View Full Version : Photos: The Geoff Russell Collection
It's time to share a few images; some of these have been seen elsewhere but most are unpublished. I started with a few images from an instamatic in the mid-70s and progressed to better equipment over time. Some of the results follow. Where I can I will advise of where and when but of course I invite forum member's comments if you have something to add!
Unidentified Chevron, Oran Park, 1979 on a mid-week practice. No-one else on the track, no one in the grandstand.
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Amaroo Park (probably) 1978 - Ross Bond and Ross Donnelly enjoying their Bolwell Nagari sporties.
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Another 1978 Amaroo Park photo; Barry Singleton in the Gardos (apparently a McLaren copy) and one of the Gibson family(?) in the Rennmax following. These were the original Group A category.
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Michael Clark
06-13-2013, 10:52 AM
That Lola T430 sure looks like a Chevron B37!
Under 3-litre touring cars at Amaroo Park (as posted in the 70s-80s photo thread).
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Bathurst 1980 and a Gemini limps back to the pits.
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I am happy to be corrected about the Hamilton car! Maybe it's not a Hamilton car...any ideas? Thanks Michael, post #1 corrected to "unidentified Chevron".
Bob Stevens in a Monaro at Amaroo Park around 1983.
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Oran Park again, Peter Edwards 78/79-ish.
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bry3500
06-13-2013, 02:15 PM
Another 1978 Amaroo Park photo; Barry Singleton in the Gardos (apparently a McLaren copy) and one of the Gibson family(?) in the Rennmax following. These were the original Group A category.
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The Renmax Repco 3L was owned by Paul Gibson and raced by Grant in the Group A series I think.
Steve Holmes
06-13-2013, 07:42 PM
Oh wow, I can see I'm going to enjoy this.
Steve Holmes
06-13-2013, 07:54 PM
Another 1978 Amaroo Park photo; Barry Singleton in the Gardos (apparently a McLaren copy) and one of the Gibson family(?) in the Rennmax following. These were the original Group A category.
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I've never seen that Gardos before. Really looks a lot like a McLaren M8D. At first I thought this was the Graduate M8F, but its quite different. Great looking car. I knew Gardos (Tony Gard and Don O'Sullivan) had built a superb looking Formula 5000 car in the mid '70s, but I wasn't aware they'd also built a big banger sports car. Would love to get more info on this.
Dale Harvey
06-13-2013, 09:41 PM
It's time to share a few images; some of these have been seen elsewhere but most are unpublished. I started with a few images from an instamatic in the mid-70s and progressed to better equipment over time. Some of the results follow. Where I can I will advise of where and when but of course I invite forum member's comments if you have something to add!
Unidentified Chevron, Oran Park, 1979 on a mid-week practice. No-one else on the track, no one in the grandstand.
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That is probably Ivan Tighe in the ex Bruce Allison Chevron. It was that colour when he had it.
Dale.
Oldfart
06-14-2013, 01:07 AM
Another 1978 Amaroo Park photo; Barry Singleton in the Gardos (apparently a McLaren copy) and one of the Gibson family(?) in the Rennmax following. These were the original Group A category.
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Dumb question, if it's the Gardos, and I am not debating that, why does it have McLaren written on the nose?
Rod Grimwood
06-14-2013, 02:16 AM
Yep noticed that also, but not up on Ausssie muscle sports cars.
bry3500
06-14-2013, 03:11 AM
I've never seen that Gardos before. Really looks a lot like a McLaren M8D. At first I thought this was the Graduate M8F, but its quite different. Great looking car. I knew Gardos (Tony Gard and Don O'Sullivan) had built a superb looking Formula 5000 car in the mid '70s, but I wasn't aware they'd also built a big banger sports car. Would love to get more info on this.
