Pole position: Brock/Rouse in 2.15,80
Fastest lap: Johnson in 2.19,12
Distance: 1000 km
Average speed: 153,54 kmh
Weather: Fine
Ruleset: Group A
Car info:
All the contenders and pretenders from Sandown were at Bathurst for the big dance. Bond, Moffat and Seton had expanded to run two cars. Once again, Ruedi Eggenberger returned to run the Moffat operation, with a brand new car for Niedzwiedz, Moffat and Frank Biela. Other international arrivals were Andy Rouse, slotting into the co-driver role for Peter Brock; his BTCC rival Robb Gravett, arriving to drive the second DJR car; after rumours of Stefan Johansson or Keke Rosberg, it was Alain Ferté that came down to pilot one of Glenn Seton's cars; Anders Olofsson was back for Nissan; and Gianfranco Brancatelli returned to join Robbie Francevic in the Whittaker's Peanut Slab Sierra. Toyota Team Australia had their new turbo Supra ready to make its race debut, with John Smith and Drew Price at the helm. The circuit was due for resurfacing in early 1990 and the kerbing had been redone in preparation. Some new kerbs had been installed while others were raised in profile. A few of the drivers were concerned about the height and placement of the new kerbs, but it would only be a problem for one year. Also, the traditional standing start made a return, now that the race was back under the overall control of the ARDC. Sierras took up nine of the top ten places in qualifying, Richards' Skyline the interloper in the group of Fords. Andrew Bagnall was first cab off the rank, but planted the Gulliver's Travels Sierra in the wall at Reid Park. The hit was worse than it first looked, and the TAFE Smash Repair crew did a good job to get the car ready to start from pit lane on Sunday. Johnson was fastest heading into the Top Ten, but it was Brock that took pole and the prize money, dipping into the 2m15s. Controversy, though, when scrutineers find a fire extinguisher system nozzle pointed at the intercooler. The popular suggestion was that the extinguisher squirted halon onto the intercooler during the top ten lap, keeping it extra cool to boost horsepower. Nothing was proven, but Brock copped a $5000 fine from the entrant's group. With six cars starting from the pits, the rest of the field arrived at the grid at the end of the formation lap and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Although the standing start was a return to tradition, this was the first time the cars did a formation lap immediately prior to the start of the race. Previously, two warm up laps were done, the cars formed up, and the engines switched off while more ceremonies were performed; then, with a couple of minutes to 10 o'clock, "Gentlemen start your engines." It was suspected organisers were waiting on the clock to strike 10... meanwhile temperature gauges were starting to rise, and several cars would later retire from the race as a result of the long hold. When the lights eventually went green, Brock made a terrific getaway to lead into Hell Corner, followed by Johnson - who smoked the tyres to avoid making the same mistake he had at Sandown - Niedzwiedz, Brad Jones and Miedecke. Sadly, this was about as far as Miedecke got, a broken gear selector shaft jamming the car in fifth. The Yokohama Sierra got as far as Reid Park, another disaster in a year full of them for Miedecke. As the leaders came down Conrod for the first time, Johnson blew past Brock to take the lead. Apart from those first five-or-so kilometres, car #17 would lead for the whole day. Longhurst had dropped back on the run up Mountain Straight for the first time to be down in 13th at the end of lap 1. Niedzwiedz passed Brock going into Hell on lap 3, while Longhurst and Brancatelli began