1967 Gallaher 500


The 1967 Gallaher 500 was a motor race for Production Saloon Cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on 1 October 1967. The race, which was the eighth running of the Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 500, was organised by the Australian Racing Drivers Club Ltd and promoted by Gallaher International Ltd.
Each competing car was required to be a production saloon competing in standard specification as laid down in the manufacturer's standard workshop manual. Optional extras and open exhausts were not permitted. To be eligibile to compete, a car had to be an Australian built or assembled model of which 200 examples had been registered in Australia by 30 September 1967, or a fully imported model of which 100 examples had been registered in Australia by the same date.
In a seminal moment for the race, the first Australian-built V8-powered Ford Falcons competed in the form of seven Falcon GTs and a Falcon automatic. In a race long duel against three Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs, two entered by Alec Mildren Racing and one by M.W. Motors, the Ford Motor Company-entered Falcon GTs achieved a one-two finish with Harry Firth and Fred Gibson acknowledged as race winners after confusion over lap-scoring briefly left uncertainty over the results. Brothers Leo and Ian Geoghegan finished second with the two Alec Mildren Racing Alfa Romeos of Doug Chivas / Max Stewart and Kevin Bartlett / Laurie Stewart all finishing on the same lap as the winning car. It was Firth's fourth Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 500 victory, equalling Bob Jane's record.
The confusion over the result stemmed from the Geoghegan brothers' first pit stop. Driving the opening stint, Leo Geoghegan's pole winning Falcon almost ran out of fuel coming past the pits. As he could not reverse into pit lane without being disqualified, Leo went in through the back gate to the pits located on Mountain Straight, and came back into pit lane through the paddock gate. Although he had not completed the lap, as he crossed the finish line in pit lane he was mistakenly credited with completing the lap. Firth, who knew this, was livid with the Australian Racing Drivers Club when the Geoghegan car was flagged in first, despite finishing 11 seconds behind Gibson. Firth, immediately protested the result and it was not until later that evening that he and Gibson were installed as race winners. Firth's protest led to long standing animosity between himself and the Geoghegan team who were teammates for the race, with Leo contending until his death in 2015 that he and his brother won the race.

Class structure

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

Class A

The lowest class was for under cars retailing for less $1,800. It comprised Datsun 1000 and 1300, Hillman GT, Holden Torana and Toyota Corolla.

Class B

The $1,801 to $2,100 class featured Ford Cortina, Hillman Arrow, and Morris Cooper and 1100S, Renault R8 and Toyota Corona.

Class C

The $2,101 to $3,000 class was dominated by the Morris Cooper S, but also contained Fiat 124 and 850, an automatic gearbox Ford Falcon, Holden HD X2 and Prince Skyline GT.

Class D

The $3,001 to $4,500 class featured the debut of the 'Australian V8's which would dominate the history of the race, represented by Ford Falcon GT, but also contained single entries of Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi Super 90, Studebaker Lark, Triumph 2000 and Volvo 122.

Class E

For the first time an unlimited class, for cars over $4,500, was included and while many exotic cars were rumoured the class ultimately contained four Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs and a single Dodge Phoenix TD2.

Practice results

For 1967, race regulations were changed such that all grid positions were decided on practice times, regardless of class. Prior to this, the cars were gridded according to practice times but within their respective classes with the highest class starting at the front of the grid and so on.
The first ten places were as follows:
Pos.No.EntrantDriverCarQual.
153Ford Motor Company Ian GeogheganFord XR Falcon GT3:03.0
252Ford Motor Company Fred GibsonFord XR Falcon GT3:03.2
361Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. Kevin BartlettAlfa Romeo 1600 GTV3:03.5
460Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. Doug ChivasAlfa Romeo 1600 GTV3:05.2
554Ford Motor Company Bob JaneFord XR Falcon GT3:05.2
662M.W. Motors Pty. Ltd Paul HawkinsAlfa Romeo 1600 GTV3:05.7
751J. & B. Motors Des WestFord XR Falcon GT3:06.0
849M. Savva Mike SavvaFord XR Falcon GT3:06.8
950Gregory's Pty. Ltd. Greg CusackFord XR Falcon GTNA
1055Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. Warren WeldonStudebaker LarkNA

