1984 James Hardie 1000

Motor race in Australia July 2020 October 2011 1984 James Hardie 1000 1983 1985 thumb|250px|Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938–1986) The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship. This race was celebrated as 'The Last of the Big Bangers', in reference to the Group C touring cars, which were competing at Bathurst for the last time.thumb|right|The race winning Brock/Perkins Holden Commodore The race was won by Peter Brock and Larry Perkins driving a Holden VK Commodore for the Holden Dealer Team, the third consecutive victory for Brock, Perkins and the HDT. It was the most dominant team performance for the HDT in the history of the race as the team claimed a 1-2 finish with John Harvey and David Parsons backing up their team leaders by finishing second. Third place was taken by the Mazda RX-7 of Allan Moffat and Gregg Hansford. Moffat privately disputed the Harvey/Parsons Commodore finishing second as it had spent almost 3 laps in the pits mid-race with a gearbox problem, but saw little value in protesting as it would not win him the race so decided to settle for third. The race also saw the first appearance of the international Group A cars at Bathurst (the category had made its Australian debut in the Castrol 500 at Sandown 3 weeks earlier). The Group A class was won by the TWR Mobil Rover Vitesse V8 of race rookies Jeff Allam from England and Armin Hahne from West Germany who finished 12th outright. Second in class and 15th outright was the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of 1967 Formula One World Champion Denny Hulme and Bavarian Prince Leopold von Bayern. Third in Group A and 20th outright was the Barry Seton / Don Smith V8 Ford Mustang. For Seton, who had won the race outright in 1965, it would be his final start at Bathurst as he quietly retired from race driving at the end of 1984. Dick Johnson Racing, who started 4th on the grid with their Group C Ford XE Falcon, also entered a Mustang in the Group A category and although 1984 Australian Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson qualified the underpowered car in 48th, it was only there as insurance should there be a repeat of 1983 where he destroyed his Falcon in a famous Hardies Heroes crash and the Mustang, which Johnson had purchased from the German Zakspeed team, was officially withdrawn the day before the race. Class structure Group C This was the last Bathurst 1000 to include Group C Touring Cars, which had first contested the Bathurst 1000 in 1973. While a production based category, continual parity adjustments to keep the leading vehicles roughly at the same pace had seen the cars become wildly over-specified. That led to a decision by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) in mid-1983 that Australian touring car racing would abandon its locally developed Group C rules and would be run under regulations based on the FIA's international Group A rules from 1 January 1985. The major contenders in Group C were the V8-engined Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, the lone V12 Jaguar XJ-S and 6 cylinder BMW 635 CSi, the rotary Mazda RX-7s, and the Nissan Bluebird turbos. Also running in Group C were the now outdated Chevrolet Camaro Z28s. It would be the final Bathurst appearance for the American Camaro at Bathurst until 2023. It was also the final appearance for the pioneering turbo touring car in Australia, the Nissan Bluebird turbo which would be replaced in Group A in 1986 by the turbocharged Nissan Skyline DR30 RS. After the car made its debut in the inaugural 500-mile race at Phillip Island in 1960, it would be the final Bathurst 1000 for the Ford Falcon until 1992. The Commodore (in various models), Jaguar, BMW and Mazda all saw action during the Group A years in Australia (1985–1992). One car, the No.7 Qld Highway Patrol Racing Team Holden VK Commodore of Lester Smerdon and Wayne Park, ran in a mixed configuration. It ran the standard VK Commodore body that would be seen throughout 1985 in Group A, completely devoid of the front and rear spoilers and flared wheel guards as seen on the HDT, Roadways and Warren Cullen Group C VK's. However, the Queensland Police run car did use full Group C mechanicals (engine, transmission etc). Group A The international Group A formula was allowed to enter for the first time as a prelude to their adoption for Bathurst and the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1985. The