1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000

1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000

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The 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was a motor race for Group C Touring Cars, held on 2 October 1977 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was the 18th in a sequence of "Bathurst 1000" events commencing with the 1960 Armstrong 500.

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)

The race was won by Allan Moffat for a record-equalling fourth time, driving with multiple Formula One Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Belgian legend Jacky Ickx. They finished in side-by-side formation with the Moffat Ford Dealers team's second Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop driven by Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton in the most dominant team performance seen at the race (Hamilton got the drive after Bond's original nominated co-driver Gregg Hansford was unavailable due to injury from a motorcycle racing accident). Third was the first of the new A9X Hatchback Holden Toranas, a privateer entry driven by Peter Janson and Australian Formula One driver Larry Perkins.

Years after the event, Colin Bond stated that he wished he had powered past Moffat's ailing Falcon (Moffat's Falcon was out of brakes due to Ickx being too hard on them during his stint at the wheel) and won the race instead of playing to team orders (which came from team boss Moffat) to stay behind and let the #1 Ford win the race. Moffat also stated that during the race he had offered Bond a drive in his car, which would have seen Bond join Moffat and Ickx as winners, but the 1969 winner had declined preferring to continue in car #2. Moffat has also stated that as team owner he had no regrets about ordering Bond to remain behind as they were over a lap in front of the Torana driven by Janson / Perkins Torana and the pole winning Torana of Peter and Phil Brock, but had the Torana's been on the same lap and closing in, Bond would have been free to leave him behind and win the race for the Moffat Ford Dealers team.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Johnny Rutherford made his only start in this race alongside his teammate Janet Guthrie, a fellow USAC Marlboro Championship Trail driver and the first woman to ever qualify for the Indianapolis 500 only months before. The pair drove the second of the Ron Hodgson Motors entered Toranas alongside defending race winners Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick. Morris and Fitzpatrick drove one of the Torana A9X 4-Door sedans while Rutherford and Guthrie drove an A9X Hatchback. "Lone Star JR" qualified the Torana in 26th position, but during practice complained that his car wasn't as good as the Morris / Fitzpatrick car. To prove that it wasn't the car and it was just Rutherford's unfamiliarity with both the track and a right hand drive saloon, Morris ran a number of laps in practice in the car which were over 5 seconds faster than the Indy 500 winner had achieved. Although this actually qualified Morris in the car as he had been cross-entered, under the regulations Rutherford's fastest time of 2:34.8 was its official qualifying time as no driver could qualify another car for grid position other than their own nominated entry. The car carried the #17. As of the 2020 race this was the last time that number would be used by anyone other than Dick Johnson or his team Dick Johnson Racing (Johnson's Falcon carried the #13 in the race).

With the exception of 1988 and 2022, 1977 was the last time that the full grid at Bathurst was decided in the traditional qualifying sessions. 1978 would see the introduction of the "Hardies Heroes" top 10 runoff for pole where the fastest eight qualifiers, plus two at the stewards invitation, would have a chance at pole position with a runoff held the day before the race. The runoff was devised by race broadcaster Channel 7 and the race promoters, the Australian Racing Drivers' Club (ARDC) for extra television time.

1977 was also the last year in which four time race winner Harry Firth would be at Bathurst as either a driver or team manager. After having led the Holden Dealer Team since its formation in 1969, Firth, the 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1967 race winner, had announced his retirement. Firth, who won the last race held at Phillip Island in 1962 and the first held at Bathurst in 1963, as well as driving the first V8 powered car to victory in 1967, would go on to be CAMS Chief Scrutineer from 1978 to 1981 before retiring from the sport completely. During his time as HDT Team Manager, the Dealer Team had won Bathurst in 1969 with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts driving a Holden HT Monaro GTS350, and again in 1972 when Peter Brock took his first win driving a Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1.

Allan Moffat and Jacky Ickx won the race driving a Ford Falcon XC

Peter Janson and Larry Perkins placed third in a Holden LX Torana SS A9X. (Car pictured in 2015)

Charlie O'Brien and Ron Harrop placed fifth in a Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X entered by the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team

Class structure

Cars competed in three engine displacement classes:

3001cc – 6000cc

The class was contested by Holden Torana and Ford Falcon entries.

2001cc – 3000cc

The class was contested by Mazda RX3, Ford Capri and BMW 3.0Si entries.

Up to 2000cc

The class was contested by Alfa Romeo Alfetta and 2000 GTV, BMW 2002, Ford Escort RS2000, Holden Gemini, Toyota Celica, Triumph Dolomite and Volkswagen Golf entries.

