Christine Caudo tipped their 1980 Holden Commodore on its side.

The roads of Adelaide came alive to the sights and sounds of many claissc machines including this open-top Mercedes.

ML

BACK TO THE FUTURE

HAMILTON RETURNS TO LOLA T430 STORY BY BRIAN REED, PHOTOGRAPHS BY FAST COMPANY/ALEX MITCHEL

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fter almost 30 years, veteran racing driver Alan Hamilton has been re-united with the car that almost claimed his life in the 1978 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown. The last time Hamilton sat in his Lola T430 was literally on the track after his car disintegrated and Hamilton was trapped in the tub.

The three-car pileup ended Hamilton’s successful racing career, and some of the bits that were salvaged were used on the sister car which Alfredo Costanzo drove to victory in the 1980 Australian Gold Star series. Bob Minogue also raced the car with distinction. The Lola T430 and what was left of the original car was eventually sold to New Zealand classic car dealer Gavin Bain, and finally finished up with David Abbott, who commissioned a full rebuild four years ago at Motorsport Solutions, specialist

builders in Christchurch.

Hamilton was special guest recently when the finished car was unveiled at the Powerbuilt Tools motor racing circuit (formerly known as Ruapuna Park.) New Zealand is certainly doing its bit to keep the old F5000s alive ML and well.

The fit may be a bit more snug after 30 years, but Alan was still just as comfortable in the cockpit of his old T430.

Hamilton’s Lola T430 has been fully restored and is now being raced in New Zealand by new owner, David Abbott.

Whether you are making history on the track... or re-creating it on the streets MotoSign has got you covered.

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FOGES’

Flashback Worldly wordsmith Mark Fogarty reflects on the stark contrast between working at race meetings now and 30 years ago

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npaved pit paddocks. Glorified carports for garages.

Fold-up chairs and picnic tables. Open trailers. Wood and wire fences. Hand timing. Cold pies and hot prices. Rancid toilets. Press rooms the size of cupboards.

Welcome to motor racing in the 1970s. Facilities at racetracks for competitors, spectators and media alike were crude and uncomfortable.

But then, so were the suburban footy grounds that hosted major league matches.

Back in the days when sex was safe and motor racing was dangerous, you went to watch daredevil drivers do battle in recalcitrant cars that could bite as viciously as they barked.

You didn’t care about the lack of amenities because you didn’t know any better. And neither did the racers or the scribes.

When I started writing about motor racing in the early ’70s, it was growing rapidly in status and commercial clout.

Peter Brock and Allan Moffat were national identities, Bathurst was already an iconic event and motor sport was pioneering commercial sponsorship.

What still hadn’t altered then was its primal attraction.

The racing was exciting not so much because the fields were big and closely matched – more often than not, they 48

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were neither – but because the cars were loud and lurid.

Three decades ago, high-tech meant four-barrel carburetors. Fuel injection?

Space-age stuff.

Engines barked, roared and wailed without restriction. Tyres were hard, slip angle-friendly crossplies that allowed spectacular oversteer without much time penalty.

Suspensions were unsophisticated and brakes were basic. Aero was

“Aero was a choclate bar and parity was something unions demanded.” a chocolate bar and parity was something unions demanded.

So tail-out cornering and divedown-the-inside overtaking were common spectacles, not mistakes or merely mismatches. And the noise was always excessive.

Racing cars then were as hairy-chested as today’s metrosexual machines are pampered, preened and planted.

The variety also made things interesting. A good little ’un, as we used to say, could compete with a good big ’un on the right tracks or in the right conditions – even beat them.

And this wasn’t just in touring cars.

Openwheelers – or monopostos if you were pukka – and sports cars were mixtures of mongrels and thoroughbreds, with small screamers taking on big brutes.

In fact, when I started in this business 35 years ago (when I was very young, I might add), single-seater racing was still the pinnacle in this country. The Australian Drivers’ Championship ‘Gold Star’ was more important than the ATCC and the Australian Grand Prix rivaled the Bathurst 500. Even the Tasman Cup Championship was still very important.

