The 1981 James Hardie 1000 was the 22nd running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1981 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine configuration based classes, a system used uniquely for this race.
For the first time the race did not go the full race distance as on lap 121, an accident involving six cars blocked the track at McPhillamy Park Corner. The Ford Falcon of Dick Johnson and John French were leading the race at the time of the accident and were declared the winners, becoming the first Queenslanders to win the race. Bob Morris and British endurance racer John Fitzpatrick, also driving a Falcon finished second. A lap down in third was Allan Moffat and British endurance racing great Derek Bell driving a Mazda RX-7, the best ever result to that point for a Japanese built car.
History was made at Bathurst in 1981. For the first (and as of 2024, the only) time in the races history, a reigning Formula One World Drivers' Champion drove in the Bathurst 1000. This honour fell to Australia's own World Champion Alan Jones who co-drove with Warren Cullen in Cullen's V8-engined Holden Commodore.
After 8 wins in the race dating back to Bob Jane and Harry Firth's win in a Ford Falcon XL at Phillip Island in 1962, this would prove to be the last Bathurst 1000 win for the Ford Falcon until 1994. It would also be the 6th and last Bathurst win for the 5.8 L 351 Cleveland V8 engine.
Class structure
Class : 8 Cylinder & Over This class was almost exclusively for V8s; Holden Commodores, Ford Falcons and Chevrolet Camaros. The exception being a V12 Jaguar XJ-S.
Class : 6 Cylinder (Includes Rotary Engines) The class for six-cylinder and rotary-engined cars was contested mostly by Ford Capris, with a single factory supported BMW 635CSi and those Mazda RX-7s entered, powered by rotary engines.
Class : 4 Cylinder (Includes 5 Cylinder & Turbo) The class for cars with four-cylinder engines included Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ford Escort, Isuzu Gemini, Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Bluebird Turbo, Toyota Celica, Toyota Corolla, Triumph Dolomite, and Volkswagen Golf.
Hardies Heroes
Pos No Team Driver Car Time Pole 9 Nine Network Racing Team Kevin Bartlett Chevrolet Camaro Z28 2:36.432 2 17 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson Ford XD Falcon 2:38.813 3 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock Holden VC Commodore 2:39.043 4 7 Bob Morris Motor Sport Bob Morris Ford XD Falcon 2:39.339 5 43 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 2:39.443 6 11 Soundwave Discos Garry Rogers Holden VC Commodore 2:41.315 7 3 Cadbury Schweppes Racing Larry Perkins Holden VC Commodore 2:42.621 8 25 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team John Harvey Holden VC Commodore 2:43.018 9 21 Ron Dickson Ron Dickson Chevrolet Camaro Z28 2:44.505 10 27 Roadways Racing Garth Wigston Holden VC Commodore 2:46.248
* This was the first Top 10 shootout to be held in wet conditions, though conditions were damp for the first ever shootout in 1978.1981 Hardies Heroes, www.youtube.com* For the 2nd year running, Kevin Bartlett was fastest qualifier and won Hardies Heroes in his Channel 9 sponsored Chevrolet Camaro. It was also the second year in a row that Dick Johnson would equal Bartlett's time in qualifying, but would be slower in the shootout. Due to the extremely wet conditions, Bartlett's runoff time was almost 16 seconds slower than his time in qualifying.* This was the first time a car powered by something other than a V8 engine had contested Hardies Heroes. The honor went to the 12A Rotary powered Mazda RX-7 of Allan Moffat who ended up 5th on the grid.* Mazda became the fourth manufacturer to contest Hardies Heroes following on from Ford, Holden and Chevrolet.* The gap of 2.381 seconds between Bartlett and Johnson broke the 1979 record of 1.966 seconds between Peter Brock and Bob Morris. As of the 2024 race, Bartlett's shootout record remains unbeaten.* Roadways Racing's Garth Wigston spun his Holden Commodore through Murrays Corner on both of his laps during the runoff, losing between 10 and 20 seconds each time. With his best recorded time of 2:46.248 being only 9.8 seconds slower than Bartlett's pole time, it suggested that a much higher qualifying position might have gone begging for the Tasmanian driver.
Race The race was stopped on lap 122 because of a multiple-car incident that blocked the track at McPhillamy Park Corner. The accident began with a collision between the Ford Falcons of Bob Morris and Christine Gibson. Garry Rogers and Tony Edmondson (both driving Holden Commodores) and the Isuzu Gemini of David Seldon collided with already crashed cars with the Chevrolet Camaro of Kevin Bartlett being the final car to be involved.