I found this on Old Racing Cars site Steve. " Towards the end of 1971, Don O'Sullivan and his mechanic Jamie Gard ran a McLaren M18 in occasional Australian Gold Star events. The pair skipped the Tasman series and returned to Gold Star racing later in 1972 with the M18 now upgraded to M22 specification and with Howie Sangster taking over the driving from O'Sullivan. The team then again skipped the Tasman series and did not turn out for the mid-1973 Gold Star races. By the time they returned, they had acquired the ex-Redman/Hobbs M18/M22. The older ex-O'Sullivan McLaren M18 now became redundant.
Gard built O'Sullivan a sports car using various left-over McLaren components and this was the first "Gardos". He then set about creating a Gardos F5000 car and it appears that this latest creation consumed much of the McLaren M18."
and a great thread on the Gardos/McLaren here
http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74014
Another photo that I took at Amaroo Park, this one is the Roberts S2 but I don't have any further information about the car. The photo dates from about 1978.
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Not one of my better photos, but this shows the effort that was made to wrap the Matich (SR3?) like a Chokito. Amaroo Park.
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Back to Bathurst 1980 and the Grice Commodore having a moment at the end of Conrod Straight. The question of the day is whether the can came from the car or the marshall? :D
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A pair of Mazda RX3 coupes light up the late afternoon at Amaroo Park with some backfiring flame and noise...
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I also had a look at the 1979 Castrol Rally in Canberra and pending scanning a few more images, here is one of Peter Brock in the Commodore kicking up a bit of dust.
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Taken on the same day as Post #8, maybe a forum member can identify this Chevy Monza, its earlier history and hopefully continued motorsport life to date. While the image quality isn't good, I thought it is better seen than left in the album out of sight.
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A shot of Alan Moffat in the Moffat Ford Dealers Falcon at Amaroo Park.
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bry3500
06-14-2013, 06:42 AM
Taken on the same day as Post #8, maybe a forum member can identify this Chevy Monza, its earlier history and hopefully continued motorsport life to date. While the image quality isn't good, I thought it is better seen than left in the album out of sight.
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Neil Brain - (DeKon c/n 1005) ex Allan Moffat , history can be viewed here http://www.scharch.org/Cars/Monza_Racecars/Cars_MonzaDeKon1005.htm
225sloper
06-14-2013, 06:49 AM
This is good stuff and welcome aboard
bry3500
06-14-2013, 06:55 AM
Another photo that I took at Amaroo Park, this one is the Roberts S2 but I don't have any further information about the car. The photo dates from about 1978.
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I think this car started it's life as a Renmax. Maybe someone can confirm
Oran Park 1979 again and one of the visiting Wolf F1 cars gets out of shape at the end of the main straight during private practice. I think this must be Geoff Lees, David Kennedy was running race number 6.
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Greg Mackie
06-14-2013, 09:37 PM
Bob Stevens in a Monaro at Amaroo Park around 1983.
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Could that have been 1981?
I recall being on the front row , alongside Bob [he was on Pole], after a wet Saturday practice/qualifying. Bob's 600 or so HP was not that useful in the wet, so my 169 HP almost kept up.
Different story on Sunday, [dry] though!
Edit; Just remembered that Bob had 'The Betsy' Restaurant sponsorship then, so is could be 1983.
Greg, Unfortunately I didn't write dates on that set of images but I think Bap Romano was running his Kaditcha on the same day in practice. Maybe that would help date the pictures. What were you driving?
Greg Mackie
06-15-2013, 12:15 AM
http://vimeo.com/50871885
Steve Holmes
06-15-2013, 12:34 AM
Geoff, this is Greg from 1980, as taken from Autopics.
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Wow Greg your VW is a surprise package! Unfortunately I never saw you race; in fact I haven't seen many of the cars (in those colour schemes) that are in the video. There was a period where I was not living in Sydney and it created a rather large gap in my attendance as a spectator. Great video and photos though thank you. Do you still have your car?
bry3500
06-15-2013, 02:18 AM
http://vimeo.com/50871885
embedded
https://vimeo.com/50871885
Greg Mackie
06-15-2013, 02:44 AM
Geoff, I wish I did still have the car.....it would be out on the track where it belongs, if I did.
