1986 James Hardie 1000

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938–1986)

The 1986 James Hardie 1000 was an endurance motor race held on 5 October 1986 at the Mount Panorama Circuit, just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race, which was the 27th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race, was the fourth round of both the 1986 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1986 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.

Allan Grice (in his 15th Great Race start) and his 1986 co-driver and team sponsor through his Chickadee Chicken business Graeme Bailey, took their Roadways Racing built Holden VK Commodore SS Group A to victory over the similar Holden Dealer Team Commodore John Harvey and Neal Lowe. Third was the factory backed Nissan Skyline of pole winner Gary Scott and Terry Shiel.

Dick Johnson and Gregg Hansford finished fourth in their Ford Mustang, while the "Super" team of former rivals Peter Brock and Allan Moffat, who had won 12 of the previous 16 races at Bathurst, finished in fifth place one lap down in their repaired HDT Commodore after losing almost 3 laps in the pits with an oil cooler problem while in a strong second place.

Belgian jeweller Michel Delcourt, who finished 7th with veteran Graham Moore in a Commodore, won the Rookie of the Year award. Moore and Delcourt had qualified a Mitsubishi Starion in 50th place for the 1985 race, but the car was withdrawn and did not start.

Class structure

[edit]

The race was held for cars complying with Australian Touring Car regulations, which were based on International Group A touring car rules. It included three engine capacity classes.

Class A

[edit]

For cars of up to 2000cc engine capacity, it saw a variety of cars entered. Most numerous were variations of Toyota Corollas, with individual entries of a turbocharged Fiat Uno, a Ford Escort and a Nissan Gazelle.

Class B

[edit]

For cars of between 2001 and 3000cc engine capacity, it featured the turbos; Mitsubishi Starion, Nissan Skyline and Volvo 240, but also included Alfa Romeo GTV6, BMW 323i, Mercedes-Benz 190E and Toyota Supra.

Class C

[edit]

For cars of over 3000cc engine capacity. Apart from a strong presence of BMW 635 CSi, the swansong of the V12 Jaguar XJS, and the first appearance of a turbocharged Ford Sierra, it was the domain of the V8; Holden Commodore SS Group A, Ford Mustang and Rover Vitesse.

Hardies Heroes

[edit]

In a major change to the format, 1986 was the first time in the history of Hardies Heroes that drivers only had one lap to set a time. From 1978–1985, drivers had two laps in which to set a time.

Pos No Team Driver Car HH Qual
Pole 15 Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Australia Gary Scott Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 2:17.159 2:18.29
2 2 Roadways Racing Australia Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2:17.246 2:16.16
3 30 Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Australia George Fury Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 2:19.044 2:18.68
4 11 Enzed Team Perkins Australia Larry Perkins Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2:19.433 2:19.39
5 44 Volvo Dealer Team Australia John Bowe Volvo 240T 2:19.594 2:18.58
6 17 Palmer Tube Mills Australia Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT 2:19.808 2:18.84
7 6 Bob Jane T-Marts New Zealand Graeme Crosby Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2:20.370* 2:19.93
8 1 JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 2:20.751 2:19.53
9 21 Goold Motorsport Italy Roberto Ravaglia BMW 635 CSi 2:20.955 2:18.19
10 53 Mitsubishi Ralliart Australia Brad Jones Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 2:35.969 2:18.91

* Peter Brock had qualified the #05 Holden Dealer Team Commodore 2nd fastest with a 2:18.10 but the car was heavily damaged in a crash in Fridays's qualifying by Allan Moffat and was not repaired in time for Hardies Heroes and was subsequently withdrawn from the session by the team. Race organisers the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) then elevated the Graeme Crosby Commodore into the Top 10 Runoff in its place. Brock had also qualified the HDT's #3 car with a time of 2:17.7 (good enough for 2nd behind Grice), but the race rules prevented car swapping in qualifying and his time only served to qualify him in car #3 for the race and not Hardie's Heroes. It was the first time Brock would not appear in the Saturday morning runoff since its inception in 1978, leaving Dick Johnson as the only driver to have done so.
* Allan Grice became the first Group A driver to lap the 6.172 km (3.835 mi) circuit at over 100 mph (161 km/h) with a 2:16.16 lap in Friday qualifying in his Holden VK Commodore SS Group A. Grice had also been the first to lap the track at over 100 mph in a Group C touring car in 1982 driving a VH Commodore. He had also set his qualifying time running on Dunlop Tyres and not the Yokohama's he was required by contract to run when the television cameras were running in the runoff.
* Through their mutual Philip Morris cigarette sponsorship, the Peter Jackson Nissan team had tyre warmers for their cars flown out from the McLaren Formula One team in England to cope with the cold conditions, the first time the technology had been used in Australian touring car racing. Despite this and the fact that he was the only driver to improve on his qualifying time, pole winner Gary Scott believed the tyres on the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 were still not up to full operating temperature.
* The 1986 version of Hardie's Heroes saw four new drivers contesting the Saturday morning runoff for pole position. Pole winner Scott, John Bowe (5th), Graeme Crosby (7th), and Brad Jones (10th). Scott (1979 and 1982) and Bowe (1985) had previously been in cars that had qualified for the runoff, but it was their respective co-drivers who had set the times.
* Brad Jones, whose Mitsubishi Starion had been the fastest car on Conrod Straight during qualifying at 269 km/h (167 mph), was forced by officials to run on smaller width wheels during the runoff after checks revealed the car was using wider tyres than was allowed. Jones aborted his lap in Hardies Heroes at the top of the mountain after the smaller wheels caused the car to handle badly.

