The 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the 11th running of the Bathurst 500

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

race. It was held on 4 October 1970 at the

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour ...

just outside Bathurst. The race was open to standard production sedans competing in five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle (in Australian dollars). Allan Moffat won his first Bathurst endurance race, leading home

Bruce McPhee Bruce Alexander McPhee (11 February 1927 – 22 September 2009) was an Australian motor racing driver. He is most famous for winning the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 (now the Bathurst 1000), defeating both the Holden and Ford factory teams. Career ...

in a one-two result for the Ford works team and their Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II's. It was the fifth Phillip Island / Bathurst 500 victory for the factory team. Third, a lap behind the Fords, was Don Holland driving a

Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from an word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 19 ...

. Defending winners Colin Bond and Tony Roberts drove separate cars in the event. Bond finished 16th in his Holden Dealer Team Torana GTR XU-1 after having led the early laps, while Roberts was lucky to survive a spectacular accident when his

Ford Falcon GTHO The Ford Falcon GT is an automobile produced by Ford Australia from 1967 to 1976 as the performance version of its Falcon model range. Its production was resumed by a joint venture in 1992 and 1997 with Tickford, and then again between 2003 and 2 ...

crashed at Skyline only 6 laps from the finish. The Falcon spun backwards, leapt over the guard rail and rolled about 50 metres down the mountain before being stopped by a tree.

Class structure

Class A

For cars up to $1,960. It was made up of

Datsun 1200 The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 to 2006. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2006, the n ...

s, 1.3 litre Ford Escorts, Mazda 1300s and Toyota Corollas. A Datsun 1200 won the class with an average lap time of 3 minutes, 26 seconds.

Class B

The $1,961 to $2,400 class consisted of Datsun 1600,

Fiat 128 The Fiat 128 is a transverse front-engine, front wheel drive small family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1969 to 1985 as a two- or four-door sedan, three- or five-door station wagon as well as two- or three-door coupé. The 128 runni ...

, Ford Cortina and 2.6 litre

Holden Torana The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from an word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 19 ...

Class C

The $2,401 to $3,150 class saw a mix of two barrel carburettor Chrysler Valiant Pacer, 1.6 litre Ford Escort, 3.1 litre

and Morris Cooper S.

Class D

The $3,151 to $4,100 class featured only the four barrel carburettor Chrysler Valiant Pacer, a Fiat 125 and a Triumph 2.5 PI although a

Ford Capri The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...

was also entered but did not start.

Class E

For cars over $4,100. Apart from a single BMW 2800 and a Holden Monaro the class consisted only of Ford Falcon GTHO Phase II.

Top 10 Qualifiers

Results

Statistics

* Pole Position - #64 Allan Moffat - 2:49.3 * Fastest Lap - #53 Goss/Skelton - 2:53 (lap record) * Race time of winning car - 6:33:47

References

External links

1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500, www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au (includes Official Programme and race results)

Bathurst 1970 images, autopics.com.au
{{Australian Touring Car Racing Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales Hardie-Ferodo 500 October 1970 sports events in Australia