Once upon a time, Australian roads were ruled by Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores. It was only natural for a working man to buy a large, locally made sedan which provided him with everything he needed in a car. He would throw the kids and the dog in the back with enough room in the boot to accommodate all of his equipment. Somewhere along the line, all of that changed.
All of a sudden, Australian’s began buying cheap, foreign made cars which didn’t drink anywhere near as much petrol. City residents opted for large, four-wheel drives’ without ever thinking of setting a wheel on a dirt road. Sales of Ford’s flagship sedan plummeted, and before we knew it, Ford announced last week that they would entirely cease automobile production in Australia.
Ford gained exceptional publicity through the Falcon’s participation in the Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars. My father, a huge fan of motorsport, purchased (and to this day owns) an AU Falcon XR6 because of its eye-catching arrival on the V8 Supercar championship scene in the late 1990’s. However, Ford Australia’s profile had been raised through motorsport long before the turn of the millennium. Only one Ford entered the first ever Australian Touring Car Championship race in 1960, with Dick Rees piloting a Ford Zephyr around the Gnoo Blas circuit near Orange in New South Wales. After a slow start, six straight ATCC titles were claimed by a Ford manufactured car from 1964 through to 1969. The Falcon was a key player in the growth of the ATCC/V8 Supercar championship, with the Holden versus Ford rivalry dividing and captivating a nation. However, in recent times, Ford Australia have cut funding to all but one V8 Supercar team, and look to be gradually pulling out of the sport which brought them so much success. In light of their heartbreaking announcement this week, here are Ford’s greatest moments in Australian motorsport.
Allan Moffat/Jacky Ickx, Bathurst 1977
Indisputably, Ford’s greatest moment in Australian motorsport occurred at the 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000. In the 18th instalment of “Australia’s Great Race”, Ford put in the most dominant display ever seen at the Mount Panorama circuit. Allan Moffat and Jacky Ickx built a significant lead in the #1 XC Falcon after starting from fourth on the grid. The sister #2 Falcon, piloted by Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton, occupied second position throughout much of the race. In the closing laps, it became evident that Allan Moffat’s car was suffering severe brake fatigue, and was lapping the mountain significantly slower than Colin Bond’s Falcon. Bond received a radio message as soon as he caught the #1 car, ordering that he remain behind the team-boss Allan Moffat and finish the race in second position. The iconic images of the two, Moffat Ford Dealer entries driving side by side down Conrod straight and over the finish line will be etched into the memories of Ford fans forever.
Four In A Row, Ian Geoghegan, 1966-1969
One of the great Aussie blokes, Ian Geoghegan, won four consecutive Australian Touring Car Championships in a Ford Mustang. Geoghegan was arguably one of the greatest talents Australian motorsport has ever seen, with Ford fans marvelling at the car control and raw speed that he showcased throughout the late 1960’s. The New South Welshman was unstoppable at any circuit that he visited, driving his Mustang to victory at Bathurst, Lakeside, Wawrick Farm, Calder Park and Symmons Plains in consecutive years. While the rivalry between Holden and Ford had not yet become a key feature in Australian motorsport, Geoghegan provided Ford with many of its greatest moments in his unbelievable streak of championship titles.
Paul Radisich/Steven Johnson, 2001 Queensland 500
The 2001 VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 was an incredible race in all respects. Pitch Black rainclouds beared down on the Ipswich-based Queensland Raceway as the event reached its crescendo. With only 10 laps remaining, the heavens opened
. Race leaders’ Paul Radisich and Russel Ingall dived into the pits for wet tyres with less than 8 laps to go. The Dick Johnson Racing pit-crew celebrated as they released Radisich’s Ford Falcon minutely ahead of Russel Ingall in his Castrol Holden Commodore. However, Radisich appeared to lose the lead after spinning on the approach to Turn 4, only for the race to be red-flagged moments later because of the treacherous conditions. Consequently, the race was called using the results from the previous lap, which was led by Radisich. Famous scenes ensued as the Ford pilot climbed out of his beached AU Falcon to celebrate with drenched spectators in the monsoonal rain. It was a spectacular victory for Ford, Paul Radisich, and his co-driver Steven Johnson.
