1976 Rover 500K

Endurance race for Group C Touring Cars January 2021 January 2012 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.Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977 Edition, pages 70-73 Class A : Up to 1300cc Class B : 1301–2000cc Class C : 2001 – 3000cc Class D : Over 3000cc Results Results were as follows: PositionRover 500K, Bond – Bloody But UnBowed, Australian Auto Action, 9 December 1976, pages 12–13 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 LangmanBernie 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 FarrarJohn Millard Ford Escort GT 1300 89 15 Tony Niovanni Holden Gemini SL 87 16 Max McGinley 65 Honda Civic RS 86 17 Bronwyn TaylorFrank Brewster Honda Civic 82 18 Kel GoughAlan Gough Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 78 19 Geoff Wade Ford Escort 1300 MkII 75 20 Granton HarrisonWarwick 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 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" 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.Chris de Fraga, Crash fails to stop Bond, The Melbourne Age, Monday, 29 November 1976, page 23 References Category:Phillip Island 500 Rover 500K Category:Motorsport at Phillip Island Category:November 1976 sports events in Australia