Race results

PosClassClass
Pos
NoEntrantDriversCarLapsQual
Pos
1D152Ford Motor Company Harry Firth
Fred Gibson
Ford XR Falcon GT1302
2D253Ford Motor Company Ian Geoghegan
Leo Geoghegan
Ford XR Falcon GT1301
3E160Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. Doug Chivas
Max Stewart
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV1304
4E261Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. Kevin Bartlett
Laurie Stewart
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV1303
5C130British Motor Corporation Tony Fall
Bob Holden
Morris Cooper S12814
6C237C. Smith Charlie Smith
Barry Seton
Morris Cooper S12715
7C329British Motor Corporation Timo Mäkinen
John French
Morris Cooper S12712
8C428British Motor Corporation Paddy Hopkirk
Brian Foley
Morris Cooper S12611
9E363S.T.P. Scientifically Treated Petroleum Australia Arthur Davis
Paul Mander
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV12620
10C540Marque Motors Damon Beck
Lakis Manticas
Morris Cooper S12518
11D355Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. Warren Weldon
John Hall
Studebaker Lark12410
12C645Martinz Place John Millyard
Anndy Frankel
Morris Cooper S12416
13D449M. Savva Mike Savva
Bob Wilkinson
Ford XR Falcon GT1248
14C736Baulkam Hills Service Station Peter Brown
Bob Cook
Morris Cooper S12321
15D558Bill Burns Bill Burns
Chris Brauer
Alfa Romeo Giulia Super12223
16D657Scuderia Veloce David McKay
George Reynolds
Audi Super 9012225
17D750Gregory's Pty. Ltd. Greg Cusack
Bill Brown
Ford XR Falcon GT1219
18D854Ford Motor Company Bob Jane
Spencer Martin
Ford XR Falcon GT1185
19E464Barnard Auto. Spares Barry Sharp
Lindsay Derriman
Dodge Phoenix TD211829
20C842Scuderia Veloce Bill Tuckey
Max Stahl
Fiat 12411831
21C927Victorian Police Motor Sports Club Fred Sutherland
Allan Mottram
Ford XR Falcon Automatic11722
22D948Australian Motor Industries Ltd. Bob Young
Bob Sorrenson
Triumph 200011733
23A12Datsun Racing Team John Roxburgh
Doug Whiteford
Datsun 100011738
24C1047John Caskey Pty. Ltd. Bill Daly
George Murray
Fiat 12411737
25E562M.W. Motors Pty. Ltd. Paul Hawkins
Syd Fisher
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV1176
26A212Australian Motor Industries Ltd. Dick Thurston
Bill Buckle
Toyota Corolla11644
27B116Gordon Stewarts Sports Car Centre Don Holland
Peter Cray
Morris Cooper11636
28A31Datsun Racing Team Kunimitsu Takahashi
Hideo Oishi
Datsun 100011640
29C1141Scuderia Veloce Mike Kable
John Smailes
Fiat 12411532
30A48Eiffel Tower Motors Pty. Ltd. Jack Nougher
David O'Keefe
Hillman GT11442
31A59B.P. Olympic Service Station Bob Edgerton
David Toshack
Hillman GT11451
32B224Sharton Motors George Garth
Geoff Westbury
Hillman Arrow11447
33C1235Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. Gary Cooke
Trevor Meehan
Fiat 12411330
34C1331C. Kennedy Carl Kennedy
Jack Murray
Prince Skyline GT11339
35B315A. Treloar Doug Macarthur
Arthur Treloar
Hillman Arrow11148
36B425Everybody's Jane Richardson
Midge Whiteman
Morris 1100S11058
37B518D. Frazer David Frazer
Bernie Breen
Renault R810957
38C1434Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. Lynn Brown
David Bye
Fiat 85010955
39B613C. Hodgins Clyde Hodgins
Kevin Nipperess
Morris 1100S10856
40D1059Wright Ford Motors Bruce McIntyre
Ken Stacey
Ford XR Falcon GT10613
41A65C. J. Cocran Chris Cronan
Steve Parkes
Holden HB Torana10360
42A76Dependable Motors Pty. Ltd. Bruce Darke
Bill Ford
Datsun 130010259
43B720Marque Motors Lindsay Adcock
Mike Schneider
Morris Cooper10035
44A83Datsun Racing Team Jim Smith
John Colwell
Datsun 130010052
45B817Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. Bill Stanley
Digby Cooke
Morris Cooper9643
46B919J. Thompson Jeff Thompson
Bob Romano
Ford Cortina Mk.I 15009649
47D1156British & Continental Cars Pty. Ltd. Gerry Lister
David Seldon
Volvo 122S8626
48C1544H. Taylor Don Smith
Herb Taylor
Holden HD X27527
DNFA7Dunbier Motors Pty. Ltd. Lindsay Little
Stan Pomroy
Hillman GT53
DNFA4Datsun Racing Team Barry Tapsall
Bevan Gibson
Datsun 130050
DNFB22Rural Motors Pty. Ltd. Glen Mackinnon
John T. Smith
Ford Cortina Mk.I 150054
DNFB23Varsity Auto Centre Rick Radford
John Prisk
Morris Cooper6428
DNFC33Gordon Stewart's Car Centre Mal Brewster
Bob Skelton
Morris Cooper S17
DNFC32M. Bailey Murray Bailey
John Hicks
Prince Skyline GT34
DNFC46Denis Geary Motors Pty. Ltd. Gary Hodge
Glyn Scott
Morris Cooper S24
DNFC26J. Leffler John Leffler
Les Carne
Morris Cooper S11619
DSQD51J. & B. Motors Bob Beasley
Des West
Ford XR Falcon GT1287
DSQA11Australian Motor Industries Ltd. Barry Ferguson
Brian Sampson
Toyota Corolla11745
DSQA10Australian Motor Industries Ltd. Bruce Hindhaugh
Peter Macrow
Toyota Corolla11646
DSQB21Peter Williamson Pty. Ltd Peter Williamson
Alex Macarthur
Toyota Corona11641

Statistics