The 1972 Phillip Island 500K was an endurance motor race open to Group E Series Production Touring Cars.Eligibility for the 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was restricted to Group E Series Production Touring Cars, as outlined in Australian Title Conditions, 1972 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 89 The event, which was Heat 4 of the 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, was held on 21 October 1972 at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia over a distance of 318 milesTom Naughton, Ford Scores at The Island, Racing Car News, December 1972, pages 74-75 & 81 (512 km). It was organised by the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club.Official Souvenir Programme, Phillip Island, October 22nd 1972
The race was won by Allan Moffat driving a Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III.
Class Structure
As a heat of the 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, the race featured four classes defined by "Capacity Price Units".Official Programme, Adelaide International Raceway, 27 August 1972 The C.P. Unit value for each car was assessed by multiplying the engine capacity (in litres) by the Sydney retail price (in Australian dollars). Class A : Up to 3,000 C.P. Units Class B : 3,001 to 9,000 C.P. Units Class C : 9,001 to 18,000 C.P. Units Class D : 18,000 C.P. Units and over
Results Position Drivers No. Car Entrant Class Class pos. Laps 1 Allan Moffat 1 Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase IIIStewart Wilson & Max Stahl, Ford - The Racing History, 1989, page 289 Ford Motor Co. of Australia D 1 106 2 Peter Brock 28 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Holden Dealer Team C 1 106 3 Fred Gibson 8 Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Ford Motor Co. of Australia D 2 104 4 Graeme Blanchard 29 Holden Torana GTR XU-1 Blanchard Motors C 2 102 5 Colin Bond 24 Holden Torana GTR XU-1 Holden Dealer Team C 3 102 6 Tom Naughton 4 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger Eastside Chrysler D 3 102 7 Murray Carter 3 Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III M. Carter D 4 101 8 Tony Niovanni 35 Holden Torana GTR XU-1Stewart Wilson, Holden -The Official Racing History, 1988, page 335 Peter Robinson Motors C4 100 9 John Stoopman 26 Holden Torana GTR XU-1 J. Stoopman C 5 99 10 Bill Gates 51 Ford Escort Twin Cam Morley Ford B 1 98 11 Lakis Manticas 38 Ford Escort GT Slideaway Car Roofs P/L B 2 98 12 Jim Murcott 40 Ford Escort GT Brian Wood Ford B 3 98 13 Wayne Rogerson 37 Mazda Capella Mazda Dealer Team B 4 96 14 Ray Harrison 25 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV A. F. & M. Beninca P/L C 6 96 15 John Piper 39 Ford Escort Twin Cam Evans Motor Service B 5 96 16 George Garth 49 Mazda Capella Mazda Dealer Team B 6 93 17 Geoff Perry 67 Mazda 1300 Bainbridge Motors A 1 90 18 Mel Mollison 64 Mazda 1300 Bainbridge Motors A 2 90 19 Fred Sutherland, Gary Keen 74 Mazda 1300 Victorian Police Motor Sport Club A 3 88 20 Allan Keith 42 Ford Escort Twin Cam A. R. Keith B 7 87 21 Doug Whiteford 68 Datsun 1200 Datsun Racing Team A 4 84 22 Gary Parnaby 44 Datsun 1600 G. A. Parnaby B 8 79 NC Roxburgh, Jon Leighton 63 Datsun 1200 Datsun Racing Team A ? Bill Evans 73 Datsun 1200 Datsun Racing Team A DNF Lawrie Nelson 14 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger Tony Roberts Auto. Centre D DNF Des West 7 Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Goldpower Automotive P/L D 36 DNS Brian Ovenden 5 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger Les Foster Tyres, Moorabbin D
Notes Fastest lap: Allan Moffat, 2m 5s, 84.6 m.p.h., lap recordVital Stop by Moffat, Melbourne Age, Monday, 23 October 1972 Race time of winning car: 3h 48m 29.7s Winning margin: 25.9s
References
Further reading 500K:Moffat's Revenge, Australian Motor Manual, January 1973, pages 42–43