1973 Sandown 250
The 1973 Sandown 250 was an endurance race for Group C Touring Cars. It was staged at Sandown in Victoria, Australia on 9 September 1973 over 130 laps of the 3.1 km circuit, a total distance of 403 km (250 mi).[1] The race was Round 2 of the 1973 Australian Manufacturers' Championship [1] and was the eighth in a sequence of annual endurance races now known as the Sandown 500.
The race was won by Peter Brock driving a Holden Torana GTR XU-1.[1]
Results
| Position [1] [2] [3] [4] | Drivers [1] [5] [2] [3] | No. [5] | Car [1] [5] [2] [3] [6] [7] | Entrant [5] | Laps [1] [2] [3] |
| 1 | Peter Brock | 1 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Holden Dealer Team | 130 |
| 2 | Colin Bond | 24 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Holden Dealer Team | 130 |
| 3 [8] | John Goss | 5 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | McLeod Ford - Shell Racing | 129 |
| 4 | Fred Gibson | 6 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Ford Motor Company of Australia | 129 |
| 5 | Murray Carter | 15 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Murray Carter - Shell Racing | 125 |
| 6 | Tony Niovanni | 21 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Peter Robinson Motors | 124 |
| 7 | Bob Morris, John Leffler | 7 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Ron Hodgson Motors | 124 |
| 8 | Rod McRae | 12 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Dustings of Burwood | 120 |
| 9 | Ray Harrison | 49 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | AF & M Beninca | 119 |
| 10 | Brian Ovenden | 31 | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | Tony Roberts Automotive Centre | |
| 11 | Ray Thackwell | 26 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Ray Thackwell Racing | |
| 12 | Geoff Perry | 48 | Mazda RX-3 | Mazda Racing Team | 118 |
| Class A : Up to 1300cc | |||||
| 1 | James Laing-Peach | 56 | Datsun 1200 Coupe | Datsun Racing Team | 113 |
| 2 | Lynne Brown | 58 | Morris Cooper S | Jack Haywood | |
| 3 | David Clement | 33 | Morris Cooper S | Clement Motors | 105 |
| 4 | David Jarrett | 32 | Morris Clubman GT | Shell Vimy Ridge Racing | |
| 5 | Noel Riley | 63 | Honda Civic | Bennett Honda | |
| 6 | Jon Leighton | 66 | Morris Cooper S | Mini-Bits | |
| ? | John Lord | 54 | Morris Cooper S | Lordco (Australia) Pty Ltd | |
| ? | Gary Leggatt | 60 | Morris Cooper S | Fourways Motors Bankstwon | |
| DNF | Geoff Newton | 57 | Morris Cooper S | G Newton | 21 |
| DNF | Peter Janson | 44 | Honda Civic | Honda Australia Pty Ltd | |
| Class B : 1301cc to 2000cc | |||||
| 1 | Ray Harrison | 49 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | AF & M Beninca | 119 |
| 2 | Geoff Perry | 48 | Mazda RX-3 | Mazda Racing Team | 118 |
| 3 | Bill Evans | 41 | Datsun 180B SSS | Datsun Racing Team | 109 |
| 4 | Wayne Thomson | 47 | Ford Escort GT1600 | WD Electrics | |
| DNF | Mel Mollison | 45 | Mazda RX-3 | Mazda Racing Team | 50 |
| DNF | Barry Lee | 51 | Ford Escort GT1600 | B Lee | |
| DNF | Bob Holden | 43 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Bryan Byrt Ford | |
| DNF | Graham Ritter | 42 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Strapp Ford | 7 |
| DNF | Tony Farrell | 39 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Tony Farrell | |
| Class C : 2001cc to 3000cc | |||||
| 1 | Gary Cooke | 35 | Mazda Capella RX-2 | James Mason Motors | 102 |
| 2 | George Garth | 36 | Holden Torana GTR | McLeod Kelso & Lee | 72 |
| Class D : Over 3000cc | |||||
| 1 | Peter Brock | 1 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Holden Dealer Team | 130 |
| 2 | Colin Bond | 24 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Holden Dealer Team | 130 |
| 3 | John Goss | 5 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | McLeod Ford - Shell Racing | 129 |
| 4 | Fred Gibson | 6 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Ford Motor Company of Australia | 129 |
| 5 | Murray Carter | 15 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Murray Carter - Shell Racing | 125 |
| 6 | Tony Niovanni | 21 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Peter Robinson Motors | 124 |
| 7 | Bob Morris, John Leffler | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Ron Hodgson Motors | 124 | |
| 8 | Rod McRae | 12 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Dustings of Burwood | 120 |
| 9 | Brian Ovenden | 31 | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | Tony Roberts Automotive Centre | |
| 10 | Ray Thackwell | 26 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Ray Thackwell Racing | |
| 11 | John Bassett | 18 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Stewart McLeod | |
| 12 | Ron Dickson | 8 | Holden Monaro GTS 308 4 Door | Muirs Motors Ashfield | |
| 13 | Robin Keitley | 97 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Robin Keitley | |
| 14 | Laurie Nelson | 88 | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | L Nelson | |
| DNF | Graeme Blanchard | 16 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Blanchard Motors | |
| DNF | John Harvey | 2 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | Bob Jane Racing | 57 |
| DNF | Pat Peck, Karen McPherson | 25 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | D&P Traders | |
| DNF | Robert Bride | 72 | Holden Torana GTR XU-1 | ACI Fibreglass | |
| DNF | Allan Moffat | 9 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Ford Motor Company of Australia | 52 |
| DNF | John French | 4 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Bryan Byrt Ford | 51 |
| DNF | Ian Geoghegan | 10 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Ford Motor Company of Australia | 2 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 124 & 125
- ^ a b c d Tom Naughton, Toranas 1-2, Racing Car News, October 1973, page 38-40
- ^ a b c d Brock turns the tables, Australian Motor Manual, November 1973, pages 66-67
- ^ Australian Motor Manual, November 1973, page 67 states that there were 43 starters and 27 finishers however more than 43 starters have been identified from quoted references
- ^ a b c d Official Programme, Sandown 250, 9 September 1973
- ^ The Australian Racing History of Ford, 1989, page 290
- ^ The Official Racing History of Holden, 1988, page 337
- ^ Racing Car News and Australian Motor Manual reports show Gibson 3rd and Goss 4th, however Australian Competition Yearbook and The Australian Racing History of Ford both show Goss 3rd and Gibson 4th