1986 James Hardie 1000

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.

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938–1986)

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 Moore and Delcourt had qualified a Mitsubishi Starion in 50th place for the 1985 race, but the car was withdrawn and did not start.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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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   Gary Scott Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 2:17.159 2:18.29
2 2 Roadways Racing   Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2:17.246 2:16.16
3 30 Peter Jackson Nissan Racing   George Fury Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 2:19.044 2:18.68
4 11 Enzed Team Perkins   Larry Perkins Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2:19.433 2:19.39
5 44 Volvo Dealer Team   John Bowe Volvo 240T 2:19.594 2:18.58
6 17 Palmer Tube Mills   Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT 2:19.808 2:18.84
7 6 Bob Jane T-Marts   Graeme Crosby Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2:20.370* 2:19.93
8 1 JPS Team BMW   Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 2:20.751 2:19.53
9 21 Goold Motorsport   Roberto Ravaglia BMW 635 CSi 2:20.955 2:18.19
10 53 Mitsubishi Ralliart   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

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

Italics indicate driver practiced this car but did not race.

Statistics

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  • 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

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References

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