1984 James Hardie 1000


The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship. This race was celebrated as 'The Last of the Big Bangers', in reference to the Group C touring cars, which were competing at Bathurst for the last time.
The race was won by Peter Brock and Larry Perkins driving a Holden VK Commodore for the Holden Dealer Team, the third consecutive victory for Brock, Perkins and the HDT. It was the most dominant team performance for the HDT in the history of the race as the team claimed a 1-2 finish with John Harvey and David Parsons backing up their team leaders by finishing second. Third place was taken by the Mazda RX-7 of Allan Moffat and Gregg Hansford. Moffat privately disputed the Harvey/Parsons Commodore finishing second as it had spent almost 3 laps in the pits mid-race with a gearbox problem, but saw little value in protesting as it would not win him the race so decided to settle for third.
The race also saw the first appearance of the international Group A cars at Bathurst. The Group A class was won by the TWR Mobil Rover Vitesse V8 of race rookies Jeff Allam from England and Armin Hahne from West Germany who finished 12th outright. Second in class and 15th outright was the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of Formula One World Champion Denny Hulme and Bavarian Prince Leopold von Bayern. Third in Group A and 20th outright was the Barry Seton / Don Smith V8 Ford Mustang. For Seton, who had won the race outright in 1965, it would be his final start at Bathurst as he quietly retired from race driving at the end of 1984. Dick Johnson Racing, who started 4th on the grid with their Group C Ford XE Falcon, also entered a Mustang in the Group A category and although 1984 Australian Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson qualified the underpowered car in 48th, it was only there as insurance should there be a repeat of 1983 where he destroyed his Falcon in a famous Hardies Heroes crash and the Mustang, which Johnson had purchased from the German Zakspeed team, was officially withdrawn the day before the race.

Class structure

Group C

This was the last Bathurst 1000 to include Group C Touring Cars, which had first contested the Bathurst 1000 in 1973. While a production based category, continual parity adjustments to keep the leading vehicles roughly at the same pace had seen the cars become wildly over-specified. The led to a decision by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in mid-1983 that Australian touring car racing would abandon its locally developed Group C rules and would be run under regulations based on the FIA's international Group A rules from 1 January 1985.
The major contenders in Group C were the V8-engined Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, the lone V12 Jaguar XJ-S and 6 cylinder BMW 635 CSi, the rotary Mazda RX-7's, and the Nissan Bluebird turbos. Also running in Group C were the now outdated Chevrolet Camaro Z28s.
It would be the final Bathurst appearance for the Bluebird turbo which would be replaced in Group A in 1986 by the Nissan Skyline DR30 RS. After the car made its debut in the inaugural 500-mile race at Phillip Island in 1960, it would be the final Bathurst 1000 for the Ford Falcon until 1992. The Commodore, Jaguar, BMW and Mazda all saw action during the Group A years in Australia.

Group A

The international Group A formula was allowed to enter for the first time as a prelude to their adoption for Bathurst and the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1985. The Group A cars were closer to pure bred racing cars in concept, but without the extensive performance modifications allowed for Group C. Without the performance upgrades, aerodynamic aids and larger tyres of the Group C cars, the Group A cars were much slower, and thus formed their own class. The low slung V8 Rovers did prove to be sensationally quick in a straight line though, with both cars being regularly recorded at over on Conrod Straight, putting them on par with many of the lower ranked privateer Commodore's, Falcons and RX-7's. The Rover's main Group A challenger would be the BMW 635 CSi run by JPS Team BMW.
The other contenders in the Group A class included the Ford Mustang, Ford Capri Mk.III, Alfa Romeo GTV6, Toyota Sprinter AE86, Mitsubishi Starion, Audi 5+5, and Toyota Celica Supra.