to charge their way through the field, Brancatelli setting the second fastest lap of the race. Brock soon pitted complaining of a loose rear wheel, just the start of the troubles for the Mobil Sierra team. Brancatelli got as high as third before a wheel fell off across the top of the mountain, retiring the car after it ground the bottom off the radiator on the way back to the pits. Behind him, Seton had lost the #30 Peter Jackson Sierra on patch of oil coming over Skyline, backing the blue Sierra into a tyre barrier. Although he drove back to the pits, it was some laps before the car was ready to return to action, by which time Seton and Ferté had switched to car 35. The final victim of this sequence was Brad Jones. Debris from Seton's off had cut Jones brake lines, giving the Albury youngster a fright when he braked for Caltex Chase. The 105 car lost several laps repairing the damage. Longhurst was the next to fall, pitting earlier than planned with a blown head gasket. He would soon jump into the #20 car. Next to retire with overheating issues was Pierre Dieudonné. With Bond also in trouble by this stage, and the second Johnson car struggling with electrical issues all the major Sierra teams were down to one competitive car, if that. Meanwhile, the factory Skylines and Commodores were just trucking along, each running in tandem and without any dramas. Not much changed after the first round of stops. Allan Grice had snuck into the top five on fuel strategy, but would soon lose several laps with gearbox problems. It was plain sailing up front for Johnson and Niedzwiedz, while Brock made his way back into the top three by half distance before rear wheel dramas struck again. This time wheel nut wouldn't budge, and eventually the team had to cut it off. The hub was too badly worn to fit a new one, so that was that for car 05. Johnson and Bowe had pulled out the best part of a lap on the second-placed car. However, they weren't doing it easy. The turbo was dropping boost pressure, and Bowe was having to press on to keep up the lap time. Biela was slowly catching the the red car, but the Moffat challenge evaporated soon after their final planned stop. The ANZ car was blowing smoke as it returned to the track, Niedzwiedz bringing the car back in a couple of laps later because a wheel felt loose. The German emerged from the pits directly in front of Bowe, nearly one lap down. From there, Bowe made a final stop for fuel and cruised to the flag with Niedzwiedz over a minute behind in second. Cotter/Doulman were the last M3 standing in class B after the demise of both Sax cars and the dominant class-leading Plaspak car of Bill Bryce, while the little car class was won by TTA's Star Search drivers superbike racer Mike Dowson and rally driver Neal Bates. |
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Class 1, 2 and 3
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| Pos | Pos in class | # | Team / Entrant Car- Engine |
Drivers, Nationality | Engine vol. (cc) |
Engine Type |
Group | Distance, time |
Qualifying position | Qualifying time | Fastest lap | Reason out, remarks |
| 1 | 1 | 17 | Shell Ultra Hi Tech Racing Team Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Dick Johnson, AUS John Bowe, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 161 laps, 6:30.53,44 | 2 | 2.16,58 | 2.19,12 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.16,79 (Johnson) |
| 2 | 2 | 10 | Allan Moffat Enterprises Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Frank Biela, D Klaus Niedzwiedz, D |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 161 laps, 6:32.15,06 | 4 | 2.17,02 | 2.20,06 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.17,42 (Niedzwiedz) |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | Nissan Motor Sport Nissan Skyline GTS-R Turbo HR31 |