Group A cars were closer to pure bred racing cars in concept (notably the allowing of the cars interior to be removed, as well as the cars having a lower ride height), but without the extensive performance modifications allowed for Group C. Without the performance upgrades, aerodynamic aids and larger tyres of the Group C cars, the Group A cars were much slower (the lead 3.5L V8 Rover Vitesse of Jeff Allam and Armin Hahne qualified 10 seconds slower than the pole time set by George Fury in the Nissan Bluebird turbo), and thus formed their own class. The low slung V8 Rovers did prove to be sensationally quick in a straight line though, with both cars being regularly recorded at over 240 km/h mph 0 on Conrod Straight, putting them on par with many of the lower ranked privateer Commodores, Falcons and RX-7s. The Rover's main Group A challenger would be the BMW 635 CSi run by JPS Team BMW. The other contenders in the Group A class included the Ford Mustang, Ford Capri Mk.III, Alfa Romeo GTV6, Toyota Sprinter AE86, Mitsubishi Starion, Audi 5+5, and Toyota Celica Supra. Hardies Heroes Conditions on Mount Panorama were bitterly cold for the 1984 edition of Hardies Heroes with snow having fallen at the top of the circuit early in the morning. This saw a number of cars, notably the lighter (980 kg lb on) Mazda RX-7's struggle to get sufficient heat into their tyres. thumb|right|The pole winning Nissan Bluebird turbo as driven by George Fury (image from 2006) Pos No Team Driver Car HH Qual Pole 15 Nissan AUS George Fury Nissan Bluebird Turbo 2:13.850 2:14.81 2 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team AUS Peter Brock Holden VK Commodore 2:14.039 2:14.31 3 17 Palmer Tube Mills AUS Dick Johnson Ford XE Falcon 2:14.710 2:15.07 4 6 Roadways Racing AUS Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore 2:14.886 2:14.74 5 43 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing CAN Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 2:16.411 2:15.54 6 31 JPS Team BMW NZL Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 2:16.795 2:16.49 7 2 Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. AUS Steve Masterton Ford XE Falcon 2:17.055 2:16.33 8 42 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing AUS Gregg Hansford Mazda RX-7 2:18.051 2:15.85 9 41 Chequered Flag Magazine AUS Bob Morris Mazda RX-7 2:18.107 2:16.05 10 12 John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd. GBR Tom Walkinshaw Jaguar XJ-S 2:18.960 2:16.09 * Nissan scored the first ever Bathurst 1000 Pole Position by a car fitted with a turbocharger when George Fury recorded a time of 2:13.85 in his Nissan Bluebird Turbo. Fury's time in the runoff would not be beaten until 1991, ironically by another Nissan, the R32 GT-R. As it was the last year of Group C, Fury's time remains the fastest ever at Mt Panorama by a Group C touring car. Early morning snow on the mountain and the cold conditions were thought to favour the turbo over the V8 powered cars. Almost 20 years later Fred Gibson, who was by 1986 the Nissan team manager, confirmed that the Bluebirds had a turbo boost adjuster on the dashboard, used to tune boost pressure once track conditions were better understood in order to preserve the turbocharger.November 2017 * It was the first time in the seven-year history of Hardies Heroes that a V8 powered car did not claim Pole Position at Bathurst, and the first time since qualifying first counted for grid positions in 1967 that a V8 had not been on pole. It would be the start of a run of 8 pole positions in 9 years for turbo powered cars at Bathurst and a V8 powered car would not sit on pole again at Bathurst until 1993.* The 1984 Hardies Heroes holds the Top 10 shootout record for the most number of marques competing with six with (in order) Nissan, Holden, Ford, Mazda, BMW and Jaguar represented. The record was equaled in both Super Touring races in 1997 and 1998. * Jaguar became the 7th marque to represent in Hardies Heroes, making the first of only two appearances in the top ten runoff with Tom Walkinshaw (a Bathurst rookie despite being the 1984 European Touring Car Champion which included winning the 24 Hours of Spa in his own Group A Jaguar XJ-S) qualifying John Goss' V12 Jaguar XJ-S in 10th place. During qualifying (using one of TWR's more highly developed Group A V12 engines) the Jaguar had been recorded at 290 km/h mph 0 on on Conrod Straight, the fastest ever by a Touring Car before the addition of Caltex Chase in 1987. The next fastest cars were Dick Johnson's V8 Ford XE Falcon at 285 km/h mph 0 on and Peter Brock's V8 Holden VK Commodore at 280 km/h mph 0 on.