Official results

[edit]
Pos Class No Team Drivers Car Laps Qual
Pos
Shootout
Pos
1 C 2 Roadways Racing Australia Allan Grice
Australia Graeme Bailey
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 163 1 2
2 C 3 Mobil Holden Dealer Team Australia John Harvey
New Zealand Neal Lowe
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 163 13
3 B 15 Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Australia Gary Scott
Australia Terry Shiel
Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 163 3 1
4 C 17 Palmer Tube Mills Australia Dick Johnson
Australia Gregg Hansford
Ford Mustang GT 162 5 6
5 C 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team Australia Peter Brock
Canada Allan Moffat
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 162 11
6 C 1 JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards
Australia Tony Longhurst
BMW 635 CSi 161 8 8
7 C 22 Formula 1 Investments P/L Australia Graham Moore
Belgium Michel Delcourt
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 158 18
8 C 8 Cullen Supa Salvage Australia Warren Cullen
Australia Gary Sprague
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 157 12
9 B 41 Bob Jane T-Marts New Zealand Denny Hulme
Austria Franz Klammer
Mercedes-Benz 190E 157 23
10 B 36 Everlast Battery Service Australia Murray Carter
Australia Bill O'Brien
Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 157 42
11 B 42 Volvo Dealer Team New Zealand Graham McRae
New Zealand Neville Crichton
Australia John Bowe
Volvo 240T 156 24
12 C 37 Airport Car Rental Australia Chris Clearihan
Australia Fred Geissler
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 156 34
13 C 6 Bob Jane T-Marts New Zealand Graeme Crosby
New Zealand Wayne Wilkinson
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 156 10 7
14 C 19 Tony Mulvihill Australia Ken Mathews
Australia Tony Mulvihill
Australia Barry Jones
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 155 31
15 C 23 Lusty Engineering P/L Australia Graham Lusty
Australia John Lusty
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 154 37
16 C 38 Grellis Marketing Australia Kerry Baily
Australia Ray Ellis
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 150 33
17 C 26 Simon Emmerling Australia Simon Emmerling
Australia Trevor Hine
BMW 635 CSi 149 45
18 B 57 Network Alfa Australia Lucio Cesario
Australia Warwick Rooklyn
Alfa Romeo GTV6 148 47
19 A 61 Toyota Team Australia New Zealand John Faulkner
Australia Mike Quinn
Toyota Corolla GT 148 52
20 C 91 Graham Lorimer New Zealand Graham Lorimer
New Zealand Phil Myhre
BMW 635 CSi 146 51
21 A 60 Giddings Moss Vale Nissan Australia Bruce Stewart
Australia John Giddings
Nissan Gazelle 146 50
22 C 18 Terry Finnigan Australia Terry Finnigan
Australia Steve Williams
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 144 30
23 C 48 The Xerox Shop Australia Alan Taylor
Australia Kevin Kennedy
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 144 44
24 C 10 John Goss Australia John Goss
Australia Bob Muir
Jaguar XJS 140 26
25 C 11 Enzed Team Perkins Australia Larry Perkins
Australia David Parsons
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 140 7 4
26 A 58 Ratcliff Transport Spares Australia David Ratcliff
Australia Don Smith
Toyota Sprinter AE86 140 58
27 A 13 Bob Holden Motors Australia Bob Holden
United Kingdom Geoff Kimber-Smith
Toyota Sprinter AE86 138 55
DNF C 47 Brian Callaghan Australia Barry Graham
Australia Brian Callaghan
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 140 25
DNF C 24 Jagparts Australia Gerald Kay
Australia Martin Power
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 135 29
DNF B 87 Brian Bolwell Australia Brian Bolwell
Australia Tony Farrell
BMW 323i 124 54
DNF B 30 Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Australia George Fury
Australia Glenn Seton
Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 114 3
DNF B 44 Volvo Dealer Team Australia John Bowe
Australia Alfredo Costanzo
Volvo 240T 113 9 5
DNF B 75 Network Alfa Australia Colin Bond
Australia Peter Fitzgerald
Alfa Romeo GTV6 111 36
DNF C 34 Lansvale Smash Repairs Australia Steve Reed
Australia Trevor Ashby
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 111 16
NC A 56 Frank Cecchele Australia Gordon Mitchell
Australia Allan McCarthy
Fiat Uno Turbo 110 59
DNF C 9 JPS Team BMW Australia Kevin Bartlett
New Zealand Trevor Crowe
BMW 635 CSi 109 17
NC C 32 John English Australia John English
New Zealand Glenn McIntyre
BMW 635 CSi 101 40
DNF C 35 Lester Smerdon Australia Lester Smerdon
Australia Geoff Russell
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 100 28
DNF C 50 John Donnelly Australia John Donnelly
United Kingdom Simon Harrex
Rover Vitesse 98 53
NC B 49 Ray Gulson Australia Ray Gulson
Australia Frank Porter
Alfa Romeo GTV6 94 46
NC C 39 Trevor McLean New Zealand Trevor McLean
New Zealand Rod Downs
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 90 43
DNF C 12 Garry Willmington Australia Garry Willmington
New Zealand Peter Janson
Jaguar XJS 88 14
DNF C 43 Anderson & O'Leary Ltd. New Zealand Bruce Anderson
New Zealand Wayne Anderson
Ford Mustang GT 81 39
DNF C 96 Tim Slako New Zealand Tim Slako
Australia Geoff Leeds
Rover Vitesse 77 32
DNF B 53 Mitsubishi Ralliart Australia Brad Jones
Japan Akihiko Nakaya
Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 61 6 10
DNF C 4 Autopart Centre Australia Peter McLeod
New Zealand Glenn Clark
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 48 15
DNF A 62 Bob Holden Motors Australia Keith McClelland
Australia Brian Nightingale
Toyota Sprinter AE86 38 57
DNF C 29 Ken Davison Australia Ken Davison
Australia Wally Kramer
Ford Mustang GT 36 48
DNF C 20 James Keogh Australia Jim Keogh
Australia Des Wall
BMW 635 CSi 30 41
DNF C 40 Motorsport Pacific Ltd. New Zealand Robbie Francevic
New Zealand Leo Leonard
Ford Sierra XR4Ti 27 21
DNF A 55 Motorsport Pacific Ltd. New Zealand Andrew Bagnall
New Zealand Ted Jarvis
Ford Escort RS 1600i 23 56
DNF C 7 Goold Motorsport Australia Charlie O'Brien
Australia Garry Rogers
BMW 635 CSi 19 22
DNF B 51 Team Nissan Racing NZ New Zealand Graeme Bowkett
New Zealand Kent Baigent
Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 13 38
DNF C 27 Dulux Auto Colour Australia Alf Grant
Australia John French
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 11 20
DNF C 33 Michael Burgmann Australia Mike Burgmann
Australia Mal Rose
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 5 27
DNF C 28 Yellow Pages Australia Tony Kavich
Australia Ralph Radburn
Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 4 19
DNF A 16 Toyota Team Australia Australia John Smith
Australia Drew Price
Toyota Corolla GT 3 49
DNF C 21 Goold Motorsport Italy Roberto Ravaglia
Austria Dieter Quester
BMW 635 CSi 2 2 9
DNF B 14 Bob Jane T-Marts Australia Andrew Miedecke
West Germany Jörg van Ommen
Mercedes-Benz 190E 1 35
DNS B 77 Peter Williamson Toyota Australia Peter Williamson
Australia Mark Skaife
Toyota Celica Supra
DNS B 25 JPS Team BMW Australia Tony Longhurst
New Zealand Trevor Crowe
BMW 325i