The bloke I sold it to in 1981 does not drive it, but will not sell it back to me, sadly.
Oldfart
06-15-2013, 03:25 AM
Maybe we should gang up on the current owner!
bry3500
06-15-2013, 10:17 AM
Maybe we should gang up on the current owner!
I'm in..
librules
06-15-2013, 10:45 AM
Maybe we could find a cheap "New Beetle" at auction, paint it orange and swap them under cover of darkness.
Loving the shots on this thread. I'll have to get serious and scan some of my slides from the 70's/80's to go up on this forum.
PS: Ivan Tighe also used the B37 Chevron for hillclimbing from memory. That would have been worth travelling to see....
bry3500
06-15-2013, 12:42 PM
spot on Dale - Ivan Tighe
photo Old Race Photos
Greg Mackie
06-16-2013, 12:26 AM
Maybe we should gang up on the current owner!
Someone gave him 'a bit of a work-over' a few years back......it wasn't me, honest!
Continuing with a bit of a theme of the lesser known/lower profile cars, in my visit to Bathurst in 1980 I also grabbed this shot of the Finnegan/Dane Gemini and the Browne/Sampson Commodore behind the Holden/Earle Escort at the top of the mountain. Bathurst just isn't the same without the variety in the field.
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The Willmington/Donovan XD Falcon was also looking pretty good early in the day (Bathurst 1980).
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Looks about midday Bathurst 1980 (yes I walked my feet off!) and the O'Brien/Morris Falcon rounds up the Price/Jonas Gemini coming on to Pit Straight.
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And the Moffat Falcon limps its way back down the mountain with a terminal case of lost smoke - Bathurst 1980. :(
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Back to Amaroo Park with a photo of the Moffat Falcon heading up Bitupave Hill. This shot clearly shows the variation in elevation around the track. As I have said before, Amaroo Park was always a great place to be, with reasonably good access for getting close to the cars. I used to go with two rolls of 36 and just keep trying in the hope of getting "that" picture. Plenty of "nearly got it" images like this one as a result!
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Still on the Amaroo Park images, I am reasonably sure that this is Ross Bond in his Bolwell. While the image is not the best quality, I hope you all enjoy it anyway.
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This looks like an earlier photo (I was probably using the instamatic, judging by the photo quality) of Bond in the Nagari which would date it to 1977.
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In the Amaroo pit area and getting up close to Brian Shead's Cheetah - 1977.
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Steve Holmes
06-16-2013, 07:39 AM
Wow I'm really enjoying these, and its great to see a shot of Garry Willmington's Falcon, which was the first XD Group C car.
Also interesting to see Allan Moffat's ill-fated XD at Bathurst. Note also in this shot the Paul Gulson/Pete Geoghegan Commodore (the black and gold car) which plugged around all day almost unnoticed from its 13th position grid spot to eventually finish 3rd. Geoghegan wasn't doing a lot of racing by this stage, but showed he still had it.
Onto a Formula Ford photo, I think this would be 1978 at Amaroo Park but as I don't have a program handy I will let the forum members advise who the cars and drivers are...
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As with many of the races at Amaroo Park, someone always came off second best, but at least this was only an exit into the gravel.
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The image quality on this one is not too good but you can at least get the idea...
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This is one off the instamatic, Formula Ford - Amaroo Park, 1977 IIRC.
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An interesting practice picture of the Jeff Barnes Mustang at Oran Park with a couple of Formula Fords in pursuit. This image of mine has been on the net at another site, but in the context of a run of FF photos I though I would include it. The performance difference overall betweeen the Mustang and the open wheelers around Oran Park appeared minimal although I expect the technique was very different :)
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Another FF photo in a mixed practice session, this one definitely dated 1978 at Oran Park. Over to those with better knowledge than me on the cars and drivers...obviously only the car on the grass is a FF (Bowin?) but I am not going to hazard a guess on the winged car.