Jim Richards, NZ Mark Skaife, AUS (Anders Olofsson, S) |
2029 tc | L6 | Class 1 | 160 laps | 7 | 2.18,86 | 2.21,80 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.20,09 (Richards) |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | Nissan Motor Sport Nissan Skyline GTS-R Turbo HR31 |
Anders Olofsson, S George Fury, AUS (Mark Skaife, AUS) |
2029 tc | L6 | Class 1 | 160 | 13 | 2.19,64 | 2.22,92 | |
| 5 | 5 | 20 | Benson & Hedges Racing Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Alan Jones, AUS Denny Hulme, NZ Tony Longhurst, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 158 | 9 | 2.19,06 | 2.20,96 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.20,63 (Jones) |
| 6 | 6 | 16 | Holden Racing Team Holden VL SS Commodore |
Larry Perkins, AUS Tomas Mezera, AUS (Win Percy, GB) |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 158 | 11 | 2.19,16 | 2.23,38 | |
| 7 | 7 | 7 | Holden Racing Team Holden VL SS Commodore |
Win Percy, GB Neil Crompton, AUS (John Harvey, AUS) (Steve Harrington, AUS) |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 158 | 18 | 2.22,00 | 2.24,08 | |
| 8 | 8 | 18 | Shell Ultra Hi Tech Racing Team Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Robb Gravett, GB Jeff Allam, GB |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 158 | 12 | 2.19,62 | 2.21,70 | |
| 9 | 9 | 105 | Mobil 1 Racing Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Brad Jones, AUS Paul Radisich, NZ |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 153 | 5 | 2.18,20 | 2.22,90 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.19,09 (Jones) |
| 10 | 10 | 15 | FAI Insurances Ltd. Holden VL SS Commodore |
Allan Grice, AUS Peter Janson, NZ |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 153 | 19 | 2.22,44 | 2.23,10 | |
| 11 | 11 | 37 | Brian Callaghan Racing P/L Holden VL SS Commodore |
Barry Graham, AUS Brian Callaghan, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 152 | 22 | 2.23,40 | 2.27,08 | |
| 12 | 12 | 55 | Playscape Racing Australia Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Kevin Waldock, AUS Bryan Thomson, AUS (Michael Preston, AUS) |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 152 | 23 | 2.25,10 | 2.25,26 | |
| 13 | 13 | 12 | Lansvale Smash Repairs P/L Holden VL SS Commodore |
Steve Reed, AUS Trevor Ashby, AUS (Wally Storey, AUS) |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 151 | 29 | 2.27,32 | 2.30,30 | |
| 14 | 14 | 22 | Lusty Engineering P/L Holden VL SS Commodore |
Alf Costanzo, AUS Graham Lusty, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 146 | 24 | 2.25,20 | 2.25,58 | |
| 15 | 15 | 34 | Ray Gulson BMW 635 CSi |
Graham Gulson, AUS Ray Gulson, AUS |
3475 | L6 | Class 1 | 143 | 39 | 2.30,60 | 2.32,52 | Started from pit lane |
| 16 | 1 | 52 | M3 Motorsport BMW M3 Evo |
John Cotter, AUS Peter Doulman, AUS |
2332 | L4 | Class 2 | 142 | 42 | 2.34,84 | 2.37,08 | |
| 17 | 1 | 33 | Toyota Team Australia Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 |
Mike Dowson, AUS Neal Bates, AUS |
1587 | L4 | Class 3 | 141 | 48 | 2.37,92 | 2.38,86 | Started from pit lane |
| 18 | 16 | 44 | Sutherland Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Starion Turbo A183 |
Gary Scott, AUS Kevin Bartlett, AUS Terry Shiel, AUS |
1998 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 141 | 26 | 2.25,94 | 2.28,76 | |
| 19 | 2 | 32 | Toyota Team Australia Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 |
John Faulkner, NZ Peter MacKay, AUS |
1587 | L4 | Class 3 | 140 | 46 | 2.36,32 | 2.39,38 | |
