1985 Castrol 500
The 1985 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for "Group A" Touring Cars staged at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit in Victoria on 15 September 1985. Race distance was 129 laps of the 3.878 km (1.928 mi) circuit, totaling 500.262 km.
The field was divided into three classes according to engine displacement.
- Class A : 3001cc to 6000cc
- Class B : 2001cc to 3000cc
- Class C : Up to 2000cc
The event was Round 3 of both the 1985 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1985 Australian Manufacturers' Championship. There were 36 starters, of whom 18 were classified as finishers.
The race was won by the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of Australian Touring Car Champion Jim Richards, and his co-driver Tony Longhurst. It was Longhurst's first major win in Australian touring car racing. JPS Team BMW made it a 1-2 finish when their second car, driven by Neville Crichton and on-loan Nissan team driver George Fury finished only a few seconds behind. Finishing in third place was the surprising Toyota Supra of Peter Williamson and 1985 Formula Ford Driver to Europe champion Tomas Mezera.
The 1985 Castrol 500 was the first time since 1972 that neither Peter Brock or Allan Moffat had won the Sandown enduro. 1984 Castrol 500 winner Brock, who claimed pole position with a time of 1:52.3 in his Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore, suffered engine failure after 41 laps, while Moffat, who was without a drive in 1985 due to Mazda not racing in Group A, was part of the ABC television commentary team.
Before his retirement, Brock set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:53.7.
Results are given below.
Results
Top 10 Qualifiers
| Pos | No | Team | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pole | 05 | Mobil Holden Dealer Team |  Peter Brock
|
Holden VK Commodore | 1:52.3 |
| 2 | 6 | Roadways Racing Services Super K-Mart |
Allan Grice
|
Holden VK Commodore | 1:52.4 |
| 3 | 17 | Palmer Tube Mills | Dick Johnson
|
Ford Mustang GT | 1:52.4 |
| 4 | 1 | JPS Team BMW |  Jim Richards
|
BMW 635 CSi | 1:52.7 |
| 5 | 55 | Mark Petch Motorsport | Robbie Francevic
|
Volvo 240T | 1:52.9 |
| 6 | 43 | Mitsubishi Ralliart | Peter Fitzgerald
|
Mitsubishi Starion turbo | 1:53.3 |
| 7 | 7 | Mobil Holden Dealer Team | John Harvey
|
Holden VK Commodore | 1:53.7 |
| 8 | 42 | Mitsubishi Ralliart | Kevin Bartlett
|
Mitsubishi Starion turbo | 1:54.4 |
| 9 | 31 | JPS Team BMW | George Fury
|
BMW 635 CSi | 1:54.4 |
| 10 | 3 | H. Kent Baigent | Neal Lowe
|
BMW 635 CSi | 1:54.4 |
Race
| Position | Class | No. | Entrant | Drivers | Car | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 1 | JPS Team BMW | Jim Richards Tony Longhurst
|
BMW 635 CSi | 129 |
| 2 | A | 31 | JPS Team BMW | Neville Crichton George Fury
|
BMW 635 CSi | 129 |
| 3 | B | 44 | Peter Williamson Toyota | Peter Williamson Tomas Mezera
|
Toyota Supra | 127 |
| 4 | B | 47 | Network Alfa | Colin Bond Gregg Hansford
|
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 | 126 |
| 5 | A | 36 | Lusty Engineering | Graham Lusty Ken Lusty
|
Holden VK Commodore | 123 |
