1965 Ford Cortina GT500 sedan, Bathurst winner (18454139776)

The 1965 Armstrong 500 was the sixth running of the

Bathurst 500 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rec ...

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 3 October 1965 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 Hou ...

just outside

Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The race was open to Australian assembled or manufactured vehicles and, for the first time, to imported vehicles, of which at least 100 examples and 250 examples respectively had been registered in Australia.Australian Motor Manual, August 1965, page 4 Cars competed in four classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian pounds. Prize money was on offer only for class placings however the Armstrong Trophy was presented to the entrant of the outright winning car, this being the first time in the history of the event that there had been an official award for the outright winner. The outright winning car was the Ford Cortina Mk.I GT500 entered by Fairfield Motors and driven by

Barry Seton Barry Seton (known as 'Bo'), (born 5 October 1936), is an Australian racing driver. He won the Bathurst 500 (500-mile race, about 800 km) in 1965 with co-driver Midge Bosworth driving a Ford Cortina GT500.

and emerging young driver

Midge Bosworth Midge Bosworth (born 23 June 1941) is a former Australian racing driver. Bosworth raced in the 1960s and is most remembered for winning the 1965 Bathurst 500, co-driving with Barry Seton in a Fairfield Motors entered Ford Cortina GT500. It ...

. Second was the Grawill Motors entered Cortina driven mainly by Bruce McPhee with one lap driven by Barry Mulholland. Third, and one lap behind the two Cortina was the factory entered

Morris Cooper S The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

of Brian Foley and Peter Manton.

Class structure

Class A

Class A was for cars under £920. It was contested by Datsun Bluebird,

Fiat 850 The Fiat 850 (''Tipo 100G'') is a small rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car manufactured and marketed by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1964 to 1973. History Overview Its technical design was an evolution of the successful Fiat 600. The interna ...

, 1.5 litre Ford Cortina 220, Morris Mini de Luxe and

Vauxhall Viva The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated as the HA, HB and HC series. The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fellow GM compa ...

, although all the Datsuns were withdrawn prior to race start due to wheel cracking failures.

Class B

The £921 to £1,020 class featured 1.5 litre Ford Cortina 240,

Isuzu Bellett The Isuzu Bellett is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Isuzu between 1963 and 1973. Designed by Isuzu, the Bellett replaced the Isuzu Hillman Minx, manufactured by Isuzu under license with the Rootes Group. The car was av ...

, Morris Cooper, Renault R8 and

Toyota Corona The is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota across eleven generations between 1957 and 2001. On launch, the Corona was Toyota's next to highest product in their range, just below the Crown. The Corona was marketed ...

Class C

The £1,021 to £1,300 class was dominated by the

, but also contained

Chrysler Valiant Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

, Ford Cortina GT and

Holden HD X2 The Holden HD series is a range of automobiles which were produced by Holden in Australia from 1965 to 1966. Overview The Holden HD Sedan (car), sedans and station wagons were released in February 1965 with coupe utility and panel van body styl ...

Class D

The £1,301 to £2,000 class featured the first of what came to be known as the 'Bathurst specials', the

Ford Cortina GT500 The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in five ...

named for the race. The class also contained Fiat 2300, Humber Vogue,

Studebaker Lark The Studebaker Lark is a compact car that was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966. From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" fr ...

Triumph 2000 The Triumph 2000 is a mid-sized, rear wheel drive automobile which was produced in Coventry by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. It was introduced on 15 October 1963. It was styled by Giovanni Michelotti. It competed with the ...

and

Volvo 122 122 may refer to: *122 (number), a natural number * AD 122, a year in the 2nd century AD * 122 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * ''122'' (film), a 2019 Egyptian psychological horror film *" One Twenty Two", a 2022 single by the American rock band B ...

Results

Statistics

* Fastest Lap – #29 Brian Foley – 3:13.7 (lap record) * Average Speed – 110 km/h * Race time of first car home – 7:16:45.1Why Cortinas Win, Modern Motor, December 1965, pages 38 to 41 + 66 to 67

References

External links

1965 Armstrong 500 race summary, race results and video, www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au

Bathurst 1965 images, autopics.com.au
{{Australian Touring Car Racing Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales Armstrong 500 Armstrong 500