1970 Australian Touring Car Championship

[Steve Holmes]

To my mind, 1970 was the pinnacle year in the Australian Touring Car Championship, Improved Production era. This was only the second time the championship had been fought over a series of races, with accumulated points, rather than the single race championship the ATCC had been since its inception in 1960. With 7 rounds, and four different winners, it was also one of the closest fought championships, with a more even spread throughout the main contenders than would follow throughout 1971 – 72, when Bob Jane and Allan Moffat began to assert their dominance. Although the V8s had established their superiority in touring car racing, their reliability was still a factor, meaning the champion could still come from the driver of a small capacity car.

The 1969 ATCC was won again by Pete Geoghegan, driving the ’67 Mustang GTA that had also taken him to a pair of single race ATCC titles in 1967 and ’68. He’d been the class of the field throughout the season, finishing second to Jane in the opener at Calder, after he’d cooked his brakes, before going on to win the next two races. He was leading comfortably at Surfers Paradise (round four of five) until he hit an errant exhaust pipe, dropped by another competitor, which punctured a tyre, and he was disqualified in the final, when the starter motor failed on the grid (where he sat on pole), with his crew having to push the car away. And it was Norm Beechey in his HK Monaro who benefitted most from Geoghegans failures, winning the final two rounds.



Heading into 1970, and there were several serious contenders for the title. The Confederation for Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) introduced a number of freedoms to the rules allowing the local products to be more competitive against the American and German competition. Beechey built himself a new Holden HT GTS350 Monaro, with 350ci small block Chevy power, that was good for over 500hp. With Beechey doing well the previous season in his Australian HK Monaro, Ford Australia decided to wade into the battle field, by building a pair of fuel injected light-weight XW ‘Super Falcons’ for Geoghegan and Moffat, these machines being built at huge cost.



Bob Jane returned with his ex-Shelby Trans-Am ’68 Mustang, while his earlier Mustang would be raced again by Chris Brauer. Small car campaigners Brian Foley and Jim McKeown would step into a pair of 2.2 litre Porsche 911Ts, as did Bill Brown. The series would also be boosted by a gaggle of Morris Coopers, headed by Peter Manton and Phil Barnes, fighting for class honours, plus the Escort twin-cams of Bob Holden and Graham Ritter. Camaro pilots Bryan Thomson and Terry Allan would run limited campaigns, as would John Kay in the ex-Beechey Nova, plus Robin Pare, and Dick Johnson, who’d race at their local circuits. At most tracks, the grids would be bolstered by several Series production cars, that didn’t have the pace of the Improved Production machines, but could pick up points when the faster cars faltered.

[Steve Holmes]

Development delays with the two Ford built Falcon GTs meant both Geoghegan and Moffat would start the season in their Mustangs. In fact, Moffat would eventually abandon his Falcon altogether in 1971, while it would be another year before Geoghegan would race his. But Moffats Mustang, a Kar-Kraft built machine constructed for the 1969 Trans-Am, was more than capable of being a title contender. A series of engine problems frustrated him throughout ’69, better things were expected for 1970. Geoghegans Mustang, however, now had three hard seasons of racing under its belt. The competition had caught up, and even overtaken the GTA in the last twelve months, but Geoghegan himself was still the most gifted touring car driver in Australia.



The 1970 ATCC was contested over 7 rounds; Calder Park, Bathurst, Sandown, Mallala, Warwick Farm, Lakeside, and Symmons Plains.

Only the top six finishers were rewarded with points; 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1. There would, however, be class championships for the smaller machinery.

Round 1, Calder Park. Qualifying was held in wet conditions, but Moffat got his title hopes off to a good start, planting the Boss Mustang on pole. Conditions for the race, however, were dry, and he burst away from the line to lead the Mustangs of Geoghegan and Jane, while Beechey, from a lowly grid position, had stormed through to 5^th by the end of the first lap, soon displacing Foleys Porsche. He then charged towards the front, powering past first Jane, then Geoghegan, and, finally, Moffat, to take the lead.

