1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500
# 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500

The 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was a production car race held on 6 October 1968 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was the ninth running of the Bathurst 500.

For the first time factory supported teams of Ford and Holden V8s raced against each other, setting a pattern that continued in Australian racing into the 21st century. It was not one of the factory cars that won however. The race was won by the Wyong Motors entered Holden Monaro driven by Bruce McPhee (apart from one lap mid-race driven by Barry Mulholland) who defeated the big teams with a tactical strategy of running a buffed hard wearing street tyre rather than a racing tyre. Initially Des West and Ron Marks were classified second but were later disqualified for illegal engine modifications. Second place was then awarded to the factory supported Holden Dealer Racing Team Holden Monaro of Jim Palmer (to that point the best finish by a New Zealander) and Phil West. The AM Roberts entered Holden Monaro driven by Tony Roberts and Bob Watson finished third.

Future two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Allan Grice made his Mount Panorama debut in 1968. Driving with author Bill Tuckey in a Class D Fiat 124 Sport for Scuderia Veloce, the pair finished the race in 18th outright and 9th in class, 11 laps down on the McPhee/Mulholland Monaro.

Midge Whiteman and Christine Cole, driving in a Morris Mini De Luxe, contested the race as an all female duo, placing fifth in their class.

## Class structure

Cars competed in five classes based on the purchase price (in Australian dollars) of the vehicle.

### Class A

Class A was for cars which cost up to $1,850. It was contested by Datsun 1000, Ford Cortina, Hillman GT, Morris Mini De Luxe and Toyota Corolla.

### Class B

The $1,851 to $2,250 class entries were dominated by the Datsun 1600, but also included Hillman Arrow, Hillman Gazelle and Morris 1100S.

### Class C

The $2,251 to $3,000 class was contested by Ford Falcon, Holden Kingswood, Fiat 125 and Morris Cooper S.

### Class D

The $3,001 to $4,500 class featured the outright contenders, Ford Falcon GT and Holden Monaro GTS 327, and also included single entries of Chrysler VE Valiant, Fiat 124 Sport and Studebaker Lark.

### Class E

For cars over $4,500, the class was contested by Alfa Romeo 1750 GTVs and a single Citroen DS21 Pallas.

## Top 10 Qualifiers

| Pos | No | Team | Driver | Car | Qual |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pole | 13 | Wyong Motors Pty Ltd | Bruce McPhee | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 2:56.7 |
| 2 | 14 | Lorack Motors (Granville) Pty Ltd | Des West | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 2:56.9 |
| 3 | 23 | Holden Dealer Racing Team | Paul Hawkins | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 2:59.3 |
| 4 | 8 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Ian Geoghegan | Ford XT Falcon GT | 2:59.8 |
| 5 | 25 | Holden Dealer Racing Team | Brian Muir | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 3:00.1 |
| 6 | 24 | Holden Dealer Racing Team | Jim Palmer | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 3:00.5 |
| 7 | 7 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Spencer Martin | Ford XR Falcon GT Auto | 3:00.5 |
| 8 | 9 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Fred Gibson | Ford XT Falcon GT | 3:00.9 |
| 9 | 15 | AM Roberts | Tony Roberts | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 3:02.1 |
| 10 | 3 | Brian Foley Motors | Brian Foley | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 3:02.4 |

