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1981 James Hardie 1000

Motor race in Australia

The 1981 James Hardie 1000 was the 22nd running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1981 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine configuration based classes, a system used uniquely for this race.

For the first time the race did not go the full race distance as on lap 121, an accident involving six cars blocked the track at McPhillamy Park Corner. The Ford Falcon of Dick Johnson and John French were leading the race at the time of the accident and were declared the winners, becoming the first Queenslanders to win the race. Bob Morris and British endurance racer John Fitzpatrick, also driving a Falcon finished second. A lap down in third was Allan Moffat and British endurance racing great Derek Bell driving a Mazda RX-7, the best ever result to that point for a Japanese built car.

History was made at Bathurst in 1981. For the first (and as of 2024, the only) time in the races history, a reigning Formula One World Drivers' Champion drove in the Bathurst 1000. This honour fell to Australia's own World Champion Alan Jones who co-drove with Warren Cullen in Cullen's V8-engined Holden Commodore.

After 8 wins in the race dating back to Bob Jane and Harry Firth's win in a Ford Falcon XL at Phillip Island in 1962, this would prove to be the last Bathurst 1000 win for the Ford Falcon until 1994. It would also be the 6th and last Bathurst win for the 5.8 L 351 Cleveland V8 engine.

Class structure

Class : 8 Cylinder & Over

This class was almost exclusively for V8s; Holden Commodores, Ford Falcons and Chevrolet Camaros. The exception being a V12 Jaguar XJ-S.

Class : 6 Cylinder (Includes Rotary Engines)

The class for six-cylinder and rotary-engined cars was contested mostly by Ford Capris, with a single factory supported BMW 635CSi and those Mazda RX-7s entered, powered by rotary engines.

Class : 4 Cylinder (Includes 5 Cylinder & Turbo)

The class for cars with four-cylinder engines included Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ford Escort, Isuzu Gemini, Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Bluebird Turbo, Toyota Celica, Toyota Corolla, Triumph Dolomite, and Volkswagen Golf.

Hardies Heroes

Pos	No	Team	Driver	Car
9	Nine Network Racing Team	AUS Kevin Bartlett	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	2:36.432
17	Palmer Tube Mills	AUS Dick Johnson	Ford XD Falcon	2:38.813
05	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	AUS Peter Brock	Holden VC Commodore	2:39.043
7	Bob Morris Motor Sport	AUS Bob Morris	Ford XD Falcon	2:39.339
43	Peter Stuyvesant International Racing	CAN Allan Moffat	Mazda RX-7	2:39.443
11	Soundwave Discos	AUS Garry Rogers	Holden VC Commodore	2:41.315
3	Cadbury Schweppes Racing	AUS Larry Perkins	Holden VC Commodore	2:42.621
25	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	AUS John Harvey	Holden VC Commodore	2:43.018
21	Ron Dickson	AUS Ron Dickson	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	2:44.505
27	Roadways Racing	AUS Garth Wigston	Holden VC Commodore	2:46.248

This was the first Top 10 shootout to be held in wet conditions, though conditions were damp for the first ever shootout in 1978.
For the 2nd year running, Kevin Bartlett was fastest qualifier and won Hardies Heroes in his Channel 9 sponsored Chevrolet Camaro. It was also the second year in a row that Dick Johnson would equal Bartlett's time in qualifying, but would be slower in the shootout. Due to the extremely wet conditions, Bartlett's runoff time was almost 16 seconds slower than his time in qualifying.
This was the first time a car powered by something other than a V8 engine had contested Hardies Heroes. The honor went to the 12A Rotary powered Mazda RX-7 of Allan Moffat who ended up 5th on the grid.
Mazda became the fourth manufacturer to contest Hardies Heroes following on from Ford, Holden and Chevrolet.
The gap of 2.381 seconds between Bartlett and Johnson broke the 1979 record of 1.966 seconds between Peter Brock and Bob Morris. As of the 2024 race, Bartlett's shootout record remains unbeaten.
Roadways Racing's Garth Wigston spun his Holden Commodore through Murrays Corner on both of his laps during the runoff, losing between 10 and 20 seconds each time. With his best recorded time of 2:46.248 being only 9.8 seconds slower than Bartlett's pole time, it suggested that a much higher qualifying position might have gone begging for the Tasmanian driver.

