1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000
The 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 14th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. This was the first race to be held under the new metricised distance of 1000 kilometres, rather than the 500 miles previously contested. It was held on 30 September 1973 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with four engine capacity based classes and it was the 3rd round of the 1973 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
Allan Moffat claimed his third win in the event and the long-awaited first win for Ian Geoghegan driving a Ford Falcon GT. It was also the seventh and final win for the factory Ford Australia racing team. Peter Brock and Doug Chivas lost the race after their Holden Torana ran out of fuel, forcing Chivas to push the car uphill along the pit lane to make it to the Holden Dealer Team pit bay. Despite this Brock and Chivas finished on the same lap as Moffat and Ian Geoghegan, ahead of their team mates Colin Bond and Leo Geoghegan, also on the same lap, in third position.
Class structure
Class A
The smallest class was for under 1300cc engine capacity. It was made up of Datsun 1200, Fiat 128, Honda Civic, Morris Cooper S and Renault R8.
Class B
The under two litre class saw a mix of Alfa Romeo GTV 2000, Datsun 180B, Ford Escort, Mazda RX-3 and Subaru 1400 GSR.
Class C
The under three litre class featured 2.8 litre Holden Torana and Mazda RX-2.
Class D
For cars over three litres of engine capacity, the class consisted of Chrysler Valiant Charger, Ford Falcon, Holden Monaro and the larger engined Toranas.
Top 10 Qualifiers
| Pos | No | Team | Driver | Car | Qual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pole | 5 | McLeod Ford |  John Goss
|
Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:33.4 |
| 2 | 1 | Holden Dealer Team | Peter Brock
|
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:34.4 |
| 3 | 9 | Ford Motor Company of Australia |  Allan Moffat
|
Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:34.5 |
| 4 | 4 | Bryan Byrt Ford | John French
|
Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:35.3 |
| 5 | 24 | Holden Dealer Team | Colin Bond
|
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:35.4 |
| 6 | 7 | Ron Hodgson Racing | Bob Morris
|
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:36.3 |
| 7 | 6 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Fred Gibson
|
Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 2:38.2 |
| 8 | 19 | Allan Grice
|
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:38.2 | |
| 9 | 2 | Bob Jane Racing | Bob Jane
|
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:39.3 |
| 10 | 3 | Don Holland
|
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2:40.5 |
Results
In part sourced from:[1]
Statistics
- Pole Position - #5 John Goss - 2:33.4
- Fastest Lap - #5 John Goss - 2:34.8 - Lap 2 (lap record)
- Average Speed - 137 km/h
- Race Time - 7:20:06.8
References
- ^ Greenhalgh, David; Thomas B. Floyd; Bill Tuckey (2000). Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999. Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 194–201 & 461. ISBN 1-875221-12-3.