1967 Gallaher 500
The 1967 Gallaher 500 was a motor race for Production Saloon Cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on 1 October 1967. The race, which was the eighth running of the Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 500, was organised by the Australian Racing Drivers Club Ltd and promoted by Gallaher International Ltd.
Each competing car was required to be a production saloon competing in standard specification as laid down in the manufacturer's standard workshop manual. Optional extras and open exhausts were not permitted. To be eligibile to compete, a car had to be an Australian built or assembled model of which 200 examples had been registered in Australia by 30 September 1967, or a fully imported model of which 100 examples had been registered in Australia by the same date.
In a seminal moment for the race, the first Australian-built V8-powered Ford Falcons competed in the form of seven Falcon GTs and a Falcon automatic. In a race long duel against three Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs, two entered by Alec Mildren Racing and one by M.W. Motors, the Ford Motor Company-entered Falcon GTs achieved a one-two finish with Harry Firth and Fred Gibson acknowledged as race winners after confusion over lap-scoring briefly left uncertainty over the results. Brothers Leo and Ian Geoghegan finished second with the two Alec Mildren Racing Alfa Romeos of Doug Chivas / Max Stewart and Kevin Bartlett / Laurie Stewart all finishing on the same lap as the winning car. It was Firth's fourth Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 500 victory, equalling Bob Jane's record.
The confusion over the result stemmed from the Geoghegan brothers' first pit stop. Driving the opening stint, Leo Geoghegan's pole winning Falcon almost ran out of fuel coming past the pits. As he could not reverse into pit lane without being disqualified, Leo went in through the back gate to the pits located on Mountain Straight, and came back into pit lane through the paddock gate. Although he had not completed the lap, as he crossed the finish line in pit lane he was mistakenly credited with completing the lap. Firth, who knew this, was livid with the Australian Racing Drivers Club when the Geoghegan car was flagged in first, despite finishing 11 seconds behind Gibson. Firth, immediately protested the result and it was not until later that evening that he and Gibson were installed as race winners. Firth's protest led to long standing animosity between himself and the Geoghegan team who were teammates for the race, with Leo contending until his death in 2015 that he and his brother won the race.
Class structure
Cars competed in five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian dollars.Class A
The lowest class was for under cars retailing for less $1,800. It comprised Datsun 1000 and 1300, Hillman GT, Holden Torana and Toyota Corolla.Class B
The $1,801 to $2,100 class featured Ford Cortina, Hillman Arrow, and Morris Cooper and 1100S, Renault R8 and Toyota Corona.Class C
The $2,101 to $3,000 class was dominated by the Morris Cooper S, but also contained Fiat 124 and 850, an automatic gearbox Ford Falcon, Holden HD X2 and Prince Skyline GT.Class D
The $3,001 to $4,500 class featured the debut of the 'Australian V8's which would dominate the history of the race, represented by Ford Falcon GT, but also contained single entries of Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi Super 90, Studebaker Lark, Triumph 2000 and Volvo 122.Class E
For the first time an unlimited class, for cars over $4,500, was included and while many exotic cars were rumoured the class ultimately contained four Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs and a single Dodge Phoenix TD2.Practice results