## Results

| Pos | Class | No | Entrant | Drivers | Car | Laps | Qual Pos |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | D | 13 | Wyong Motors Pty Ltd | Bruce McPhee Barry Mulholland | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 130 | 1 |
| 2 | D | 24 | Holden Dealer Racing Team | Jim Palmer Phil West | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 130 | 6 |
| 3 | D | 15 | AM Roberts | Tony Roberts Bob Watson | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 129 | 9 |
| 4 | E | 1 | Alec Mildren Racing Pty Ltd | Kevin Bartlett Doug Chivas | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 129 | 11 |
| 5 | D | 25 | Holden Dealer Racing Team | Brian Muir George Reynolds | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 127 | 5 |
| 6 | E | 3 | Brian Foley Motors | Brian Foley Laurie Stewart | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 126 | 10 |
| 7 | D | 10 | Wright Ford Motors | Bruce McIntyre Ken Stacey | Ford XR Falcon GT | 125 | 15 |
| 8 | E | 5 | Canberra Speed Shop | Peter Brown Ray Gulson | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 125 | 18 |
| 9 | D | 17 | Stanmore Auto Port | Chris Brauer Murray Harrod | Ford XT Falcon GT | 125 | 17 |
| 10 | C | 30 | C Smith | Don Holland Charlie Smith | Morris Cooper S | 123 | 23 |
| 11 | C | 34 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Barry Arentz Mike Champion | Ford XT Falcon 500 V8 | 123 | 20 |
| 12 | D | 8 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Ian Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan | Ford XT Falcon GT | 123 | 4 |
| 13 | D | 21 | Needhams Motors Pty Ltd | Warren Weldon John Hall | Studebaker Lark | 123 | 13 |
| 14 | C | 29 | Marque Motors | Digby Cooke Mal Brewster | Morris Cooper S | 121 | 22 |
| 15 | B | 50 | Datsun Racing Team | John Roxburgh Doug Whiteford | Datsun 1600 | 120 | 32 |
| 16 | C | 38 | Denis Geary Motors Pty Ltd | Damon Beck Gary Hodge | Morris Cooper S | 120 | 21 |
| 17 | C | 63 | R Marquet | Alan Cant Ray Marquet | Morris Cooper S | 120 | 24 |
| 18 | D | 26 | Scuderia Veloce | Allan Grice Bill Tuckey | Fiat 124 Sport | 119 | 30 |
| 19 | B | 46 | Peter Langwill Autos Pty Ltd | Bruce Stewart George Garth | Datsun 1600 | 118 | 38 |
| 20 | C | 36 | W Gracie | Warren Gracie Don James | Morris Cooper S | 118 | 36 |
| 21 | B | 49 | Datsun Racing Team | Kunimitsu Takahashi Yoshikayo Sunago | Datsun 1600 | 118 | 28 |
| 22 | B | 65 | Vern Curtin Motors | Alton Boddenberg Rusty French | Hillman Gazelle | 117 | 35 |
| 23 | C | 61 | Varsity Auto Centre | John Prisk Alan Cameron | Morris Cooper S | 116 | 31 |
| 24 | B | 42 | Dependable Motors Pty Ltd | Dennis Cooke Hans Tholstrup | Datsun 1600 | 116 | 44 |
| 25 | C | 33 | Tony Basile Motors | Tony Basile Gary Leggatt | Fiat 125 | 116 | 42 |
| 26 | B | 41 | Dependable Motors Pty Ltd | Bruce Darke Bill Ford | Datsun 1600 | 115 | 45 |
| 27 | C | 27 | Scuderia Veloce | Mike Kable Ron Kearns | Fiat 125 | 114 | 40 |
| 28 | C | 35 | Young & Green Pty Ltd | Sib Petralia Jim Sullivan | Holden HK Kingswood 186S | 114 | 43 |
| 29 | D | 22 | C Hodgins | Clyde Hodgins Stan Pomroy | Chrysler VE Valiant Auto | 113 | 34 |
| 30 | A | 56 | AMI Racing Team | Bruce Hindhaugh Bob Morris | Toyota Corolla | 113 | 49 |
| 31 | D | 9 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Fred Gibson Barry Seton | Ford XT Falcon GT | 113 | 8 |
