1983 James Hardie 1000

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)

The 1983 James Hardie 1000 was a motor race for Group C Touring Cars contested at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on 2 October 1983. It was the 24th "Bathurst 1000" and the third to carry the James Hardie 1000 name. The race, which took place as part of Round 4 of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship, was contested over 163 laps of the 6.172 km circuit, a total distance of 1006.036 km.

The Holden Dealer Team took a controversial, but legal, victory with the team's second Holden VH Commodore SS driven by John Harvey, Peter Brock and Larry Perkins. Harvey and Phil Brock qualified the car but after the #05 car blew its engine on lap 8, Peter Brock and Perkins transferred themselves into Harvey's car. Phil Brock never drove the car on race day and was forced to spectate as his three teammates won the race in the car he qualified in, a decision that he claimed was made by Perkins as team manager despite Perkins being the slowest qualifier of the quartet and despite it also being legal for four drivers to drive one car (something Perkins refutes claiming the rules only allowed a maximum of three drivers per car). The car was also the car which Peter Brock and Larry Perkins had won the race in 1982 and updated to 1983 specs, meaning this Holden Commodore became the first race car to win the Bathurst 1000 twice. The Holden Dealer Team Commodore finished a lap ahead of Allan Moffat and Japanese driver Yoshimi Katayama in their Peter Stuyvesant sponsored Mazda RX-7. It would be the closest Mazda would get to winning the race. Third was the STP Roadways Racing Holden Commodore driven by 1982 pole sitter Allan Grice and 1969 winner Colin Bond.

Only three cars in the race were driven by drivers who had both previously won the race. The three cars were: the #05 Holden Dealer Team (entered Holden VH Commodore SS of defending race winners Brock and Perkins), the #17 Ford XE Falcon of Dick Johnson and Kevin Bartlett, and the #16 Nissan Bluebird Turbo of Fred Gibson and John French.

Class structure

The 22nd placed Nissan Bluebird Turbo of Gibson/French (Car pictured in 2012)
Jim Richards and Frank Gardner shared a BMW 635 CSi, but did not finish. (Car pictured in 2015)
The Holden Commodore VH driven by Peter Brock and Larry Perkins. The car, which did not finish the race, is pictured in 2018

Entries were divided into two classes based on engine capacity:[1]

Over 3000 cc

For cars of over 3000cc engine capacity, it featured BMW 635 CSi, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore, Mazda RX-7 and Nissan Bluebird. [1]

Under 3000 cc

For cars of under 3000cc engine capacity, it featured Alfa Romeo GTV6, Audi 5+5, Ford Capri, Isuzu Gemini and Nissan Pulsar.[1]the race for the under 3 litre class was won by Australian Driver Allan "ACE" Cant and co driver and team owner NZ born Les Grose in the #64 wideline windows ford capri.

Hardies Heroes

The final order of the first ten grid positions was established in the "Hardies Heroes" session on the day before the race.[2] This involved the fastest eight cars from qualifying plus two others at the discretion of the organisers contesting two, single timed laps, one car at a time.[2] The fastest lap of each car set its grid position.[2]

PosNoEntrantsDriverCarHHQual
Pole 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia Peter Brock Holden VH Commodore SS 2:16.270 2:15.3
2 15 Nissan Motor Co. Australia P/L Australia George Fury Nissan Bluebird Turbo 2:17.509 2:17.2
3 3 Cadbury-Schweppes Pty. Ltd. Australia David Parsons Holden VH Commodore SS 2:18.212 2:17.8
4 31 JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 2:18.414 2:17.6
5 25 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia John Harvey Holden VH Commodore SS 2:18.549 2:18.0
6 22 Cullen Automotive Industries Australia Warren Cullen Holden VH Commodore SS 2:18.563 2:18.3
7 11 Soundwave Discos Australia Garry Rogers Holden VH Commodore SS 2:18.648 2:18.5
8 6 STP Roadways Racing Australia Allan Grice Holden VH Commodore SS 2:18.963 2:17.8
9 4 John Sands Racing Australia Bob Morris Holden VH Commodore SS 2:21.184 2:19.1
10 17 Palmer Tube Mills Australia Dick Johnson Ford XE Falcon No time 2:16.3