For 1967, race regulations were changed such that all grid positions were decided on practice times, regardless of class. Prior to this, the cars were gridded according to practice times but within their respective classes with the highest class starting at the front of the grid and so on.The first ten places were as follows:
| Pos. | No. | Entrant | Driver | Car | Qual. |
| 1 | 53 | Ford Motor Company |  Ian Geoghegan | Ford XR Falcon GT | 3:03.0 |
| 2 | 52 | Ford Motor Company | Fred Gibson | Ford XR Falcon GT | 3:03.2 |
| 3 | 61 | Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. | Kevin Bartlett | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 3:03.5 |
| 4 | 60 | Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. | Doug Chivas | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 3:05.2 |
| 5 | 54 | Ford Motor Company | Bob Jane | Ford XR Falcon GT | 3:05.2 |
| 6 | 62 | M.W. Motors Pty. Ltd | Paul Hawkins | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 3:05.7 |
| 7 | 51 | J. & B. Motors | Des West | Ford XR Falcon GT | 3:06.0 |
| 8 | 49 | M. Savva | Mike Savva | Ford XR Falcon GT | 3:06.8 |
| 9 | 50 | Gregory's Pty. Ltd. | Greg Cusack | Ford XR Falcon GT | NA |
| 10 | 55 | Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. | Warren Weldon | Studebaker Lark | NA |
Race results
| Pos | Class | Class Pos | No | Entrant | Drivers | Car | Laps | Qual Pos |
| 1 | D | 1 | 52 | Ford Motor Company | Harry Firth Fred Gibson | Ford XR Falcon GT | 130 | 2 |
| 2 | D | 2 | 53 | Ford Motor Company | Ian Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan | Ford XR Falcon GT | 130 | 1 |
| 3 | E | 1 | 60 | Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. | Doug Chivas Max Stewart | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 130 | 4 |
| 4 | E | 2 | 61 | Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. | Kevin Bartlett Laurie Stewart | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 130 | 3 |
| 5 | C | 1 | 30 | British Motor Corporation |  Tony Fall Bob Holden | Morris Cooper S | 128 | 14 |
| 6 | C | 2 | 37 | C. Smith | Charlie Smith Barry Seton | Morris Cooper S | 127 | 15 |
| 7 | C | 3 | 29 | British Motor Corporation |  Timo Mäkinen John French | Morris Cooper S | 127 | 12 |
| 8 | C | 4 | 28 | British Motor Corporation | Paddy Hopkirk Brian Foley | Morris Cooper S | 126 | 11 |
| 9 | E | 3 | 63 | S.T.P. Scientifically Treated Petroleum Australia | Arthur Davis Paul Mander | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 126 | 20 |
| 10 | C | 5 | 40 | Marque Motors | Damon Beck Lakis Manticas | Morris Cooper S | 125 | 18 |
| 11 | D | 3 | 55 | Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. | Warren Weldon John Hall | Studebaker Lark | 124 | 10 |
| 12 | C | 6 | 45 | Martinz Place | John Millyard Anndy Frankel | Morris Cooper S | 124 | 16 |
| 13 | D | 4 | 49 | M. Savva | Mike Savva Bob Wilkinson | Ford XR Falcon GT | 124 | 8 |
| 14 | C | 7 | 36 | Baulkam Hills Service Station | Peter Brown Bob Cook | Morris Cooper S | 123 | 21 |
| 15 | D | 5 | 58 | Bill Burns | Bill Burns Chris Brauer | Alfa Romeo Giulia Super | 122 | 23 |
| 16 | D | 6 | 57 | Scuderia Veloce | David McKay George Reynolds | Audi Super 90 | 122 | 25 |
| 17 | D | 7 | 50 | Gregory's Pty. Ltd. | Greg Cusack Bill Brown | Ford XR Falcon GT | 121 | 9 |
| 18 | D | 8 | 54 | Ford Motor Company | Bob Jane Spencer Martin | Ford XR Falcon GT | 118 | 5 |
| 19 | E | 4 | 64 | Barnard Auto. Spares | Barry Sharp Lindsay Derriman | Dodge Phoenix TD2 | 118 | 29 |
| 20 | C | 8 | 42 | Scuderia Veloce | Bill Tuckey Max Stahl | Fiat 124 | 118 | 31 |
| 21 | C | 9 | 27 | Victorian Police Motor Sports Club | Fred Sutherland Allan Mottram | Ford XR Falcon Automatic | 117 | 22 |
| 22 | D | 9 | 48 | Australian Motor Industries Ltd. | Bob Young Bob Sorrenson | Triumph 2000 | 117 | 33 |
| 23 | A | 1 | 2 | Datsun Racing Team | John Roxburgh Doug Whiteford | Datsun 1000 | 117 | 38 |
