Holden Dealer Team

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**HDT**

Manufacturer	Holden
Team Principal
Team Manager
Race Drivers
Chassis	Monaro, Torana, Commodore
Debut
Drivers' Championships	4
Round wins
Pole positions
1985 position

The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also branched out into rallying. From 1980 the Holden Dealer Team, under the leadership of Peter Brock, also produced modified high-performance roadgoing Commodores which continued until the team collapsed in 1987 after a highly publicized dispute between Brock and Holden.

1 The Firth Years
- 1.1 Brock wins title and leaves, HDT gets a V8 Torana
2 John Sheppard takes over
3 The Brock era
- 3.1 HDT in the Group A era
4 Brock HDT Special Vehicles
5 Legacy and collectibility
6 HDT Vehicles
7 References

[edit] The Firth Years

After showing an increasing interest in motorsport during the 1960s, Holden decided form a team to enter both Touring Car and Rallying events in 1969. However, Holden’s parent company, General Motors forbade its manufacturers from officially entering motor sport events. Holden was able to circumvent this regulation by naming its team the ‘Holden Dealer Team’ which was officially owned by its dealers. In reality Holden bankrolled the entire operation and hired former Ford team manager Harry Firth in order to manage the operation.

Firth hired two talented, but untested drivers Colin Bond and Peter Brock. These two drivers would form the backbone of the team over the next few years. At that years Bathurst 500 the team entered three Monaro GTS 350’s and tasted immediate success, finishing first and third, with Bond winning with co-driver Tony Roberts, while Brock finished third with Des West.

However Firth became concerned at the development of rival Ford’s powerful Falcon GTHO and instead of trying to develop a more powerful car, he opted to run a much smaller Holden Torana with a 6-cylinder engine. The X-U1 Torana’s were a match for the larger and more powerful GTHO’s at most circuits, but at Bathurst with its long straights the car was less competitive, and Ford’s Alan Moffat dominated both the 1970 and 1971 events. However in 1972 the Dealer Team scored a major upset, with Brock winning the first of his nine Bathurst victories.

[edit] Brock wins title and leaves, HDT gets a V8 Torana

In 1974 Holden released the larger but significantly more powerful SLR/5000 Torana. Brock dominated the season, winning the championship, but both he and Bond suffered engine problems at Bathurst, putting them out when they seemed to be in an unassailable position. At the end of the season Brock left the team and ran a privateer Torana, while Bond continued on as the teams main driver. Bond, who had also captured Australian Rally Championships in 1971, 1972 and 1974 for the Dealer Team, won the Touring Car Championship in 1975. He also finished third in the 1975 Bathurst 1000 and second in the 1976 event.

Bond left to join Alan Moffart’s semi-works Ford team in 1977. John Harvey was taken on to replace him. That season also saw the debut on the soon to be dominant Torana A9X, but due to teething troubles, the Holden Dealer Team struggled against Moffat’s Ford Team, with Moffart taking the title and a crushing 1-2 formation finish at Bathurst. Firth decided to leave the team at the end of the season and he was replaced by John Sheppard.

[edit] John Sheppard takes over

One of the first moves made by Sheppard was to bring Brock back to the team. It was a wise decision for Brock dominated the season, becoming the first driver to win the 'triple crown' of the Touring Car Championship, the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000 (with Jim Richards).

Brock was narrowly defeated by privateer Torana driver Bob Morris for the 1979 championship, but made went on to dominate the Bathurst 1000. Brock qualified on pole position, he and Richards lead every lap of the race, Brock set a new lap record on the very last lap of the race and they won by a massive six-lap margin.

The Holden Dealer Team also entered a three-car Commodore team in the Round Australia Rally. Anxious to prove the then new cars reliability, the cars were perfectly prepared and finished first, second and third. Brock, who won the event along with co-drivers Matt Phillip and Noel Richards, cited this event as his career highlight.

[edit] The Brock era

Despite the success, by 1980 Holden was ready to pull the pin on the Holden Dealer Team. They believed there was no longer any point in competing against privateer teams driving Holden cars, and they put the team up for sale. Peter Brock purchased the team, and in order to finance it, called on Holden dealers to support him. In return for providing assistance, Brock would build a special range of modified, high performance Commodores for the dealers to add to their range. (See section on HDT Special Vehicles below). For the first time, the team really was a 'Dealer Team'. Meanwhile, John Sheppard left the team so Brock also took over the management of the racing team.

