1985 Castrol 500

Endurance race April 2021 October 2011 thumb|250px|Layout of the Sandown Raceway international circuit (1984-1998) The 1985 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for "Group A" Touring Cars staged at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit in Victoria on 15 September 1985. Race distance was 129 laps of the 3.878 km (1.928 mi) circuit, totaling 500.262 km. The event was Round 3 of both the 1985 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1985 Australian Manufacturers' Championship. There were 36 starters, of which 21 were classified as finishers.Barry Naismith, Bathurst 1985/86, page 77 The race was won by the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of Australian Touring Car Champion Jim Richards, and his co-driver Tony Longhurst. It was Longhurst's first major win in Australian touring car racing. JPS Team BMW made it a 1-2 finish when their second car, driven by Neville Crichton and on-loan Nissan team driver George Fury finished only a few seconds behind. Finishing in third place was the surprising Toyota Supra of Peter Williamson and 1985 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series winner Tomas Mezera. The 1985 Castrol 500 was the first time since 1972 that neither Peter Brock or Allan Moffat had won the Sandown enduro. 1984 Castrol 500 winner Brock, who claimed pole position with a time of 1:52.3 in his Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore SS, suffered engine failure after 41 laps, while Moffat, who was without a drive in 1985 due to Mazda not racing in Group A, was part of the ABC television commentary team. Classes The field was divided into three classes according to engine displacement.Official Programme, Castrol 500, September 14 and 15, 1985 Class A : 3001 cc to 6000 cc Class B : 2001 cc to 3000 cc Class C : Up to 2000 cc Results Top 10 Qualifiers Pos No. Entrant Driver Car Time Pole 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team AUS Peter Brock Holden VK Commodore SS 1:52.3 2 6 Roadways Racing Services AUS Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore SS 1:52.4 3 17 Palmer Tube Mills AUS Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT 1:52.4 4 1 JPS Team BMW NZL Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 1:52.7 5 55 Mark Petch NZL Robbie Francevic Volvo 240T 1:52.9 6 43 Mitsubishi Ralliart AUS Peter Fitzgerald Mitsubishi Starion turbo 1:53.3 7 7 Mobil Holden Dealer Team AUS John Harvey Holden VK Commodore SS 1:53.7 8 42 Mitsubishi Ralliart AUS Kevin Bartlett Mitsubishi Starion turbo 1:54.4 9 31 JPS Team BMW AUS George Fury BMW 635 CSi 1:54.4 10 3 K. Baigent NZL Neal Lowe BMW 635 CSi 1:54.4 Race Position Class No. Entrant Drivers Car Laps 1 A 1 JPS Team BMW NZL Jim Richards AUS Tony Longhurst BMW 635 CSi 129 2 A 31 JPS Team BMW NZL Neville Crichton AUS George Fury BMW 635 CSi 129 3 B 44 Peter Williamson Toyota AUS Peter Williamson AUS Tomas Mezera Toyota Supra 127 4 B 47 Network Alfa AUS Colin Bond AUS Gregg Hansford Alfa Romeo GTV6 126 5 A 36 Lusty Engineering Pty Ltd AUS Graham Lusty AUS Ken Lusty Holden VK Commodore SS 123 6 A 39 Sleepy Head Bedding Co. NZL Graeme Bowkett NZL Wayne Wilkinson Holden VK Commodore SS 123 7 A 14 Auckland Coin & Bullion Exchange Co. NZL Denny Hulme AUS Ray Smith Holden VK Commodore SS 121 8 A 13 Grellis Marketing AUS Ray Ellis AUS Bernie McLure Holden VK Commodore SS 120 9 C 61 Toyota Team Australia AUS Ray Cutchie NZL John Faulkner Toyota Sprinter 115 10 C 57 Bob Holden Motors AUS Bob Holden NZL Glenn Clark Toyota Sprinter 115 11 C 58 Bob Holden Motors AUS David Ratcliffe AUS Don Smith Toyota Sprinter 114 12 C 88 J. White AUS John White AUS Les Szreniawski Isuzu Gemini ZZ 112 13 B 45 Alfa City AUS Ray Gulson AUS Frank Porter Alfa Romeo GTV6 111 14 B 53 Hulcraft Auto AUS John Craft AUS Les Grose Ford Capri 107 15 B 52 Hulcraft Auto AUS Pat Hogbin AUS John Hogbin Ford Capri 102 16 C 64 K. Harrison AUS Ken Harrison AUS Ian Wells Ford Escort 100 17 B 42 Mitsubishi Ralliart AUS Kevin Bartlett AUS Peter McKay Mitsubishi Starion turbo 100 18 B 50 J. L. Hazelton AUS Laurie Hazelton AUS Jerry Stauberg Ford Capri 100 19 A 17 Palmer Tube Mills AUS Dick Johnson AUS Larry Perkins Ford Mustang GT 92 20 C 66 Jagparts Racing AUS Lorraine Orchard AUS Paul Taylor Triumph Dolomite 84 21 B 54 Melbourne Clutch & Brake Service AUS Brian Sampson AUS Garry Waldon Mitsubishi Starion turbo 51 DNF A 41 B. Jones AUS Barry Jones AUS Tony Mulvihill Holden VK Commodore SS 92 DNF A 24 Jagparts Racing AUS Gerald Kay AUS Martin Power Holden VK Commodore SS 92 DNF A 12 G. Willmington AUS Gary Willmington NZL Peter Janson Jaguar XJS 81 DNF A 7 Mobil Holden Dealer Team AUS John Harvey AUS David Parsons Holden VK Commodore SS 78 DNF A 6 Roadways Racing Services AUS Allan Grice AUS Warren Cullen Holden VK Commodore SS 68 DNF C 60 Toyota Team Australia AUS John Smith AUS Drew Price Toyota Corolla 66 DNF B 49 J. Bundy AUS John Bundy AUS Norm Carr Mazda RX-7 65 DNF B 55 Mark Petch NZL Robbie Francevic AUS John Bowe Volvo 240T 60 DNF B 43 Mitsubishi Ralliart AUS Peter Fitzgerald AUS Brad Jones Mitsubishi Starion turbo 50 DNF A 21 Erle McRae Motor Sport AUS Charlie O'Brien AUS Andrew Miedecke BMW 635 CSi 50 DNF A 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team AUS Peter Brock NZL David Oxton Holden VK Commodore SS 41 DNF A 28 Capri Components AUS Laurie Nelson AUS Bill O'Brien Ford Mustang 41 DNF A 20 J. Keogh AUS Jim Keogh AUS Garry Rogers BMW 635 CSi 39 DNF A 3 K. Baigent NZL Kent Baigent NZL Neal Lowe BMW 635 CSi 38 DNF C 56 M. Minear AUS Mike Minear AUS Paul Elliott Volvo 360 GLT 22 Notes Pole Position: #05 Peter Brock - Holden Commodore (VK) - 1:52.3 Fastest Lap: Dick Johnson / Larry Perkins - Ford Mustang - 1:53.6 (New lap record) Race Time: 4:12:26.4 References Australian Motor Racing Year, 1985/86 James Hardie 1000, 1985/86 Official Programme, Castrol 500, 14 and 15 September 1985 The Australian Racing History of Ford, 1989 The Official Racing History of Holden, 1988 External links 1985 Castrol 500 - full race 1985 Castrol 500, touringcarracing.net, as archived at web.archive.org Sandown 500 1984 Castrol 500 1985 1986 Castrol 500 Category:Motorsport at Sandown Castrol 500 Category:Pre-Bathurst 500