1985 James Hardie 1000

The 1985 James Hardie 1000 was the 26th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 6 October 1985 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. It was the first time the race was held exclusively for cars complying with the Australian version of International Group A touring car regulations. The event was Round Four of both the 1985 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1985 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.

The 1980 Jaguar XJ-S of John Goss repainted as a replica of the 1985 James Hardie 1000 race winner, pictured in 2007

1985 James Hardie 1000
Previous: 1984 Next: 1986

The race was dominated by the Tom Walkinshaw Racing run Jaguar XJ-S' which finished first and third in the race. John Goss and German driver Armin Hahne claimed the victory with team boss Tom Walkinshaw and his co-driver Win Percy finishing three laps down in third. On the same lap as the winning Jaguar was the Schnitzer Motorsport prepared BMW 635CSi of Italian driver Roberto Ravaglia and Venezuela's former Motorcycle World champion (and ex-Formula One driver) Johnny Cecotto who, despite their extensive overseas experience, were Bathurst rookies and as such easily co-won the Rookie of the Year award. The Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore of Peter Brock and New Zealand open-wheel racer David Oxton were in second place with three laps to go when they broke a timing chain and retired.

1985 was the first Great Race since 1969 that four-time winner Allan Moffat was not an entrant. Left without a drive in 1985 after the withdrawal of Mazda from Australian touring car racing, Moffat was guest expert commentator with race broadcaster Channel 7.

Class structure

The race was held for cars complying with the Australian version of International Group A touring car regulations with three engine capacity classes.

Class A

Class A was for cars with an engine capacity of under 2000cc, or two litres. Cars that had competed during the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship and appeared in the entry list for the race included: Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ford Escort RS2000, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Sprinter, Triumph Dolomite Sprint and Volvo 360 GLT. Only five cars finally entered, four Toyotas, two of them factory supported, and an Alfa Romeo which did not start.

Class B

Class B was for cars between two and three litres of engine capacity. Turbo charged cars acquired a multiplier of 1.3, meaning a 2000cc car with a turbo became a car with 2600cc for the purposes of the class structure. This saw the factory supported turbo charged Mitsubishi Starions and Volvo 240s compete against non-turbo Audi 5+5, Toyota Celica Supra and the factory backed Alfa Romeo GTV6. While the venerable Ford Capri and a factory supported BMW 323i had made appearances in the championship, none fronted for the race. It was the first time since the 1973 race that there was no Ford Capri on the grid.

Class C

Over three litre cars were in Class C which featured Holden VK Commodore V8s (in both 5.0 litre and 4.9 litre configuration), the big V12 Jaguar XJ-S', the V8 Ford Mustang GT's and Rover Vitesses and the Straight-six BMW 635 CSi. Both the Rovers and BMW's used 3.5 litre engines, though unlike the BMW, the Rover was a V8.

Hardies Heroes
PosNoTeamDriverCarHHQual
Pole 8 JRA Ltd Tom Walkinshaw Jaguar XJ-S 2:18.822 2:19.78
2 9 JRA Ltd Jeff Allam Jaguar XJ-S 2:19.915 2:20.32
3 17 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT 2:20.646 2:21.79
4 6 Roadways Racing Services Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore 2:20.661 2:21.72
5 55 Mark Petch Motorsport Robbie Francevic Volvo 240T 2:20.873 2:22.22
6 10 JRA Ltd John Goss Jaguar XJ-S 2:20.919 2:19.77
7 1 JPS Team BMW Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 2:21.396 2:21.68
8 18 Palmer Tube Mills Larry Perkins Ford Mustang GT 2:22.340 2:21.99
9 21 Goold Motorsport Roberto Ravaglia BMW 635 CSi 2:22.874 2:24.25
10 7 Mobil Holden Dealer Team David Parsons Holden VK Commodore 2:22.886 2:23.22
11 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock Holden VK Commodore 2:23.018 2:22.85