Despite the off track changes, the Holden Dealer Team remained as competitive as ever, with Brock claiming a second 'triple crown'. This time his Bathurst adventure was less straightfoward. Chasing Dick Johnson's Falcon XD early in the race, Brock collided with a backmarker. The damage was only minor but Brock went a lap down whilst his car was repaired. Soonafter however, Johnson hit a rock on the top of the mountain and was out of the race, and Brock and Richards fought their way back throughout the day to score a come from behind win.

While the Holden Dealer Team was unable to win another Touring Car Championship, the team maintained its excellent Bathurst record over the next few years. Brock won Bathurst again in 1982 with former Formula 1 driver Larry Perkins, and again in controversial circumstances in 1983. The rules at the time permitted 'cross-entering' which meant that after Brock's car dropped out with an engine failure, both Brock and Perkins transferred into John Harvey's car. The trio then went on to win the race. The following year the Holden Dealer Team made it three in a row, finishing first and second in their striking International Marlboro liveried cars.

[edit] HDT in the Group A era

In 1985 Australian Touring Car Racing now ran under International Group A formula, rather than the indigenous Group C regulations what had been in force since 1981. This meant the Holden Commodores were less competitive against the imported Jaguars, Volvos and BMWs. Despite struggling during the season, Brock nearly pulled off an upset victory at Bathurst, retiring due to a broken timing chain late in the race while running a strong second. By 1986 the car was much more competitive, and Brock was able to sign long time rival Allan Moffat to the team. The Holden Dealer Team, taking advantage of Group A regulations, also ran a European Touring Car Championship program. Due to the liberal nature by which European regulators enforced the rules, the Holden Dealer Team was not as competitive as they hoped, but they still achieved some successes, such as winning the team's prize at the Spa 24 Hours.

By 1987 the relationship between Brock and Holden had soured, primarily over the controversial 'energy polarizer' device Brock was installing in his road cars (see below). Without factory backing, the Holden Dealer Team did not run an international programme, Moffat and Harvey both left the team and team did not pose a threat in that years championship. However the Holden Dealer Team would get an appropriate farewell. That year the Bathurst 1000 was a round of the World Touring Car Championship and Rudi Eggenberger's Texaco Sierras dominated the race. Brock's own racecar failed early but he and co-driver David Parsons cross-entered into the teams second car, driven by Peter McLeod and made up ground in the very wet conditions, and eventually finished in third place behind the two Texaco Sierras. Ten months later, the Sierra were disqualified for running illegal bodywork and Brock, Parsons and McLeod became the victors. By then however, the Holden Dealer Team had collapsed. Brock ran a team that ran variously BMW's, Sierras and privateer Commodores until he reconciled with Holden and joined Holden's new official racing team, the Holden Racing Team in 1994.

[edit] Brock HDT Special Vehicles

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The cars built by the Holden Dealer Team for road use quickly gained an enthusiastic following. The program was under Peter Brock's direction and had approval from Holden. Several highly modified high-performance roadgoing Commodores were produced through the early and mid 1980s. Some were "homologation specials" produced to meet the Group A racing regulations. Models included the VC Group C, the VH SS Group III with a 0-100 km/h of 6.7 seconds (the quickest Brock of all according to Modern Motor Magazine - Jan 1983), the Blue VK SS Group A and the burgundy VL SS Group A. These vehicles are all individually numbered with only just over 4500 HDT's made and are considered to be collectors' items due to their rarity.

HDT and Brock's association with Holden ended sensationally in 1987, after Brock began fitting a device known as the "Energy Polarizer" to HDT vehicles. Regarded as pseudoscience by Holden and the vast majority of the Australian motoring community, Holden ended its association because it felt that there was no evidence for the device's efficacy. Holden then set up Holden Special Vehicles , which took over the role of producing factory-approved modified Commodores for road and racing.

[edit] Legacy and collectibility

The HDT Commodores have a substantial place in Australian motoring enthusiast history, and thus they are highly collectible. It is not uncommon to see these vehicles selling for over $40,000 for a clean genuine example or even between $50-60,000 for an extremely low km example.

"A pair of showroom condition mid-1980s V8 Brock Commodore SS Group A sedans sold for better than new SS Commodore price at the Australian International Motor Show Auction presented by Shannons at the Sydney Exhibition & Convention Centre on October 17 2004.

Encouraged by the large crowd and numerous phone bidders, the blue 1985 Brock VK Group A SS with just 90km on the odometer sold for a record $57,500 at the auction, while the red 1986 VL Group A SS model which had covered only 38km sold for $55,000 a few moments later. In contrast, a current VY series V8 Commodore SS sedan has a recommended retail price of $50,990. ^[1]