| 24 | C | 10 | 47 | John Caskey Pty. Ltd. | Bill Daly George Murray | Fiat 124 | 117 | 37 |
| 25 | E | 5 | 62 | M.W. Motors Pty. Ltd. | Paul Hawkins Syd Fisher | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV | 117 | 6 |
| 26 | A | 2 | 12 | Australian Motor Industries Ltd. | Dick Thurston Bill Buckle | Toyota Corolla | 116 | 44 |
| 27 | B | 1 | 16 | Gordon Stewarts Sports Car Centre | Don Holland Peter Cray | Morris Cooper | 116 | 36 |
| 28 | A | 3 | 1 | Datsun Racing Team |  Kunimitsu Takahashi Hideo Oishi | Datsun 1000 | 116 | 40 |
| 29 | C | 11 | 41 | Scuderia Veloce | Mike Kable John Smailes | Fiat 124 | 115 | 32 |
| 30 | A | 4 | 8 | Eiffel Tower Motors Pty. Ltd. | Jack Nougher David O'Keefe | Hillman GT | 114 | 42 |
| 31 | A | 5 | 9 | B.P. Olympic Service Station | Bob Edgerton David Toshack | Hillman GT | 114 | 51 |
| 32 | B | 2 | 24 | Sharton Motors | George Garth Geoff Westbury | Hillman Arrow | 114 | 47 |
| 33 | C | 12 | 35 | Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. | Gary Cooke Trevor Meehan | Fiat 124 | 113 | 30 |
| 34 | C | 13 | 31 | C. Kennedy | Carl Kennedy Jack Murray | Prince Skyline GT | 113 | 39 |
| 35 | B | 3 | 15 | A. Treloar | Doug Macarthur Arthur Treloar | Hillman Arrow | 111 | 48 |
| 36 | B | 4 | 25 | Everybody's | Jane Richardson Midge Whiteman | Morris 1100S | 110 | 58 |
| 37 | B | 5 | 18 | D. Frazer | David Frazer Bernie Breen | Renault R8 | 109 | 57 |
| 38 | C | 14 | 34 | Frank Crott Motors Pty. Ltd. | Lynn Brown David Bye | Fiat 850 | 109 | 55 |
| 39 | B | 6 | 13 | C. Hodgins | Clyde Hodgins Kevin Nipperess | Morris 1100S | 108 | 56 |
| 40 | D | 10 | 59 | Wright Ford Motors | Bruce McIntyre Ken Stacey | Ford XR Falcon GT | 106 | 13 |
| 41 | A | 6 | 5 | C. J. Cocran | Chris Cronan Steve Parkes | Holden HB Torana | 103 | 60 |
| 42 | A | 7 | 6 | Dependable Motors Pty. Ltd. | Bruce Darke Bill Ford | Datsun 1300 | 102 | 59 |
| 43 | B | 7 | 20 | Marque Motors | Lindsay Adcock Mike Schneider | Morris Cooper | 100 | 35 |
| 44 | A | 8 | 3 | Datsun Racing Team | Jim Smith John Colwell | Datsun 1300 | 100 | 52 |
| 45 | B | 8 | 17 | Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. | Bill Stanley Digby Cooke | Morris Cooper | 96 | 43 |
| 46 | B | 9 | 19 | J. Thompson | Jeff Thompson Bob Romano | Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 | 96 | 49 |
| 47 | D | 11 | 56 | British & Continental Cars Pty. Ltd. | Gerry Lister David Seldon | Volvo 122S | 86 | 26 |
| 48 | C | 15 | 44 | H. Taylor | Don Smith Herb Taylor | Holden HD X2 | 75 | 27 |
| DNF | A | 7 | Dunbier Motors Pty. Ltd. | Lindsay Little Stan Pomroy | Hillman GT | 53 | ||
| DNF | A | 4 | Datsun Racing Team | Barry Tapsall Bevan Gibson | Datsun 1300 | 50 | ||
| DNF | B | 22 | Rural Motors Pty. Ltd. | Glen Mackinnon John T. Smith | Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 | 54 | ||
| DNF | B | 23 | Varsity Auto Centre | Rick Radford John Prisk | Morris Cooper | 64 | 28 | |
| DNF | C | 33 | Gordon Stewart's Car Centre | Mal Brewster Bob Skelton | Morris Cooper S | 17 | ||
| DNF | C | 32 | M. Bailey | Murray Bailey John Hicks | Prince Skyline GT | 34 | ||
| DNF | C | 46 | Denis Geary Motors Pty. Ltd. | Gary Hodge Glyn Scott | Morris Cooper S | 24 | ||
| DNF | C | 26 | J. Leffler | John Leffler Les Carne | Morris Cooper S | 116 | 19 | |
| DSQ | D | 51 | J. & B. Motors | Bob Beasley Des West | Ford XR Falcon GT | 128 | 7 | |
| DSQ | A | 11 | Australian Motor Industries Ltd. | Barry Ferguson Brian Sampson | Toyota Corolla | 117 | 45 | |
| DSQ | A | 10 | Australian Motor Industries Ltd. | Bruce Hindhaugh Peter Macrow | Toyota Corolla | 116 | 46 | |
| DSQ | B | 21 | Peter Williamson Pty. Ltd | Peter Williamson Alex Macarthur | Toyota Corona | 116 | 41 |
Statistics
- Pole Position - #53 Ian Geoghegan - 3:03.0
- Fastest Lap - #52 Fred Gibson - 3:03
- Average Speed - 116 km/h
- Race Time - 6:55:08