Hardies Heroes

Conditions on Mount Panorama were bitterly cold for the 1984 edition of Hardies Heroes with snow having fallen at the top of the circuit early in the morning. This saw a number of cars, notably the lighter Mazda RX-7's struggle to get sufficient heat into their tyres.
PosNoTeamDriverCarHHQual
Pole15Nissan Motor Co. George FuryNissan Bluebird Turbo2:13.8502:14.81
205Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Peter BrockHolden VK Commodore2:14.0392:14.31
317Palmer Tube Mills Dick JohnsonFord XE Falcon2:14.7102:15.07
46Roadways Racing Allan GriceHolden VK Commodore2:14.8862:14.74
543Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan MoffatMazda RX-72:16.4112:15.54
631JPS Team BMW Jim RichardsBMW 635 CSi2:16.7952:16.49
72Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. Steve MastertonFord XE Falcon2:17.0552:16.33
842Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Gregg HansfordMazda RX-72:18.0512:15.85
941Chequered Flag Magazine Bob MorrisMazda RX-72:18.1072:16.05
1012John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd. Tom WalkinshawJaguar XJ-S2:18.9602:16.09

* Jaguar became the 7th marque to represent in Hardies Heroes, making the first of only two appearances in the top ten runoff with Bathurst rookie driver Tom Walkinshaw qualifying John Goss' V12 Jaguar XJ-S in 10th place. During qualifying the Jaguar had been recorded at on Conrod Straight, the fastest ever by a Touring Car before the addition of Caltex Chase in 1987. The next fastest cars were Dick Johnson's V8 Ford XE Falcon at and Peter Brock's V8 Holden VK Commodore at.
PosClassNoTeamDriversCarLapsQual
Pos
Shootout
Pos
1C05Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock
Larry Perkins
Holden VK Commodore16312
2C25Marlboro Holden Dealer Team John Harvey
David Parsons
Holden VK Commodore16112
3C42Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Gregg Hansford
Allan Moffat
Mazda RX-716168
4C8K-Mart Auto Racing Warren Cullen
Alan Jones
Holden VK Commodore16113
5C28Bayside Spare Parts Barry Lawrence
Alan Browne
Holden VH Commodore SS15817
6C10John Sands Racing Rusty French
Geoff Russell
Holden VH Commodore SS15431
7C47Brian Callaghan Barry Graham
Brian Callaghan
Ford XE Falcon15421
8C33Michael Burgmann Mike Burgmann
Bob Stevens
Mazda RX-715339
9C35Goodyear Car Owners Club Ron Gillard
Mark Gibbs
Mazda RX-715319
10C27Bryan Byrt Ford Alf Grant
Craig Harris
Ford XD Falcon15342
11C52Fred Geissler Fred Geissler
Ralph Radburn
Holden VH Commodore SS15327
12A61Mobil Rover Racing Jeff Allam
Armin Hahne
Rover Vitesse15236
13C19Ken Mathews Prestige Cars Ken Mathews
Greg Toepfer
Holden VH Commodore SS15132
14C21Lusty Engineering Pty. Ltd. Graham Lusty
John Lusty
Holden VH Commodore SS14835
15A62JPS Team BMW Denny Hulme
Leopold von Bayern
BMW 635 CSi14849
16C15Nissan Motor Co. George Fury
Gary Scott
Nissan Bluebird Turbo14621
17C7Qld Highway Patrol Racing Team Lester Smerdon
Wayne Park
Holden VK Commodore14553
18C51Tokico Tony Mulvihill
Brian Nightingale
Mazda RX-714044
19C37Graham Stones Graham Stones
Ian Stones
Mazda RX-713847
20A69Nu-Truck Spares Barry Seton
Don Smith
Ford Mustang13656
21A65Hulcraft Autos John Craft
Les Grose
Ford Capri Mk.III13560
22A67Ray Gulson Ray Gulson
Grant O'Donnell