According to the regulations, the race was declared based on the timesheets as the race leader, at the time John French, completed lap 120. This is done so that crashed vehicles can be included in the results. This was particularly significant in this instance as a significant number of the vehicles involved held high race position. Morris was second, Rogers fourth, Edmondson fifth and Christine Gibson sixth.
Results
Pos Class No Team Drivers Car Laps QualPos ShootoutPos 1 8 Cylinder & Over 17 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson John French Ford XD Falcon 120 1 2 2 8 Cylinder & Over 7 Bob Morris Motor Sport Bob Morris John Fitzpatrick Ford XD Falcon 120 4 4 3 6 Cylinder & Rotary 43 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan Moffat Derek Bell Mazda RX-7 119 9 5 4 8 Cylinder & Over 11 Soundwave Discos Garry Rogers Clive Benson-Browne Holden VC Commodore 118 7 6 5 8 Cylinder & Over 4 Re-Car Racing Alan Browne Tony Edmondson Holden VC Commodore 117 11 6 8 Cylinder & Over 20 King George Tavern Joe Moore Christine Gibson Ford XD Falcon 115 25 7 6 Cylinder & Rotary 44 JPS Team BMW Allan Grice David Hobbs BMW 635 CSi 113 12 8 6 Cylinder & Rotary 32 Masterton Homes Colin Bond Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.II 113 32 9 8 Cylinder & Over 8 Garry Willmington Performance Garry Willmington Mike Griffin Ford XD Falcon 113 18 10 8 Cylinder & Over 15 Valley Meat Hall John English John Donnelly Ford XD Falcon 112 22 11 6 Cylinder & Rotary 33 Masterton Homes Steve Masterton Bruce Stewart Ford Capri Mk.II 111 34 12 4 Cylinder 77 Peter Williamson Toyota Peter Williamson John Smith Toyota Celica 111 36 13 8 Cylinder & Over 9 Nine Network Racing Team Kevin Bartlett Bob Forbes Chevrolet Camaro Z28 111 2 1 14 8 Cylinder & Over 29 Brian Callaghan Racing Brian Callaghan Peter McKay Ford XD Falcon 111 24 15 8 Cylinder & Over 26 Scotty Taylor Holden Alan Taylor Kevin Kennedy Holden VC Commodore 109 29 16 8 Cylinder & Over 21 Ron Dickson Ron Dickson Bob Stevens Chevrolet Camaro Z28 108 10 9 17 6 Cylinder & Rotary 39 Capri Components Lawrie Nelson Peter Jones Ford Capri Mk.III 108 41 18 6 Cylinder & Rotary 46 Hulcraft Autos John Gates John Craft Ford Capri Mk.III 108 40 19 4 Cylinder 50 Gary Leggatt Gary Leggatt Phil McDonnell Alfa Romeo GTV6 107 45 20 4 Cylinder 60 Country Dealer Team Jim Faneco Allan Gough Isuzu Gemini 103 52 21 8 Cylinder & Over 05 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Peter Brock Jim Richards Holden VC Commodore 103 3 3 22 8 Cylinder & Over 6 John Sands Racing Rusty French Leo Leonard Ford XD Falcon 100 30 23 4 Cylinder 68 Dandenong Mitsubishi Rod Stevens Craig Bradtke Mitsubishi Lancer 100 53 24 4 Cylinder 59 Bathurst Light Car Club Tony Mulvihill Brian Nightingale Ford Escort Mk.II RS2000 97 56 25 8 Cylinder & Over 31 Ron Dickson Graham Moore Steve Dymand Chevrolet Camaro Z28 96 28 26 6 Cylinder & Rotary 40 Peter McLeod Peter McLeod Peter Dane Mazda RX-7 96 28 27 4 Cylinder 64 Bob Holden Motors Phillip Revell Ron Barnacle Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6 93 59 28 8 Cylinder & Over 24 Army Reserve Racing Team Bob Muir Ian Geoghegan Ford XD Falcon 92 13 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 18 Murray Carter Racing Murray Carter Graeme Lawrence Ford XD Falcon 109 16 DNF 4 Cylinder 62 Alexandra Surplice Alexandra Surplice Doug Clark Toyota Corolla Levin 88 47 NC 8 Cylinder & Over 14 Fred Geissler Fred Geissler Graham Watson Holden VC Commodore 85 14 NC 4 Cylinder 66 Scottune Ian Burrell Rob Shute Mitsubishi Colt 83 57 NC 4 Cylinder 49 Jagparts Martin Power Brian Winsall Triumph Dolomite Sprint 80 55 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 16 