The 1976 Rover 500K was an endurance race for Group C Touring Cars. The race was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 28 November 1976 over 106 laps, totalling 501.4 kilometres. The Rover 500K was Round 4 of the 1976 Australian Championship of Makes and Round 11 of the 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship. It was the sixth "Phillip Island 500K" race to be held.

The race was notable for being Colin Bond's last drive for the Holden Dealer Team after more than seven years in their lineup. Bond won the race from Charlie O'Brien, the driver who would replace him in 1977. In a generally poorly attended entry the pair finished four laps ahead of Peter Janson, providing a clean sweep of the podium positions for Holden Torana drivers.

Class structure

Cars competed in four classes, defined by the engine capacity.[1]

  • Class A : Up to 1300cc
  • Class B : 1301–2000cc
  • Class C : 2001 – 3000cc
  • Class D : Over 3000cc

Results

Results were as follows:

Position[1][2] Drivers No. Car Entrant Laps
1 Colin Bond 1 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 106
2 Charlie O'Brien 8 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Tweed Motors 106
3 Peter Janson 20 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Captain Peter Janson 102
4 Garth Wigston Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Roadways Racing 102
5 Allan Grice 25 Mazda RX-3 Craven Mild Racing 101
6 Lou Stoopman
Martin Power		 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 95
7 John Pollard Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 95
8 David Langman
Bernie McClure		 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 95
9 Frank Porter 60 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT Clemens Motors 94
10 Bob Nissen Ford Capri V6 93
11 Geoff Newton Ford Capri V6 93
12 Chris Heyer Volkswagen Golf 92
13 Roger Bonhomme Honda Civic 92
14 Ray Farrar
John Millard		 Ford Escort GT 1300 89
15 Tony Niovanni Holden Gemini SL 87
16 Max McGinley 65 Honda Civic RS 86
17 Bronwyn Taylor
Frank Brewster		 Honda Civic 82
18 Kel Gough
Alan Gough		 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 78
19 Geoff Wade Ford Escort 1300 MkII 75
20 Granton Harrison
Warwick Henderson		 Alfa Romeo GTV 67
Class A : Up to 1,300 cc
1 Roger Bonhomme Honda Civic 92
2 Ray Farrar
John Millard		 Ford Escort GT 89
3 Max McGinley Honda Civic 86
4 Bronwyn Taylor
Frank Brewster		 Honda Civic 82
5 Geoff Wade Ford Escort 1300 75
Class B : 1,301 to 2,000 cc
1 Frank Porter Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT Clemens Motors 94
2 Chris Heyer Volkswagen Golf 92
3 Tony Niovanni Holden Gemini SL[2] 87
4 Graham Harrison
Warwick Henderson		 Alfa Romeo GTV 67
Class C : 2,001 to 3,000 cc
1 Allan Grice Mazda RX-3 Craven Mild Racing 101
2 Bob Nissen Ford Capri V6 93
3 Geoff Newton Ford Capri V6 93
Class D : Over 3,000 cc
1 Colin Bond 1 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 106
2 Charlie O'Brien 8 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Tweed Motors 106
3 Peter Janson Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Peter Janson 102
4 Garth Wigston Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Roadways Racing 102
5 Lou Stoopman
Martin Power		 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 95
6 John Pollard Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 95
7 David Langman
Bernie McClure		 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 95
Retirements
DNF Bill Evans Datsun 1200
DNF Jim Murcott Ford Escort RS2000 "MkI"[2]
DNF Peter Brock 5 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Team Brock
DNF Terry Wade Triumph Dolomite Sprint
DNF John Harvey 2 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Marlboro-Holden Dealer Team
DNF Murray Carter Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Brian Wood Ford
DNF Jim Stewart Morris Mini Clubman GT
DNF Jim Keogh Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
DNF Geoff Moran Ford Capri V6
DNF Bob Morris Triumph Dolomite Sprint Ron Hodgson Motors
DNF Lawrie Nelson Ford Capri V6 Capri Components
DNF Wayne Mitchell Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34
DNF James Laing-Peach Triumph Dolomite Sprint

Note: The event was contested by a 43 car field.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977 Edition, pages 70-73
  2. 1 2 3 Rover 500K, Bond – Bloody But UnBowed, Australian Auto Action, 9 December 1976, pages 12–13
  3. ↑ Chris de Fraga, Crash fails to stop Bond, The Melbourne Age, Monday, 29 November 1976, page 23
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