Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)

The 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was a motor race held on 3 October 1971 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was open to production vehicles competing in showroom condition,[1] with the field divided into five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian dollars. Although an outright winner was officially recognised, all other official awards were for class results only.[2] The race was the 12th in a sequence of annual "Bathurst 500" production car races dating back to the 1960 Armstrong 500. The outright winner was Allan Moffat driving a Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III.

The 1971 race is perhaps best remembered for Sydney driver Bill Brown's lucky escape after the biggest single car crash in the race's history. On lap 43, the right front tyre on Brown's Phase III GTHO Falcon burst at over 100 mph (161 km/h) on the approach to the daunting McPhillamy Park, which in 1971 had no runoff area on the outside of the track, just the earth bank and a fence made of railway sleepers on top. The Falcon barrel-rolled along the fence (with two marshals lucky to escape with their lives by only just scampering out of the way) and ended upside down after 3½ rolls. Brown was lucky because his seat broke in the first roll and he was lying flat in the car as it continued rolling. Amazingly his only injuries were a grazed shin and a black eye.[3]

1971 will also be remembered as the year that Moffat had a stray cardboard Southwark Bitter carton attach itself to the front of his GTHO for a number of laps, blocking the car's radiator. Pit boards told him of the problem and the team attempted to call Moffat in for a quick stop to remove the carton, but Moffat, seeing no change to the engine temperature and no reduction in the car's performance, waved them off and remained on the track until his scheduled pit stop with the approval of Ford Works Team manager Howard Marsden.[4]

Class structure

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

Class A

Class A was for cars costing less than $2,150. It was contested by Datsun 1200, Mazda 1300 and Toyota Corolla.

Class B

The $2,151 to $2,500 class had the smallest number of starters with just four cars: Datsun 1600 and Mazda Capella 1600.

Class C

The $2,501 to $3,150 class saw a mix of Ford Cortina, Ford Escort, 2.8 litre Holden Torana GTR, Honda 1300, Mazda RX-2 and Morris Cooper S.

Class D

The $3,151 to $4,350 class featured Alfa Romeo Giulia, the E38 version of the Chrysler Valiant Charger, Ford Falcon 500 and 3.0 litre Holden Torana GTR XU-1.

Class E

For cars over $4,350. Apart from a single Fiat 124S, the class consisted only of Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase IIIs.

Top 10 Qualifiers

PosNoTeamDriverCarQual
Pole 65 Ford Motor Co of Australia Canada Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:38.9
2 64 Ford Motor Co of Australia Australia John French Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:41.9
3 66 Road & Track Auto Services Australia Fred Gibson Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:43.3
4 57 Finnie Ford Pty Ltd Australia David McKay Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:44.4
5 63 FF Newell & Son Australia Bill Brown Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:44.7
6 62 Byrt Ford Pty Ltd Australia Phil Barnes Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:45.4
7 69 Trevor Thiele Ford Pty Ltd Australia Trevor Meehan Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:45.5
8 43 Geoghegan's Sporty Cars Australia Leo Geoghegan Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 2:45.7
9 61 Baldwin Ford Pty Ltd Australia Damon Beck Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 2:46.6
10 45 Reg Papps & Sons Australia Bob Beasley Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 2:46.3