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Bondy
06-18-2013, 10:26 PM
Another FF photo in a mixed practice session, this one definitely dated 1978 at Oran Park. Over to those with better knowledge than me on the cars and drivers...obviously only the car on the grass is a FF (Bowin?) but I am not going to hazard a guess on the winged car.
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Not sure on the F/Ford, however i reckon its John Davis in the Grace Bros Lola T360
Bondy
06-18-2013, 10:30 PM
[QUOTE=GFR;30076]This is one off the instamatic, Formula Ford - Amaroo Park, 1977 IIRC.
John Smith, the 77 Series Champ in the Grace Bros Bowin P4.
Bondy
06-18-2013, 10:33 PM
Onto a Formula Ford photo, I think this would be 1978 at Amaroo Park but as I don't have a program handy I will let the forum members advise who the cars and drivers are...
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Going off memory ;)
#3 Don Bretland Van Dieman, unsure on #33 i was thinking Steigler but that does'nt seem correct, 78 Series Champ John Wright ex Smith Bowin P4, Russell Norden Mawer..
Bondy
06-18-2013, 10:38 PM
The image quality on this one is not too good but you can at least get the idea...
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Gerry Wittenden Birrana F71, John Wright Bowin P4 and unsure of the driver in the Palliser..
Continuing with the Amaroo Park Formula Ford theme, I captured an incident on the instamatic on April 19, 1977 - my notes say that a spin by Conway was hit by Barnacle, then McLucas then Bretland leaving a pile of cars on the corner. To my knowledge everyone was uninjured, but I guess it would have needed a bit of work to get the cars on track again. If any forum members have further knowledge of this incident, your comments would be welcome. These photos have never been published previously.
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These black and white images were taken on the day that Renault brought a Le Mans car to Amaroo Park and paraded it around on the back of a little truck - I am unsure of the date but it must have been post-June 1977 as they were "celebrating" their Le Mans win.
Unfortunately I didn't keep a record of the Formula Ford driver names but if someone has a program handy I think all could be identified. Hopefully one or two of you may own one of the cars these days :) Check out the pit boards in the third image - classic.
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John Tuxford kindly invited me to spend some time with his small team supporting his Bowin P4A. I can't recall which specific chassis number this was, but the car was sold in March 1977 and John retired from racing to pursue his studies. The grid photos are from Oran Park 6th February 1977, also visible is Richard Carter in the Birrana and Lyndon Arnel in the Lola. The other images were taken in March 1977 when John demonstrated and sold the car. I can't recall the buyer's name but would love to know if his car is still around.
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Howard Wood
06-19-2013, 08:12 AM
[QUOTE=GFR;30115]These black and white images were taken on the day that Renault brought a Le Mans car to Amaroo Park and paraded it around on the back of a little truck - I am unsure of the date but it must have been post-June 1977 as they were "celebrating" their Le Mans win.]
Maybe post June 1978 when Renault Alpines won Le Mans. All the ELF Alpines retired in ignominy with engine failure in 1977 (at about the same time and for the same reason as the year before), I doubt Renault would have been celebrating that.
bry3500
06-19-2013, 08:42 AM
[QUOTE=GFR;30115]These black and white images were taken on the day that Renault brought a Le Mans car to Amaroo Park and paraded it around on the back of a little truck - I am unsure of the date but it must have been post-June 1977 as they were "celebrating" their Le Mans win.]
Maybe post June 1978 when Renault Alpines won Le Mans. All the ELF Alpines retired in ignominy with engine failure in 1977 (at about the same time and for the same reason as the year before), I doubt Renault would have been celebrating that.
1978 for sure http://www.autopics.com.au/item.mibiznez?id=10218
Maybe post June 1978 when Renault Alpines won Le Mans. All the ELF Alpines retired in ignominy with engine failure in 1977 (at about the same time and for the same reason as the year before), I doubt Renault would have been celebrating that.
Thanks Howard, that makes good sense. I remember thinking at the time that it would have been nice if they had actually driven the car around the circuit under its own power - and I found the photos:
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Marty
06-20-2013, 09:38 PM
" Check out the pit boards in the third image - classic."
