1967 Gallaher 500

Motor race in Australia January 2021 October 2011 1967 Gallaher 500 1966 1968 thumb|250px|Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986) thumb|A "race replica" of the winning Ford XR Falcon GT of Harry Firth and Fred Gibson thumb|A "race replica" of the second placed Ford XR Falcon GT of Ian Geoghegan and Leo Geoghegan The 1967 Gallaher 500 was a motor race for Production Saloon CarsOfficial Programme, The Gallaher 500, Bathurst, 1st October 1967 held at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on 1 October 1967. The race, which was the eighth running of the Bathurst 500, was organised by the Australian Racing Drivers Club Ltd and promoted by Gallaher International (Aust) Ltd. Each competing car was required to be a production saloon competing in standard specification as laid down in the manufacturer's standard workshop manual.Extra Class in Gallaher '500', Australian Motor Manual, July 1967, page 27 Optional extras and open exhausts were not permitted. To be eligible to compete, a car had to be an Australian built or assembled model of which 200 examples had been registered in Australia by 30 September 1967, or a fully imported model of which 100 examples had been registered in Australia by the same date. In a seminal moment for the race, the first Australian-built V8-powered Ford Falcons competed in the form of seven Falcon GTs and a Falcon automatic. In a race long duel against three Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs, two entered by Alec Mildren Racing and one by M.W. Motors, the Ford Motor Company-entered Falcon GTs achieved a one-two finish with Harry Firth and Fred Gibson acknowledged as race winners after confusion over lap-scoring briefly left uncertainty over the results. Brothers Leo and Ian Geoghegan finished second with the two Alec Mildren Racing Alfa Romeos of Doug Chivas / Max Stewart and Kevin Bartlett / Laurie Stewart all finishing on the same lap as the winning car. It was Firth's fourth Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 500 victory, equalling Bob Jane's record. The confusion over the result stemmed from the Geoghegan brothers' first pit stop. Driving the opening stint, Leo Geoghegan's pole winning Falcon almost ran out of fuel coming past the pits. As he could not reverse into pit lane without being disqualified, Leo went in through the back gate to the pits located on Mountain Straight, and came back into pit lane through the paddock gate. Although he had not completed the lap, as he crossed the finish line in pit lane (located before he got to his pit bay) he was mistakenly credited with completing the lap. Firth, who knew this, was livid with the Australian Racing Drivers Club when the Geoghegan car was flagged in first, despite finishing 11 seconds behind Gibson (although he knew that he'd completed his 130th lap, Gibson completed another lap as he had not yet been shown the chequered flag). Firth, immediately protested the result and it was not until later that evening that he and Gibson were installed as race winners. Firth's protest led to long standing animosity between himself and the Geoghegan team who were teammates for the race, with Leo contending until his death in 2015 that he and his brother won the race.Mount Panorama Bathurst - The Great Race - 1967 highlights Class structure Cars competed in five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian dollars. Class A The lowest class was for under cars retailing for less $1,800. It comprised Datsun 1000 and 1300, Hillman GT, Holden Torana and Toyota Corolla. Class B The $1,801 to $2,100 class featured Ford Cortina, Hillman Arrow, and Morris Cooper and 1100S, Renault R8 and Toyota Corona. Class C The $2,101 to $3,000 class was dominated by the Morris Cooper S, but also contained Fiat 124 and 850, an automatic gearbox Ford Falcon, Holden HD X2 and Prince Skyline GT. Class D The $3,001 to $4,500 class featured the debut of the 'Australian V8's which would dominate the history of the race, represented by Ford Falcon