![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Mount_Panorama_1938-1986.png/250px-Mount_Panorama_1938-1986.png)
The 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the tenth running of the Bathurst 500 production car race. It was held on 5 October 1969 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. Cars competed in five classes based on purchase price (Australian dollars) of the vehicle.
The race was won by the newly formed Holden Dealer Team with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts with teammates Peter Brock and Des West finishing third in their Holden Monaro GTS350's, with the team's third car finishing sixth. In between them in second position was defending race winners Bruce McPhee and his single-lap co-driver Barry Mulholland driving a Phase 1 Ford Falcon GTHO. McPhee and Mulholland, who had won in 1968 driving the Holden Monaro GTS327, had originally intended to race a Monaro 350 in 1969 but after receiving no help from Holden, instead decided to race one of the new Falcons.
Peter Brock and Canadian Allan Moffat made their Bathurst débuts in the race. Brock with Harry Firth's Holden Dealer Team, and Moffat driving a works Falcon GTHO with Alan Hamilton. Between them, Brock and Moffat would go on to win 13 of the next 17 Bathurst 500/1000s (until 1987), with Brock winning a record nine times (all for Holden), and Moffat winning four times for Ford.
The Ford Works Team were the favourites to win the race with their new Falcon GTHOs which with their new 5.8-litre (351 cui) V8's proved to have a speed advantage over the 5.7-litre (350 cui) Monaros. However, the decision by Ford Works Team's American manager Al Turner to import special racing tyres for the Falcons proved to be a disaster. During the race numerous tyre failures put the Works cars out of contention. After early tyre failures on the Ian and Leo Geoghegan car, as well as the Fred Gibson and Barry Seton car, Turner called Moffat into the pits for a tyre change. There it was found that Moffat had been far easier on his tyres than either Ian Geoghegan or Seton and that the stop was not necessary. As of 2016, Moffat believes that this decision cost himself and co-driver Alan Hamilton the race win. The day after the race, Ford ran a full page newspaper advert stating "We were a little deflated" referring to the tyre failures.
1969 was also notable for the first lap crash which saw at least one third of the field forced to retire or continue with accident damage. Bill Brown rolled his Falcon GTHO coming through Skyline, all but blocking the track while John French, who qualified 21st, rolled his Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV trying to avoid the carnage that Brown's rollover caused. One driver lucky to escape the carnage was Allan Moffat who had pulled up just out of The Cutting on the first lap with his Falcon stuck in neutral. Once he got going he was able to weave through the bedlam at Skyline and continue on his way.[1] For Brown, it would be the first of three rollovers at Bathurst on the same piece of road (McPhillamy Park - Skyline), with the second in 1971 bringing a lucky escape from death.
Class structure
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Bond_Monaro_1970_Graham_Ruckert.jpg/220px-Bond_Monaro_1970_Graham_Ruckert.jpg)
Cars competed in five classes based on the purchase price (in Australian dollars) of the vehicle.
Class A
Class A was for cars which retailed for up to $1,860. It was made up of Datsun 1000, Hillman GT, Morris Mini K and Toyota Corolla.
Class B
The $1,861 to $2,250 class was dominated by the Datsun 1600, but also contained Ford Cortina, Hillman Gazelle, Morris 1500, Renault 10 and Volkswagen 1600.
Class C
The $2,251 to $3,100 class saw a mix of Chrysler Valiant, Fiat 125, Ford Capri, Mazda R100, Morris Cooper S and Renault 16.
Class D
The $3,101 to $4,500 class featured the outright contenders, Ford Falcon GTHO and Holden Monaro, but also contained a single Toyota Corona 1900.
Class E
For cars over $4,500, had a single automatic gearbox version of the Ford Falcon GT but otherwise was all Alfa Romeo with 1750 GTV and a single 1750 Berlina.
Top 10 Qualifiers
Pos | No | Entrant | Drivers | Car | Qual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pole | 59 | Ford Australia | ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 2:48.9 |
2 | 51 | Fair Deal Car Sales | ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 2:50.0 |
3 | 46 | Kloster Pty Ltd | ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 2:50.1 |
4 | 61 | Ford Australia | ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 2:53.6 |
5 | 60 | Ford Australia | ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 2:53.7 |
6 | 56 | Alto-Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 2:53.7 |
7 | 44 | Holden Dealer Team | ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 2:53.8 |
8 | 42 | Holden Dealer Team | ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 2:54.5 |
9 | 50 | McLeod Ford | ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 2:55.3 |
10 | 43 | Holden Dealer Team | ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 2:55.4 |
Results
Pos | Class | No | Entrant | Drivers | Car | Laps | Qual Pos |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | D | 44 | Holden Dealer Team | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 130 | 7 |
2 | D | 46 | Kloster Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 130 | 2 |
3 | D | 43 | Holden Dealer Team | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 130 | 10 |
4 | D | 61 | Ford Australia | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 129 | 4 |
5 | D | 59 | Ford Australia | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 128 | 1 |
6 | D | 42 | Holden Dealer Team | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 128 | 8 |
7 | D | 54 | Wright Ford Motors Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 127 | 18 |
