1981 James Hardie 1000


The 1981 James Hardie 1000 was the 22nd running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1981 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine configuration based classes, a system used uniquely for this race.
For the first time the race did not go the full race distance as on lap 121, a six car accident blocked the track at McPhillamy Park Corner. The Ford Falcon of Dick Johnson and John French were leading the race at the time of the accident and were declared the winners, becoming the first Queenslanders to win the race. Bob Morris and British endurance racer John Fitzpatrick, also driving a Falcon finished second. A lap down in third was Allan Moffat and British endurance racing great Derek Bell driving a Mazda RX-7, the best ever result to that point for a Japanese built car.
History was made at Bathurst in 1981. For the first time in the races history, a reigning Formula One World Drivers' Champion drove in the Bathurst 1000. This honour fell to Australia's own World Champion Alan Jones who co-drove with Warren Cullen in Cullen's V8 Holden Commodore.
After 8 wins in the race dating back to Bob Jane and Harry Firth's win in a Ford Falcon XL at Phillip Island in 1962, this would prove to be the last Bathurst 1000 win for the Ford Falcon until 1994. It would also be the 5th and last Bathurst win for the 5.8 L 351 Cleveland V8 engine.

Class structure

Class : 8 Cylinder & Over

This class was almost exclusively for V8s; Holden Commodores, Ford Falcons and Chevrolet Camaros. The exception being a V12 Jaguar XJ-S.

Class : 6 Cylinder (Includes Rotary Engines)

The class for six-cylinder and rotary-engined cars was contested mostly by Ford Capris, with a single factory supported BMW 635CSi and those Mazda RX7s entered, powered by Rotary engines.

Class : 4 Cylinder

The class for cars with four-cylinder engines included Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ford Escort, Isuzu Gemini, Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Bluebird Turbo, Toyota Celica, Toyota Corolla, Triumph Dolomite and Volkswagen Golf.

Hardies Heroes

PosNoTeamDriverCarTime
Pole9Nine Network Racing Team Kevin BartlettChevrolet Camaro Z282:36.432
217Palmer Tube Mills Dick JohnsonFord XD Falcon2:38.813
305Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Peter BrockHolden VC Commodore2:39.043
47Bob Morris Motor Sport Bob MorrisFord XD Falcon2:39.339
543Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan MoffatMazda RX-72:39.443
611Soundwave Discos Garry RogersHolden VC Commodore2:41.315
73Cadbury Schweppes Racing Larry PerkinsHolden VC Commodore2:42.621
825Marlboro Holden Dealer Team John HarveyHolden VC Commodore2:43.018
921Ron Dickson Ron DicksonChevrolet Camaro Z282:44.505
1027Roadways Racing Garth WigstonHolden VC Commodore2:46.248

Race

The race was stopped on lap 122 because of a multiple-car incident that blocked the track at McPhillamy Park Corner. The accident began with a collision between the Ford Falcons of Bob Morris and Christine Gibson. Garry Rogers and Tony Edmondson and the Isuzu Gemini of David Seldon collided with already crashed cars with the Chevrolet Camaro of Kevin Bartlett being the final car to be involved.
According to the regulations, the race was declared based on the timesheets as the race leader, at the time John French, completed lap 120. This is done so that crashed vehicles can be included in the results. This was particularly significant in this instance as a significant number of the vehicles involved held high race position. Morris was second, Rogers fourth, Edmondson fifth and Christine Gibson sixth.