By the end of the ’70s, though, tin-tops reigned supreme and success at Mount Panorama was firmly established as the peak of achievement in Australian motor sport.

V8 Supercars Australia likes to think that the championship is the greatest prize, but winning the Bathurst 1000 means more to the drivers and the public. Bathurst champions are remembered and revered; V8 titlists are respected.

The business is much more professional and better presented, although not necessarily better promoted, and V8 racing reaches a massive mainstream TV audience.

V8 Supercars dominates the domestic motor sport landscape to the point where all other categories have been relegated to virtual club racing status.

THEN AND NOW

Three decades ago, touring cars, sports sedans, sports cars, openwheelers and even rallying and hillclimbing had thriving series that attracted broader – although often localised – media coverage.

V8 Supercars still struggles to be taken seriously by the major metropolitan daily newspapers and I would argue that when I were a lad, motor racing stories were more regular and more diverse.

Of course, we didn’t think so at the time and bemoaned the erratic coverage.

Motor sport also had a strong presence on TV when I was a teenager.

pit paddocks were dusty, dirty places.

The cars lined up on gravel or grass, mostly out in the open.

At some tracks, the main teams got to park their racers under cover, although they were no more than open-sided shelters. There were no motorhomes and only the occasional enclosed transporter.

Flash teams had a caravan, but more often than not, the superstars either got their hands dirty helping the mechanics – who worked in awkward, grubby conditions – or were at the mercy of the fans as they sat around between races on fold-up chairs.

All you needed to go racing in the old days was some bitumen.

Grandstands and press rooms were an after thought.

Seven used to show race and rallycross meetings live from Calder, Amaroo Park and Catalina Park, while Channel 0 (later Ten) in Melbourne provided live coverage of Phillip Island events and – get this – hillclimbs at Lakeland.

I actually can’t remember the first meeting I attended as an accredited journalist – and my original schoolboy scrapbook is no help because it’s a faded, frayed mess.

It was probably at Calder in late 1972 because, as a precocious 15-year-old student, earlier that year I’d brazened my way into the pages of Auto Action (yep, I’m still there, although there’s been many breaks in the intervening three decades).

My amateurish article was accepted and published in the March 3, 1972 edition. Having my first attempt at journalism go into print was the only encouragement I needed to pursue a career that has taken me all over the world.

In my early years as a young reporter,

Hospitality amounted to a friendly welcome – teams didn’t have their own catering facilities beyond wives and girlfriends preparing sandwiches, and an Esky full of soft drinks and beer. The more social competitors had evening gatherings around somebody’s portable ‘Barbie’.

And as for corporate hospitality, it barely existed beyond Marlboro’s big blow-up marquee at Mount Panorama – the venue for many infamous post race parties in the ’70s and early ’80s – and Peter Janson’s double-decker bus.

That was where The Captain wined and dined – among other incentives – his sponsors at the track.

While spectators suffered in the dirt/ dust/rain/mud/cold/heat, the media – or the press, as we were known in the pre-electronic age – were barely more privileged.

Media centres as we know them today were as rare as Brazilian waxes.

At Sandown, we had the luxury of the press viewing seats in the grandstand

and the pressroom normally used by the turf writers, complete with workbenches, access to telephones, and even coffee, tea, sandwiches and cakes!

Amaroo Park also had a dedicated press box with food and drink service, but elsewhere a small, bare room was the best you could expect. And at most tracks, you had to use the telephone in the race secretary’s office to dictate your newspaper story or send radio reports.

Remember, this was even before fax machines were widespread and well before crude laptop computers revolutionised the transmission of stories in the mid-to-late 1980s.

Unlike the modern area, there were also no organised press conferences.

After qualifying – known as official practice back then – or races, you sought out the drivers for their comments back in the paddock, vying with fans and well-wishers for their attention.

These days, most of the media cover a meeting from the comfort of an air-conditioned, full-service facility, watching the action on a bank of TV monitors and filing their reports via a broadband Internet connection. And the leading drivers come to them in organised official press conferences.