8 | E | 71 | Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo | ![]() ![]() |
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 126 | 22 |
9 | E | 68 | C Smith | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GT Automatic | 126 | 20 |
10 | D | 58 | Byrt Ford | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 125 | 19 |
11 | E | 69 | Canberra Speed Shop | ![]() ![]() |
Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina | 122 | 27 |
12 | D | 63 | R Genders | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 122 | 24 |
13 | D | 48 | Rowell Thiele Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 121 | 11 |
14 | C | 30 | Waterloo High Performance Tuning Centre | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 119 | 36 |
15 | C | 38 | Grenville Motors P/L | ![]() ![]() |
Fiat 125 | 119 | 34 |
16 | C | 31 | Zanardo & Rodriguez Sales & Service | ![]() ![]() |
Fiat 125 | 119 | 37 |
17 | C | 22 | Graham Ryan Auto Repairs | ![]() ![]() |
Chrysler Valiant Pacer | 118 | 30 |
18 | B | 18 | W.H. Motors | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 117 | 41 |
19 | C | 25 | G Cooke | ![]() ![]() |
Mazda R100 | 117 | 35 |
20 | C | 32 | Marque Motors | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 117 | 33 |
21 | C | 23 | Trevor Mason Developments | ![]() ![]() |
Mazda R100 | 117 | 32 |
22 | C | 26 | Regal Motors Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 117 | 45 |
23 | B | 15 | Datsun Racing Team | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 117 | 44 |
24 | B | 17 | W.H. Motors | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 114 | 43 |
25 | B | 19 | McInnes Automotive Conversions | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 114 | 51 |
26 | D | 57 | P Bradford | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 114 | 17 |
27 | B | 14 | Datsun Racing Team | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 113 | 46 |
28 | C | 28 | D Frazer | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 113 | 42 |
29 | A | 2 | AMI Toyota | ![]() ![]() |
Toyota Corolla | 112 | 52 |
30 | A | 6 | Datsun Racing Team | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1000 | 110 | 55 |
31 | B | 20 | McLeod Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford Cortina Mk.II 240 | 108 | 57 |
32 | B | 10 | Provincial Motors Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Volkswagen 1600 | 107 | 58 |
33 | C | 27 | President Car Sales | ![]() ![]() |
Renault 16TS | 107 | 53 |
34 | A | 7 | Kent BMC | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Mini K | 104 | 61 |
35 | B | 9 | R Edgerton | ![]() ![]() |
Renault 10 | 100 | 62 |
36 | A | 8 | P & R Williams | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Mini K | 99 | 63 |
37 | B | 12 | R. G. Lanyon | ![]() ![]() |
Morris 1500 | 97 | 56 |
38 | D | 52 | Harry Gapps Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 94 | 23 |
39 | A | 4 | C.J. Cronin | ![]() ![]() |
Toyota Corolla | 93 | 60 |
40 | C | 35 | T Meehan | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 93 | 39 |
41 | B | 16 | M.T.R. Services | ![]() ![]() |
Hillman Gazelle | 84 | 49 |
42 | C | 36 | E.M. Automation Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 82 | 29 |
DNF | D | 51 | Fair Deal Car Sales | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 96 | 2 |
DNF | D | 60 | Ford Australia | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 93 | 5 |
DNF | C | 24 | K Grose | ![]() ![]() |
Ford Capri Mk.I 1600GT | 92 | 38 |
DNF | A | 1 | A Johns | ![]() ![]() |
Hillman GT | 88 | 59 |
DNF | C | 37 | Grand Prix Auto Services | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 82 | 47 |
DNF | D | 56 | Alto-Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 78 | 6 |
DNF | D | 45 | AMI Toyota | ![]() ![]() |
Toyota Corona 1900SL | 78 | 28 |
DNF | B | 21 | M.T.R. Services | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 73 | 64 |
DNF | D | 50 | McLeod Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 50 | 9 |
DNF | C | 33 | Brian Foley Motors Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Fiat 125 | 48 | 40 |
DNF | D | 62 | Anthony Horden & Sons Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 45 | 15 |
DNF | D | 64 | Boyded of Bankstown | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 44 | 13 |
DNF | D | 53 | B Arentz | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 36 | 12 |
DNF | C | 39 | D.H. Whitehead | ![]() ![]() |
Mazda R100 | 31 | 31 |
DNF | B | 11 | Dependable Motor Sales Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1600 | 4 | 50 |
DNF | C | 29 | Central Motors Penrith P/L | ![]() ![]() |
Ford Capri Mk.I 1600GT | 1 | 48 |
DNF | D | 55 | Alto-Ford Pty Ltd | ![]() ![]() |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 0 | 16 |
DNF | E | 72 | Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo | ![]() ![]() |
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 0 | 21 |
DNF | E | 67 | Bryan Thomson Motors | ![]() ![]() |
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 0 | 25 |
DNF | C | 34 | Varsity Auto Centre | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S | 0 | 27 |
DSQ | A | 3 | AMI Toyota | ![]() ![]() |
Toyota Corolla | 103 | 54 |
DNS[2] | D[2] | 49[2] | Young & Green Pty. Ltd.[2] | ![]() ![]() |
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 15 | |
DNS [2] | C [2] | 40 [2] | Teterin Engineering Pty. Ltd.[2] | ![]() ![]() |
Morris Cooper S[2] | ||
DNS [2] | A [2] | 5 [2] | Datsun Racing Team [2] | ![]() ![]() |
Datsun 1000[2] |
Statistics
- Pole Position - #59 Ian Geoghegan - 2:48.9
- Fastest Lap - #61 Moffat/Hamilton & #60 Gibson/Seton - 2:52.1 (lap record)
- Race time of winning car: 6:32:25 [2]
- Fastest Flying 1⁄8 : Bruce McPhee & Barry Mulholland (Ford Falcon GTHO): 135.95 mph [2]
References
- Greenhalgh, David; Thomas B. Floyd; Bill Tuckey (2000). Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999. Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 162–169 & 457. ISBN 1-875221-12-3.