Official results

Full results of the 1983 James Hardie 1000 were:

Pos Class No Entrants Drivers Car Laps Qual
Pos
Shootout
Pos
1 Over 3000 cc 25 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia John Harvey
Australia Peter Brock
Australia Larry Perkins
Australia (Phil Brock)
Holden VH Commodore SS 163 7 5
2 Over 3000 cc 43 Peter Stuyvesant International Canada Allan Moffat
Japan Yoshimi Katayama
Mazda RX-7 162 14
3 Over 3000 cc 6 STP Roadways Racing Australia Allan Grice
Australia Colin Bond
Holden VH Commodore SS 160 5 8
4 Over 3000 cc 14 STP Roadways Racing Australia Steve Harrington
Australia Garth Wigston
Holden VH Commodore SS 158 11
5 Over 3000 cc 50 Petrolon Slick 50 Australia Peter McLeod
Australia Graeme Bailey
Mazda RX-7 158 19
6 Over 3000 cc 12 Team Toshiba Australia Jim Keogh
New Zealand Leo Leonard
Holden VH Commodore SS 157 17
7 Over 3000 cc 27 Alf Grant Australia Alf Grant
Australia David Seldon
Ford XD Falcon 156 26
8 Over 3000 cc 4 John Sands Racing Australia Bob Morris
Australia Rusty French
Holden VH Commodore SS 154 10 9
9 Over 3000 cc 35 Tokico Australia Phil Alexander
Australia Ron Gillard
Mazda RX-7 153 24
10 Over 3000 cc 9 Andrew Harris Australia Andrew Harris
Australia Gary Cooke
Ford XE Falcon*
Holden VH Commodore SS
151 30
11 Over 3000 cc 41 B.F. Goodrich Australia Ltd. Australia Barry Jones
New Zealand Rod Millen
Mazda RX-7 151 40
12 Over 3000 cc 11 Soundwave Discos Australia Garry Rogers
Australia Clive Benson-Brown
Holden VH Commodore SS 149 9 7
13 Over 3000 cc 8 Everlast Battery Service Australia Garry Willmington
Australia Mike Griffin
Ford XD Falcon 147 33
14 Over 3000 cc 24 Scotty Taylor Holden Australia Alan Taylor
Australia Kevin Kennedy
Holden VH Commodore SS 146 36
15 Under 3000 cc 64 Les Grose Australia Les Grose
Australia Alan Cant
Ford Capri Mk. III 144 47
16 Over 3000 cc 13 Greg Symes Australia Greg Symes
Australia Bruce Smith
Holden VH Commodore SS 141 31
17 Under 3000 cc 58 Ray Gulson Australia Ray Gulson
Australia Gerard Murphy
Alfa Romeo GTV6 141 51
18 Over 3000 cc 51 Tony Mulvihill Australia Tony Mulvihill
Australia John Murden
Mazda RX-7 138 49
19 Over 3000 cc 26 Everlast Battery Service Australia Bill O'Brien
Australia Brian Sampson
Ford XD Falcon 136 22
20 Over 3000 cc 47 Brian Callaghan Australia Barry Graham
Australia Brian Callaghan
Ford XE Falcon 136 28
21 Over 3000 cc 32 Johnnie Walker Australia Johnnie Walker
Australia Gene Cook
Mazda RX-7 135 44
22 Over 3000 cc 16 Nissan Motor Co. Australia P/L Australia Fred Gibson
Australia John French
Nissan Bluebird Turbo 134 18
23 Over 3000 cc 19 Ken Mathews Prestige Cars P/L Australia Ken Mathews
Australia Greg Toepfer
Holden VH Commodore SS 132 23
24 Under 3000 cc 63 Chris Heyer's Kingswood Import Centre Australia Chris Heyer
Australia Don Bretland
Audi 5+5 132 57
25 Under 3000 cc 61 John White Australia John White
Australia Bernie McLure
Isuzu Gemini 125 52
26 Under 3000 cc 59 Capri Components Australia Lawrie Nelson
Australia Peter Jones
Ford Capri Mk. III 114 48
DNF Under 3000 cc 55 Barry Seton Australia Barry Seton
Australia Glenn Seton
Ford Capri Mk. III 134 41
DNF Over 3000 cc 15 Nissan Motor Co. Australia P/L Australia George Fury
Australia Garry Scott
Nissan Bluebird Turbo 130 3 2
