Hardie-Ferodo 1000
Mount Panorama, Bathurst
2nd October, 1977

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Falcon XC Cobra
Bathurst 1977
Torana L34

Number of Laps: 163


Total Race Time: 6:59:7.8
Fastest lap: Allan Moffat, 2:26.4 (151.77 km/h)
Classes: Class A - 3001 to 6000cc; Class B - 2001 to 3000cc; Class C - Up to 2000cc
The 1977 Hardie-Ferodo was a great event if only for the degree of international participation. Drivers such as Jacki Ickx, Jack Brabham, Vern Schuppan, Leo Leonard, John Fitzpatrick, Johnnie Rutherford, Janet Guthrie, Henri Pescarolo, Gerry Marshal and Basil Van Rooyan added a strong character to the race. No less than 11 Falcons entered, the biggest Ford entry since 1971.

Allan Moffat was teamed with Jacki Ickx, Colin Bond with Alan Hamilton, John Goss with Henri Pescarolo, Jack and Geoff Brabham were together in the second Goss car, Jim Richards with Rod Coppins, Ron Dickson with Fred Gibson, Dick Johnson with Vern Schuppan, Murray Carter with Bob Stevens, Rusty French with Leo Leonard in a new car, Rod Donovan and Ron Lindau, the two West Australian Kings of Wanneroo Park's "Street Class" races, also in a car new to production touring and finally, Jim Keogh was teamed with Graeme Ritter.

Against this were 19 Torana’s, a mixture of hatchback and four-door models, headed by the Marlboro-Holden Dealer cars led by John Harvey, plus a three-car entry from Bill Patterson Racing with Peter Brock their No 1 driver. There was good back-up in the other Torana teams. For the first time the cars were permitted to use two-way radios to communicate with their pit crews.

Practice saw Peter Brock on pole position with a time of 2min 24.9sec, one-tenth better than Moffat's time in 1976. Colin Bond was next fastest with a 2min 26.4sec to take the other position on the front row of the grid. Moffat started. from position 4. The next best Falcon was that of Jim Richards who unobtrusively earned sixth spot.

The race was dominated by Moffat, Bond, Ickx and Hamilton, the two Falcon’s crossing the line in a classic 1-2 formation, finishing only inches apart after instructions were given to the cars by Carroll Smith to put on a grandstand finish. The two cars did the last lap side by side in one of the most stirring moments witnessed at Bathurst (click here to view).

Of the other Falcons, only two were classed as finishers, the Dickson/Gibson car being credited with 11th outright after an over-rev in the opening laps did enough damage to the engine to rob the car of a lot of power, and the Brabham/Brabham Falcon which was racing very strongly for most of the race, actually being third outright (behind Moffat and Bond) for some time, was credited with 16th outright.

The others suffered from various maladies, Murray Carter for example, blowing an engine after 19 laps. His crew worked for a couple of hours to install a new engine, and after 19 further laps that one blew as well! The Torana challenge for this race appeared to be, and was, very strong. But the Moffat cars simply could not be challenged on the day. They ran faultlessly at a very fast pace, the only untoward happening being a tire change on Moffat's car in the closing laps. It was the perfect conclusion to 10 years of racing Falcons.
Please Note: You can sort this listing by simply clicking on the column heading
DRIVER / CO DRIVER(S)
1

