BMW dominates

Press, 5 August 1985, Page 3

BMW dominates

NZPA-AAP Sydney Jim Richards, driving a BMW, served a two-lap beating to rivals in the first round of the Australian Endurance Championship at Amaroo Park. Underlining BMW’s dominance of touring car racing, second place went to the >rivate BMW of Kent Jaigent and Neil Lowe of New Zealand. Richards was beaten at the start by Peter Brock’s Commodore and did not take the race lead until lap 27.

“I wasn’t taking it easy, Peter was too quick for me during the early laps,” Richards said. He was not headed for the remaining 128 laps of the 300 km race.

Peter Brock, Commodore, turned on a determined display to claim third place, but was slowed by a broken rocker in his V 8 engine.

Brock’s Mobil teammates, John Harvey and David Parsons, were placed fourth after surviving a tense struggle early in the

race with Baigent and the ‘ Alfa Romeo of Colin Bond. Despite tyre problems, Bond finished fifth after a race spent keeping company with Tony Longhurst’s BMW 323 i. Bond and Longhurst disputed three litre class honours and the Queenslander, Longhurst, was unlucky to miss out. His smaller capacity BMW was planned to complete the distance without a pit-stop, but a clash with another car and a piece of debris resulted in two stops to change punctured tyres. In a polished drive, 1600 class winner John Smith placed his Toyota Corolla in seventh place outright. Volvo driver Robbie Francevic lost a wheel on the warm-up lap and failed to make the starting grid. Liverpool driver Peter Williamson was furious after his Toyota broke its clutch on lap seven. Williamson had been the surprise of qualifying and on tyres for the race, he could have been a real chance.