Results

The Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 of Leo Geoghegan & Peter Brown finished second in Class D in the 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500.
A recreation of the Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 which placed 6th in Class D in the hands of Norm Beechey & Jim McKeown
Pos.[5] Class[5][6][7] No.[6][7] Entrant[6][7] Drivers[5][6][7] Car[5][6][7] Laps[5][7] Qual
Pos.
1 E 65 Ford Motor Co of Australia Canada Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 130 1
2 E 62 Byrt Ford Pty Ltd Australia Phil Barnes
Australia Bob Skelton		 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 129 6
3 E 57 Finnie Ford Pty Ltd Australia David McKay Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 129 4
4 D 31 Holden Dealer Team Australia Colin Bond Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 129 15
5 E 64 Ford Motor Co of Australia Australia John French Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 129 2
6 E 60 McLeod Ford Pty Ltd Australia John Goss
Australia Barry Sharp		 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 129 17
7 D 43 Geoghegan's Sporty Cars Australia Leo Geoghegan
Australia Peter Brown		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 129 8
8 D 32 Holden Dealer Team Australia Peter Brock Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 129 11
9 D 30 Max Wright Motors Australia Brian Foley
Australia Don Holland		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 129 22
10 D 45 Reg Papps & Sons Australia Bob Beasley Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 129 10
11 E 59 J Harding Australia Murray Carter Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 127 21
12 D 41 Shell Racing Australia Norm Beechey
Australia Jim McKeown		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 127 19
13 D 28 Suttons Motors (Petersham) Australia Bruce McPhee Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 127 32
14 E 55 Sinclair Ford Pty Ltd Australia Kevin Bartlett Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 126 30
15 D 40 Harvey Drew Pty Ltd Australia Joe Butta
Australia Geoff Hunter		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 126 24
16 D 49 Courtesy Motors Australia Martin Chenery Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 125 18
17 D 29 Dusting & Co Pty Ltd Australia Tony Roberts Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 125 36
18 D 39 City State Racing Team Australia Johnnie Walker
Australia Malcolm Ramsay		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 124 28
19 D 42 Liverpool Chrysler Australia Doug Chivas
Australia Graham Moore		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 124 16
20 E 67 Wright Ford Motors Pty Ltd Australia Des West Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 123 12
21 D 47 John McNicol Pty Ltd Australia Gerry Lister
Australia David Seldon		 Ford XY Falcon 500 122 34
22 D 37 M Brown Australia Mick Brown Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 121 33
23 D 34 The Commonwealth Ind. Gases Australia Geoff Leeds
Australia Digby Cooke		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 120 23
24 E 54 Zanardo & Rodriguez
Sales & Services Pty Ltd		 Australia Ron Kearns Fiat 124 Sport 118 35
25 D 38 L Seaton Australia Brian Reed
Australia Graham Ritter		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 118 26
26 C 17 G Cooke Australia Gary Cooke
Australia Garry Holmes		 Mazda RX-2 117 39
27 C 27 Victorian Police Motor Sports Club Australia Geoff Wade
Australia Geoff Perry		 Holden LC Torana GTR 117 40
28 D 44 Blue Point Motors (Management) Pty Ltd Australia Graham Ryan Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 116 27
29 C 51 D&P Traders Pty Ltd Australia Pat Peck
Australia Jan Holland		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 115 61
30 C 19 Chas Tierney Pty Ltd Australia Mal Brewster
Australia Ray Strong		 Holden LC Torana GTR 115 42
31 C 16 John Hile Ford Pty Ltd Australia Ross Hewison
Australia Brian Hones		 Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I 110 45
32 C 22 Mazda Racing Team Australia Wayne Rogerson
Australia Alan Mayne		 Mazda RX-2 113 37
33 C 25 Marque Motors Australia Bob Cracknell
Australia Bob Wedd		 Morris Cooper S 111 47
34 C 24 H Vines Australia Herb Vines
Australia Chris Batger		 Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I 110 45
35 C 20 Kloster Pty Ltd Australia Geoff Westbury
Australia Jim Sullivan		 Ford TC Cortina 2000L 110 49
36 B 12 WH Motors Pty Ltd Australia Bruce Stewart Datsun 1600 109 51
37 A 6 John Palmer Motors Australia John Leffler Mazda 1300 108 53
38 A 8 Mazda Racing Team Australia Les Carne
Australia Peter Cray		 Mazda 1300 107 57
39 A 5 AMI Racing Team Australia Barry Arentz Toyota Corolla 1200 106 59
