1960 Armstrong 500

Motor race in Australia March 2025 March 2025 1960 Armstrong 500 none 1961 thumb|A Vauxhall Cresta, similar to the car pictured, was the first car to complete the 500 mile race. The 1960 Armstrong 500 was an endurance motor race for Australian made or assembled standard production sedans. The event was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 20 November 1960 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total distance of 501 miles. The race was organised by the Light Car Club of Australia and promoted by Armstrong York Engineering Pty Ltd.Official Programme, The 1960 Armstrong 500, Phillip Island, Sunday, 20th November Jim Thompson, managing director of the shock absorber manufacturer, was encouraged by his PR man Ron Thonemann to increase the company's business with major carmakers, particularly Ford and Holden, by sponsoring a race. This was the first event held in the history of the race later to become known as the Bathurst 1000, the race that would come to dominate Australian motor racing. Outright controversy Officially only class placings and prize money were awarded, with no outright winner recognised. In later years as the fame of the Bathurst 1000 grew, outright placings, particularly the outright winner, became more widely recognised. John Roxburgh and Frank Coad have been widely acclaimed as the outright winners of the event, and have been recognised in CAMS motorsport manual in more recent times. This has been the source of some controversy as claims the winners of Class C, Geoff Russell, David Anderson and Tony Loxton covered the race distance in a faster time. The source of the discrepancy arises from the starting procedure which saw the classes released at ten second intervals, with the Class D Roxburgh/Coad Vauxhall starting the race ten secondsPaul Watson, The debate over the first Armstrong 500, www.pccv.org, as archived at web.archive.org before the Class C Russell/Anderson/Loxton Peugeot. A comprehensive investigation in 1992 by Graham Hoinville, utilizing the record of individual lap times from the race, concluded that the car of Frank Coad and John Roxburgh was the first to finish the race. Class structure Class A Class A was for cars with an engine capacity of 750cc or less. The class featured Fiat 600, Lloyd Alexander, NSU Prinz and Renault 750 Class B Class B was for cars with an engine capacity of between 751cc and 1300cc. The class featured Ford Anglia, Renault Dauphine, Simca Aronde, Triumph Herald and Volkswagen Beetle Class C thumb|The Brian Foley / Alan Edney Austin Lancer competing in the 1960 Armstrong 500. Class C was for cars with an engine capacity of between 1301cc and 2000cc. The class featured Austin Lancer, Hillman Minx, Morris Major, Peugeot 403 and Singer Gazelle. Class D Class D was for cars with an engine capacity between 2001cc and 3500cc. The class featured Ford Falcon, Humber Super Snipe, Mercedes-Benz 220SE, Standard Vanguard, Vauxhall Cresta. Class E Class E was for cars with an engine capacity over 3500cc. There was only one entry in the class, a Ford Customline. Results Class results were as follows: Pos. No. Entrant Drivers Car Laps Class A 1 1 Continental & General Dist. Doug WhitefordLex Davison NSU Prinz 155 2 2 Continental & General Dist. Bruce WaltonPaul England NSU Prinz 151 3 3 Continental & General Dist. Hoot GibsonJ Gorman NSU Prinz 150 4 10 W. McB. March Bill MarchJohn Connolly Renault 750 145 5 15 Wal Gillespie Fiat Services Wal GillespieLou Sinclair Fiat 600 138 6 4 Finlay Bros. P/L Kevin LottG Petty Lloyd Alexander TS 135 7 16 Torino Motors P/L Brian PyersFrank Elkins Fiat 600 135 8 5 Finlay Bros. P/L Graham LevingstonPeter Candy Lloyd Alexander TS 134 9 7 Finlay Bros. P/L R SlaneyG White Lloyd Alexander TS 132 10 8 B.P. Batteries P/L Les ParkJ Fleming Renault 750 DNF 9 Monash Service Station Rex EmmettA Hawkins Renault 750 DNF 6 Finlay