Beechey then began to build a healthy gap over Moffat, until he clipped a lapped car, which pressed a front guard against the tyre, and he stopped on the side of the track to pull it back out. This allowed Moffat back to the front, while both Geoghegan and Jane vanished, Geoghegan after losing a wheel, and Jane to make a pit stop. With Beechey and Jane delayed, and Geoghegan out, Foley and McKeown moved to second and third.



Beechey wasn’t done yet, though. With the Monaro eating up the long Calder main straight, he boomed back past the Porsches, and, eventually, Moffat, to regain the lead, but his time at the front was short-lived, as he pitted to replace the tyre damaged earlier from the rubbing guard. He eventually returned to the track, and blazed to a new touring car lap record, but finished too far down the order to gain any points.

So Moffat won, this being his first ATCC race win, in the Mustang that has caused such controversy on its arrival in Australia a year earlier. Foley finished second, McKeown third, while Jane, Bob Brown (Morris Cooper), and Bill Fanning (ex-Moffat Lotus Cortina) rounded out the points.

[Steve Holmes]

Round 2, Bathurst. If his rivals had struggled to keep pace with Beecheys big Chevy powered Monaro at Calder, what hope did they have at Bathurst? Indeed, the yellow machine would win the race, and Beechey looked to have power to spare, but he also had to work for the win, the Monaro proving a real handful on anything that wasn’t a straight piece of road.



Geoghegan launched away well, leading briefly until Beechey simply out-powered him. Then the Monaro dropped back behind Geoghegan and a racey Moffat, who set about building a small lead. Beechey battled with Jane, who had the measure of the Monaro through the turns, but was blown off on the straights, leading to Jane having a quick spin, as he over-drove to keep pace. Moffat was out after four laps with a spark plug issue, while Geoghegan began to struggle, as his team had fit old tyres to the Mustang, as Firestone (who he had a contract with) didn’t have available new tyres in the right sizes.

Geoghegan spun, allowing Beechey to close up, then surge through to the lead, and took the flag to win, moving him to first equal on points with Moffat. Geoghegan finished second, from Jane, followed by McKeown, Foley, and Chris Brauer.

Round 3, Sandown. The next race was at Sandown, where again Beechey revelled in the long straights. The Monaro, with around 530hp, was comfortably up on the Mustangs, which were tapped out at around 470 - 480. This time Beechey did it easy, blasting away from pole to win, and setting a lap record as he did so. Again Geoghegan finished second, from Moffat, Jane, and Foley, who was a lap down at the end, while Ritter took the final point.



Round 4, Mallala. The championship moved on to the curvaceous little 2.5km Mallala for round 4. Beechey had enjoyed using the extra grunt of the big Chevy throughout the opening rounds, but Mallala lacked anything resembling a decent straight. Foley surprised everyone by bolting a set of sticky Goodyears to his Porsche, and took pole position. But his Goodyears would serve no purpose in the race, with rain falling, making the track wet. Moffat and McKeown started on rain tyres, the pair pulling away comfortably from the pack, Moffat establishing a huge lead.

Eventually the rain stopped, the track dried, and Beechey moved forward. He worked his way up to second, and was closing on Moffat when he began to slow with a slipping clutch. This allowed Foley and Geoghegan to close in, the pair passing Beechey, for second and third, which then became a race for the lead, when Moffat retired with clutch failure.

As Geoghegan drew away, Foley pitted with a suddenly wayward handling Porsche, allowing Beechey back into second. Foleys team found a bracket had broken on the anti-roll bar, and sent him on his way. Geoghegan took his first win of the season, from Beechey, Foley, Bill Brown, who was debuting his new Porsche, while Jane and Manton took the final points.

[Steve Holmes]

Round 5, Warwick Farm. As Alan Hamilton had almost won the ’69 ATCC in his bullet-proof Porsche, McKeown, Foley, and Brown had all taken stock of the latest machines from Germany for the 1970 season, as the V8s had proven reliability was their Achilles heel. Thus far, the V8 teams had struggled to get their cars to the finish several times, but their speed over the Porsches still had Beechey and Geoghegan well ahead in the title hunt. However, at Warwick Farm, McKeown was dazzling. He launched away from the start, and built a healthy buffer over the pack, thanks to a first corner shunt caused when Moffat spun, and was nailed by Geoghegan. In the chaos, Bill Brown slammed into Foley.