Race

The race was stopped on lap 122 because of a multiple-car incident that blocked the track at McPhillamy Park Corner. The accident began with a collision between the Ford Falcons of Bob Morris and Christine Gibson. Garry Rogers and Tony Edmondson (both driving Holden Commodores) and the Isuzu Gemini of David Seldon collided with already crashed cars with the Chevrolet Camaro of Kevin Bartlett being the final car to be involved.

According to the regulations, the race was declared based on the timesheets as the race leader, at the time John French, completed lap 120. This is done so that crashed vehicles can be included in the results. This was particularly significant in this instance as a significant number of the vehicles involved held high race position. Morris was second, Rogers fourth, Edmondson fifth and Christine Gibson sixth.

Results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps	Qual
Pos	Shootout
Pos	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	DNF	DNF	NC	NC	NC	DNF	NC	DNF	DNF	DNF	NC	NC	NC	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
8 Cylinder & Over	17	Palmer Tube Mills	AUS Dick Johnson
AUS John French	Ford XD Falcon	120	1	2
8 Cylinder & Over	7	Bob Morris Motor Sport	AUS Bob Morris
GBR John Fitzpatrick	Ford XD Falcon	120	4	4
6 Cylinder & Rotary	43	Peter Stuyvesant International Racing	CAN Allan Moffat
GBR Derek Bell	Mazda RX-7	119	9	5
8 Cylinder & Over	11	Soundwave Discos	AUS Garry Rogers
GBR Clive Benson-Browne	Holden VC Commodore	118	7	6
8 Cylinder & Over	4	Re-Car Racing	AUS Alan Browne
AUS Tony Edmondson	Holden VC Commodore	117	11
8 Cylinder & Over	20	King George Tavern	AUS Joe Moore
AUS Christine Gibson	Ford XD Falcon	115	25
6 Cylinder & Rotary	44	JPS Team BMW	AUS Allan Grice
GBR David Hobbs	BMW 635 CSi	113	12
6 Cylinder & Rotary	32	Masterton Homes	AUS Colin Bond
AUS Don Smith	Ford Capri Mk.II	113	32
8 Cylinder & Over	8	Garry Willmington Performance	AUS Garry Willmington
AUS Mike Griffin	Ford XD Falcon	113	18
8 Cylinder & Over	15	Valley Meat Hall	AUS John English
AUS John Donnelly	Ford XD Falcon	112	22
6 Cylinder & Rotary	33	Masterton Homes	AUS Steve Masterton
AUS Bruce Stewart	Ford Capri Mk.II	111	34
4 Cylinder	77	Peter Williamson Toyota	AUS Peter Williamson
AUS John Smith	Toyota Celica	111	36
8 Cylinder & Over	9	Nine Network Racing Team	AUS Kevin Bartlett
AUS Bob Forbes	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	111	2	1
8 Cylinder & Over	29	Brian Callaghan Racing	AUS Brian Callaghan
AUS Peter McKay	Ford XD Falcon	111	24
8 Cylinder & Over	26	Scotty Taylor Holden	AUS Alan Taylor
AUS Kevin Kennedy	Holden VC Commodore	109	29
8 Cylinder & Over	21	Ron Dickson	AUS Ron Dickson
AUS Bob Stevens	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	108	10	9
6 Cylinder & Rotary	39	Capri Components	AUS Lawrie Nelson
