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1960 Armstrong 500

Motor race in Australia

The 1960 Armstrong 500 was an endurance motor race for Australian made or assembled standard production sedans. The event was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 20 November 1960 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total distance of 501 miles.

The race was organised by the Light Car Club of Australia and promoted by Armstrong York Engineering Pty Ltd. Jim Thompson, managing director of the shock absorber manufacturer, was encouraged by his PR man Ron Thonemann to increase the company's business with major carmakers, particularly Ford and Holden, by sponsoring a race.

This was the first event held in the history of the race later to become known as the Bathurst 1000, the race that would come to dominate Australian motor racing.

Outright controversy

Officially only class placings and prize money were awarded, with no outright winner recognised. before the Class C Russell/Anderson/Loxton Peugeot. A comprehensive investigation in 1992 by Graham Hoinville, utilizing the record of individual lap times from the race, concluded that the car of Frank Coad and John Roxburgh was the first to finish the race.

Class structure

Class A

Class A was for cars with an engine capacity of 750cc or less. The class featured Fiat 600, Lloyd Alexander, NSU Prinz and Renault 750

Class B

Class B was for cars with an engine capacity of between 751cc and 1300cc. The class featured Ford Anglia, Renault Dauphine, Simca Aronde, Triumph Herald and Volkswagen Beetle

Class C

Class C was for cars with an engine capacity of between 1301cc and 2000cc. The class featured Austin Lancer, Hillman Minx, Morris Major, Peugeot 403 and Singer Gazelle.

Class D

Class D was for cars with an engine capacity between 2001cc and 3500cc. The class featured Ford Falcon, Humber Super Snipe, Mercedes-Benz 220SE, Standard Vanguard, Vauxhall Cresta.

Class E

Class E was for cars with an engine capacity over 3500cc. There was only one entry in the class, a Ford Customline.

Results

Class results were as follows:

Pos.	No.	Entrant
1	Continental & General Dist.	Doug Whiteford
Lex Davison	NSU Prinz	155
2	Continental & General Dist.	Bruce Walton
Paul England	NSU Prinz	151
3	Continental & General Dist.	Hoot Gibson
J Gorman	NSU Prinz	150
10	W. McB. March	Bill March
John Connolly	Renault 750	145
15	Wal Gillespie Fiat Services	Wal Gillespie
Lou Sinclair	Fiat 600	138
4	Finlay Bros. P/L	Kevin Lott
G Petty	Lloyd Alexander TS	135
16	Torino Motors P/L	Brian Pyers
Frank Elkins	Fiat 600	135
5	Finlay Bros. P/L	Graham Levingston
Peter Candy	Lloyd Alexander TS	134
7	Finlay Bros. P/L	R Slaney
G White	Lloyd Alexander TS	132
8	B.P. Batteries P/L	Les Park
J Fleming	Renault 750
9	Monash Service Station	Rex Emmett
A Hawkins	Renault 750
6	Finlay Brothers P/L	Tony Thieler
Frank Kilfoyle	Lloyd Alexander TS	120
24	Melody Motors P/L	Murray Galt
Bill Murray	Simca Aronde	164
23	Chrysler Australia Ltd. (Eiffel Tower Group)	Jack Nougher
Lionel Marsh	Simca Aronde	161
22	Chrysler Australia Ltd. (B.J. Autos Service)	Bob Brown
Michael Lempriere	Simca Aronde	161
27	Australian Motor Industries	Jack Maurer
Ern Abbott	Triumph Herald	158
20	Orman's Service Station	Rex Orman
Max McPherson	Volkswagen	158
18	Lanock Motors Ltd.	David McKay
Greg Cusack	Volkswagen	158
19	Spencer Motors P/L	Arthur Wylie
Ken Wylie	Volkswagen	157
29	Nalders Garage	Bill Nalder
John Ampt	Ford Anglia	156
14	Ecurie Dauphine	J Leighton
Alan Ling	Renault Dauphine	154
12	Ecurie Dauphine	Des West
Ian Geoghegan	Renault Dauphine	152
11	Ecurie Dauphine	Bill Pitt
Leo Geoghegan	Renault Dauphine	151
17	V.W. Motors P/L	Eddie Perkins
George Reynolds	Volkswagen	151
26	Australian Motor Industries	Graham Hoinville
Austin Miller	Triumph Herald	100
25	R. Christie	Ray Christie
George Hughes	Simca Aronde	66
21	Chrysler Australia Ltd. (J.E. Murray)	Jack Murray
W Murison	Simca Aronde
34	Continental & General Dist. P/L	Geoff Russell
David Anderson
Tony Loxton	Peugeot 403	167
41	British Motor Corp.	Peter Manton
Barry Topen	Morris Major	164
38	British Motor Corp.	George Spanos
Leo Taylor	Austin Lancer	161
35	Continental & General Dist. P/L	Bob Holden
Ken Brigden	Peugeot 403	160
42	British Motor Corp.	Brian Muir
Jim Smith	Morris Major	160
43	British Motor Corp.	Rod Murphy
John Callaway	Morris Major	159
45	Rootes (Aust) Limited	Harry Firth
John Reaburn	Singer Gazelle	159
36	Continental & General Dist. P/L	Ron Lilley
Jim Gullan	Peugeot 403	157
39	British Motor Corp.	Brian Foley
Alan Edney	Austin Lancer	155
44	Rootes (Aust) Limited	Bill Clemens
Don Dunoon	Hillman Minx
40	British Motor Corp.	Barry Gurdon
Clyde Miller	Austin Lancer	59
37	S. A. Chenery P/L	John Roxburgh
Frank Coad	Vauxhall Cresta	167
28	Australian Motor Industries	Norm Beechey
John French	Standard Vanguard	162
30	Autoland P/L	Bob Jane
Lou Molina	Ford XK Falcon	161
46	Rootes (Aust) Limited	Bill Graetz
Fred Sutherland	Humber Super Snipe	125
47	Smith Street Motors P/L	Gavin Youl
John Youl	Mercedes-Benz 220SE	67
31	Wangaratta Motors	Ron Phillips
Ern Seeliger	Ford XK Falcon	49
32	Sabina Motors P/L	Ray Gibbs
Murray Carter	Ford Customline	154

Statistics

Fastest Lap - #47 Youl/Youl - 2:41 - Laps 15, 45 & 62
Race Time of Car No. 37 : 8:20:45

References

Australian Motor Sport, Dec 1960 - Jan 1961
Australia's Greatest Motor Race, 1960–1989
The Age, Monday, 21 Nov 1960

References

Official Programme, The 1960 Armstrong 500, Phillip Island, Sunday, 20th November
In later years as the fame of the [[Bathurst 1000]] grew, outright placings, particularly the outright winner, became more widely recognised. John Roxburgh and Frank Coad have been widely acclaimed as the outright winners of the event, and have been recognised in [[Confederation of Australian Motor Sport
David McKay, Cresta wins production "500", Modern Motor, January 1961, pages 14 to 17 & 81 to 82
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040702045235/http://www.nmrm.com.au/fact.cfm?ID_Race=1& Armstrong 500 20 November, 1960 - www.nmrm.com.au via web.archive.org] Retrieved on 23 October 2013
Armstrong 500 - 1960, Official Results, The Australian Light Car, Jan - Feb 1961

Info: Wikipedia Source

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