Beechey, who’d qualified poorly, and well down the field, suddenly found himself in third spot, behind Jane, who he was then able to demote, until the Monaro lost a wheel. So McKeown cruised comfortably to the first Porsche win in the ATCC. Jane was second, from a recovering Bill Brown, while Barnes, Brauer, and Morris Cooper driver John Humphrey collected the final points.

Round 6, Lakeside. Heading into Lakeside, the championship was close between Beechey and Geoghegan, with Beechey on 24 points, Geoghegan on 21, while Jane, the only man thus far to score points in every race, was on 18. The winding, undulating, Lakeside layout was expected to suit the Porsches, but, in fact, it was Moffat who was on pole, from Geoghegan. The mood heading into the race was darkened somewhat, with a heavy shunt in the sports car race preceding the ATCC race, involving Glyn Scott and Ivan Tighe on the right side of the track, just past the start/finish line. Scott would succumb from his injuries, although this wasn’t announced at the time. The touring car race was delayed by more than an hour as the track fencing was repaired, and moments after the green flag, Brauers Mustang was bumped off the track as the field shuffled, and bent itself violently around the Armco in the same spot as the Scott/Tighe shunt had taken place. The drivers side of the Mustang took most of the impact, and young Chris Brauer suffered internal injuries, and would never race again.



The race continued on, with Geoghegan leading from Beechey, Moffat, and Brown, until Moffat was black-flagged for overtaking under yellows. He served his penalty, blasted back on track, and worked his way into third position again before the Mustang stopped. Geoghegan also retired, with engine trouble, allowing Beechey into a lead he would hold to the finish.

With Geoghegans retirement, and Beechey gathering another 9 points, the Monaro driver was crowned champion with an unassailable 33 points. Jane finished the race in second, from McKeown, Bill Brown, John French, and a virtual unknown outside Queensland, Dick Johnson, who took his first ever ATCC point in a Holden Torana.

Round 7, Symmons Plains. With the title gone, Geoghegan didn’t appear for the final at Symmons Plains. Beechey was entered, but didn’t get to start the race, as the Monaro blew its motor in qualifying. Jane entered his Mustang, and his new Camaro, but only the Mustang appeared, as the Camaro, which would go on to win the title the next two seasons, wasn’t quite finished. Moffat showed up in his new ‘Super Falcon’, which he promptly stuck on pole, before it broke, and was withdrawn from the event. Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought the Mustang as a plan-B.

McKeown qualified second, behind the errant Moffat, and drove off to win the race comfortably in the wet, from Bryan Thomson, who enjoyed a successful outing in the big block Camaro, while Jane was third. Local driver Robin Pare was next, from Tony Calvert (Mustang), and Manton.



McKeowns win brought him to 29 points, placing him second in the championship, while Jane was third, on 28, as the only driver to score points in every race. But it hadn’t been a stellar year for Jane, perhaps his new Camaro would offer a change of fortunes!

For ‘Stormin Norm’, the showman, 1970 was a stellar year, and his second (and last) ATCC title. He’d won Holden their first Australian Touring Car Championship, indeed, the first ATCC for an Australian car. And weren’t they proud of it, the yellow monster emblazoned with the message Trans-Aus, on its butt, the only view many of his rivals got to see of the big Holden in 1970.

*Bathurst photos by Nigel Watts

[Steve Holmes]

Some brief footage from the 1970 Lakeside ATCC race:

[TonyG]

As they are today;

[Steve Holmes]

Nice one Tony! They sure do look good.

[Steve Holmes]

What happened to the McKeown and Foley 911s from the 1970 ATCC? And for that matter, the Bill Brown car? I know the Foley car was raced in NZ by Jim Palmer for a season, but then vanished. Someone must have these cars now?