Allan Moffat / Jacky Ickx

Falcon XC
A
163
0:2:25.6
2

Colin Bond / Alan Hamilton

Falcon XC
A
163
0:2:25.2
3

Peter Janson / Larry Perkins

Torana A9X
A
162
0:2:29.2
4

Peter Brock / Phillip Brock

Torana A9X
A
162
0:2:24.1
5

Charlie O'Brien / Ron Harrop

Torana A9X
A
162
0:2:27.2
6

Barry Seton / Don Smith

Capri V6
B
154
0:2:37.3
7

Tony Roberts / Doug Chivas

Torana A9X
A
154
0:2:32.2
8

Derek Bell / Gary Leggatt

Alfa 2000 GTV
C
150
0:2:42.4
9

Rod Stevens / Tony Farrell

Escort RS2000
C
150
0:2:44.2
10

Ron Dickson / Fred Gibson

Falcon XB GT
A
147
0:2:32.3
11

Frank Porter / Jim Murcott

Alfetta GTAM
C
146
0:2:46.8
12

Ray Gulson / David Crowther

Alfa 2000 GTV
C
145
0:2:46.8
13

Nick Louis / Ted Brewster

Mazda RX3
B
145
0:2:45.1
14

Phil McDonell / Jim Hunter

BMW 3.0Si
B
144
0:2:42.3
15

Gary Cooke / Ben Penhall

Mazda RX3
B
143
0:2:47.7
16

Bill Shiells / Frank Radisich

Mazda RX3
B
142
0:2:52.9
17

Alan Taylor / Kevin Kennedy

Torana A9X
A
141
0:2:34.6
18

Jack Brabham / Geoff Brabham

Falcon XC
A
141
0:2:26.9
19

Eric Boord / Keith Poole

Escort RS2000
C
138
0:2:44.8
20

Terry Daly / Barry Jones

Escort RS2000
C
137
0:2:44.9
21

Robin Dudfield / Tony Niovanni

Alfa 2000 GTV
C
131
0:2:50.7
22

Lynn Brown / Bruce Stewart

Mazda RX3
B
129
0:2:43.7
DNF

Bob Forbes / Kevin Bartlett

Torana A9X
A
DNF
0:2:25.6
DNF

Garth Wigston / Bruce Hindhaugh

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Allan Grice / Frank Gardner

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

John Goss / Henri Pescarolo

Falcon XC
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Bob Morris / John Fitzpatrick

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Bruce Hodgson / Dave Morrow

Escort RS2000
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Gerry Marshall / Basil van Rooyen

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Phil Ward / Phil Lucas

BMW 2002 Ti
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Yoshimi Katayama / Geoff Leeds

Mazda RX3
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Rusty French / Leo Leonard

Falcon XC
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Russell Skaife / Sue Ransom

Capri V6
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Peter Granger / Ian Richards

BMW 2002 Ti
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Alan Cant / Satoru Nakajima

Capri V6
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Ray Farrar / Geoff Wade

Capri V6
B
DNF
not available
DNF

John Harvey / Wayne Negus

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Ian Diffen / Tim Slako

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Lyndon Arnel / Richard Carter

Escort RS2000
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Bob Holden / Ian Messner

Escort RS2000
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Graham Ritter / Jim Keogh

Falcon XB GT
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Peter Williamson / Gary Scott

Toyota Celica
C
DNF
not available
DNF

John Duggan / Brian Wheeler

Mazda RX3
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Peter Hopwood / Warwick Henderson

Alfetta GT
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Chris Heyer / Rudi Dahlhauser

VW Golf GTi
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Graham Ryan / Phillip Arnull

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Jim Richards / Rod Coppins

Falcon XB GT
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Rod Morris / Paul Gulson

Escort RS2000
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Bill Stanley / Les Grose

Capri V6
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Lakis Manticas / Graham Moore

Capri V6
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Warren Cullen / Brian Sampson

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Murray Carter / Bob Stevens

Falcon XC
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Bob Jane / Ian Geoghegan

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Rod Donovan / Ron Lindau

Falcon XB GT
A
DNF
not available
DNF

Johnny Rutherford / Janet Guthrie

Torana A9X
A
DNF
not available
DNF

James Laing-Peach / Bill Evans

Dolomite Sprint
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Allan Gough / Kel Gough

Holden Gemini
C
DNF
not available
DNF

Lawrie Nelson / Brian Reed

Capri V6
B
DNF
not available
DNF

Terry Shiel / Don Holland

Mazda RX3
B
DNF
not available
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