DNF Over 3000 cc 37 Eurocars (Northside) Pty. Ltd. Australia Terry Shiel
Australia Wally Storey
Mazda RX-7 122 15
DNF Over 3000 cc 33 Dreamworld Australia Mike Burgmann
Australia Tony Longhurst
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 121 21
DNF Over 3000 cc 53 Fred Geissler Australia Fred Geissler
Australia Ralph Radburn
Holden VH Commodore SS 116 29
DNF Over 3000 cc 22 Cullen Automotive Industries Australia Warren Cullen
Australia Ron Harrop
Holden VH Commodore SS 116 8 6
DNF Over 3000 cc 3 Cadbury-Schweppes Pty. Ltd. New Zealand Peter Janson
Australia David Parsons
Holden VH Commodore SS 106 6 3
DNF Over 3000 cc 42 T. P. Ryan Australia Terry Ryan
Australia Graham Storah
Mazda RX-7 84 56
DNF Over 3000 cc 48 Roger Manson Holden Australia Andrew Manson
Australia Geoffrey Manson
Holden VH Commodore SS 80 38
NC Over 3000 cc 38 Gawler, SA Australia Bernie Stack
Australia Bob Jennings
Holden VH Commodore SS 68 32
DNF Over 3000 cc 10 Terry Finnigan Australia Terry Finnigan
Australia Geoff Leeds
Holden VH Commodore SS 62 16
DNF Under 3000 cc 57 L. J. Hazelton Australia Laurie Hazelton
Australia Jerry Strauberg
Ford Capri Mk. III 61 54
DNF Over 3000 cc 17 Palmer Tube Mills Australia Dick Johnson
Australia Kevin Bartlett
Ford XE Falcon* 61 2 10
NC Over 3000 cc 34 Peter Stuyvesant International Australia Gregg Hansford
Australia Garry Waldon
Mazda RX-7 49 12
DNF Over 3000 cc 29 John Donnelly Australia John Donnelly
Australia Kerry Baily
Ford XD Falcon 37 46
DNF Over 3000 cc 36 Gerry Burges Australia Gerry Burges
United States Roger Mandeville
Mazda RX-7 35 39
DNF Over 3000 cc 23 Bryan Byrt Ford Australia John English
Australia Paul Gulson
Ford XD Falcon 32 27
DNF Over 3000 cc 21 Ron Dickson Australia Ron Dickson
Australia Bob Stevens
Mazda RX-7 24 34
DNF Over 3000 cc 20 King George Tavern Australia Joe Moore
Australia Graham Moore
Ford XE Falcon 17 35
DNF Over 3000 cc 2 Masterton Homes Pty. Ltd. Australia Steve Masterton
Australia Bruce Stewart
Ford XE Falcon 17 13
DNF Over 3000 cc 18 Valentine Greetings Australia Murray Carter
Australia David Clement
Mazda RX-7 14 25
DNF Under 3000 cc 60 Nissan Motor Co. Australia P/L Australia Christine Gibson
Australia Bob Muir
Nissan Pulsar EXA 14 37
DNF Over 3000 cc 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Australia Peter Brock
Australia (Larry Perkins)
Holden VH Commodore SS 8 1 1
DNF Over 3000 cc 39 John Bundy Australia John Bundy
Australia (Norm Carr)
Mazda RX-7 8 42
DNF Over 3000 cc 31 JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards
Australia (Frank Gardner)
BMW 635 CSi 6 4 4
DNF Over 3000 cc 45 Gary Hinton Australia Gary Hinton
Australia Lester Smerdon
Holden VC Commodore 5 50
DNF Under 3000 cc 56 Hulcraft Autos Australia John Craft
Australia Don Smith
Ford Capri Mk. III 3 43
DNF Over 3000 cc 40 CDT Performance Vehicles Australia Tony Hubbard
Australia (Jim Faneco)
Ford XE Falcon 3 45
DNF Over 3000 cc 52 Ron Grose Australia (Ron Grose)
Australia David Grose
Mazda RX-7 3 53
DNS Under 3000 cc 62 Daily Planet Australia (Bob Holden)
United Kingdom (Gordon Spice)
Toyota Celica 0 55
DNS Over 3000 cc 28 Bayside Spare Parts Australia (Barry Lawrence)
Australia (Geoff Russell)
Holden VH Commodore SS* 20
DNS Over 3000 cc 30 Tony Kavich Australia (Paul Jones)
Australia (Tony Kavich)
Mazda RX-7 58