GT, but also contained single entries of Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi Super 90, Studebaker Lark, Triumph 2000 and Volvo 122. Class E For the first time an unlimited class, for cars over $4,500, was included and while many exotic cars were rumoured the class ultimately contained four Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs and a single Dodge Phoenix TD2. Practice results For 1967, race regulations were changed such that all grid positions were decided on practice times, regardless of class.Bill Tuckey, Australia'a Greatest Motor Race, The Complete History, 1981, page 122 Prior to this, the cars were gridded according to practice times but within their respective classes with the highest class starting at the front of the grid and so on. The first ten places were as follows: Pos. No. Entrant Driver Car Qual. 1 53 Ford Motor Company AUS Ian Geoghegan Ford XR Falcon GT 3:03.0 2 52 Ford Motor Company AUS Fred Gibson Ford XR Falcon GT 3:03.2 3 61 Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. AUS Kevin Bartlett Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 3:03.5 4 60 Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. AUS Doug Chivas Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 3:05.2 5 54 Ford Motor Company AUS Bob Jane Ford XR Falcon GT 3:05.2 6 62 M.W. Motors Pty. Ltd AUS Paul Hawkins Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 3:05.7 7 51 J. & B. Motors AUS Des West Ford XR Falcon GT 3:06.0 8 49 M. Savva AUS Mike Savva Ford XR Falcon GT 3:06.8 9 50 Gregory's (Motors) Pty. Ltd. AUS Greg Cusack Ford XR Falcon GT NA 10 55 Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Warren Weldon Studebaker Lark NA Race results Pos Class Classpos No Entrant Drivers Car Laps QualPos 1 D 1 52 Ford Motor Company AUS Harry FirthAUS Fred Gibson Ford XR Falcon GT 130 2 2 D 2 53 Ford Motor Company AUS Ian GeogheganAUS Leo Geoghegan Ford XR Falcon GT 130 1 3 E 1 60 Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. AUS Doug ChivasAUS Max Stewart Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 130 4 4 E 2 61 Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. AUS Kevin BartlettAUS Laurie Stewart Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 130 3 5 C 1 30 British Motor Corporation GBR Tony FallAUS Bob Holden Morris Cooper S 128 14 6 C 2 37 C. Smith AUS Charlie Smith AUS Barry Seton Morris Cooper S 127 15 7 C 3 29 British Motor Corporation FIN Timo MäkinenAUS John French Morris Cooper S 127 12 8 C 4 28 British Motor Corporation GBR Paddy HopkirkAUS Brian Foley Morris Cooper S 126 11 9 E 3 63 S.T.P. Scientifically Treated Petroleum Australia AUS Arthur Davis AUS Paul Mander Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 126 20 10 C 5 40 Marque Motors AUS Damon Beck AUS Lakis Manticas Morris Cooper S 125 18 11 D 3 55 Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Warren Weldon AUS John Hall Studebaker Lark 124 10 12 C 6 45 Martinz Place AUS John Millyard AUS Andy Frankel Morris Cooper S 124 16 13 D 4 49 M. Savva AUS Mike Savva AUS Bob Wilkinson Ford XR Falcon GT 124 8 14 C 7 36 Baulkam Hills Service Station AUS Peter BrownAUS Bob Cook Morris Cooper S 123 21 15 D 5 58 Bill Burns AUS Bill BurnsAUS Chris Brauer Alfa Romeo Giulia Super 122 23 16 D 6 57 Scuderia Veloce AUS David McKayAUS George Reynolds Audi Super 90 122 25 17 D 7 50 Gregory's (Motors) Pty. Ltd. AUS Greg CusackAUS Bill Brown Ford XR Falcon GT 121 9 18 D 8 54 Ford Motor Company AUS Bob JaneAUS Spencer Martin Ford XR Falcon GT 118 5 19 E 4 64 Barnard Auto. Spares AUS Barry SharpAUS Lindsay Derriman Dodge Phoenix TD2 118 29 20 C 8 42 Scuderia Veloce AUS Bill TuckeyAUS Max Stahl Fiat 124 118 31 21 C 9 27 Victorian Police Motor Sports Club AUS Fred SutherlandAUS Allan Mottram Ford XR Falcon Automatic 117 22 22 D 9 48 Australian Motor Industries Ltd. AUS Bob YoungAUS Bob Sorrenson Triumph 2000 117 33 23 A 1 2 Datsun Racing Team AUS John RoxburghAUS Doug Whiteford Datsun 1000 117 38 24 C 10 47 John Caskey Pty. Ltd. AUS Bill DalyAUS George Murray Fiat 124 117 37 25 E 5 62 M.W. Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Paul HawkinsAUS Syd Fisher Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV 117 6 26 A 2 12 Australian Motor Industries Ltd. AUS Dick ThurstonAUS Bill Buckle Toyota Corolla 116 44 27 B 1 16 Gordon Stewarts Sports Car Centre AUS Don HollandAUS Peter Cray Morris Cooper 116 36 28 A 3 1 Datsun Racing Team JPN 1947 Kunimitsu TakahashiJPN 1947 Hideo Oishi Datsun 1000 116 40 29 C 11 41 Scuderia Veloce AUS Mike KableAUS John Smailes Fiat 124 115 32 30 A 4 8 Eiffel Tower Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Jack NougherAUS David O'Keefe Hillman GT 114 42 31 A 5 9 B.P. Olympic Service Station (Cowra) AUS Bob EdgertonAUS David Toshack Hillman GT 114 51 32 B 2 24 Sharton Motors (Maitland) AUS George GarthAUS Geoff Westbury Hillman Arrow 114 47 33 C 12 35 Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Gary CookeAUS Trevor Meehan Fiat 124 113 30 34 C 13 31 C. Kennedy AUS Carl KennedyAUS Jack Murray Prince Skyline GT 113 39 35 B 3 15 A. Treloar AUS Doug MacarthurAUS Arthur Treloar Hillman Arrow 111 48 36 B 4 25 Everybody's Magazine AUS Jane RichardsonAUS Midge Whiteman Morris 1100S 110 58 37 B 5 18 D. Frazer AUS David FrazerAUS Bernie Breen Renault R8 109 57 38 C 14 34 Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Lynn BrownAUS David Bye Fiat 850 109 55 39 B 6 13 C. Hodgins AUS Clyde HodginsAUS Kevin Nipperess Morris 1100S 108 56 40 D 10 59 Wright Ford Motors AUS Bruce McIntyreAUS Ken Stacey Ford XR Falcon GT 106 13 41 A 6 5 C. J. Cocran AUS Chris CronanAUS Steve Parkes Holden HB Torana 103 60 42 A 7 6 Dependable Motors (Sales) Pty. Ltd. AUS Bruce DarkeAUS Bill Ford Datsun 1300 102 59 43 B 7 20 Marque Motors AUS Lindsay AdcockAUS Mike Schneider Morris Cooper 100 35 44 A 8 3 Datsun Racing Team AUS Jim SmithAUS John Colwell Datsun 1300 100 52 45 B 8 17 Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. AUS Bill StanleyAUS Digby Cooke Morris Cooper 96 43 46 B 9 19 J. Thompson AUS Jeff ThompsonAUS Bob Romano Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 96 49 47 D 11 56 British & Continental Cars Pty. Ltd. AUS Gerry ListerAUS David Seldon Volvo 122S 86 26 48 C 15 44 H. Taylor AUS Don SmithAUS Herb Taylor Holden HD X2 75 27 DNF A 7 Dunbier Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Lindsay LittleAUS Stan Pomroy Hillman GT 53 DNF A 4 Datsun Racing Team AUS Barry TapsallAUS Bevan Gibson Datsun 1300 50 DNF B 22 Rural Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Glen MackinnonAUS John T. Smith Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 111David Greenhaigh, Thomas B. Floyd & Bill Tuckey, Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999, page 522 54 DNF B 23 Varsity Auto Centre AUS Rick RadfordAUS John Prisk Morris Cooper 64 28 DNF C 33 Gordon Stewart's Car Centre AUS Mal BrewsterAUS Bob Skelton Morris Cooper S 121 17 DNF C 32 M. Bailey AUS Murray BaileyAUS John Hicks Prince Skyline GT 34 DNF C 46 Denis Geary Motors Pty. Ltd. AUS Gary HodgeAUS Glyn Scott Morris Cooper S 44 24 DNF C 26 J. Leffler AUS John LefflerAUS Les Carne Morris Cooper S 116 19 DSQ D 51 J. & B. Motors AUS Bob BeasleyAUS Des West Ford XR Falcon GT 128 7 DSQ A 11 Australian Motor Industries Ltd. AUS Barry FergusonAUS Brian Sampson Toyota Corolla 117 45 DSQ A 10 Australian Motor Industries Ltd. AUS Bruce HindhaughAUS Peter Macrow Toyota Corolla 116 46 DSQ B 21 Peter Williamson Pty. Ltd AUS Peter WilliamsonAUS Alex Macarthur Toyota Corona 116 41 Statistics Pole Position - #53 Ian Geoghegan - 3:03.0 Fastest Lap - #52 Fred Gibson - 3:03 (lap record) Average Speed - 116 km/h Race Time - 6:55:08 References Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999 Greenhalgh David Thomas B. Floyd Bill Tuckey Chevron Publishing Group 2000 1-875221-12-3 146–153 & 455 Further reading Evan Green's World of Motor Sport, 1977, pages 191–192 External links 1967 Gallaher 500 race results 1967 Bathurst images, autopics.com.au Category:Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales Gallaher 500