The Roaring Season

by **Ray Bell** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:30 pm

It's not called a mountain for nothing!

I don't recall a Studebaker rolling on the way up the hill, however. In fact, I don't recall a Studebaker rolling at all. But I wasn't there prior to Easter '63.

Cars I do recall rolling on the way up the hill were Bernie Haehnle's Mazda (there are famous photos of him trying to right it using a fence post) and Grahame Ward's Lancia when Moffat crashed him off the track. And on You Tube you can find my nephew rolling an HQ in Tomlins Bend when he left room for another car he thought was trying to outbreak him.

by **Noo Noo** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 4:10 am

Steve Holmes wrote:The steepest section of the track is The Cutting, a cruel left hand bend that really puts the cars under a lot of stress. I imagine heading up through The Cutting in Series Production cars in 1964 must have left them gasping. But speed is a relative thing. Check the attitude on the Bill Barnett/Don Johnston Humber Vogue, leading one of the Renault 8's. This was the bizarre nature of the class structure at the time. The Humber was in Class D, and up against the V8 Studebaker Larks etc.

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Steve, you're right about gasping. In 1976, my wife and I were travelling around Australia and when we hit we hit Bathurst I wasn't going to miss the opportunity of getting in a few laps. The steepness of the cutting really took me by surprise. Our poor little Escort van with it's 1300 motor and full load of camping equipment etc struggled up it in second gear and I was close to dropping to first. On a more recent visit I walked a lap, took me 1 hour 20 minutes and I can tell you that the cutting is even steeper when you're on foot, lol.

David Hunter

by **Steve Holmes** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:30 pm

GN1 wrote:This is my Dad's car. He ran the Armstrong for a few years in Class D quite successfully, always in Studebaker. I believe he was one of the few people to actually roll a car going UP the mountain as they had problems with the wheel studs breaking under load through the corners.
I think this car came up for sale a couple of years ago in WA.

Thats a hell of a cool intro! Thanks for posting. Good to know the car still exists. Do you have any recent photos of it?

by **GN1** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 2:13 am

This is my Dad's car. He ran the Armstrong for a few years in Class D quite successfully, always in Studebaker. I believe he was one of the few people to actually roll a car going UP the mountain as they had problems with the wheel studs breaking under load through the corners.
I think this car came up for sale a couple of years ago in WA.

by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:59 pm

Thanks Bruce, I'm glad you're enjoying them.

by **Spgeti** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:52 pm

I am really enjoying these pics Steve....not only the variety of cars but the road conditions and that flaggie, glad he had a good footing. A far cry from what we have today.

by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:48 pm

Here is the other Stude, the Weldon/Needham car. You can see its a later third generation Lark, so essentially the latest 1964 model.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:41 pm

In 1964, this was the closest thing you got to a V8 Supercar at Bathurst! The 1964 race had 59 cars entered, but only two were V8 powered, both Studebakers.

The big Stude's were always fast, but they usually ran out of brakes, the 4-wheel drums not really up to the task of pulling up the heavy American machines for 500 miles around Bathurst. But despite that, they fared pretty well in 1964, finishing first and second in Class D.

Although no overall winner was awarded in 1964, the leading Studebaker of Warren Weldon/Bert Needham completed 128 laps, compared to the Bob Jane/George Reynolds Class C winning Cortina GT, which was the first car in the field to complete 130 laps, or 500 miles. Had there been overall awards, the Weldon/Needham Stude would have been classified fourth.

Pictured here is the second Stude, coming off Conrod Straight through Murrays Corner. This is the Fred Sutherland/Allan Mottram car, which finished second in Class D, two laps behind the winning Studebaker. Note the severe positive camber of the drivers side wheel as it buckles under the car.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:38 pm

Thanks Greg, great recollections! I love this stuff.

by **Greg Mackie** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:40 am

There was a tremendous difference between makes, in the braking dept. Some of the 'big' cars [Holdens, Valiants, etc.] would hurtle past down con-rod, and their brake lights would come on around the 300 yard marker. The Beetle drums were fine all day, and pulled up from way past the 100 yard marker.....about where the Holden is in the last photo. Nothing wrong with good drum brakes!

by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:23 am

Off the end of the long Conrod Straight, hard on the brakes, or what is left of them, and throw it into Murrays Corner and charge for the line. There was just one Citroen in the 1964 race, the Brian Foley/Bill Buckle machine, which finished an impressive 3rd in Class D, behind the two Studebakers. Here you can see the peak of the final rise towards the end of the straight. Note the trees lining the inside of the track, with no protection. I guess nobody ever thought a car would crash into the inside of the track. A wooden fence lines the outer side.