Top 10 Qualifiers

1977 would be the final year (with the exception of 1988 and 2022) that official qualifying would count for the entire grid. From 1978, race broadcaster Channel 7 and the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) would introduce the Hardies Heroes top 10 runoff for the fastest 8 qualifiers and two invitees to have the chance to go for pole position on the Saturday. Hardies Heroes would also provide extra coverage time for Channel 7.

Pos	No	Team	Driver	Car	Qual
Pole	25	Bill Patterson Racing	Peter Brock	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:24.1
2	2	Moffat Ford Dealers	Colin Bond	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	2:25.2
3	1	Moffat Ford Dealers	Allan Moffat	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	2:25.6
4	6	Craven Mild Racing	Allan Grice	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:25.8
5	3	Bob Jane 2UW Racing	Ian Geoghegan	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:25.9
6	10	Melford Motors	Jim Richards	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	2:26.0
7	7	Ron Hodgson Motors	Bob Morris	Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X 4-Door	2:26.6
8	14	Holden Dealer Team	John Harvey	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:26.8
9	4	John Goss Racing Pty Limited	Jack Brabham	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	2:26.9
10	8	Holden Dealer Team	Charlie O'Brien	Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X 4-Door	2:27.2

Results

Pos	Class^[1]	No^[1]	Entrant^[1]	Drivers	Car	Laps	Qual Pos
1	3001cc – 6000cc	1	Moffat Ford Dealers	Allan Moffat   Jacky Ickx	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	163	3
2	3001cc – 6000cc	2	Moffat Ford Dealers	Colin Bond   Alan Hamilton	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	163	2
3	3001cc – 6000cc	15	NGK Janson	Peter Janson   Larry Perkins	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	162	13
4	3001cc – 6000cc	25	Bill Patterson Racing	Peter Brock   Phil Brock	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	162	1
5	3001cc – 6000cc	8	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	Charlie O'Brien   Ron Harrop	Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X 4-Door	162	10
6	2001cc – 3000cc	33	Amco Pty Limited	Barry Seton   Don Smith	Ford Capri Mk.I	154	27
7	3001cc – 6000cc	26	Bill Patterson Racing	Tony Roberts   Doug Chivas	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34	154	21
8	Up to 2000cc	58	Brian Foley Pty Limited	Derek Bell   Garry Leggatt	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV	150	37
9	Up to 2000cc	69	Brian Wood Ford	Rod Stevens   Tony Farrell	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I	150	41
10	3001cc – 6000cc	12	Pioneer Electronics	Ron Dickson   Fred Gibson	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	147	22
11	Up to 2000cc	59	Douglas Hi Fi	Frank Porter   Jim Murcott	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTAm	146	47
12	Up to 2000cc	61	Ray Gulson	Ray Gulson   David Crowther	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV	145	48
13	2001cc – 3000cc	43	Larry Dixon's Great Doncaster Road Motor Show	Nick Louis   Ted Brewster	Mazda RX-3	145	45
14	2001cc – 3000cc	38	Quick Fit Spares and Accessories	Phil McDonnell   Jim Hunter	BMW 3.0Si	144	35
15	2001cc – 3000cc	45	Mayrack Manufacturers Pty Ltd	Gary Cooke   Ben Penhall	Mazda RX-3	143	51
16	2001cc – 3000cc	46	Bill Shiells	Bill Shiells   Frank Radisich	Mazda RX-3	142	58
17	3001cc – 6000cc	30	Scotty Taylor Holden	Alan "Scotty" Taylor   Kevin Kennedy	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34	141	25
18	3001cc – 6000cc	4	John Goss Racing Pty Limited	Jack Brabham   Geoff Brabham	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	141	9
19	Up to 2000cc	51	Kevin Fischer	Eric Boord   Keith Poole	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	138	42
20	Up to 2000cc	55	Terry Daly	Terry Daly   Barry Jones	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	137	43
21	Up to 2000cc	63	Robin Dudfield	Robin Dudfield   Tony Niovanni	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV	131	56
22	2001cc – 3000cc	32	James Mason Motors Pty Ltd	Lynn Brown   Bruce Stewart	Mazda RX-3	129	40
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	11	Bob Forbes	Bob Forbes   Kevin Bartlett	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	147	11
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	20	Roadways/Gown Hindhaugh	Garth Wigston   Bruce Hindhaugh	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	144	14
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	6	Craven Mild Racing	Allan Grice   Frank Gardner	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	140	4
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	13	Bryan Byrt Ford	Dick Johnson   Vern Schuppan	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	124	15
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	5	John Goss Racing Pty Limited	John Goss   Henri Pescarolo	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	113	16
