Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)
Peter Brock and Jim Richards replica of the 1979 race winning Holden LX Torana SS A9X on display at the 2009 Historic Sandown
The Allan Grice/John Leffler Holden LX Torana SS A9X which placed second in race. The car is pictured in 2015.

The 1978 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 19th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 1 October 1978, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine capacity based classes.

The race was won by Peter Brock, his third win, and Sports Sedan racer Jim Richards, his first. The pair drove a Holden Dealer Team Holden Torana to a single lap victory over another Torana, that of Allan Grice and Formula 5000 driver John Leffler. Third was the first of the Ford Falcons, that of veteran Murray Carter and New Zealand open wheel great Graeme Lawrence. Richards became the first New Zealander to win the race and it was the Holden Dealer Teams third win.

Class structure

Class A

The 3001 - 6000cc class consisted entirely of compact muscle cars including V8 Holden Toranas and Ford Falcons.

Class B

The 2001 – 3000cc class featured Mazda RX3, Ford Capri, and BMW 3.0Si.

Class C

Harris/Clark Toyota Celica

The Up to 2000cc class saw a mix of Alfa Romeo Alfetta and GTV 2000, Ford Escort RS2000, Holden Gemini, Toyota Celica, Triumph Dolomite and VW Golf.

Hardies Heroes

1978 saw the introduction of the Hardies Heroes Top 10 runoff (now referred as the Top Ten Shootout) for pole position, devised by race broadcaster Channel 7 and the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) for extra television time on the day before the race. With official qualifying now held on the Friday (previously held on the Saturday before the race from 1963-1977), the runoff was held on the Saturday morning with Seven showing half-hour highlights around Australia later in the afternoon. Drivers drew the order in which they would run out of a hat with the order being Allan Grice, Peter Brock, Jack Brabham, Dick Johnson, Derek Bell, Bob Morris, Garth Wigston, Colin Bond, John French and lucky last Allan Moffat. Each driver had two, one lap runs to set a quick time, though the second lap was optional.

Morning showers meant that the track was damp during the first run and with most cars on wet weather tyres, times reflected this with Grice recording a first up 2:38.2 and Brock a 2:35.6. No other driver was then able to lap better than 2:27 until Allan Moffat went out and ignoring the puddles (plus a little help from team members on top of the mountain who radioed in that the track was now dry enough for slicks), ran a 2:21.59 lap while hitting 159 mph (256 km/h) on Conrod Straight. Moffat's time in his 5.8 L V8 powered Ford Falcon Cobra was some 6 seconds faster than anyone else had managed and 4.8 seconds under his own Group C Touring Car lap record set in 1977.[1] Taking Moffat's cue that the track was now dry enough for quick times, Brock then ran a 2:20.006 in his HDT Torana which was enough to give him his second Bathurst pole in succession and his third overall (his pole time would not be beaten until 1982). Moffat's team mate Colin Bond then joined Brock on the front row with a 2:20.871 lap (0.865 slower than Brock),[2] and while Moffat then tried to respond, he had to settle for the inside of the second row with a time of 2:21.597. Bob Morris, the fastest in official qualifying with a 2:21.7 would start in fourth after equaling his time in the runoff, with his team mate Derek Bell rounding out the top 5, though he was some 2.8 seconds slower than Morris. John French in the second Bryan Byrt Ford Falcon was the slowest in the runoff, his time some 10.2 seconds slower than Brock's pole time and 4.6 seconds slower than team mate Dick Johnson.

Pos No Team Driver Car Time
Pole 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia Peter Brock Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 2:20.006
2 2 Moffat Ford Dealers Australia Colin Bond Ford XC Falcon Cobra 2:20.871
3 1 Moffat Ford Dealers Canada Allan Moffat Ford XC Falcon Cobra 2:21.597
4 7 Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing Australia Bob Morris Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 2:21.766
5 27 Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing United Kingdom Derek Bell Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 2:24.602
6 17 Bryan Byrt Ford Australia Dick Johnson Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 2:25.632
7 6 Craven Mild Racing Australia Allan Grice Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 2:25.950
8 8 Jack Brabham Holdings Pty Ltd Australia Jack Brabham Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door 2:25.988
9 20 Roadways / Gown-Hindhaugh Australia Garth Wigston Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 2:26.144
10 32 Bryan Byrt Ford Australia John French Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 2:30.244

* Bob Morris was fastest qualifier going into Hardies Heroes in his Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback with a 2:21.7 lap, and although he equalled this time in the shootout, he fell to 4th on the grid.
* Dick Johnson made the first of 20 consecutive starts in the Top 10 runoff at Bathurst. He finished the shootout in 6th position in his Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop.
* Peter Brock's pole time of 2:20.006 would stand as the fastest pole time at Bathurst until Allan Grice recorded a 2:17.501 to claim pole in a Holden VH Commodore SS in 1982.
* Triple Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham qualified for his only top 10 shootout at Bathurst in a 4-Door version of the A9X Torana, finishing in 8th position. The Brabham name would not appear in another Bathurst Top 10 runoff until his son David qualified 8th in 1993 in a Holden VP Commodore.
* The top 10 consisted of 6 Holden Torana's and 4 Ford Falcons. While the Torana's were spread over 5 different teams, the Falcons only came from Moffat Ford Dealers and Bryan Byrt Ford.