Ford Sierra, late 1980’s
While it was never the most popular car ever to grace Australian circuits, the Ford Sierra achieved unprecedented success under the Group A regulations in the late 1980’s. The Ford Sierra was so dominant that other teams protested their legality ahead of the 1988 Tooheys 1000 in an attempt to disrupt their preparation for the great race. In the 1988 and 1989 editions of the Bathurst 1000, Ford Sierra’s occupied five of the six possible positions on the podium, with the Longhurst/Mezera and Johnson/Bowe combinations triumphant. Similarly, Dick Johnson won both the 1988 and 1989 Australian Touring Car Championships in his Shell sponsored Ford-Sierra RS500. In the height of the Sierra’s dominance, even perennial Holden hero Peter Brock campaigned a Ford Sierra. The Sierra was eventually surpassed by the twin turbocharged, four wheel drive Nissan Skyline, however the nimble Ford remains one of the most dominant cars to ever compete in the ATCC.
James Courtney, 2010 V8 Supercar Championship
The 2010 V8 Supercar Championship culminated in an epic final round duel between Ford driver James Courtney, and Holden pilot Jamie Whincup. Courtney was against the odds for the entire 2010 season. Driving for the flailing Dick Johnson Racing outfit, the highly regarded New South Welshman put in a stirring championship campaign which came down to the wire at the streets of Homebush. In a dramatic penultimate race of the season, a torrential downpour triggered carnage involving the championship contenders, Courtney and Whincup. Both cars sustained severe damage as they aquaplaned into the outside wall at turn 4, and subsequently limped back to their respective garages for repairs. A desperate race was on between the Dick Johnson Racing and Team Vodafone pit crews to repair the severely wounded entries. Sensationally, the Dick Johnson Racing mechanics repaired Courtney’s Falcon before their Team Vodafone rivals, and Courtney managed to extend his championship lead into the final race on the Sunday. Needing to finish 23rd or better in the final race, Courtney guided his Falcon to 14th in a famous championship victory for Ford.
Dick Johnson/John French, Bathurst 1981
The famous “rock” incident in 1980 saw Dick Johnson retire from the Bathurst 1000 after colliding with a large rock which came to rest on the track. A distraught Johnson later appeared on National Television, explaining that he had poured all of his finances into one final effort at winning Australia’s great race, which subsequently ended in tears. A telethon was established to raise funds for Johnson to compete in the 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship. Exactly a year after the notorious accident, the Queenslander returned to Mount Panorama to launch another tilt at glory. Johnson and his co-driver, John French, took a famous victory in the Tru-Blu XD Falcon when the race was red flagged on lap 121. Dick Johnson became the first Queenslander to win the great race, and was subsequently the hero of Ford fans around Australia.
While V8 Supercar management remains optimistic about Ford’s future involvement in the International V8 Supercar Championship, fans of the iconic marque remain concerned about how the company will proceed in the category without a locally made sedan. A statement by V8 Supercars read “Ford has an enormously proud and successful racing heritage globally as well as here in Australia with the Falcon, the Mustang, Sierra and Cortina, and we expect that to continue for at least the next three years and beyond”.
As far-fetched as it may seem, Ford may even consider campaigning an overseas sedan with a locally made V8 engine beyond 2016. While it may appear to be a puzzling move, it’s understandable that the company and its fans are desperate for Ford’s legacy in Australian motorsport to continue. In the words of legendary Ford figure and DJR owner, Dick Johnson, “we’ll find something with a Ford badge on it and race it”. Whatever happens, the Blue-Oval will remain an icon of Australian motorsport forever.
Images: JascoAutomotive, Motorsport Modeller, Motorsport Retro, Speedcafe, MuscleCarMasters,