Italics indicate driver practiced this car but did not race.

Statistics

[edit]
  • Provisional Pole Position - #2 Allan Grice - 2:16.16
  • Pole Position - #15 Gary Scott - 2:17.159
  • Fastest Lap - #2 Allan Grice - 2:18.99
  • Average Speed - 155 km/h
  • Race Time - 6:30:35.68

The 1986 James Hardie 1000 is unfortunately also remembered for the death of Sydney privateer Mike Burgmann. On lap 5, Burgmann's Holden VK Commodore SS Group A and the privateer Jaguar XJS of his friend Garry Willmington were neck and neck over the notorious second hump on Conrod Straight at approximately 260 km/h (162 mph) when the front of the Commodore got airborne (as cars did coming over the hump at that speed, more so for cars on the right hand side or outside part of the track which is where Burgmann was). The front of the Commodore moved slightly to the left and Burgmann, who was only a part-time racer, tried to correct by turning the wheel to the right. Unfortunately for Burgmann, the front tyres suddenly gripped when they landed and the car then turned into and hit the tyre barrier at the bottom of the well-known curved bridge at the end of Conrod with unabated speed causing the entire front end to be pushed back to the firewall. The car's roll cage did its job and the cabin survived the violent impact mostly intact. However, when officials reached the car they found Burgmann in what would normally be the back seat of the vehicle. While his driving seat had remained intact the force of the impact had broken the seat belt buckle which caused his body to be thrown out of the seat. Mike Burgmann became the first driver to die while competing in the Bathurst 1000 when he was pronounced dead on arrival at Bathurst Hospital.[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Robert Wilson and Peter Kogoy (October 2006). "Drivers defend Bathurst". Premier Media Group. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
[edit]