Results

PosClassNoTeamDriversCarLapsQual
Pos
Shootout
Pos
18 Cylinder & Over17Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson
John French
Ford XD Falcon12012
28 Cylinder & Over7Bob Morris Motor Sport Bob Morris
John Fitzpatrick
Ford XD Falcon12044
36 Cylinder & Rotary43Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan Moffat
Derek Bell
Mazda RX-711995
48 Cylinder & Over11Soundwave Discos Garry Rogers
Clive Benson-Browne
Holden VC Commodore11876
58 Cylinder & Over4Re-Car Racing Alan Browne
Tony Edmondson
Holden VC Commodore11711
68 Cylinder & Over20King George Tavern Joe Moore
Christine Gibson
Ford XD Falcon11525
76 Cylinder & Rotary44JPS Team BMW Allan Grice
David Hobbs
BMW 635 CSi11312
86 Cylinder & Rotary32Masterton Homes Colin Bond
Don Smith
Ford Capri Mk.II11332
98 Cylinder & Over8Garry Willmington Performance Garry Willmington
Mike Griffin
Ford XD Falcon11318
108 Cylinder & Over15Valley Meat Hall John English
John Donnelly
Ford XD Falcon11222
116 Cylinder & Rotary33Masterton Homes Steve Masterton
Bruce Stewart
Ford Capri Mk.II11134
124 Cylinder77Peter Williamson Toyota Peter Williamson
John Smith
Toyota Celica11136
138 Cylinder & Over9Nine Network Racing Team Kevin Bartlett
Bob Forbes
Chevrolet Camaro Z2811121
148 Cylinder & Over29Brian Callaghan Racing Brian Callaghan
Peter McKay
Ford XD Falcon11124
158 Cylinder & Over26Scotty Taylor Holden Alan Taylor
Kevin Kennedy
Holden VC Commodore10929
168 Cylinder & Over21Ron Dickson Ron Dickson
Bob Stevens
Chevrolet Camaro Z28108109
176 Cylinder & Rotary39Capri Components Lawrie Nelson
Peter Jones
Ford Capri Mk.III10841
186 Cylinder & Rotary46Hulcraft Autos John Gates
John Craft
Ford Capri Mk.III10840
194 Cylinder50Gary Leggatt Gary Leggatt
Phil McDonnell
Alfa Romeo GTV610745
204 Cylinder60Country Dealer Team Jim Faneco
Allan Gough
Isuzu Gemini10352
218 Cylinder & Over05Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock
Jim Richards
Holden VC Commodore10333
228 Cylinder & Over6John Sands Racing Rusty French
Leo Leonard
Ford XD Falcon10030
234 Cylinder68Dandenong Mitsubishi Rod Stevens
Craig Bradtke
Mitsubishi Lancer10053
244 Cylinder59Bathurst Light Car Club Tony Mulvihill
Brian Nightingale
Ford Escort Mk.II RS20009756
258 Cylinder & Over31Ron Dickson Graham Moore
Steve Dymand
Chevrolet Camaro Z289628
266 Cylinder & Rotary40Peter McLeod Peter McLeod
Peter Dane
Mazda RX-79628
274 Cylinder64Bob Holden Motors Phillip Revell
Ron Barnacle
Ford Escort Mk.II 1.69359
288 Cylinder & Over24Army Reserve Racing Team Bob Muir
Ian Geoghegan
Ford XD Falcon9213
DNF8 Cylinder & Over18Murray Carter Racing Murray Carter
Graeme Lawrence
Ford XD Falcon10916
DNF4 Cylinder62Alexandra Surplice Alexandra Surplice
Doug Clark
Toyota Corolla Levin8847
NC8 Cylinder & Over14Fred Geissler Fred Geissler
Graham Watson
Holden VC Commodore8514
NC4 Cylinder66Scottune Ian Burrell
Rob Shute
Mitsubishi Colt8357
NC4 Cylinder49Jagparts Martin Power