| 20 | 17 | 30 | Peter Jackson Racing Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Glenn Seton, AUS John Goss, AUS Tony Noske, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 140 | 8 | 2.19,06 | 2.23,96 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.20,52 (Seton) |
| 21 | 18 | 60 | The Xerox Shop Mitsubishi Starion Turbo A183 |
Alan "Scotty" Taylor, AUS Roger Hurd, AUS |
1998 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 139 | 44 | 2.35,46 | 2.38,14 | |
| 22 | 19 | 54? | Clive Smith Nissan Skyline RS Turbo DR30 |
Clive Smith, AUS Paul Trevathan, AUS |
1990 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 137 | 47 | 2.36,52 | 2.36,34 | Started from pit lane |
| 23 | 3 | 78 | Team Madison Racing Toyota Corolla GT AE86 |
Geoffrey Full, AUS Michael Adcock, AUS |
1587 | L4 | Class 3 | 136 | 53 | 2.45,54 | 2.44,12 | |
| 24 | 2 | 49 | David Sala Nissan Gazelle |
Ross Burbidge, AUS Steve Williams, AUS (David Roberts, AUS) |
1990 | L4 | Class 2 | 134 | 50 | 2.41,00 | 2.43,96 | |
| 25 | 20 | 38 | Mulvihill Motorsport P/L Holden VL SS Commodore |
Glenn McIntyre, NZ Graham Moore, AUS Tony Mulvihill, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 133 | 37 | 2.29,74 | 2.29,90 | |
| 26 | 21 | 4 | Caltex CXT Race Team Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Bruce Stewart, AUS Colin Bond, AUS (Dominic Beninca, AUS) |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 131 | 16 | 2.20,44 | 2.24,24 | |
| 27 | 22 | 48 | Mistic Products Holden VL SS Commodore |
John Giddings, AUS Wayne Park, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 130 | 27 | 2.25,98 | 2.29,66 | Started from pit lane |
| NC | 28 | Sommariva Concrete BMW 635 CSi |
Joe Sommariva, AUS Warren McKellar, NZ (Darrel Belsky, AUS) |
3475 | L6 | Class 1 | 118 | 45 | 2.36,08 | 2.40,40 | Insufficient laps | |
| DNF | 45 | Lester Smerdon Holden VL SS Commodore |
Gary Hinton, AUS Lester Smerdon, AUS Marty Turpin, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 112 | 43 | 2.34,92 | 2.36,56 | Axle | |
| NC | 13 | Bob Holden Motors Toyota Corolla GT AE86 |
Bob Holden, AUS Tim Hall, NZ (Kevin O'Neill, NZ) |
1587 | L4 | Class 3 | 108 | 54 | 2.47,64 | 2.46,00 | Insufficient laps | |
| NC | 69 | Blue Haven Pools Holden VL SS Commodore |
Ray Lintott, AUS Reda Awadullah, ET (Bryan Bate, NZ) |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 106 | 51 | 2.41,56 | 2.35,30 | Insufficient laps | |
| DNF | 51 | Bob Holden Motors Toyota Corolla GT AE86 |
Dennis Rogers, AUS Marc Ducquet, AUS Richard Vorst, AUS |
1587 | L4 | Class 3 | 103 | 56 | 2.51,36 | 2.51,36 | Head gasket | |
| DNF | 50 | Bill Bryce Racing BMW M3 Evo |
Brett Riley, NZ Ludwig Finauer, D |
2332 | L4 | Class 2 | 101 | 28 | 2.26,42 | 2.28,02 | Engine | |
| DNF | 57 | Sax Racing BMW M3 |
Craig Turner, NZ Kent Baigent, NZ Lou Vandermeer, NZ |
2332 | L4 | Class 2 | 98 | 41 | 2.33,00 | 2.35,58 | Accident | |
| DNF | 8 | Miedecke Motorsport Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Andrew Bagnall, NZ Graeme Crosby, NZ |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 97 | 10 | 2.19,10 | 2.24,02 | Tooheys Top 10: no time (Bagnall, crash); started from pit lane; head gasket | |
| DNF | 35 | Peter Jackson Racing Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Alain Ferté, F Glenn Seton, AUS Tony Noske, AUS (John Goss, AUS) |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 92 | 17 | 2.21,44 | 2.21,82 | Engine | |
| DNF | 24 | Jagparts Racing Holden VL SS Commodore |
Alf Grant, AUS Gerald Kay, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 91 | 38 | 2.30,16 | 2.31,96 | Engine | |
| NC | 68 | Blue Haven Pools Toyota Supra Turbo MA70 |
Garry Willmington, AUS Tom Watkinson, AUS |
2954 tc | L6 | Class 1 | 91 | 49 | 2.39,78 | 2.37,20 | Insufficient laps | |
| NC | 23 | Beaurepaires Holden VL SS Commodore |