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	7	Ron Hodgson Motors	Bob Morris   John Fitzpatrick	Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X 4-Door	111	7
DNF	Up to 2000cc	56	De Bortolis Wines Pty Limited	Bruce Hodgson   Dave Morrow	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	107	52
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	24	Bill Patterson Racing	Gerry Marshall   Basil van Rooyen	Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X 4-Door	107	18
DNF	Up to 2000cc	68	Chevelle Motors Pty Limited	Phil Ward   Phil Lucas	BMW 2002 Tii	106	55
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	42	Craven Mild Racing	Yoshimi Katayama   Geoff Leeds	Mazda RX-3	103	38
NC	3001cc – 6000cc	23	Rusty French	Rusty French   Leo Leonard	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	99	17
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	34	Amco Pty Limited	Russell Skaife   Sue Ransom	Ford Capri Mk.I	98	36
DNF	Up to 2000cc	67	Bob Glazier	Peter Granger   Ian Richards	BMW 2002 Tii	96	57
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	40	ATP (Australia) Pty Limited	Alan Cant   Satoru Nakajima	Ford Capri Mk.I	95	32
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	47	Brian Wood Ford	Ray Farrar   Geoff Wade	Ford Capri Mk.I	93	60
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	14	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	John Harvey   Wayne Negus	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	91	8
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	19	Ian Diffen	Ian Diffen   Tim Slako	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34	90	19
DNF	Up to 2000cc	49	Bob Holden Shell Sport	Lyndon Arnel   Richard Carter	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	88	46
DNF	Up to 2000cc	50	Bob Holden Shell Sport	Bob Holden   Ian Messner	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	84	49
NC	3001cc – 6000cc	28	Henderson's Federal Spring Works	Jim Keogh   Graham Ritter	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	82	20
DNF	Up to 2000cc	60	Peter Williamson Pty Limited	Peter Williamson   Gary Scott	Toyota Celica	76	34
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	41	Warren Torr	John Duggan   Brian Wheeler	Mazda RX-3	72	44
DNF	Up to 2000cc	62	Gill Gordon Alfa	Peter Hopwood   Warwick Henderson	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTAm	65	53
DNF	Up to 2000cc	53	Lennox Motors	Chris Heyer   Rudi Dahlhauser	Volkswagen Golf GTi	62	50
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	29	Bond's Coats Patents	Graham Ryan   Phillip Arnull	Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X 4-Door	57	23
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	10	Melford Motors	Jim Richards   Rod Coppins	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	53	6
DNF	Up to 2000cc	54	Nev Ham Pty Limited	Rod Morris   Paul Gulson	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	46	54
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	36	Les Grose	Bill Stanley   Les Grose	Ford Capri Mk.I	46	33
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	37	Lakis Manticas	Graham Moore   Lakis Manticas	Ford Capri RS3100 Mk.I	46	28
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	22	Pioneer Electronics	Warren Cullen   Brian Sampson	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	39	24
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	18	Brian Wood Ford	Murray Carter   Bob Stevens	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	38	12
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	3	Bob Jane 2UW Racing	Bob Jane   Ian Geoghegan	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	35	5
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	27	Rod Donovan	Rod Donovan   Ron Lindau	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	31	29
DNF	3001cc – 6000cc	17	Ron Hodgson Motors	Johnny Rutherford   Janet Guthrie	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	13	26
DNF	Up to 2000cc	65	Ken Mathews Rose Bay	James Laing-Peach   Bill Evans	Triumph Dolomite Sprint	12	39
DNF	Up to 2000cc	73	Barry Sheales Holden	Allan Gough   Kel Gough	Holden Gemini	7	59
DNF	2001cc – 3000cc	39	Lawrie Nelson	Lawrie Nelson   Brian Reed	Ford Capri Mk.I	6	30
DSQ	2001cc – 3000cc	46	Terry Shiel	Terry Shiel   Don Holland	Mazda RX-3	152	31
DNQ	Up to 2000cc	57	Fred's Treads Pty Ltd	Gordon Rich   Ron Gillard	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV

Statistics

• Pole position - #25 Peter Brock - 2:24.1
• Fastest lap - #1 Allan Moffat - 2:26.4 (lap record)
• Race time of winning car - 6:59:07.8
• Average speed of winning car- 144 km/h (89 mph)

References

1. Entry List, Official Programme, Hardie Ferodo 1000, Mount Panorama, Bathurst, 2 October 1977, pages 36 & 37

• Greenhalgh, David; Thomas B. Floyd; Bill Tuckey (2000). Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999. Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 226–233 & 465. ISBN 1-875221-12-3.

External links

• Race results at touringcarracing.net
• Race results at www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au
• Images at www.autopics.com.au