Falcons win Bathurst

Press, 4 October 1977, Page 56

Falcons win Bathurst

NZPA Bathurst. Allan Moffat and his team-mate Colin Bond, staged a side by side finish in their Falcons to give Moffat his fourth win in the Hardie-Ferodo 1000 at Bathurst on Sunday. Moffat and Bond crossed the line with Moffat’s No. 1 car only half a car’s length in front of Bond’s identical No. 2 car, giving the race Its closest finish ever.

However, they were a full lap in front of the third - placed Torana of Peter Janson, and the Australian expatriate, Larry Perkins, and another Torana, driven by Charlie O’Brien and Ron Har-

rop. The Hardie-Ferodo win also gave Moffat’s co-driver, Jacky Ickx (Belgium), his fourth major endurance race victory on four continents this year. The race time and crowd were both records. The race was won in 6hr 59min and 7.Bsee and was watched by 42,300 spectators.

Moffat and Ickx reached almost 142 km/h for the 1000 km, setting a pace that the Toranas could not match.

The pace also extracted a high toll in broken cars with more than a third of the field in the over 3 litre class failing to finish. The Sydney driver, Baity Seton and his partner Don Smith, took the under 3 litre class in their Ford Capri and were seventh over-all, only nine laps behind the winners. The Alfa Romeo driven by the English international Derek Bell and local driver Gary Leggatt took the under two litre class and ninth place over-all, a further four laps behind. Moffat said after his win that it was the only 300 mile sprint race that he had ever driven and it was unlikely that the race could be won in this fashion again. Moffat was exhausted when he stepped from the car at the finish and had to be helped to the winning dais. His hands had been badly blistered by the Falcon’s steering wheel and his wife, Pauline, bandaged them while he faced the winner’s press confer' ence. The pole position winner, Peter Brock, won the start from Bond in his Torana but on the first

lap the Craven Mild driver, Allan Grice jumped into the lead. However, the Falcons moved Into the leading positions after only four laps, first Bond taking the honours and then Moffat moving past him up the mountain straight as though in a rehearsed move. They exchanged positions once again after another couple of laps racing and this time, the Moffat-Ickx car was never to be out of the lead except when it stopped for refuelling and Bond took over. The popular Sydney driver, John Goss, teamed with Henri Fes. carolo In a Falcon and with the father and son team, Jack and Geoff Brabham, running as a second car, was also a victim of the record pace. Both cars were out for much of the race with gearbox and differential failures. The Brabhams only completed 141 laps and Goss and Pescarolo 113. The Auckland team of BUI Shlells and Frank Radlsich brought home their Maida in 17th place over-all, after completing 141 laps. Theirs was the third placed Mazda