Re-Car Racing Ron Wanless Ralph Radburn Holden VC Commodore 79 15 NC 4 Cylinder 70 Colin Spencer Colin Spencer John White Isuzu Gemini 75 60 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 30 Everlast Battery Service Bill O'Brien Gary Cooke Ford XD Falcon 74 17 DNF 6 Cylinder & Rotary 41 West End Mazda Barry Jones Geoff Leeds Mazda RX-7 74 26 DNF 4 Cylinder 61 Rex Monaghan Ray Cutchie Ray Farrar Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6 73 58 NC 8 Cylinder & Over 10 John Goss Racing John Goss Barry Seton Jaguar XJ-S 73 19 NC 4 Cylinder 63 Cherry City Ford John Faulkner Gary Dumbrell Ford Escort Mk.II 2.0 GL 72 51 NC 4 Cylinder 57 Sutton Motors P/L David Seldon Gary Rowe Isuzu Gemini ZZ 70 46 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 3 Cadbury Schweppes Racing Peter Janson Larry Perkins Holden VC Commodore 67 8 7 DNF 4 Cylinder 56 Nissan Motor Co. Masahiro Hasemi Kazuyoshi Hoshino Nissan Bluebird Turbo 66 31 DNF 6 Cylinder & Rotary 37 Trend Windows P/L Terry Daly Peter Hopwood Ford Capri Mk.II 56 37 DNF 6 Cylinder & Rotary 45 Precinct Performance P/L Allan Bryant Dean Gall Mazda RX-7 54 39 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 27 Roadways Racing Garth Wigston Steve Harrington Holden VC Commodore 53 6 10 DNF 4 Cylinder 47 Walter Scott Walter Scott Peter Walton Toyota Celica 50 48 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 12 Warren Cullen Warren Cullen Alan Jones Holden VC Commodore 48 20 DNF 6 Cylinder & Rotary 35 Alexander Rotary Engines Phil Alexander Ron Gillard Mazda RX-7 46 38 DNF 4 Cylinder 52 Bob Holden Motors Bob Holden Wally Storey Ford Escort Mk.II 2.0 GL 44 49 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 23 Great Eastland Television Paul Gulson Rodney Combs Holden VB Commodore 42 21 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 25 Marlboro Holden Dealer Team John Harvey Vern Schuppan Holden VC Commodore 37 5 8 DNF 4 Cylinder 65 HDT Special Vehicles Phil Brock Gary Scott Isuzu Gemini ZZ 36 44 DNF 4 Cylinder 51 Chickadee Chicken Graeme Bailey Steve Land Toyota Celica 34 42 DNF 4 Cylinder 58 Graham Mein Graham Mein Geoff Russell Ford Escort Mk.II RS2000 34 50 DNF 4 Cylinder 55 Nissan George Fury Fred Gibson Nissan Bluebird Turbo 30 43 DNF 4 Cylinder 54 Terry Finnigan Terry Finnigan Ross Wittig Isuzu Gemini 29 54 DNF 8 Cylinder & Over 2 Citizen Watches Australia P/L Charlie O'Brien Mike Quinn Holden VC Commodore 16 23 DNF 6 Cylinder & Rotary 34 Penrith Mazda Centre Terry Shiel Don Holland Mazda RX-7 13 27 DNF 6 Cylinder & Rotary 42 Mazcars Croyden John Duggan Michael O'Hehir Mazda RX-7 1 35 DNQJames Hardie 1000 Bathurst 1981, www.touringcarracing.net 8 Cylinder & Over 19 Neil Cunningham Neil Cunningham Rod Coppins Holden VC Commodore DNQ 8 Cylinder & Over 22 John Sands 3MP Racing Jim Keogh Andrew Newton Ford XD Falcon DNQ 6 Cylinder & Rotary 38 Les Grose Les Grose Alan Cant Ford Capri Mk.III DNQ 8 Cylinder & Over 1 Warren Cullen Warren Cullen Alan Jones Holden VC Commodore DNQ 4 Cylinder 53 Chris Heyer Chris Heyer Peter Lander Volkswagen Golf DNQ 4 Cylinder 71 Ken Harrison Ken Harrison Ian Wells Ford Escort Mk.II 1.6 DNQ 4 Cylinder 48 Douglas B. Rutter Ken Price Steve Jonas Isuzu Gemini DNQJames Hardie 1000, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1981/82, page 202 4 Cylinder 67 Ray Gulson Ray Gulson Gordon Mackinlay Alfa Romeo Alfasud
References
Statistics Provisional Pole Position - #9 Kevin Bartlett - 2:18.7 Pole Position - #9 Kevin Bartlett - 2:36.432 Fastest Lap - #17 Dick Johnson - 2:20.98 (lap record) Average Speed - 151 km/h Race Time - 4:53:52.7
External links Race results, www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au Images, autopics.com.au