As we get set for the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, let’s look back at the key decade-on anniversaries in Australian touring cars…
FORD VERSUS HOLDEN
1968 The 1968 Australian Tour-ing Car Championship would be decided by a 34-lap race at Warwick Farm in New South Wales, the final time the title would be decided by a single race.
The Mustang was the car to have under the Improved Production rules, with the Ford brigade including defending champion Ian Geoghegan, Bob Jane, Fred Gibson, Rod Coppins and more, while Norm Beechey once again went against the grain with a Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Geoghegan raced away from the start as the challengers fell by the wayside with a high attrition rate, including Jane and Beechey. Geoghegan went on to win by a minute and a half for his third consecutive title.
Ford and Holden factory-backed entries faced off for the first time at Mount Panorama for the Bathurst 500 in October. The Holden Dealer Racing Team marked Holden’s first official Great Race entry, going up against the Ford-backed team led by Harry Firth.
The factory-backed assault fell by the wayside in the race, with victory going to the privateer entry from Wyong Motors of Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland. Mulholland completed just one lap, with McPhee running on road tyres to gain an advantage over the faltering favourites.
CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER
Ian Geoghegan (Total Team, Ford Mustang)
BATHURST WINNERS
Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland (Wyong Motors Pty Ltd, Holden HK Monaro GTS327)
BROCK’S RETURN TO HDT
1978 Ford steamrolled the opposi-tion in 1977, highlighted by the Moffat Ford Dealers one-two formation finish at Bathurst. This forced Holden back to the drawing board, with John Sheppard replacing Harry Firth as Holden Dealer Team manager and Peter Brock returning to the team following three seasons away.
This story is from the February - March 2018 edition of V8X Supercar Magazine.
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This story is from the February - March 2018 edition of V8X Supercar Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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