* With three Mazda RX-7's in Hardies Heroes, 1984 was the only time Mazda had the greatest representation of cars in the Top Ten runoff. Not surprisingly the factory backed Peter Stuyvesant RX-7 of Allan Moffat was the quickest of the trio ending up 5th on the grid.* 1984 was the only time either Steve Masterton and Gregg Hansford would appear in the Top 10 runoff.* 1984 was also the last time that 1976 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 winner Bob Morris would appear in the runoff. After his impromptu Bathurst drive in 1983, Morris had come out of semi-retirement in 1984, purchasing the ex-Barry Jones Mazda RX-7 and actually winning the Oran Park round of the ATCC. Unfortunately, with the coming Group A being projected as more expensive than he believed he could manage, Morris would quietly retire from racing at the end of 1984. Official results thumb|Christine Gibson & Glenn Seton drove a Nissan Pulsar EXA (image from 2015) thumb|Garry Willmington & Mike Griffin drove a Ford XD Falcon (image from 2015) Pos Class No Team Drivers Car Laps QualPos ShootoutPos 1 C 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team AUS Peter BrockAUS Larry Perkins Holden VK Commodore 163 1 2 2 C 25 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team AUS John HarveyAUS David Parsons Holden VK Commodore 161 12 3 C 42 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing AUS Gregg HansfordCAN Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 161 6 8 4 C 8 K-Mart Auto Racing AUS Warren CullenAUS Alan Jones Holden VK Commodore 161 13 5 C 28 Bayside Spare Parts AUS Barry LawrenceAUS Alan Browne Holden VH Commodore SS 158 17 6 C 10 John Sands Racing AUS Rusty FrenchAUS Geoff Russell Holden VH Commodore SS 154 31 7 C 47 Brian Callaghan AUS Barry GrahamAUS Brian Callaghan Ford XE Falcon 154 21 8 C 33 Michael Burgmann AUS Mike BurgmannAUS Bob Stevens Mazda RX-7 153 39 9 C 35 Goodyear Car Owners Club AUS Ron GillardAUS Mark Gibbs Mazda RX-7 153 19 10 C 27 Bryan Byrt Ford AUS Alf GrantAUS Craig Harris Ford XD Falcon 153 42 11 C 52 Fred Geissler AUS Fred GeisslerAUS Ralph Radburn Holden VH Commodore SS 153 27 12 A 61 Mobil Rover Racing GBR Jeff AllamFRG Armin Hahne Rover Vitesse 152 36 13 C 19 Ken Mathews Prestige Cars AUS Ken MathewsAUS Greg Toepfer Holden VH Commodore SS 151 32 14 C 21 Lusty Engineering Pty. Ltd. AUS Graham LustyAUS John Lusty Holden VH Commodore SS 148 35 15 A 62 JPS Team BMW NZL Denny HulmeFRG Leopold von Bayern BMW 635 CSi 148 49 16 C 15 Nissan AUS George FuryAUS Gary Scott Nissan Bluebird Turbo 146 2 1 17 C 7 Qld Highway Patrol Racing Team AUS Lester SmerdonAUS Wayne Park Holden VK Commodore 145 53 18 C 51 Tokico AUS Tony MulvihillAUS Brian Nightingale Mazda RX-7 140 44 19 C 37 Graham Stones AUS Graham StonesAUS Ian Stones Mazda RX-7 138 47 20 A 69 Nu-Truck Spares AUS Barry SetonAUS Don Smith Ford Mustang 136 56 21 A 65 Hulcraft Autos AUS John CraftAUS Les Grose Ford Capri Mk.III 135 60 22 A 67 Ray Gulson AUS Ray GulsonAUS Grant O'Donnell Alfa Romeo GTV6 131 58 23 C 24 Scotty Taylor Holden AUS Alan TaylorAUS Kevin Kennedy Holden VH Commodore SS 130 33 24 C 45 James Keogh AUS Bernie StackAUS Wayne CliftAUS Terry Shiel Holden VH Commodore SS 130 23 25 C 38 Bayswater Auto Wreckers Pty. Ltd. AUS Colin CampbellNZL John Faulkner Holden VH Commodore SS 130 23 26 A 73 Racing Car News AUS Bob HoldenAUS Alexandra Surplice Toyota Sprinter AE86 125 63 27 C 32 Berklee Exhausts AUS Chris ClearihanAUS David Grose Mazda RX-7 123 50 28 A 63 Chris Heyer's Kingswood Import Centre AUS Chris HeyerAUS Gerard Murphy Audi 5+5 117 64 29 A 60 Mobil Rover Racing GBR Steve SoperAUS Ron Dickson Rover Vitesse 116 38 DNF C 13 Bruce Keith Smith AUS Bruce SmithNZL Graeme Waswo Holden VH Commodore SS 123 37 NC C 49 Kenmar Agency Pty. Ltd. AUS John DonnellyAUS Simon Harrex Ford XD Falcon 122 55 DNF C 22 P.F. Motor Racing AUS Bryan ThomsonAUS John Mann Chevrolet Camaro Z28 121 45 DNF A 75 Laurie Hazelton AUS Laurie HazeltonAUS Jerry Strauberg Ford Capri Mk.III 119 62 NC C 30 Tony Kavich AUS Tony KavichAUS John Duggan Mazda RX-7 117 43 DNF C 44 Chequered Flag Magazine AUS Graham MooreAUS Peter McKay Mazda RX-7 116 30 NC A 70 Network Alfa AUS Colin BondAUS Alfredo Costanzo Alfa Romeo GTV6 111 52 DNF C 40 King George Tavern AUS Joe MooreAUS