Hanging out the pitboard at Amaroo was an unreal experience, especially with touring cars you had to hold it up over the roof, the further towards the start of the straight the worse it was as on a good lap they would graze the wall.
Another Amaroo Park photo from 1977, this time I recall it is Cam Worner in his Ford Capri leading the rest of the field into the sharp right hander with a dose of concrete wall close by to keep everyone honest.
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Another Ford Capri, Amaroo Park 1978, this one was owned and driven by Bob McTavish.
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Another 1978 incident at Amaroo Park, minor in nature at least, with the Gall/Bryant Mazda RX3 facing the traffic and being passed by the Morris-driven Ford Escort Mk 2.
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A 1978 photo of Peter Williamson in his Toyota Celica at Amaroo Park. The panel damage on this car, although minor, is very noticeable.
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Here is a neat group at the same 1978 Amaroo Park meeting, with Peter Williamson in the Celica, Alan Cant's Ford Capri, John(?) Duggan's Mazda RX3 and Barry Seton in his Ford Capri.
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Steve Holmes
06-29-2013, 11:17 PM
These are fantastic photos Geoff, keep them coming.
Another Amaroo Park Formula Ford image from April 1977, this one I had labeled as Grant Walker but I am unsure of the chassis type.
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Following on from post #57 by Bondy, this photo confirms that car 33 is Richard Steigler who happens to be having a few issues that would lead to retirement from the race.
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And it just got worse each lap...
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A couple of touring car images from 1977, first John Goss in his Falcon...
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And Murray Carter in his Falcon...
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Here is another 1977 Amaroo Park racing incident with Ray Kaleda in his Torana dropping a load of oil and spinning in it himself, and Warren Cullen already coming unstuck on the same oil trail in the background...
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In the second image, you can clearly see the trail of oil dropped from Kaleda's Torana which has come to a rest racing the traffic while Cullen is having a big spin into the corner...
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Following on from Post #27, these are the images I captured of the Wolf F1 cars that were running at Oran Park in 1979. Geoff Lees was in car 32, and David Kennedy in car 6.
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In the background, Colin Trengrove in his Lola T332 is coming into view at the end of the Oran Park main straight.
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Continuing with the Wolf F1 cars...
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The day I pushed a Formula 1 Wolf to my absolute limit (obviously not behind the wheel though!). Lees hit the wall right under my feet and then wanted a push back off the wall followed by a push start. Being mid-week and no-one around I jumped down and helped but that Wolf was a heck of a difficult thing to move, especially as he kept dumping the clutch trying to start it. Luckily another fellow pitched in and we got Lees going again even though we only got to walking pace on the uphill grade. My good mate Mitch Holland captured the moment and gave me this image recently. Posted with his permission (and no, not my Escort parked there).
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Also cross-posted on the Corvette thread, a couple of images of Warwick Henderson's Corvette at Amaroo Park in the late 70s.
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Steve Holmes
07-10-2013, 10:08 AM
Really loving these pics Geoff, keep 'em coming. Out of interest, the Henderson Corvette pictured, is this the same car fitted with the impressive looking Greenwood style bodywork in the early '80s?
Really loving these pics Geoff, keep 'em coming. Out of interest, the Henderson Corvette pictured, is this the same car fitted with the impressive looking Greenwood style bodywork in the early '80s?
Steve, I can't add any more information regarding the Henderson Corvette, it was an interesting and unusual car to see at Amaroo at the time. Plenty more photos to come, does anyone have preferences at this stage - F5000 or sedans?
Alan Moffat and Murray Carter lap Jim Richards in an ailing Sidchrome Falcon - Amaroo Park April 1977.
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And in the same race, Colin Bond does his best in the Falcon to remain ahead of O'Brien in the HDT L34 Torana.
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Still the same day, with a bit of stronger sun showing through, Jim Richards looking fine in the Sidchrome Falcon with Colin Bond in pursuit. This image is probably a lap before the image showing Jim being lapped by Alan Moffat.