[seaqnmac27]

[jnr356]

What happened to the McKeown and Foley 911s from the 1970 ATCC? And for that matter, the Bill Brown car? I know the Foley car was raced in NZ by Jim Palmer for a season, but then vanished. Someone must have these cars now?

stumbled across this forum while researching the
foley car which is back in australia,currently being rebuilt
nearly finished




sorry to drag up an old thread,but love the stories and pics from this era of when i was a kid
and i now get to work on these pieces of history

from my research have read that the bill brown car was written off in the late 70's

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, that is fantastic! Thanks for posting these. I really loved those Chesterfield colours. Do you know if Foley still owned the car when it went to NZ or was he just leasing it out?

[jnr356]

i believe it was sold,the current owner actually flew to nz to speak with the guy who owned it back then

i saw the car in a backyard in heidelberg about 5 years ago
it was buried under a pile of corrugated iron and grass about 5 foot high
it was in bad shape
the minilites had half been eaten away from corrosion, the only components that appeared to be any semblance of their former self was the stainless brake hoses

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Mark, great info. I'm really pleased to see this car looking so great again. When you first saw it in the backyard being overgrown with grass, when was this roughly?

Do you know why Foley replaced it with the Alfa? Was the Alfa quicker than the Porsche? It was raced in NZ by Jim Palmer. He ran it in the 4.2 litre class, against the Escort twin-cams of Jim Richards, Jack Nazer, Don Halliday etc. But it was controversial right from the start, and was protested throughout its single NZ racing season. But it was quick, and I'm pretty sure it won an NZ Saloon Car Championship race outright, even beating the V8 big bangers. But I'm certain the protests eventually got it banned for the following season. Then it just seems to have vanished. So I'm really happy to see its survived and nearing completion of a restoration.

Mark, given your enthusiasm for older Porsches, do you know what happened to the 944 raced by Colin Bond in the 1982 Australian GT championship for Alan Hamilton? And do you know where it came from?

[jnr356]

not sure why he changed to an alfa.
funny you should ask about the 944,was asked last week if i had any photos
the car is in germany currently being restored and the owner wants to paint it in the porsche aust/colin bond colours
i would assume the car was purchased from the factory as alan had a relationship with them second to none

[Dale Harvey]

Maybe he changed because he had an Alfa dealership.
Dale.

[rogered]

Thanks Mark, great info. I'm really pleased to see this car looking so great again. When you first saw it in the backyard being overgrown with grass, when was this roughly?

Do you know why Foley replaced it with the Alfa? Was the Alfa quicker than the Porsche? It was raced in NZ by Jim Palmer. He ran it in the 4.2 litre class, against the Escort twin-cams of Jim Richards, Jack Nazer, Don Halliday etc. But it was controversial right from the start, and was protested throughout its single NZ racing season. But it was quick, and I'm pretty sure it won an NZ Saloon Car Championship race outright, even beating the V8 big bangers. But I'm certain the protests eventually got it banned for the following season. Then it just seems to have vanished. So I'm really happy to see its survived and nearing completion of a restoration.

Mark, given your enthusiasm for older Porsches, do you know what happened to the 944 raced by Colin Bond in the 1982 Australian GT championship for Alan Hamilton? And do you know where it came from?

Got a feeling it was pre 944 and was a 924 GTR which was a very special car .

[Steve Holmes]

Actually you may well be right Roger. I assume it had previously been raced in Europe before it ended up in Aus, and I think Porsche only released the 944 in 1982.

[Steve Holmes]

not sure why he changed to an alfa.
funny you should ask about the 944,was asked last week if i had any photos
the car is in germany currently being restored and the owner wants to paint it in the porsche aust/colin bond colours
i would assume the car was purchased from the factory as alan had a relationship with them second to none

Thanks Mark, great info on the Bond car. According to the 1982 Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, with Alan Hamilton shutting his race team down at the end of that season, it said he may do some low-key hillclimbing, or possibly a couple of races himself in the 944. I assume they're referring to the same 944 raced by Bond in '82? Do you know if Alan actually did race the 944 at all? The 935 was sold to Rusty French, but the 944 just seems to have vanished following the '82 season.

[Steve Holmes]

Maybe he changed because he had an Alfa dealership.
Dale.

Thats a good point Dale.

[Steve Holmes]

The two cars that ran at Le Mans in 1981 look very similar to the car Bond raced for Alan Hamilton in 1982. Rollcage, flares and headlight openings look very similar: http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/p%...ans%2024h.html