| 32 | A | 55 | AMI Racing Team | Barry Ferguson Brian Sampson | Toyota Corolla | 113 | 47 |
| 33 | B | 45 | WH Motors Pty Ltd | Don Smith Herb Taylor | Datsun 1600 | 112 | 33 |
| 34 | B | 64 | MG Car Club NSW | Matt Daddo Peter Ulbrich | Datsun 1600 | 111 | 56 |
| 35 | C | 66 | A Olsen | Arthur Olsen Ray Scanlen | Morris Cooper S | 110 | 46 |
| 36 | B | 47 | Austen & Butta Motors Pty Ltd | Joe Butta Bob Genders | Hillman Arrow | 109 | 53 |
| 37 | B | 48 | Tynan Motors | Trevor Mason Neil Mason | Morris 1100S | 109 | 54 |
| 38 | A | 52 | Central Auto Sales & Services | Lionel Ayers Max Volkers | Ford Cortina Mk.II 220 | 107 | 58 |
| 39 | B | 43 | Kenthurst Motors | Carl Kennedy Jack Mullins | Datsun 1600 | 107 | 55 |
| 40 | A | 58 | A Johns | David Frazer Allan Johns | Hillman GT | 107 | 57 |
| 41 | A | 54 | P & R Williams | Christine Gibson Midge Whiteman | Morris Mini De Luxe | 98 | 60 |
| 42 | D | 7 | Ford Motor Company of Australia | Spencer Martin Jim McKeown | Ford XT Falcon GT Auto | 95 | 7 |
| 43 | C | 32 | W & N Howes | Martin Chenery Ernie Johnson | Fiat 125 | 88 | 39 |
| 44 | C | 28 | Marque Motors | Lindsay Adcock Bill Stanley | Morris Cooper S | 81 | 26 |
| 45 | A | 57 | AMI Racing Team | Brian Reed Dick Thurston | Toyota Corolla | 74 | 50 |
| 46 | A | 60 | North Shore Sporting Car Club | Bob Drane Jim Laing-Peach | Toyota Corolla | 74 | 52 |
| 47 | C | 31 | Frank Croft Motors Pty Ltd | Gary Cooke Bob Muir | Fiat 125 | 69 | 29 |
| 48 | D | 16 | M Savva | Mike Savva Bob Wilkinson | Ford XT Falcon GT | 62 | 16 |
| DNF | C | 39 | Vern Potts | Rick Radford David Seldon | Morris Cooper S | | 37 |
| DNF | C | 40 | Vern Potts | Ron Heylen John Smailes | Morris Cooper S | 88 | 25 |
| DNF | D | 11 | Wright Ford Motors | Bob Beasley Ray Morris | Ford XT Falcon GT | 87 | 14 |
| DNF | B | 44 | Eiffeltower Motors | "Jack Eiffeltower" David O'Keefe | Hillman Gazelle | 54 | 27 |
| DNF | E | 4 | Citroen Cars (Citco) Pty Ltd | Bill Daly Glyn Scott | Citroen DS21 Pallas | | 41 |
| DNF | D | 19 | I Haynes | Ian Haynes Max Stahl | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | | 19 |
| DNF | A | 62 | Imp Spares & Repairs | Mel Mollison Roger Withers | Hillman GT | | 59 |
| DSQ | D | 14 | Lorack Motors (Granville) Pty Ltd | Des West Ron Marks | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | 130 | 2 |
| DSQ | E | 2 | Alec Mildren (Qld) | John French Frank Gardner | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | | 12 |
| DSQ | D | 23 | Holden Dealer Racing Team | Paul Hawkins Bill Brown | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | | 3 |
| DSQ | A | 51 | Datsun Racing Team | Bill Evans John Colwell | Datsun 1000 | 112 | 48 |
| DSQ | A | 53 | Datsun Racing Team | Dick Sorenson Bevan Gibson | Datsun 1000 | 112 | 51 |
| DNS | D | 12 | Jubilee Motors Pty Ltd | Roy Griffiths Wayne Rogerson | Ford XT Falcon GT | | |
| DNS | A | 59 | Bryan Thompson Racing | Adrian Ryan Bryan Thompson | Ford Cortina 220 Mk.I | | |
| DNS | D | 20 | Ken Waggott Speed Equipment | N Petrilli W Slattery | Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | | |

Note : Jack Nougher competed in car 44 under the name "Jack Eiffeltower" in this race.

## Statistics

* Pole Position – No.13 Bruce McPhee – 2:56.7
* Fastest Lap – No.13 Bruce McPhee – 2:58 (lap record)
* Average Speed – 119 km/h
* Race time of winning car – 6:44:07