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Steve Holmes
07-15-2013, 08:17 AM
I'm really enjoying these Geoff. Interesting to see Jim Richards in the Sidchrome Falcon. Photos of this car in Sidchrome colours must be rare, I only recall seeing it in the white Melford Ford colours. His Sidchrome sponsorship ended in 1977. The car looked good in Sidchrome colours.
I might pop a little F5000 moment in here, it's all too quiet. I am sure that you guys can name this gentleman...
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And you could probably name this fella too...
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One lurking in the shadows...
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And one blending in with the road surface...
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Another of the GM3 at Oran Park...
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Steve Holmes
07-17-2013, 11:40 PM
Wow, love the F5000 pics Geoff! The pit shots are just brilliant. The old tow vehicles are great to see.
That clear canopy on the McRae was a crazy thing, typical '70s. The Rushfamily in New Zealand own that car now, although McRae converted it into a single seat Can-Am car, with a beautiful alloy body made by Steve Roberts. But the Rush's also own that clear canopy. It hangs on the wall of their private museum.
Another Oran Park F5000 image...Elfin, Brabham and Lola.
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F5000 again...Chevron and Lola.
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And all in together...
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Stepping along to May 1983 at Amaroo Park in the wet (just for variety!). I will need help to identify the cars and drivers in this set of photos - I don't have the program from the meeting so if anyone has some suggestions they are most welcome to contribute.
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Bondy
07-30-2013, 01:44 AM
Stepping along to May 1983 at Amaroo Park in the wet (just for variety!). I will need help to identify the cars and drivers in this set of photos - I don't have the program from the meeting so if anyone has some suggestions they are most welcome to contribute.
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Ian Richards #1 Richards 201 Golf
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Steve Swain #3 Hardman JH1 ex Richard Davison
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Chris Kane #5 Arbyen 793 Golf ex Russell Norden
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Brian Sampson #78 Cheetah Mk8
Awesome pictures Geoff
Thanks Bondy!
A few more photos taken on the same day, this time big-banger sporties. To say that these cars were impressive is a understatement, especially seeing them being driven with great determination around Amaroo Park on a wet track.
Firstly an Elfin:
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Next is Bap Romano in the Kaditcha Cosworth:
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And Chris Clearihan in his Kaditcha Chev:
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There were a few sedans there too so I will pop them in for a bit of balance.
This one is Terry Shiel in his Mazda RX-7:
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Not quite sure who is driving this Mazda RX-7 but it appears to have "Jones" on the windscreen:
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And one of those flying Nissan Bluebirds - I will leave it to the experts to tell us who would have been behind the wheel (May 1983):
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Bondy
07-30-2013, 10:38 PM
Hi Geoff,
Leigh Vine is in the Elfin 360 Rotary #68, its Paul Jones in the Mazda RX-7 who by now had sold the ex Moffat Monza to Neil Brain. I think its Fred Gibson in the Bluebird.
Steve Holmes
07-30-2013, 11:16 PM
And all in together...
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Really loving these photos Geoff. What is the story with the Brabham? Is it an ex-F1 car?
Bondy
07-30-2013, 11:55 PM
Really loving these photos Geoff. What is the story with the Brabham? Is it an ex-F1 car?
Hi Steve, some info about it here http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=73721&hl=bt43.
Steve Holmes
07-31-2013, 02:22 AM
Thanks Bondy, some great info there.
Steve Holmes
08-01-2013, 11:03 PM
Keep 'em coming Geoff, these are fantastic!
Back into the photo album again - two images of Greg McCombie's Lotus 23B at Amaroo Park in
1977. Greg carried the Chokito wrapper scheme across to his Matich in later times. It would be interesting to know the full history of this car and whether it still exists. Note the extended muffler that is fitted to achieve compliance with the noise restrictions placed on the circuit under the council consent framework and to keep the rural neighbours happy.
