The 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was a production car race held on 6 October 1968 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was the ninth 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 ...

. For the first time factory supported teams of Ford and Holden V8s raced against each other, setting a pattern that continued in Australian racing into the 21st century. It was not one of the factory cars that won however. The race was won by the Wyong Motors entered

Holden Monaro The Holden Monaro ( ) is a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden in Australia from 1968 to 1975 and later reintroduced from 2001 to 2005. It was also manufactured as a 4-door sedan from 1973 to 1977. Three generations of ...

driven by

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 ...

(apart from one lap mid-race driven by

Barry Mulholland Barry Mulholland (14 June 1940 – 28 April 2006) was an Australian racing driver. While a skilled racing driver, Mulholland was more infamously known as Bruce McPhee's 'contractual obligation' co-driver. In endurance production touring cars McP ...

) who defeated the big teams with a tactical strategy of running a buffed hard wearing street tyre rather than a racing tyre. Initially Des West and Ron Marks were classified second but were later disqualified for illegal engine modifications. Second place was then awarded to the factory supported Holden Dealer Racing Team Holden Monaro of Jim Palmer (to that point the best finish by a New Zealander) and Phil West. The AM Roberts entered Holden Monaro driven by Tony Roberts and Bob Watson finished third. Future two-time Bathurst 1000 winner

Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice (born 21 October 1942), known to motor-racing fans as "Gricey", is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 (1986 and 1990), and as a privateer driver o ...

made his Mount Panorama debut in 1968. Driving with author Bill Tuckey in a Class D Fiat 124 Sport for

Scuderia Veloce Scuderia Veloce was an Australian motor racing team founded by journalist racer David McKay. The team, which competed in many motor racing categories in the 1960s, is regarded as the first professional motor racing operation in Australia. It w ...

, the pair finished the race in 18th outright and 9th in class, 11 laps down on the McPhee/Mulholland Monaro. Midge Whiteman and Christine Cole, driving in a Morris Mini De Luxe, contested the race as an all female duo, placing fifth in their class.

Class structure

Cars competed in five classes based on the purchase price (in Australian dollars) of the vehicle. 1968 Holden Monaro GTS 327 Bathurst winner (28421213031)

1968 Holden Monaro GTS 327 Bathurst winner (28421213031)

Barry Seton at the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 (2)

Class A

Class A was for cars which cost up to $1,850. It was contested by Datsun 1000,

Ford Cortina 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 fiv ...

, Hillman GT, Morris Mini De Luxe and Toyota Corolla.

Class B

The $1,851 to $2,250 class entries were dominated by the Datsun 1600, but also included Hillman Arrow, Hillman Gazelle and Morris 1100S.

Class C

The $2,251 to $3,000 class was contested by Ford Falcon,

Holden Kingswood The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was manufactured in Australia by GM Holden, from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1984. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden range of family cars ...

Fiat 125 The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommodat ...

and

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 ...

Class D

The $3,001 to $4,500 class featured the outright contenders,

Ford Falcon GT 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 an ...

and

GTS 327, and also included single entries of Chrysler VE Valiant, Fiat 124 Sport and Studebaker Lark.

Class E

For cars over $4,500, the class was contested by Alfa Romeo 1750 GTVs and a single Citroen DS21 Pallas.

Top 10 Qualifiers

Results

Note : Jack Nougher competed in car 44 under the name "Jack Eiffeltower" in this race.

Statistics

* Pole Position – No.13 Bruce McPhee – 2:56.7 * Fastest Lap – No.13 Bruce McPhee – 2:58 (lap record) * Average Speed – 119 km/h * Race time of winning car – 6:44:07

References

* * Bill Tuckey, Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1981, pages 130-137 * Racing Car News, November 1968, pages 24–32

External links

CAMS Manual reference to Australian titles

{{Australian Touring Car Racing Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales Hardie-Ferodo 500