Greg, were you already on the brakes by the time you'd reached that last peak, or did you wait until you'd got over it, then jump on the stoppers?

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by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:17 am

Thanks Greg. That last sentence is so true! These days it isn't even about the car anymore, as all the cars are essentially the same. Its about the team, and the bigger the budget, the better personnel can be hired to extract the most from the package.

by **Greg Mackie** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:33 pm

Steve Holmes wrote:Indeed you did Greg, and a mighty fine effort it was too! Did you have any plans to return in 1964? I'd love to hear any stories you want to share from that race.

No plans for '64, Steve....married in Dec., 1963, and concentrated on the smash repair business. Got the 'bug' again in '68, and bought an Elfin Vee.

You mentioned "the class structure at the time" in post #8. I believe they had it right, as most people bought a car in a certain price range. The cars that were racing were exactly the same as the cars they could buy.....except for the 'special' set of Armstrong shocks, supplied for the race. Those shocks were really good, but Armstrong 'repossessed' them after the race.

How many people could afford to buy one of the cars that currently race at Bathurst?

by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:55 pm

Until the addition of The Chase in 1987, the final corner before the cars turned back onto Murrays Corner and the start/finish straight, was Forrest's Elbow. In between was a bloody long downhill straight (Conrod Straight) containing several rises where, as the cars got faster in later years, could actually get slightly airborne.

Of the three EH Holden's entered in Class C, the #16 Phil Ismay/Bob Skelton machine was the only one to reach the finish, albeit the 7th and last finisher, and many laps down on even the 6th place Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland Cortina. Chasing the Holden here is the Geoghegan brothers Cortina.

Note the massive embankments on either side of the track, and the row of spectators standing near the edge of the cliff on the outside.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:42 pm

And again, as the Les Park/John Roxburgh Renault 8 is about to be gobbled up by the Bob Jane/George Reynolds Cortina. Although no overall winner was awarded, the Jane/Reynolds Cortina was the first car in the race to complete the 130 lap distance.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:37 pm

I could be wrong, but this appears to be The Dipper from a different angle. In Class A, Vauxhall Viva's dominated, with the #55 Ron Clarke/Brian Muir car coming home second.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:26 pm

Here is the Ron Hodgson/John French Cortina dropping in through the same spot.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:23 pm

One of the most famous and instantly recognisable sections of the Bathurst track is The Dipper, which concludes the series of right-left-right...... bends on top of the Mountain, before the track begins to open out slightly, until it reaches Forrest's Elbow. Its been a photographers hot spot throughout the history of the track, when the road just drops away, and cars get a wheel or two off the deck. In 1964 there was a great big dirt bank on the inside of the bend, just waiting to catch out an unsuspecting driver. Despite that, the little Brian Reed/Lorraine Hill Imp pushes on, and lifting the inside wheel well up off the ground. The front wheel angles on these little Imp's always looked so alarming at speed.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:07 pm

And The Cutting from a different angle. No room for error here, steep banks on either side of the track, and hitting either would likely tip a car on its lid. Note the flag marshall on top of the bank, leaning over the track as the Tony Allen/Tony Reynolds Triumph and Seton/Taylor Cortina speed by below. I expect the Cortina was either about to overtake the Triumph early in the race, or lap it.

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by **Steve Holmes** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:59 pm

The steepest section of the track is The Cutting, a cruel left hand bend that really puts the cars under a lot of stress. I imagine heading up through The Cutting in Series Production cars in 1964 must have left them gasping. But speed is a relative thing. Check the attitude on the Bill Barnett/Don Johnston Humber Vogue, leading one of the Renault 8's. This was the bizarre nature of the class structure at the time. The Humber was in Class D, and up against the V8 Studebaker Larks etc.

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The Roaring Season

Article: Bathurst 1964

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