1965 Australian Touring Car Championship

1965 Australian Touring Car Championship
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The 1965 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Group C Improved Production Touring Cars.[1] It was contested over a single 40 lap, 124 km race [2] staged at the Sandown Park circuit [3] in Victoria, Australia on 11 April 1965.[3] It was the sixth Australian Touring Car Championship title to be awarded and the first to be contested by cars complying with Group C regulations.

The championship was won by Norm Beechey driving a Ford Mustang, the first ATCC victory to be achieved with a V8-engined car and the first of five ATCC titles to be won with Ford Mustangs. It was Beechey's first Australian Touring Car Championship victory.

Race summary

The change in regulations from Appendix J to Group C had disadvantaged most heavily those driving Holdens, like Norm Beechey and Brian Muir, and Bob Jane's Jaguar, as the practice of overboring engines was effectively outlawed, making 4.1 litre Jaguars and 3.4 litre Holdens ineligible.

Bob Jane took pole position in his Mustang which had been acquired only weeks prior to the race after Beechey's early season form had demonstrated the clear superiority of a Mustang over the class leading Ford Cortinas and Morris Cooper S racers. After Beecheys had mechanical problems in practice second fastest was the Ford Galaxie of John Reaburn, four second slower than Jane.

Jane won the start with Muir up to second ahead of Reaburn, Ian Geoghegan in his Ford Cortina and Beechey was quickly up to fifth from his rear of grid start. Beechey was leading by lap seven. By then Reaburn was fading with brake problems and Jane was starting to overheat. He pitted to retire on lap 23. Geoghegan battled with Jim McKeown for second after Beechey backed of once he had lapped the field. McKeown had engone failure in the late running in his Cortina, leaving Geoghegan second. Muir and rookie Canadian Allan Moffat in his Cortina fought over third until Muir picked up the pace late in the race to secure third.

Results

Position [2] Driver [2] No. Car [2] Laps [2]
1 Norm Beechey 4 Ford Mustang 40
2 Ian Geoghegan 1 Ford Cortina Lotus 39
3 Brian Muir 10 Holden EH Special S4 39
4 Allan Moffat 18 Ford Cortina Lotus 39
5 John Raeburn 21 Ford Galaxie 39
6 Peter Manton 2 Morris Cooper S [4] 39
7 John Harvey Austin Cooper S [4] 38
8 Jim Russell Morris Cooper S [4] 37
9 Clem Smith Chrysler Valiant 37
10 Robin Pare Ford Cortina Lotus 35
11 Ken Hastings Holden 48/215 [5] [6] 33
12 Ron McLean Holden 48/215 [5] 33
13 Ewan Frazer Morris Cooper S [4] 33
14 Dick Roberts Chrysler Valiant 32
15 Brian Foley Morris Cooper S [4] 32
DNF Jim McKeown 3 Ford Cortina Lotus 34
DNF Bob Jane 5 Ford Mustang 23
DNF Stan Starcevich Holden EH Special S4 14

Pole position: Bob Jane, Ford Mustang, 1:20.9 [4]
Number of starters in race: 18 [7]
Fastest race lap: Norm Beechey, Ford Mustang, 1:20.8, [8]

References

  1. ↑ Conditions for Australian Titles, 1965 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 66-71
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Graham Howard , Stewart Wilson, David Greenhalgh, The thunder of V8s, The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years, 2011, pages 58-63
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Beechey Wins Touring Car Championship, Australian Motor Manual, June 1965, page 52
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Adrain Ryan, Norm Beechey: Australian Champion, Racing Car News, May 1965, pages 14-16
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years" lists all four Holdens as being EH S4s, but also includes images of two Holden 48/215 models competing in the race. The image on page 59 confirms that Brian Muir drove an EH and the report in Sports Car World, June 1965 says that Starcevich drove a "179 Holden" so it could not have been a 48/215. The two 48/215s must therefore have been driven by Hastings and McLean.
  6. ↑ David McKay, Double-duty Sandown, Modern Motor, June 1965, page 40 describes Hasting's car as an "elderly 2.2 litre Holden", supporting the ascertion that it was not an EH S4
  7. ↑ Beechey Takes Touring Title, The Age, Monday 12 April 1965
  8. ↑ Sandown: Beechey and Mustang - First ATCC, Sports Car World, June 1965, pages 54-57