AUS Peter Jones	Ford Capri Mk.III	108	41
6 Cylinder & Rotary	46	Hulcraft Autos	AUS John Gates
AUS John Craft	Ford Capri Mk.III	108	40
4 Cylinder	50	Gary Leggatt	AUS Gary Leggatt
AUS Phil McDonnell	Alfa Romeo GTV6	107	45
4 Cylinder	60	Country Dealer Team	AUS Jim Faneco
AUS Allan Gough	Isuzu Gemini	103	52
8 Cylinder & Over	05	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	AUS Peter Brock
NZL Jim Richards	Holden VC Commodore	103	3	3
8 Cylinder & Over	6	John Sands Racing	AUS Rusty French
NZL Leo Leonard	Ford XD Falcon	100	30
4 Cylinder	68	Dandenong Mitsubishi	AUS Rod Stevens
AUS Craig Bradtke	Mitsubishi Lancer	100	53
4 Cylinder	59	Bathurst Light Car Club	AUS Tony Mulvihill
AUS Brian Nightingale	Ford Escort Mk.II RS2000	97	56
8 Cylinder & Over	31	Ron Dickson	AUS Graham Moore
USA Steve Dymand	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	96	28
6 Cylinder & Rotary	40	Peter McLeod	AUS Peter McLeod
AUS Peter Dane	Mazda RX-7	96	28
4 Cylinder	64	Bob Holden Motors	AUS Phillip Revell
AUS Ron Barnacle	Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6	93	59
8 Cylinder & Over	24	Army Reserve Racing Team	AUS Bob Muir
AUS Ian Geoghegan	Ford XD Falcon	92	13
8 Cylinder & Over	18	Murray Carter Racing	AUS Murray Carter
NZL Graeme Lawrence	Ford XD Falcon	109	16
4 Cylinder	62	Alexandra Surplice	AUS Alexandra Surplice
AUS Doug Clark	Toyota Corolla Levin	88	47
8 Cylinder & Over	14	Fred Geissler	AUS Fred Geissler
AUS Graham Watson	Holden VC Commodore	85	14
4 Cylinder	66	Scottune	AUS Ian Burrell
AUS Rob Shute	Mitsubishi Colt	83	57
4 Cylinder	49	Jagparts	AUS Martin Power
AUS Brian Winsall	Triumph Dolomite Sprint	80	55
8 Cylinder & Over	16	Re-Car Racing	AUS Ron Wanless
AUS Ralph Radburn	Holden VC Commodore	79	15
4 Cylinder	70	Colin Spencer	AUS Colin Spencer
AUS John White	Isuzu Gemini	75	60
8 Cylinder & Over	30	Everlast Battery Service	AUS Bill O'Brien
AUS Gary Cooke	Ford XD Falcon	74	17
6 Cylinder & Rotary	41	West End Mazda	AUS Barry Jones
AUS Geoff Leeds	Mazda RX-7	74	26
4 Cylinder	61	Rex Monaghan	AUS Ray Cutchie
AUS Ray Farrar	Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6	73	58
8 Cylinder & Over	10	John Goss Racing	AUS John Goss
AUS Barry Seton	Jaguar XJ-S	73	19
4 Cylinder	63	Cherry City Ford	AUS John Faulkner
AUS Gary Dumbrell	Ford Escort Mk.II 2.0 GL	72	51
4 Cylinder	57	Sutton Motors P/L	AUS David Seldon
AUS Gary Rowe	Isuzu Gemini ZZ	70	46
8 Cylinder & Over	3	Cadbury Schweppes Racing	NZL Peter Janson
AUS Larry Perkins	Holden VC Commodore	67	8	7
4 Cylinder	56	Nissan Motor Co.	JPN Masahiro Hasemi
JPN Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Nissan Bluebird Turbo	66	31
6 Cylinder & Rotary	37	Trend Windows P/L	AUS Terry Daly
AUS Peter Hopwood	Ford Capri Mk.II	56	37
6 Cylinder & Rotary	45	Precinct Performance P/L	AUS Allan Bryant
AUS Dean Gall	Mazda RX-7	54	39