Chris Lambden, AUS Greg Crick, AUS (Kerry Baily, AUS) |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 90 | 25 | 2.25,78 | 2.27,54 | Insufficient laps | |
| DNF | 56 | Sax Racing BMW M3 |
Graham Lorimer, NZ John Sax, NZ ? Mark Thatcher, GB |
2332 | L4 | Class 2 | 82 | 36 | 2.29,72 | 2.31,40 | Fire | |
| DNF | 05 | Mobil 1 Racing Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Peter Brock, AUS Andy Rouse, GB |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 81 | 1 | 2.16,60 | 2.20,26 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.15,80 (Brock); hub | |
| DNF | 41 | Leeson Civil Engineering P/L Holden VL SS Commodore |
Bob Tindall, AUS Des Wall, AUS John Leeson, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 79 | 55 | 2.47,78 | 2.34,88 | Started from pit lane; ignition | |
| DNF | 43 | Everlast Battery Service Holden VL SS Commodore |
Bill O'Brien, AUS Brian Sampson, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 65 | 33 | 2.28,76 | 2.29,14 | Accident | |
| DNF | 19 | Caltex CXT Race Team Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Garry Rogers, AUS Ken Mathews, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 50 | 20 | 2.22,62 | 2.25,32 | Engine | |
| DNF | 21 | Bob Forbes Corporation Pty Ltd Holden VL SS Commodore |
Mark Gibbs, AUS Rohan Onslow, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 44 | 21 | 2.23,40 | 2.25,52 | Accident | |
| DNF | 46 | Reithmuller Pentecost Racing Holden VL SS Commodore |
Ian Green, AUS Llynden Reithmuller, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 43 | 34 | 2.29,28 | 2.29,24 | Overheating | |
| DNF | 31 | Toyota Team Australia Toyota Supra Turbo MA70 |
Drew Price, AUS John Smith, AUS |
2954 tc | L6 | Class 1 | 35 | 35 | 2.29,60 | 2.28,88 | Suspension | |
| DNF | 9 | Allan Moffat Enterprises Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Pierre Dieudonné, B Gregg Hansford, AUS (Allan Moffat, CDN) |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 30 | 14 | 2.19,76 | 2.22,12 | Overheating | |
| DNF | 96 | Barbagallo Motorsport Holden VL SS Commodore |
Alf Barbagallo, AUS Don Smith, AUS Geoff Leeds, AUS Tim Slako, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 28 | 30 | 2.27,88 | 2.33,24 | Overheating | |
| DNF | 25 | Benson & Hedges Racing Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Neville Crichton, NZ Tony Longhurst, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 27 | 3 | 2.16,98 (?!) | 2.20,48 | Tooheys Top 10: 2.16,98 (Longhurst); Engine | |
| DNF | 27 | Mark Petch Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Gianfranco Brancatelli, I Robbie Francevic, NZ |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 14 | 15 | 2.19,88 | 2.19,90 | Radiator | |
| DNF | 40 | Foodtown Supermarkets Holden VL SS Commodore |
John English, AUS Terry Finnigan, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 14 | 31 | 2.28,16 | 2.32,86 | Engine | |
| DNF | 14 | Murray Carter Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
John Mann, AUS Murray Carter, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 10 | 32 | 2.28,28 | 2.30,12 | Broken wheel | |
| DNF | 42 | Matt Wacker Holden VL SS Commodore |
Frank Porter, AUS Matt Wacker, AUS Mike King, AUS |
4980 | V8 | Class 1 | 4 | 40 | 2.32,82 | 2.29,48 | Clutch | |
| DNF | 6 | Miedecke Motorsport Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth |
Andrew Miedecke, AUS Charlie O'Brien, AUS |
1993 tc | L4 | Class 1 | 6 | 2.18,14 | no time | Tooheys Top 10: 2.19,88 (Miedecke); broken selector shaft | ||
| DNS | 39 | David Sala Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 |
David Sala, AUS Richard Vorst, AUS |
1587 | L4 | Class 3 | 52 | 2.42,76 | Piston on warmup lap | |||