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Paul McCurdy was driving a car called the Manx Alfa at Amaroo Park on 29th May 1977. I don't have any technical detail about the Manx Alfa nor of its history. If you look closely you will see that it is under tow back to the pits. Hopefully it was an easy fix!
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In the pit area at Amaroo Park, continuing the 1977 Group A sports car theme, is Tony Dale's very sleek looking Elva Ford with Tony Roberts SR2 parked alongside.
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The Gardos/McLaren M8 of Barry Singleton also in the Amaroo Park pit area in April 1977. I have heard that apparently the car is now accepted as a McLaren and is in the Mathews Collection in the USA. This image may help clarify some of the car's unknown Australian history.
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Terry S
08-24-2013, 08:00 AM
[QUOTE=GFR;32789]Back into the photo album again - two images of Greg McCombie's Lotus 23B at Amaroo Park in
1977. Greg carried the Chokito wrapper scheme across to his Matich in later times. It would be interesting to know the full history of this car and whether it still exists. Note the extended muffler that is fitted to achieve compliance with the noise restrictions placed on the circuit under the council consent framework and to keep the rural neighbours happy.
McCombie’s Lotus 23B was originally imported by Pete Geoghegan in late 1964 to replace the Lotus 23 he had sold to Greg Cusack.
He ran it for first time at Warwick Farm Tasman meeting in February 1965, and won first time out.
It was painted black but was soon converted to white with the Total stripes.
He ran it many times in 1965, having some fantastic dices with Cusack.
His last race with it was winning the Australian Tourist Trophy at Lakeside in November 1965.
It was sold at the meeting to Frank Demuth, who trailered it home to ensure he got what he paid for.
Demuth’s first race was at Warwick Farm Tasman meeting. He was embarrassed by Geoghegan being all over him in the much older and smaller Lotus Climax 1100 that Geoghegan had taken as a trade in from Demuth.
He raced it for a few years but his racing career was cut short by being charged with fraud.
It was then sold to John Martin. He had a major accident near Warwick Farm’s northern crossing when the car rolled and he was hospitalised for a long time and he never raced again.
The wreck was bought by Clive Adams, a famous panel man, who undertook a long restoration.
It was then raced by his son Ian Adams. His religious beliefs meant he could not practice on Saturdays so he always started from the rear of grid for Sunday’s races. It was a spectacular sight at Oran Park to see him pass so many cars before the first corner.
During this time the car was upgraded with a FVA engine replacing the twin cam, a FT200 gearbox, wider tyres and wider guards to cover these tyres.
The car was not used during 1974, 75 and 76. It was bought by Greg McCombie at the end of 1976.
He had previously raced a Formula Vee so this was a big step up.
His first race was March 1977 at Amaroo. Unfortunately jammed throttle slides resulted in a major accident and very bent car. It was repaired by Bob Britton of Rennmax fame.
At his next Amaroo meeting in May oil on the track resulted in hitting the bank head on.
So not a lot of luck. He came good at the May meeting finishing both races.
At the August meeting he was up against the McLaren Gardos of Barry Singleton, described in the programme as a “Can Am McLaren”. Amaroo was a great leveller and Singleton and McCombie had a tremendous dice, despite 5000cc against 1600cc. On the last lap McCombie tried to overtake on the inside at Rothmans. In covering, Singleton forced the Lotus over the ripple strips, which ripped out its radiator hoses which put it out.
Geoghegan recalled in later years that this Lotus was one of his favourite cars.
Ellis
08-24-2013, 09:56 AM
Quote " Demuth’s first race was at Warwick Farm Tasman meeting. He was embarrassed by Geoghegan being all over him in the much older and smaller Lotus Climax 1100 that Geoghegan had taken as a trade in from Demuth."
It was a Lola 1100 not Lotus and it came to Tasmania still painted Yellow .
I put a pic of it in a previous post when in Tas.