8 Cylinder & Over	27	Roadways Racing	AUS Garth Wigston
AUS Steve Harrington	Holden VC Commodore	53	6	10
4 Cylinder	47	Walter Scott	AUS Walter Scott
AUS Peter Walton	Toyota Celica	50	48
8 Cylinder & Over	12	Warren Cullen	AUS Warren Cullen
AUS Alan Jones	Holden VC Commodore	48	20
6 Cylinder & Rotary	35	Alexander Rotary Engines	AUS Phil Alexander
AUS Ron Gillard	Mazda RX-7	46	38
4 Cylinder	52	Bob Holden Motors	AUS Bob Holden
AUS Wally Storey	Ford Escort Mk.II 2.0 GL	44	49
8 Cylinder & Over	23	Great Eastland Television	AUS Paul Gulson
USA Rodney Combs	Holden VB Commodore	42	21
8 Cylinder & Over	25	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	AUS John Harvey
AUS Vern Schuppan	Holden VC Commodore	37	5	8
4 Cylinder	65	HDT Special Vehicles	AUS Phil Brock
AUS Gary Scott	Isuzu Gemini ZZ	36	44
4 Cylinder	51	Chickadee Chicken	AUS Graeme Bailey
AUS Steve Land	Toyota Celica	34	42
4 Cylinder	58	Graham Mein	AUS Graham Mein
AUS Geoff Russell	Ford Escort Mk.II RS2000	34	50
4 Cylinder	55	Nissan Motor Co.	AUS George Fury
AUS Fred Gibson	Nissan Bluebird Turbo	30	43
4 Cylinder	54	Terry Finnigan	AUS Terry Finnigan
AUS Ross Wittig	Isuzu Gemini	29	54
8 Cylinder & Over	2	Citizen Watches Australia P/L	AUS Charlie O'Brien
AUS Mike Quinn	Holden VC Commodore	16	23
6 Cylinder & Rotary	34	Penrith Mazda Centre	AUS Terry Shiel
AUS Don Holland	Mazda RX-7	13	27
6 Cylinder & Rotary	42	Mazcars Croyden	AUS John Duggan
AUS Michael O'Hehir	Mazda RX-7	1	35
8 Cylinder & Over	19	Neil Cunningham	NZL Neil Cunningham
NZL Rod Coppins	Holden VC Commodore
8 Cylinder & Over	22	John Sands 3MP Racing	AUS Jim Keogh
AUS Andrew Newton	Ford XD Falcon
6 Cylinder & Rotary	38	Les Grose	AUS Les Grose
AUS Alan Cant	Ford Capri Mk.III
8 Cylinder & Over	1	Warren Cullen	AUS Warren Cullen
AUS Alan Jones	Holden VC Commodore
4 Cylinder	53	Chris Heyer	AUS Chris Heyer
AUS Peter Lander	Volkswagen Golf
4 Cylinder	71	Ken Harrison	AUS Ken Harrison
AUS Ian Wells	Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6
4 Cylinder	48	Douglas B. Rutter	AUS Ken Price
AUS Steve Jonas	Isuzu Gemini
4 Cylinder	67	Ray Gulson	AUS Ray Gulson
AUS Gordon Mackinlay	Alfa Romeo Alfasud

References

Statistics

Provisional Pole Position - #9 Kevin Bartlett - 2:18.7
Pole Position - #9 Kevin Bartlett - 2:36.432
Fastest Lap - #17 Dick Johnson - 2:20.98 (lap record)
Average Speed - 151 km/h
Race Time - 4:53:52.7

References

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdfTk2ubbE0 1981 Hardies Heroes, www.youtube.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090310023817/http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jong/Races/1981%20Bathurst.html James Hardie 1000 Bathurst 1981, www.touringcarracing.net]
James Hardie 1000, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1981/82, page 202

Info: Wikipedia Source

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