| 6 | A | 39 | Sleepy Head Bedding Co. | Graham Bowkett Wayne Wilkinson
|
Holden VK Commodore | 123 |
| 7 | A | 14 | Auckland Coin & Bullion Exchange Co. | Denny Hulme Ray Smith
|
Holden VK Commodore | 121 |
| 8 | A | 13 | Grellis Marketing | Ray Ellis Bernie McLure
|
Holden VK Commodore | 121 |
| 9 | C | 61 | Toyota Team Australia | Ray Cutchie John Faulkner
|
Toyota Sprinter | 115 |
| 10 | C | 57 | Bob Holden Motors | Bob Holden Glenn Clark
|
Toyota Sprinter | 115 |
| 11 | C | 58 | David Ratcliff | David Ratcliff Don Smith
|
Toyota Sprinter | 114 |
| 12 | C | 65 | J. White | John White Les Szreniawski
|
Isuzu Gemini ZZ | 112 |
| 13 | B | 45 | Ray Gulson | Ray Gulson Frank Porter
|
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 | 111 |
| 14 | B | 62 | John Craft | John Craft Les Grose
|
Ford Capri | 107 |
| 15 | B | 52 | Pat Hogbin John Hogbin
|
Ford Capri | 102 | |
| 16 | A | 64 | K. Harrison | Ken Harrison Ian Wells
|
Ford Escort | 100 |
| 17 | B | 50 | J. L. Hazelton | Laurie Hazelton Jerry Stauberg
|
Ford Capri | 100 |
| 18 | B | 42 | Mitsubishi Ralliart | Kevin Bartlett Peter McKay
|
Mitsubishi Starion turbo | 100 |
| 19 | C | 17 | Dick Johnson Racing | Dick Johnson Larry Perkins
|
Ford Mustang GT | 92 |
| 20 | A | 66 | Jagparts Racing | Lorraine Orchard Paul Taylor
|
Triumph Dolomite | 84 |
| 21 | B | 54 | Melbourne Clutch & Brake | Brian Sampson Garry Waldon
|
Mitsubishi Starion turbo | 51 |
| DNF | C | 41 | Barry Jones | Barry Jones Tony Mulvihill
|
Holden VK Commodore | 92 |
| DNF | A | 27 | Jagparts Racing | Gerald Kay Martin Power
|
Holden VK Commodore | 92 |
| DNF | A | 12 | Gary Willmington | Gary Willmington Peter Janson
|
Jaguar XJS | 81 |
| DNF | A | 7 | Mobil Holden Dealer Team | John Harvey David Parsons
|
Holden VK Commodore | 78 |
| DNF | A | 6 | Roadways Racing Services Super K-Mart |
Allan Grice Warren Cullen
|
Holden VK Commodore | 68 |
| DNF | A | 60 | Toyota Team Australia | John Smith Drew Price
|
Toyota Corolla | 66 |
| DNF | B | 49 | John Bundy | John Bundy Norm Carr
|
Mazda RX-7 | 65 |
| DNF | B | 55 | Mark Petch Motorsport | Robbie Francevic John Bowe
|
Volvo 240T | 60 |
| DNF | B | 43 | Mitsubishi Ralliart | Peter Fitzgerald Brad Jones
|
Mitsubishi Starion turbo | 50 |
| DNF | A | 21 | Erle McRae Motor Sport | Charlie O'Brien Andrew Miedecke
|
BMW 635 CSi | 50 |
| DNF | A | 05 | Mobil Holden Dealer Team | Peter Brock David Oxton
|
Holden VK Commodore | 41 |
| DNF | A | 28 | Capri Components | Lawrie Nelson Bill O'Brien
|
Ford Mustang GT | 41 |
| DNF | A | 20 | Jim Keogh | Jim Keogh Garry Rogers
|
BMW 635 CSi | 39 |
| DNF | A | 3 | H. Kent Baigent | Kent Baigent Neal Lowe
|
BMW 635 CSi | 38 |
| DNF | B | 56 | M.Minear | Mike Minear Paul Elliott
|
Volvo 360GLT | 22 |
Notes
- Pole Position: #05 Peter Brock - Holden VK Commodore - 1:52.3
- Fastest Lap: #05 Peter Brock - Holden VK Commodore - 1:53.7
- Race Time: 4:12:26.4
References
- Australian Motor Racing Year, 1985/86
- James Hardie 1000, 1985/86
- Official Programme, Castrol 500, 14 and 15 September 1985
- The Australian Racing History of Ford, 1989
- The Official Racing History of Holden, 1988