It also ran at Longford in 1968 and was lapped by Amon in the P4
Terry S
08-24-2013, 10:09 PM
Quote " Demuth’s first race was at Warwick Farm Tasman meeting. He was embarrassed by Geoghegan being all over him in the much older and smaller Lotus Climax 1100 that Geoghegan had taken as a trade in from Demuth."
It was a Lola 1100 not Lotus and it came to Tasmania still painted Yellow .
I put a pic of it in a previous post when in Tas.
It also ran at Longford in 1968 and was lapped by Amon in the P4
Yes, of course it was a Lola. A slip of the fingers. I had correctly identified it as a Lola on another thread.
As to colour, it was Geoghegans who painted it yellow from previous red.
As to the Lotus 23B, I have misplaced later info on this. It was owned by Fred Vogel for a time. It had had a few more shunts so he
replaced the chassis, while the previous chassis was destroyed under CAMS supervision. This poor car really had "more hits than Elvis".
Ellis
08-25-2013, 12:14 AM
[QUOTE=Terry S;32808]Yes, of course it was a Lola. A slip of the fingers. I had correctly identified it as a Lola on another thread.
As to colour, it was Geoghegans who painted it yellow from previous red.
Terry....and put bigger width rims on it from memory
This pic is Symmons Plains Tas
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/LolaClimax_zps9a4773bd.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/LolaClimax_zps9a4773bd.jpg.html)
Steve Holmes
08-25-2013, 09:19 PM
Great to see this thread brought back to the front with new updates. Fantastic photos Geoff. I love seeing race cars in the later stages of their careers. Its always fascinating to see the upgrades made to keep them competitive.
Another image from Amaroo Park, 1977. Peter Hopwood in his Lotus Elan. He was a spectacular car on the track, in a very nimble car and gave larger capacity cars a run for their money.
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Another Group A car from the past - the Wright Renault driven by Doug Clark - Amaroo Park 1977.
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Greg Mackie
10-07-2013, 09:39 PM
Another image from Amaroo Park, 1977. Peter Hopwood in his Lotus Elan. He was a spectacular car on the track, in a very nimble car and gave larger capacity cars a run for their money.
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I vividly remember Peter's dice with Allan Moffatt [Porsche] at Amaroo. It was a real 'David & Goliath' affair, with the Elan snapping at the Porsche's heels, lap after lap. It was one of the best races I have seen.
When he finally got around the Porsche, the crowd went wild.....but then the throttle cable on the Elan broke!
Steve Holmes
10-08-2013, 01:14 AM
More fantastic photos! Thanks Geoff. Amaroo just seemed to create great racing. A real shame its gone. The tracks with true character seem to be dying off.
Terry S
10-08-2013, 03:33 AM
[QUOTE=Terry S;32808]Yes, of course it was a Lola. A slip of the fingers. I had correctly identified it as a Lola on another thread.
As to colour, it was Geoghegans who painted it yellow from previous red.
Terry....and put bigger width rims on it from memory
This pic is Symmons Plains Tas
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/LolaClimax_zps9a4773bd.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/LolaClimax_zps9a4773bd.jpg.html)
I think it looked better with the original rear body style, although that meant smaller wheels
http://www.theroaringseason.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=22020&d=1380935050
Manx76
07-28-2014, 05:02 AM
Hi Gents,
The car was built by Ted Proctor and ran first with a normally aspirated 1750cc Alfa engine, and was later turbo charged.
Love the photo, I own the car now and have been restoring it, this is the first time I've seen the air scoop.
Keep the great photos going "brings back lots of memories".
Regards
Ken
Paul McCurdy was driving a car called the Manx Alfa at Amaroo Park on 29th May 1977. I don't have any technical detail about the Manx Alfa nor of its history. If you look closely you will see that it is under tow back to the pits. Hopefully it was an easy fix!
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Thanks to all who been viewing this thread and those who have contacted me regarding images of their respective cars, it is pleasing to know that my photos have been of use after all this time.
Here is a previously unpublished image I took of Phil Brock in his Torana at Oran Park circa 1979. Gary Cooke and Peter Janson in the background. Enjoy!
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