Notes

  • The names of drivers who practiced in the car but did not take part in the race are shown within brackets.
  • Harris/Cooke qualified 30th in the #9 Bendigo Falcon but their car was used to get Johnson/Bartlett back into the race after Johnson crashed the #17 Falcon in Saturday morning's Hardies Heroes. The Harris/Cooke team took part in the race after Johnson's sponsor Ross Palmer (owner of Palmer Tube Mills) acquired the Lawrence/Russell Commodore. The Commodore and Falcon were rebuilt and painted for the race in a marathon effort through Saturday night. After getting stewards and other teams approval the DJR Falcon was allowed to start from 10th while the Bendigo Commodore was allowed to start from position 30. Following the race the Falcon, leased from Harris by Palmer, was returned to the Bendigo Team while the Commodore was returned to Palmer who promptly sold it back to Barry Lawrence.
  • Andrew Harris had to get permission from one of his sponsors, Melbourne's Jefferson Ford, to use their Ford dealership name on the re-painted Holden Commodore, which was dubbed the Fordore by the team (the Commodore also carried 5.8 signage, the litre capacity of the Ford 351 Cleveland engine used in the Falcons). In a TV interview during the race with Channel 7's Evan Green, Harris told that he had offered Dick Johnson's wife Jill his Falcon for DJR to get back into the race after seeing a visibly upset Jill Johnson in the pits following her husbands qualifying crash, reasoning that the Ford fans would rather see Johnson in the race than himself. Driving the Commodore Harris ended up finishing 10th and winning the Rookie of the Year award.

Statistics

  • Provisional Pole Position - #05 Peter Brock - 2:15.3
  • Pole Position - #05 Peter Brock - 2:16.270
  • Fastest Lap - #25 Peter Brock - 2:18.5 (lap record)
  • Race time of winning car - 6:28:31.6[3]
  • Average speed of winning car - 158 km/h

References

  1. Entry List, Official Programme, James Hardie 1000, Mount Panorama Bathurst, Sunday 2 October 1983, pages 64 & 65
  2. Bil Tuckey and David Greenhalgh, Australia's Greatest Motor Race, The First 30 Years, Chevron Publishing Group Pty Limited, 1990, pages 151 to 160
  3. Bil Tuckey and David Greenhalgh, Australia's Greatest Motor Race, The First 30 Years, Chevron Publishing Group Pty Limited, 1990, page 313
  • Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1983/84
  • Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1960-1989 (©1990)
  • James Hardie 1000, 1983/84
  • Modern Motor, December 1983
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