Brothers P/L Tony ThielerFrank Kilfoyle Lloyd Alexander TS 120David McKay, Cresta wins production "500", Modern Motor, January 1961, pages 14 to 17 & 81 to 82 Class B 1 24 Melody Motors P/L Murray GaltBill Murray Simca Aronde 164 2 23 Chrysler Australia Ltd. (Eiffel Tower Group) Jack NougherLionel Marsh Simca Aronde 161 3 22 Chrysler Australia Ltd. (B.J. Autos Service) Bob BrownMichael Lempriere Simca Aronde 161 4 27 Australian Motor Industries Jack MaurerErn Abbott Triumph Herald 158 5 20 Orman's Service Station Rex OrmanMax McPherson Volkswagen 158 6 18 Lanock Motors Ltd. David McKayGreg Cusack Volkswagen 158 7 19 Spencer Motors P/L Arthur WylieKen Wylie Volkswagen 157 8 29 Nalders Garage Bill NalderJohn Ampt Ford Anglia 156 9 14 Ecurie Dauphine J LeightonAlan Ling Renault Dauphine 154 10 12 Ecurie Dauphine Des WestIan Geoghegan Renault Dauphine 152 11 11 Ecurie Dauphine Bill PittLeo Geoghegan Renault Dauphine 151 DNF 17 V.W. Motors P/L Eddie PerkinsGeorge Reynolds Volkswagen 151 DNF 26 Australian Motor Industries Graham HoinvilleAustin Miller Triumph Herald 100 DNF 25 R. Christie Ray ChristieGeorge Hughes Simca Aronde 66 DNF 21 Chrysler Australia Ltd. (J.E. Murray) Jack Murray W Murison Simca Aronde Class C 1 34 Continental & General Dist. P/L Geoff RussellDavid AndersonTony Loxton Peugeot 403 167 2 41 British Motor Corp. Peter MantonBarry Topen Morris Major 164 3 38 British Motor Corp. George SpanosLeo Taylor Austin Lancer 161 4 35 Continental & General Dist. P/L Bob HoldenKen Brigden Peugeot 403 160 5 42 British Motor Corp. Brian MuirJim Smith Morris Major 160 6 43 British Motor Corp. Rod MurphyJohn Callaway Morris Major 159 7 45 Rootes (Aust) Limited Harry FirthJohn Reaburn Singer Gazelle 159 8 36 Continental & General Dist. P/L Ron LilleyJim Gullan Peugeot 403 157 9 39 British Motor Corp. Brian FoleyAlan Edney Austin Lancer 155 DNF 44 Rootes (Aust) Limited Bill ClemensDon Dunoon Hillman Minx DNF 40 British Motor Corp. Barry GurdonClyde Miller Austin Lancer 59 Class D 1 37 S. A. Chenery P/L John RoxburghFrank Coad Vauxhall Cresta 167 2 28 Australian Motor Industries Norm BeecheyJohn French Standard Vanguard 162 3 30 Autoland P/L Bob JaneLou Molina Ford XK Falcon 161 DNF 46 Rootes (Aust) Limited Bill GraetzFred Sutherland Humber Super Snipe 125 DNF 47 Smith Street Motors P/L Gavin YoulJohn Youl Mercedes-Benz 220SE 67 DNF 31 Wangaratta Motors Ron PhillipsErn Seeliger Ford XK Falcon 49 Class E 1 32 Sabina Motors P/L Ray GibbsMurray Carter Ford Customline 154 Statistics Fastest Lap - #47 Youl/Youl - 2:41 - Laps 15, 45 & 62Armstrong 500 20 November, 1960 - www.nmrm.com.au via web.archive.org Retrieved on 23 October 2013 Race Time of Car No. 37 : 8:20:45Armstrong 500 - 1960, Official Results, The Australian Light Car, Jan - Feb 1961 References A History of Australian Motor Sport, © 1980 Australian Motor Sport, Dec 1960 - Jan 1961 Australia's Greatest Motor Race The Complete History Tuckey Bill Lansdowne Press Sydney 1960: It seemed like a good idea at the time... 1981 66–73 Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1960–1989 The Age, Monday, 21 Nov 1960 The Book Of Australian Motor Racing, © 1964 Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999 The first 40 years Greenhalgh David Thomas B. Floyd Bill Tuckey Chevron Publishing Group Pty Limited Hornsby 1960 It seemed like a good idea at the time... 2000 1-875221-12-3 96–101 & 451 Further reading Da Silva Ivo Snow Madison The Great Race's first winner Frank Coad remembers a rough, hand-laid track, and a car that dealt with it https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-18/australias-first-great-race-winner-reflects-back-after-60-years/12776068 24 February 2024 ABC News 18 October 2020 en-AU External links race results 1960 Armstrong 500 images, autopics.com.au National Motor Racing Museum Category:Armstrong 500 Armstrong 500 Category:Motorsport at Phillip Island