1964 Australian Touring Championship...........Lakeside

[mid-year]

The ATTC was still a one race event at this stage unlike the later series of rounds with points accumulated to decide the winner. The 1964 race attracted a large field including favourites Bob Jane ( Jag MK2 ) . Jim Mckeown ( Lotus - Cortina ), Norm Beechey ( EH-S4 ) and Brian Muir ( EH-S4 ) but it was Ian ( Pete ) Geoghegan in a 2dr Cortina GT who took a narrow win from Stormin-Normans S4.The race was unusual for this time as the cars actually had to turn their on lights towards race completion due to the late starting time and finished in semi-darkness. The Geoghegan car was was hastily prepared from a Ford Motor Company fleet car owing to the write off of the Team Geoghegan 4dr Cortina GT in practice at Oran Park the week before.

[mid-year]

[Steve Holmes]

WOW! This is awesome! Thanks heaps Pete. What stunning photos. The race that year was a good one too, with McKeown taking pole in his Lotus Cortina, from Geoghegan, Jane, Muir, Beechey, and Peter Manton.

Muir got the jump at the start to lead Jane, Beechey, McKeown, and Geoghegan, although McKeown quickly moved up to second, before taking the lead on lap 7. He held the lead until going off the track and dropped back behind Jane and Muir. Warren Weldon stopped his Valiant on Hungry Corner and McKeown thumped it a few laps later while trying to stay ahead of Beechey, and was out on the spot.

Geoghegan moved ahead of Beechey at the mid-point to move to third, and then Jane slowed with clutch problems, allowing Muir and Geoghegan ahead. It was looking like Muir would take the first ATCC for an Australian car, until one of his fancy Goodyear Bluestreak T5 tyres deflated, and Geoghegan shot through on lap 37 to hold the lead until the end.

An awesome race, although it would have been great if Muir could have held on.

Thanks again Pete, these are really beautiful photos! The clarity of these is amazing.

[Rod Grimwood]

Quick question, how did Muir get the name Yogi, be interesting bit of history

[Steve Holmes]

Thats something I've always wondered but have never found an answer to. I wondered if maybe very few people actually knew the answer. There is a mini-profile on Muir in the excellent Australian Touring Car Championship first edition by Graham Howard and Stewart Wilson. I hold Howard in high regard, as something of a guru on Australian motorsport history. But even he didn't mention where the 'Yogi' nickname came from, despite making mention of it in the profile.