Brian Winsall
Triumph Dolomite Sprint8055
DNF8 Cylinder & Over16Re-Car Racing Ron Wanless
Ralph Radburn
Holden VC Commodore7915
NC4 Cylinder70Colin Spencer Colin Spencer
John White
Isuzu Gemini7560
DNF8 Cylinder & Over30Everlast Battery Service Bill O'Brien
Gary Cooke
Ford XD Falcon7417
DNF6 Cylinder & Rotary41West End Mazda Barry Jones
Geoff Leeds
Mazda RX-77426
DNF4 Cylinder61Rex Monaghan Ray Cutchie
Ray Farrar
Ford Escort Mk.II 1.67358
NC8 Cylinder & Over10John Goss Racing John Goss
Barry Seton
Jaguar XJ-S7319
NC4 Cylinder63Cherry City Ford John Faulkner
Gary Dumbrell
Ford Escort Mk.II 2.0 GL7251
NC4 Cylinder57Sutton Motors P/L David Seldon
Gary Rowe
Isuzu Gemini ZZ7046
DNF8 Cylinder & Over3Cadbury Schweppes Racing Peter Janson
Larry Perkins
Holden VC Commodore6787
DNF4 Cylinder56Nissan Motor Co. Masahiro Hasemi
Kazuyoshi Hoshino
Nissan Bluebird Turbo6631
DNF6 Cylinder & Rotary37Trend Windows P/L Terry Daly
Peter Hopwood
Ford Capri Mk.II5637
DNF6 Cylinder & Rotary45Precinct Performance P/L Allan Bryant
Dean Gall
Mazda RX-75439
DNF8 Cylinder & Over27Roadways Racing Garth Wigston
Steve Harrington
Holden VC Commodore53610
DNF4 Cylinder47Walter Scott Walter Scott
Peter Walton
Toyota Celica5048
DNF8 Cylinder & Over12Warren Cullen Warren Cullen
Alan Jones
Holden VC Commodore4820
DNF6 Cylinder & Rotary35Alexander Rotary Engines Phil Alexander
Ron Gillard
Mazda RX-74638
DNF4 Cylinder52Bob Holden Motors Bob Holden
Wally Storey
Ford Escort Mk.II 2.0 GL4449
DNF8 Cylinder & Over23Great Eastland Television Paul Gulson
Rodney Combs
Holden VB Commodore4221
DNF8 Cylinder & Over25Marlboro Holden Dealer Team John Harvey
Vern Schuppan
Holden VC Commodore3758
DNF4 Cylinder65HDT Special Vehicles Phil Brock
Gary Scott
Isuzu Gemini ZZ3644
DNF4 Cylinder51Chickadee Chicken Graeme Bailey
Steve Land
Toyota Celica3442
DNF4 Cylinder58Graham Mein Graham Mein
Geoff Russell
Ford Escort Mk.II RS20003450
DNF4 Cylinder55Nissan Motor Co. George Fury
Fred Gibson
Nissan Bluebird Turbo3043
DNF4 Cylinder54Terry Finnigan Terry Finnigan
Ross Wittig
Isuzu Gemini2954
DNF8 Cylinder & Over2Citizen Watches Australia P/L Charlie O'Brien
Mike Quinn
Holden VC Commodore1623
DNF6 Cylinder & Rotary34Penrith Mazda Centre Terry Shiel
Don Holland
Mazda RX-71327
DNF6 Cylinder & Rotary42Mazcars Croyden John Duggan
Michael O'Hehir
Mazda RX-7135
DNQ8 Cylinder & Over19Neil Cunningham Neil Cunningham
Rod Coppins
Holden VC Commodore
DNQ8 Cylinder & Over22John Sands 3MP Racing Jim Keogh
Andrew Newton
Ford XD Falcon
DNQ6 Cylinder & Rotary38Les Grose Les Grose
Alan Cant
Ford Capri Mk.III
DNQ4 Cylinder53Chris Heyer Chris Heyer
Peter Lander
Volkswagen Golf
DNQ4 Cylinder71Ken Harrison Ken Harrison
Ian Wells
Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6
DNQ4 Cylinder48Douglas B. Rutter Ken Price
Steve Jonas
Isuzu Gemini
DNQ4 Cylinder67Ray Gulson Ray Gulson
Gordon Mackinlay
Alfa Romeo Alfasud

Statistics