Results

Pos Class No Team Drivers Car Laps Qual
Pos
Shootout
Pos
1 A 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia Peter Brock
New Zealand Jim Richards
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 163 1
2 A 6 Craven Mild Racing Australia Allan Grice
Australia John Leffler
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 162 7
3 A 18 Brian Wood Ford Australia Murray Carter
New Zealand Graeme Lawrence
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 160 31
4 A 11 Citizens Watches Australia Pty Ltd Australia Gary Cooke
Australia Doug Chivas
Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door 158 27
5 A 17 Bryan Byrt Ford Australia Dick Johnson
Australia Vern Schuppan
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 153 6
6 A 8 Jack Brabham Holdings Pty Ltd Australia Jack Brabham
Australia Brian Muir
Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door 153 8
7 A 23 Settlement Road Motor Wreckers Australia Warren Cullen
Australia Johnnie Walker
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 152 13
8 A 33 Amco Pty Ltd Australia Barry Seton
Australia Don Smith
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 152 15
9 C 69 Brian Wood Ford Australia Rod Stevens
Australia Bill Evans
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I 149 38
10 B 52 Amco Pty Ltd Australia Steve Masterton
Australia Phil Lucas
Ford Capri Mk.I 149 40
11 C 70 Peter Williamson Pty Ltd Australia Peter Williamson
Australia Mike Quinn
Toyota Celica 149 36
12 B 41 B&J Tyre Co Pty Ltd Australia Terry Shiel
Australia Ross Burbidge
Mazda RX-3 148 37
13 B 42 Fury Ford Pty Ltd Australia Terry Daly
Australia Eric Boord
Ford Capri Mk.I 148 30
14 B 37 Shell Sport Australia Peter Hopwood
Australia Jim Davidson
Ford Capri Mk.II 147 35
15 B 35 Amco Pty Ltd Australia Don Holland
Australia Lawrie Nelson
Ford Capri Mk.II 145 29
16 C 62 Greater Pacific Finance Co Australia Ray Gulson
Australia Paul Gulson
Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 143 55
17 B 48 James Mason Pty Ltd Australia Barry Jones
Australia Brian Potts
Mazda RX-3 142 63
18 C 57 Thomson Ford Australia Bill Stanley
Australia Ian Messner
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II 142 52
19 A 15 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia John Harvey
Australia Charlie O'Brien
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 139 11
20 B 51 JD Duggan Australia John Duggan
Australia Brian Wheeler
Mazda RX-3 137 45
21 B 36 Arthur Hardwick Australia Arthur Hardwick
Australia Greg McCombie
Mazda RX-3 136 34
22 A 10 Garry & Warren Smith Pty Ltd Australia Bob Forbes
Australia Kevin Bartlett
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 136 12
23 A 29 Garry Willmington Australia Garry Willmington
Australia Jeff Barnes
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 136 23
24 A 19 Bonds Coates Patons Australia Graham Ryan
Australia Phillip Arnull
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 135 20
25 C 73 B&G Myers Leyland Australia Terry Wade
Australia John Myers
Triumph Dolomite Sprint 134 47
26 C 60 Peter Brown Australia Peter Brown
Australia Graham Ritter
Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 133 41
27 B 43 Gough Motors Mazda Australia Nick Louis
Australia Stephen Stockdale
Mazda RX-3 132 43
28 C 54 Bruce T Hodgson Australia Bruce Hodgson
Australia Dave Morrow
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II 130 46
29 C 66 Brian Hilton Toyota Australia Jeff Harris
Australia Doug Clark
Toyota Celica 128 58
30 A 28 Rod Donovan Australia Rod Donovan
Australia Craig McAllister
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 125 24
31 C 61 Consolidated Pneumatic Tools Co (Aust) Pty Ltd Australia Ian Sonneman
Australia John English
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I 121 50
DNF A 26 Craven Mild Racing Australia Ralph Radburn
Australia Robyn Hamilton
Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door 148 21
DNF B 49 ABE Copiers Pty Ltd Australia Sue Ransom
Australia Bill Brown
Ford Capri Mk.I 144 33
DNF A 31 Norm G Smith Racing New Zealand Leo Leonard
Australia Gary Sprague
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 119 18
DNF A 20 Roadways / Gown-Hindhaugh Australia Garth Wigston