As paved paddocks, enclosed garages, corporate and VIP hospitality suites, B-Double transporters and motorhomes have improved the lot of teams and their sponsors, the past three decades have seen media operations become much more sophisticated.

However, all this progress has sanitised the sport – particularly at V8 Supercar level – and the flow of information to the media is heavily controlled.

Despite the difficulties and privations, covering motor racing in the mid-tolate ’70s – just like racing in that era – was more relaxed, more social and more fun.

Not better, just a lot different.

Mark Fogarty has covered the sport at the highest levels during a varied international media career.

Foges still actively agitates modern day racers as Editor-At-Large of Auto Action magazine.

MotorSportLegends

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ELFIN MUSEUM

Main: The Formula 5000 MR9 driven

by Garrie Cooper and John Bowe.

Inset:Wife of Elfin creator Garrie Cooper, Lorraine, officially opened the museum in July last year.

HERITAGE CENTRE: CELEBRATION OF ELFIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY DARREN HOUSE

A

new museum dedicated to Garrie Cooper’s Elfin marque has opened its doors in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin.

The centre piece of the display is the one-of-a-kind MR6 (Formula 5000) driven by John McCormack as part of the factory Ansett Team Elfin. It was compact to take advantage of the lightweight aluminium Repco-

developed Leyland V8 (P76) engine.

It debuted at the Adelaide Tasman round in 1974, but had a DNF due to broken crank.

McCormack won his second Australian Driver’s Championship (CAMS Gold Star) in this car in 1975.

Other cars on display include a MR8A-C, which was driven by Vern Schuppan and backed by Teddy Yip. It was involved in a crash in March 1977

in which Max Stewart suffered fatal injuries. It was later taken to the US by Schuppan, who raced it in the Can-Am series.

Also at the museum are the MR9 – driven by Garrie Cooper and John Bowe – an Elfin Formula Ford Aero, a 600C and many other Elfin classics.

The late Garrie Cooper’s wife, Lorraine, officially opened the museum in July last year. ML The Elfin Heritage Centre is located at 29 Capella Crescent, Moorabbin.

Above: The Vern Schuppan Formula 5000 MR8-C; Top right: The Elfin 400 in which Bevan Gibson was sadly killed at Bathurst; Right: Elfin 600; Far right: Elfin 300.

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MotorSportLegends

CAR

The Jack Brabham story The definitive autobiography, and inside story, of Australia’s three-time Formula One World Champion driver. It also includes details of his Tasman racing, F2 titles and his Indycar quest.

The greatest racing driver come engineer the world has ever seen.

Illustrated with unique photos and memorabilia from his personal collection. Sir Jack tells his own story in his inimitably engaging, frank and open style, recounting successes, failures, triumphs and tragedies.

A unique personal account.

256 pages. 270mm wide (10.5”) x 290mm (11.5”) high.

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GOODIES

Gilles Villeneuve: A Photographic Portrait

Brooklands: The Official Centenary History

The outstanding 170 glorious colour and black and white images in this book chronicle the career of one of the most admired Grand Prix drivers – and surely the most loved in all of F1 history. This book celebrates his remarkable life concentrating on his electrifying four and a half years with Ferrari.

The cradle of motorsport in Britain.

From the opening of its banked circuit in 1907 it was soon a magnet for the fastest cars – Napier, Sunbeam, Bentley, the aero-engined monsters – and the greatest drivers.

It was also the birthplace of British aviation. This meticulously researched and gloriously illustrated book chronicles Brooklands’ decades of racing, record-breaking, long distance events, club rallies and manufacturer testing. This is a rich tapestry of triumph, tragedy, glamour and innovation.

208 pages. 235mm (9.25”) wide x 290mm (11.5”) high.

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300 pages. 235mm (9.25”) wide x 290mm (11.5”) high.

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Brockie!

The man needs no introduction.

A wide range of DVDs covering his career including these examples: ● 35 Years on the Mountian, Peter Brock the Legend. ● Nine Times a Champion. ● Torana – When You’re Hot You’re Hot Plus more! All at $29.95 MotorSportLegends

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