Bob Muir Ford XE Falcon 110 24 DNF C 3 Cadbury Schweppes Pty. Ltd. NZL Peter JansonAUS Garry Rogers Holden VH Commodore SS 109 16 DNF C 17 Palmer Tube Mills AUS Dick JohnsonAUS John French Ford XE Falcon 107 3 3 DNF C 26 Everlast Battery Service AUS Bill O'BrienAUS Gary Cooke Ford XD Falcon 104 28 DNF A 72 Toyota Team Australia AUS John SmithAUS Stephen Brook Toyota Sprinter AE86 100 57 NC C 41 Chequered Flag Magazine AUS Bob MorrisAUS Barry Jones Mazda RX-7 97 7 9 NC A 68 Greville Arnel AUS Greville ArnelAUS Lyndon Arnel Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 95 54 DNF C 29 Freedom Fence AUS Paul JonesAUS Peter Hopwood Ford XE Falcon 88 20 NC C 39 John Bundy AUS John BundyAUS Norm Carr Mazda RX-7 83 34 DNF C 16 Nissan AUS Christine GibsonAUS Glenn Seton Nissan Pulsar EXA 76 26 DNF C 6 Roadways Racing AUS Allan GriceAUS Steve Harrington Holden VK Commodore 70 2 4 DNF C 9 K-Mart Auto Racing AUS Andrew HarrisAUS Ron Harrop Holden VH Commodore SS 51 18 DNF C 4 Terry Finnigan AUS Terry FinniganAUS Geoff Leeds Holden VH Commodore SS 48 14 DNF C 31 JPS Team BMW NZL Jim RichardsAUS Tony Longhurst BMW 635 CSi 39 10 6 DNF C 50 Petrolon Slick 50 AUS Peter McLeodAUS Graeme Bailey Mazda RX-7 39 15 DNF C 11 Magic Eleven AUS Garry WillmingtonAUS Mike Griffin Ford XD Falcon 37 41 DNF C 14 John English AUS John EnglishAUS Paul Gulson Ford XD Falcon 34 29 DNF A 66 Equipe Sixty Six (Hong Kong) AUS Kevin BartlettAUS Peter Fitzgerald Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 27 61 DNF C 20 Jim Keogh AUS Jim KeoghAUS Terry Shiel Holden VH Commodore SS 17 25 DNF C 2 Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. AUS Steve MastertonAUS Bruce Stewart Ford XE Falcon 16 9 7 DNF C 43 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing CAN Allan MoffatAUS Gregg Hansford Mazda RX-7 15 5 5 DNF C 36 Roadways Racing AUS Steve HarringtonAUS Allan Grice Holden VH Commodore SS 7 11 DNF A 64 Capri Components AUS Lawrie NelsonAUS Peter Jones Ford Mustang 1 59 DNF C 18 Valentine Greetings AUS Murray CarterAUS John Murdern Mazda RX-7 0 22 DNF C 12 John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd. AUS John GossGBR Tom Walkinshaw Jaguar XJ-S 0 8 10 DNF C 34 Pennant Hills Suspension Centre AUS John TesorieroAUS Bob Tindal Chevrolet Camaro Z28 0 46 DNF A 77 Peter Williamson Toyota AUS Peter WilliamsonAUS Charlie O'Brien Toyota Celica Supra 0 51 DNS A 71 Palmer Tube Mills AUS Dick JohnsonAUS John French Ford Mustang 48 Notes Cars 12, 34 & 77 were involved in a start line accident when the #12 Jaguar XJ-S had clutch failure at the start. This caused the race to be stopped and for the first time in the races history there was a complete restart. All three cars failed to take the restart.Barry Naismith, Bathurst 1984/85, pages 73 & 127 Car 18 was involved in a separate accident during the first lap of the initial race being shunted off the track and into a fence on Conrod Straight by another car not heeding the red flags and was also unable to front for the second start. Cars 2 & 43 were also involved in a separate incident at the start with both cars bouncing off each other and the #43 also bouncing off the pit wall. #43 was out with engine failure after 15 laps, while #2 crashed at Forrest's Elbow one lap later. Car 7 was a Holden VK Commodore which used Group C running gear including the engine and gearbox, but unlike the VK's from the Holden Dealer Team, Roadways Racing and K-Mart Racing, car 7 used the VK's Group A body which did not include the aerodynamic front and rear spoilers or the flared tyre guards. Statistics Provisional Pole Position - #05 Peter Brock - 2:14.31 Pole Position - #15 George Fury - 2:13.850 (record) Fastest Group A qualifier - #61 Jeff Allam - 2:23.41 Fastest Lap (Group C) - #05 Peter Brock - 2:15.13 (lap record) Fastest Lap (Group A) - #60 - Steve Soper 2:24.87 (class lap record) Winners average speed - 157.5 km/hAustralian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1984/85, page 309 (record) Race Time - 6:23:13.06 (record)1984 James Hardie 1000 Number of Entrants - 64 (record) References External links James Hardie 1000 Bathurst 1984 (race results), www.touringcarracing.net James Hardie 1000 - Mount Panorama, Bathurst - 30th September, 1984 (race results & Official Programme), www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au Bathurst 1984 (images), www.autopics.com.au Category:Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales James Hardie 1000