40 A 7 C Kennedy Australia Carl Kennedy
Australia Bill Slattery		 Mazda 1300 105 60
41 C 21 Bennett Honda Pty Ltd Australia Ken Brian
Australia Noel Riley		 Honda 1300-S 104 56
42 C 15 Marque Motors Australia Bill Stanley
Australia Mike Kable		 Morris Cooper S 102 44
43 A 1 Datsun Racing Team Australia Doug Whiteford Datsun 1200 100 52
44 B 14 Mazda Racing Team Australia George Garth
Australia John Hall		 Mazda Capella 1600 99 46
45 B 11 WH Motors Pty Ltd Australia Don Smith Datsun 1600 97 48
DNF E 61 Baldwin Ford Pty Ltd Australia Damon Beck
Australia Garry Rush		 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 117 9
DNF A 4 AMI Racing Team Australia Brian Sampson Toyota Corolla 1200 102 58
DNF D 50 R Lanyon Australia Tom Naughton
Australia Lawrie Nelson[8]		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 98 25
DNF D 48 B Thomson Australia Bryan Thomson
Australia John Mann		 Alfa Romeo 1600 Giulia Super 80 43
DNF E 58 Mark IV Car Air Conditioning Australia Bob Morris
Australia Ray Morris		 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 80 14
DNF E 69 Trevor Thiele Ford Pty Ltd Australia Trevor Meehan Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 55 7
DNF D 33 Bob Jane Racing Team Australia Bob Jane
Australia John Harvey		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 50 29
DNF D 46 Bardahl International Oil Corp Australia Bob Forbes
Australia John Millyard		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38 46 13
DNF E 63 FF Newell & Son Australia Bill Brown Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 43 5
DNF E 66 Road & Track Auto Services Australia Fred Gibson
Australia Barry Seton		 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III 32 3
DNF A 9 Mazda Racing Team Australia Bernie Haehnle
Australia Ray Kaleda		 Mazda 1300 17 54
DNF D 36 BS NcNaughton Australia Scott McNaughton
Australia Geoff Harvey		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 7 20
DSQ C 23 Sinclair Ford Pty Ltd Australia Alan Cant
Australia Herb Taylor		 Ford Escort Twin Cam Mk.I 115 41
DSQ B 10 Datsun Racing Team Australia John Roxburgh
Australia Jon Leighton		 Datsun 1600 111 50
DSQ A 2 Datsun Racing Team Australia Jim Laing-Peach Datsun 1200 109 55
DNS A 3 AMI Racing Team Australia Bill Evans Toyota Corolla 1200
DNS B 13 Harry Gapps Ford Pty Ltd Australia Harry Gapps
Australia Frank Hann		 Ford Cortina 1600L
DNS C 18 Waterloo High Performance Tuning Centre Australia Warren Gracie
Australia Ron Gillard		 Holden LC Torana GTR
DNS C 26 Harry Gapps Ford Pty Ltd Australia R Kramer Ford Escort Twin Cam
DNS D 35 L Grose Australia Les Grose
Australia Lakis Manticas		 Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 31
DNS D 52 R Lanyon Australia Lawrie Nelson
Australia Tony Farrell		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38
DNS D 53 Formula 1 International Motoring Pty Ltd Australia Tony Allen
Australia Len Searle		 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E38
DNS E 56 McCluskey Ford Pty Ltd Australia Ian Geoghegan
Australia Brian Michelmore		 Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III
DNS E 68 G Ward Australia Graham Ward Volvo 164
DNS E 70 HG Fenton Australia H Fenton
Australia F Ure		 Ford XW Falcon GT-HO Phase II

Statistics

  • Pole Position - #65 Allan Moffat - 2:38.9[5]
  • Fastest Lap - #58 Bob Morris - 2:40[7] (lap record)
  • Average Speed - 130 km/h
  • Race Time of winning car - 6:09:49.5[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1971 Official Program Hardie Ferodo 500 page 6 Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 26 August 2009. 3 September 2009.
  2. ↑ 1971 Official Program Hardie Ferodo 500 page 60 Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 26 August 2009. 3 September 2009.
  3. ↑ Bill Brown crash
  4. ↑ Mount Panorama Bathurst - The Great Race - 1971 highlights
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Greenhalgh, David; Thomas B. Floyd; Bill Tuckey (2000). Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999. Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 178–185 & 459. ISBN 1-875221-12-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 1971 Official Program Hardie Ferodo 500 page 59Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 26 August 2009. 3 September 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1972 Official Program Hardie Ferodo 500 page 58 Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 15 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Nelson replaced Ross Wemyss as Naughton's co-driver although the late change saw Wemyss's name remain on the driver entry list. As outlined in What Might Have Been, Australian Muscle Car, 1 May 2021, page 44
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