* Tom Walkinshaw's pole time of 2:18.822 in his Group A Jaguar XJ-S was 0.138 seconds faster than he had qualified John Goss' Group C Jaguar XJS in Hardie's Heroes the previous year. It was also the first time a driver had gone from being the slowest in the runoff one year to being the fastest a year later. Showing the difference in performance between Group A and Group C at that stage, Walkinshaw's time was 4.972 seconds slower than George Fury's pole winning time of 1984.[1]
* Walkinshaw's Jaguar was recorded at 274 km/h (170 mph) on Conrod Straight during the runoff. The fastest non-Jaguar was the turbocharged Volvo 240T driven by Bathurst Rookie Robbie Francevic which recorded 260 km/h (162 mph). The once dominant V8 Holden and Fords were slower still, topping out at around 250 km/h (155 mph).
* Volvo became the 8th marque to be represented in the Top 10 runoff since its inception in 1978 when Auckland based Robbie Francevic qualified his Mark Petch Motorsport Volvo 240T in 5th place. The Volvo was also the only turbo powered car in the runoff.
* With Walkinshaw on pole and teammate Jeff Allam in second, 1985 was the first and so far only year that cars powered by V12 engines have filled the front row of the grid at Bathurst. It was also the first time since Peter Brock and Colin Bond had qualified 1-2 for the Holden Dealer Team in 1974 that one team had occupied the front row.
* The No. 18 DJR Ford Mustang driven by Larry Perkins was officially withdrawn from the race following Hardies Heroes. Every car on the grid that qualified behind the car was then was moved up one grid position. The car had been entered as an insurance policy should something happen to keep the #17 Mustang out of the race, and to give drivers Dick Johnson and Perkins the maximum amount of practice time before the race.
* For the first time there were 11 cars and not 10 in the runoff. The ARDC had originally bumped the Larry Perkins Mustang believing (correctly) that it would not start the race despite persistent rumours that it would, and included in its place the BMW 635 CSi of Roberto Ravaglia. However, DJR protested as their car had provisionally qualified 8th. As the ARDC had no grounds to exclude it as regulations stated the top 8 qualifiers were an automatic inclusion, the runoff went ahead with both Perkins and Ravaglia taking part.
* 1985 was the only time Peter Brock was out-qualified by one of his HDT teammates in Hardie's Heroes, qualifying 0.132 behind David Parsons, who was listed only as co-driver to 1983 race winner John Harvey in the No. 7 car. Prior to this the closest a teammate had got to him in HH was when Harvey was only 1.19 seconds slower in 1980. 1985 would also be the only time that the HDT had the slowest two cars in the runoff.
* The fastest driver in official qualifying, 1974 winner John Goss, made his first and only appearance in Hardie's Heroes. Goss' Jaguar had also qualified for the shootout in 1984 but Tom Walkinshaw was at the wheel.

