The 1985 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for "Group A" Touring Cars staged at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit in Victoria on 15 September 1985. Race distance was 129 laps of the 3.878 km (1.928 mi) circuit, totaling 500.262 km.

The event was Round 3 of both the 1985 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1985 Australian Manufacturers' Championship. There were 36 starters, of which 21 were classified as finishers.Barry Naismith, Bathurst 1985/86, page 77

The race was won by the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of Australian Touring Car Champion Jim Richards, and his co-driver Tony Longhurst. It was Longhurst's first major win in Australian touring car racing. JPS Team BMW made it a 1-2 finish when their second car, driven by Neville Crichton and on-loan Nissan team driver George Fury finished only a few seconds behind. Finishing in third place was the surprising Toyota Supra of Peter Williamson and 1985 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series winner Tomas Mezera.

The 1985 Castrol 500 was the first time since 1972 that neither Peter Brock or Allan Moffat had won the Sandown enduro. 1984 Castrol 500 winner Brock, who claimed pole position with a time of 1:52.3 in his Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore SS, suffered engine failure after 41 laps, while Moffat, who was without a drive in 1985 due to Mazda not racing in Group A, was part of the ABC television commentary team.

Classes The field was divided into three classes according to engine displacement.Official Programme, Castrol 500, September 14 and 15, 1985 Class A : 3001 cc to 6000 cc Class B : 2001 cc to 3000 cc Class C : Up to 2000 cc

Results

Top 10 Qualifiers Pos No. Entrant Driver Car Time Pole 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock Holden VK Commodore SS 1:52.3 2 6 Roadways Racing Services Allan Grice Holden VK Commodore SS 1:52.4 3 17 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT 1:52.4 4 1 JPS Team BMW Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi 1:52.7 5 55 Mark Petch Robbie Francevic Volvo 240T 1:52.9 6 43 Mitsubishi Ralliart Peter Fitzgerald Mitsubishi Starion turbo 1:53.3 7 7 Mobil Holden Dealer Team John Harvey Holden VK Commodore SS 1:53.7 8 42 Mitsubishi Ralliart Kevin Bartlett Mitsubishi Starion turbo 1:54.4 9 31 JPS Team BMW George Fury BMW 635 CSi 1:54.4 10 3 K. Baigent Neal Lowe BMW 635 CSi 1:54.4

Race Position Class No. Entrant Drivers Car Laps 1 A 1 JPS Team BMW Jim Richards Tony Longhurst BMW 635 CSi 129 2 A 31 JPS Team BMW Neville Crichton George Fury BMW 635 CSi 129 3 B 44 Peter Williamson Toyota Peter Williamson Tomas Mezera Toyota Supra 127 4 B 47 Network Alfa Colin Bond Gregg Hansford Alfa Romeo GTV6 126 5 A 36 Lusty Engineering Pty Ltd Graham Lusty Ken Lusty Holden VK Commodore SS 123 6 A 39 Sleepy Head Bedding Co. Graeme Bowkett Wayne Wilkinson Holden VK Commodore SS 123 7 A 14 Auckland Coin & Bullion Exchange Co. Denny Hulme Ray Smith Holden VK Commodore SS 121 8 A 13 Grellis Marketing Ray Ellis Bernie McLure Holden VK Commodore SS 120 9 C 61 Toyota Team Australia Ray Cutchie John Faulkner Toyota Sprinter 115 10 C 57 Bob Holden Motors Bob Holden Glenn Clark Toyota Sprinter 115 11 C 58 Bob Holden Motors David Ratcliffe Don Smith Toyota Sprinter 114 12 C 88 J. White John White Les Szreniawski Isuzu Gemini ZZ 112 13 B 45 Alfa City Ray Gulson Frank Porter Alfa Romeo GTV6 111 14 B 53 Hulcraft Auto John Craft Les Grose Ford Capri 107 15 B 52 Hulcraft Auto Pat Hogbin John Hogbin Ford Capri 102 16 C 64 K. Harrison Ken Harrison Ian Wells Ford Escort 100 17 B 42 Mitsubishi Ralliart Kevin Bartlett Peter McKay Mitsubishi Starion turbo 100 18 B 50 J. L. Hazelton Laurie Hazelton Jerry Stauberg Ford Capri 100 19 A 17 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson Larry Perkins Ford Mustang GT 92 20 C 66 Jagparts Racing Lorraine Orchard Paul Taylor Triumph Dolomite 84 21 B 54 Melbourne Clutch & Brake Service Brian Sampson Garry Waldon Mitsubishi Starion turbo 51 DNF A 41 B. Jones Barry Jones Tony Mulvihill Holden VK Commodore SS 92 DNF A 24 Jagparts Racing Gerald Kay Martin Power Holden VK Commodore SS 92 DNF A 12 G. Willmington Gary Willmington Peter Janson Jaguar XJS 81 DNF A 7 Mobil Holden Dealer Team John Harvey David Parsons Holden VK Commodore SS 78 DNF A 6 Roadways Racing Services Allan Grice Warren Cullen Holden VK Commodore SS 68 DNF C 60 Toyota Team Australia John Smith Drew Price Toyota Corolla 66 DNF B 49 J. Bundy John Bundy Norm Carr Mazda RX-7 65 DNF B 55 Mark Petch Robbie Francevic John Bowe Volvo 240T 60 DNF B 43 Mitsubishi Ralliart Peter Fitzgerald Brad Jones Mitsubishi Starion turbo 50 DNF A 21 Erle McRae Motor Sport Charlie O'Brien Andrew Miedecke BMW 635 CSi 50 DNF A 05 Mobil Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock David Oxton Holden VK Commodore SS 41 DNF A 28 Capri Components Laurie Nelson Bill O'Brien Ford Mustang 41 DNF A 20 J. Keogh Jim Keogh Garry Rogers BMW 635 CSi 39 DNF A 3 K. Baigent Kent Baigent Neal Lowe BMW 635 CSi 38 DNF C 56 M. Minear Mike Minear Paul Elliott Volvo 360 GLT 22

Notes Pole Position: #05 Peter Brock - Holden Commodore (VK) - 1:52.3 Fastest Lap: Dick Johnson / Larry Perkins - Ford Mustang - 1:53.6 (New lap record) Race Time: 4:12:26.4

References

Australian Motor Racing Year, 1985/86 James Hardie 1000, 1985/86 Official Programme, Castrol 500, 14 and 15 September 1985 The Australian Racing History of Ford, 1989 The Official Racing History of Holden, 1988

External links 1985 Castrol 500 - full race 1985 Castrol 500, touringcarracing.net, as archived at web.archive.org