Australia Wayne Negus
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 118 9
DNF C 65 LR Morris Australia Rod Morris
Australia Terry Finnigan
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II 115 56
DNF A 9 ReCar Racing / Cadbury - Schweppes New Zealand Peter Janson
Australia Phil Brock
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 110 14
DNF C 59 Kevin Dennis Motors (Sunshine) Pty Ltd Australia Allan Gough
Australia Kel Gough
Holden Gemini 109 59
DNF A 14 Thomson Ford Australia Ron Dickson
Australia John McCormack
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 100 16
DNF C 56 Paul-Francois Berthier Australia Paul Berthier
Australia Bob Wootton
Triumph Dolomite Sprint 95 49
DNF C 63 Bob Holden / Shell Sport Australia Bob Holden
Australia Lyndon Arnel
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II 93 48
DNF A 34 Tim Slako Australia Tim Slako
Australia Colin Hall
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 92 26
DNF B 50 ATP Australia Pty Ltd Australia Alan Cant
Australia Bruce Stewart
Ford Capri Mk.I 91 61
DNF A 4 John Goss Pty Ltd Australia Rusty French
Australia Graham Moore
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 90 25
DNF C 64 Bob Holden / Shell Sport Australia Greville Arnel
Australia Greg Toepfer
Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II 89 51
DNF B 39 Citizens Watches Australia Pty Ltd Australia Barry Lee
Australia David Clement
Mazda RX-3 82 44
DNF A 1 Moffat Ford Dealers Canada Allan Moffat
Belgium Jacky Ickx
Ford XC Falcon Cobra 81 3
DNF A 24 Hendersons Federal Spring Works / Shell Sport Australia Jim Keogh
Australia Grant Walker
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 74 19
DNF A 7 Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing Australia Bob Morris
United Kingdom John Fitzpatrick
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 73 4
DNF A 13 Scotty Taylor Holden Australia Alan "Scotty" Taylor
Australia Kevin Kennedy
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 68 22
DNF A 3 John Goss Pty Ltd Australia John Goss
France Henri Pescarolo
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 67 28
DNF B 46 Brian Wood Ford Australia Ray Farrar
Australia Gerry Wittenden
Ford Capri Mk.I 66 62
DNF B 47 Selby's Steering & Suspension Service Pty Ltd Australia Dean Gall
Australia Allan Bryant
Mazda RX-3 61 54
DNF A 2 Moffat Ford Dealers Australia Colin Bond
Australia Fred Gibson
Ford XC Falcon Cobra 59 2
DNF A 32 Bryan Byrt Ford Australia John French
Australia Warwick Brown
Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop 57 10
DNF C 53 Lennox Motors Australia Chris Heyer
West Germany Rudi Dahlhauser
Volkswagen Golf GTi 35 60
DNF B 44 Geoff Leeds Australia Cam Worner
Australia Geoff Leeds
Ford Capri Mk.I 29 32
DNF A 12 Bob Jane T-Marts Australia Ian Geoghegan
Australia Garry Rogers
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 29 17
DNF B 45 Robert Darley Australia Jim Hunter
Australia Barry Lake
BMW 530i[3] 27 53
DNF B 40 Phil McDonell Australia Phil McDonnell
Australia Lynn Brown
BMW 3.0Si 21 39
DNF C 72 Alf Grant Australia Alf Grant
Australia Geoff Russell
Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 21 57
DNF A 27 Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing United Kingdom Derek Bell
Austria Dieter Quester
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback 5 5
DNF C 71 Brian Foley Pty Ltd Australia Garry Leggatt
Belgium Patrick Nève
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 3 42
DNS A 30 Everlast Battery Service Australia Bill O'Brien
Australia Ray Winter
Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
DNS C 74 Rejon Industries Pty Ltd Australia Bernie McClure
Australia David Langman
Holden Gemini

Statistics

  • Provisional Pole Position - #7 Bob Morris - 2:21.7
  • Pole Position - #05 Peter Brock - 2:20.006
  • Fastest Lap - #1 Allan Moffat - 2:22.0 (lap record)
  • Average Speed - 149 km/h
  • Race Time - 6:45:53.9

References

  • Greenhalgh, David; Thomas B. Floyd; Bill Tuckey (2000). Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999. Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 234–241 & 466. ISBN 1-875221-12-3.
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