Official results

Bold donates outright and class winners

Pos Class No Team Drivers Car Laps Qual
Pos		 Shootout
Pos
1 C 10 JRA Ltd John Goss
Armin Hahne		 Jaguar XJ-S 163 1 6
2 C 21 Goold Motorsport Johnny Cecotto
Roberto Ravaglia		 BMW 635 CSi 163 11 9
3 C 8 JRA Ltd Tom Walkinshaw
Win Percy		 Jaguar XJ-S 160 2 1
4 C 1 JPS Team BMW Jim Richards
Tony Longhurst		 BMW 635 CSi 160 4 7
5 C 3 H. Kent Baigent Kent Baigent
Neal Lowe		 BMW 635 CSi 159 12
6 C 20 Jim Keogh Jim Keogh
Garry Rogers		 BMW 635 CSi 159 16
7 C 17 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson
Larry Perkins		 Ford Mustang GT 159 6 3
8 B 47 Network Alfa Colin Bond
Gregg Hansford		 Alfa Romeo GTV6 158 21
9 B 42 Mitsubishi Ralliart Kevin Bartlett
Peter McKay		 Mitsubishi Starion 157 13
10 C 41 Barry Jones Barry Jones
Tony Mulvihill		 Holden VK Commodore 156 25
11 C 25 Yellow Pages Tony Kavich
Ralph Radburn		 Holden VK Commodore 156 34
12 C 40 Terry Finnigan Terry Finnigan
Barry Lawrence		 Holden VK Commodore 155 24
13 C 11 Alf Barbagallo Tim Slako
Geoff Leeds		 Rover Vitesse 152 18
14 C 12 Garry Willmington Garry Willmington
Peter Janson		 Jaguar XJ-S 150 29
15 C 19 Ken Mathews Prestige Cars Ken Mathews
Bob Muir		 Holden VK Commodore 147 38
16 B 45 Ray Gulson Ray Gulson
Frank Porter		 Alfa Romeo GTV6 147 40
17 A 60 Toyota Team Australia John Smith
Drew Price		 Toyota Corolla GT 147 42
18 C 30 Lester Smerdon Lester Smerdon
Geoff Russell		 Holden VK Commodore 145 38
19 B 51 Greville Arnel Andrew Harris
Greville Arnel		 Mitsubishi Starion 141 48
20 C 39 Sleepyhead Beds Graeme Bowkett
Wayne Wilkinson		 Holden VK Commodore 135 20
21 B 53 Chris Heyer's Kingswood Import Centre Chris Heyer
Graham McGregor		 Audi 5+5 134 49
22 C 36 Lusty Engineering Graham Lusty
Ken Lusty		 Holden VK Commodore 133 45
23 C 34 The Xerox Shop Alan Taylor
Kevin Kennedy		 Holden VK Commodore 132 41
DNF C 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock
David Oxton		 Holden VK Commodore 160 9 11
DNF C 14 Auckland Coin & Bullion Exchange Denny Hulme
Ray Smith		 Holden VK Commodore 146 15
DNF C 13 Grellis Marketing Bernie McClure
Ray Ellis		 Holden VK Commodore 136 36
DNF C 4 I.M.B. Team Wollongong Peter McLeod
Graeme Bailey		 Holden VK Commodore 126 22
DNF A 57 Bob Holden Motors Manly Vale Bob Holden
Glenn Clark		 Toyota Sprinter AE86 123 46
DNF B 55 Mark Petch Motorsport Robbie Francevic
John Bowe		 Volvo 240T 122 8 5
NC B 54 Melbourne Clutch & Brake Service Brian Sampson
Garry Waldon		 Mitsubishi Starion 117 35
NC C 37 Brian Callaghan Barry Graham
Brian Callaghan		 Holden VK Commodore 114 26
DNF C 6 Super K-Mart
Roadways Racing Services		 Allan Grice
Warren Cullen		 Holden VK Commodore 114 5 4
DNF C 24 Jagparts Racing Gerald Kay
Martin Power		 Holden VK Commodore 112 33
DNF A 61 Toyota Team Australia John Faulkner
Ray Cutchie		 Toyota Sprinter AE86 110 43
DNF C 22 Erle McRae Motorsport Charlie O'Brien
John English		 BMW 635 CSi 106 23
NC A 58 David Ratcliff David Ratcliff
Don Smith		 Toyota Sprinter AE86 98 47
NC C 2 Masterton Homes Steve Masterton
Bruce Stewart		 Holden VK Commodore 96 53
DNF C 7 Mobil Holden Dealer Team John Harvey
David Parsons		 Holden VK Commodore 96 10 10
DNF C 33 Mike Burgmann Mike Burgmann
Bob Stevens		 Holden VK Commodore 93 30
DNF C 31 JPS Team BMW George Fury
Neville Crichton		 BMW 635 CSi 68 17
DNF B 49 John Bundy John Bundy
Norm Carr		 Mazda RX-7 67 51
DNF C 16 Flexible Hose Supplies Barry Robinson
Jon Jeffery		 Rover Vitesse 59 52
DNF C 23 Simon Emmerling Simon Emmerling
Trevor Hine		 BMW 635 CSi 42 31
DNF C 38 Barry Wraith Barry Wraith
Wayne Park		 Holden VK Commodore 34 39
DNF B 44 Peter Williamson Toyota Peter Williamson
Tomas Mezera		 Toyota Celica Supra 32 27
DNF C 29 Ken Davison Ken Davison
Wally Kramer		 Ford Mustang GT 19 44
DNF C 28 Capri Components Lawrie Nelson
Bill O'Brien		 Ford Mustang GT 18 37
DNF C 32 Anderson & O'Leary Bruce Anderson
Wayne Anderson		 Ford Mustang GT 17 28
DNF C 9 JRA Ltd Jeff Allam
Ron Dickson		 Jaguar XJ-S 3 3 2
DNF B 43 Mitsubishi Ralliart Brad Jones
Peter Fitzgerald		 Mitsubishi Starion 0 14
DNF C 27 Alf Grant Alf Grant
John French		 Holden VK Commodore 0 19
DNS C 18 Palmer Tube Mills Larry Perkins
Dick Johnson		 Ford Mustang GT 7 8
DNS B 52 Formula 1 Investments Graham Moore
Michel Delcourt		 Mitsubishi Starion 50
DNS C 26 Super K-Mart
Roadways Racing Services		 Warren Cullen
Allan Grice		 Holden VK Commodore
DNS A 59 Phil McDonnell Greg Crick
Phil McDonnell		 Alfa Romeo Alfetta

Statistics
  • Provisional Pole Position - #10 John Goss - 2:19.77
  • Pole Position – #8 Tom Walkinshaw – 2:18.822
  • Fastest Lap – #10 John Goss – 2:21.86
  • Average Speed – 150 km/h
  • Race Time - 6:41:30.19

References
  1. Jaguar V12 Bathurst 1000 1985 pole lap Hardies Heroes
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