Alfa Romeo GTV613158
23C24Scotty Taylor Holden Alan Taylor
Kevin Kennedy
Holden VH Commodore SS13033
24C45James Keogh Bernie Stack
Wayne Clift
Terry Shiel
Holden VH Commodore SS13023
25C38Bayswater Auto Wreckers Pty. Ltd. Colin Campbell
John Faulkner
Holden VH Commodore SS13023
26A73Racing Car News Bob Holden
Alexandra Surplice
Toyota Sprinter AE8612563
27C32Berklee Exhausts Chris Clearihan
David Grose
Mazda RX-712350
28A63Chris Heyer's Kingswood Import Centre Chris Heyer
Gerard Murphy
Audi 5+511764
29A60Mobil Rover Racing Steve Soper
Ron Dickson
Rover Vitesse11638
DNFC13Bruce Keith Smith Bruce Smith
Graeme Waswo
Holden VH Commodore SS12337
NCC49Kenmar Agency Pty. Ltd. John Donnelly
Simon Harrex
Ford XD Falcon12255
DNFC22P.F. Motor Racing Bryan Thomson
John Mann
Chevrolet Camaro Z2812145
DNFA75Laurie Hazelton Laurie Hazelton
Jerry Strauberg
Ford Capri Mk.III11962
NCC30Tony Kavich Tony Kavich
John Duggan
Mazda RX-711743
DNFC44Chequered Flag Magazine Graham Moore
Peter McKay
Mazda RX-711630
NCA70Network Alfa Colin Bond
Alfredo Costanzo
Alfa Romeo GTV611152
DNFC40King George Tavern Joe Moore
Bob Muir
Ford XE Falcon11024
DNFC3Cadbury Schweppes Pty. Ltd. Peter Janson
Garry Rogers
Holden VH Commodore SS10916
DNFC17Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson
John French
Ford XE Falcon10733
DNFC26Everlast Battery Service Bill O'Brien
Gary Cooke
Ford XD Falcon10428
DNFA72Toyota Team Australia John Smith
Stephen Brook
Toyota Sprinter AE8610057
NCC41Chequered Flag Magazine Bob Morris
Barry Jones
Mazda RX-79779
NCA68Greville Arnel Greville Arnel
Lyndon Arnel
Mitsubishi Starion Turbo9554
DNFC29Freedom Fence Paul Jones
Peter Hopwood
Ford XE Falcon8820
NCC39John Bundy John Bundy
Norm Carr
Mazda RX-78334
DNFC16Nissan Motor Co. Christine Gibson
Glenn Seton
Nissan Pulsar EXA7626
DNFC6Roadways Racing Allan Grice
Steve Harrington
Holden VK Commodore7024
DNFC9K-Mart Auto Racing Andrew Harris
Ron Harrop
Holden VH Commodore SS5118
DNFC4Terry Finnigan Terry Finnigan
Geoff Leeds
Holden VH Commodore SS4814
DNFC31JPS Team BMW Jim Richards
Tony Longhurst
BMW 635 CSi39106
DNFC50Petrolon Slick 50 Peter McLeod
Graeme Bailey
Mazda RX-73915
DNFC11Magic Eleven Garry Willmington
Mike Griffin
Ford XD Falcon3741
DNFC14John English John English
Paul Gulson
Ford XD Falcon3429
DNFA66Equipe Sixty Six Kevin Bartlett
Peter Fitzgerald
Mitsubishi Starion Turbo2761
DNFC20Jim Keogh Jim Keogh
Terry Shiel
Holden VH Commodore SS1725
DNFC2Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. Steve Masterton
Bruce Stewart
Ford XE Falcon1697
DNFC43Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan Moffat
Gregg Hansford
Mazda RX-71555
DNFC36Roadways Racing Steve Harrington
Allan Grice
Holden VH Commodore SS711
DNFA64Capri Components Lawrie Nelson
Peter Jones
Ford Mustang159
DNFC18Valentine Greetings Murray Carter
John Murdern
Mazda RX-7022
DNFC12John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd. John Goss
Tom Walkinshaw
Jaguar XJ-S0810
DNFC34Pennant Hills Suspension Centre John Tesoriero
Bob Tindal
Chevrolet Camaro Z28046
DNFA77Peter Williamson Toyota Peter Williamson
Charlie O'Brien
Toyota Celica Supra051
DNSA71Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson
John French
Ford Mustang48

Statistics