1988 Tooheys 1000

1988 Tooheys 1000
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The 1988 Tooheys 1000 was a 1000 km endurance motor race for Group A Touring Cars. It was held on 2 October 1988 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race was the opening round of the 1988 Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship and was the 29th running of the “Bathurst 1000”.

The race winning Longhurst/Mezera Ford Sierra RS500

The 1988 edition was the only race in the history of the Bathurst 1000 to have commenced with a rolling start.

Controversy

On the Friday afternoon immediately at the close of final qualifying, Holden Special Vehicles driver Tom Walkinshaw lodged a formal protest against the leading Australian Ford Sierras, targeting all three Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) cars, along with the Tony Longhurst and Colin Bond entries. Curiously no European-built Fords (or those with some European build/driver connection) were protested, Walkinshaw claiming it was only the Australian cars as they were the fastest, despite the presence of the Eggenberger Motorsport built Allan Moffat ANZ Sierra as 4th fastest qualifier (faster than Bond and the 3rd DJR entry). Also left alone in the protest was the Sierra's of team mates Andrew Miedecke (5th in a car with a technical link to Andy Rouse, while Miedecke's co-driver at Bathurst was Steve Soper) and Andrew Bagnall (7th set by co-driver Pierre Dieudonné), and the Team CMS Sweden Sierra (10th).

The feeling among the protested Australian Sierra teams was that the protest was designed to severely disrupt their race preparations, with only Longhurst's team able to get their Sierra somewhere near its pre-protest speed. All three teams had to pull their cars engine's and suspension apart after Friday's qualifying for the scrutineers before having to put them back together again before Saturday's Tooheys Top Ten. This was particularly disruptive for Dick Johnson's team as they had all three of their cars protested, despite the #18 car only qualifying 12th compared to Johnson's pole and John Bowe in 2nd. The protest prompted DJR team owner Johnson to say at a press conference that Walkinshaw would "Protest against the cut in his bagpipes if he could" and that "All he wants to do is win and he doesn't care how he does it".

The Walkinshaw protest was countered by DJR team manager Neal Lowe who protested the three HSV team Holden Commodores, calling on his knowledge of the Commodore from his time with the old Holden Dealer Team in 1986. The counter-protest by DJR focused on the front air dam, steering rack and the size of the rear spoiler on only the factory backed Commodores.

On race day, Walkinshaw advised the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) and FISA officials that should one of the protested cars win the race, his protest against that car was to be immediately withdrawn. His reasons given for this was so that the winner would be known on the day rather than months later, as had been the case with the 1987 race.

Ultimately the Walkinshaw protests were found to be invalid and was dismissed. The HSV Team cars had been entered by Perkins Engineering and not by TWR, therefore the Scot had no authority to lodge a protest and the stewards of the meeting erred in allowing it to proceed, though all of the Sierras were eventually cleared by FISA. However, the damage was done to the leading Australian Fords and it was only race winners Tony Longhurst Racing who managed to get their car back up to speed after being dismantled by scrutineers on the Friday before the Top 10 run off.

In an ironic twist, the DJR protest against two of the three HSV team cars (only the Perkins built cars and not the TWR British built Walkinshaw/Jeff Allam car) was successful with the modifications made to the cars steering racks found to be illegal. Ultimately the Australian Racing Drivers Club saw no need to change the results to show the cars as disqualified as the spare HSV Car (#40) was only driven in Wednesday's practice session, while the Larry Perkins/Denny Hulme/Walkinshaw #10 car, as well as the #20 Walkinshaw/Allam car both failed to finish. The fact that the Perkins built cars were disqualified and the Sierra's were cleared raised some eyebrows as during the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship, Larry Perkins had been vocal that the Sierra's were running illegally and was pushing for CAMS to enforce the rules.

Race Summary

The 1988 race, under the first time sponsorship of Tooheys Brewery, was won by Tony Longhurst and Tomas Mezera driving a Ford Sierra RS500. It was the first victory in the “Bathurst 1000” for a turbocharged vehicle, and the first victory by a four-cylinder car since Bob Holden and Rauno Aaltonen won in a Morris Cooper S in 1966. It was also the only time in the race's history that there was a rolling start, as dictated by FISA regulations, rather than the traditional standing start. The Ford Sierras dominated the race as expected, but reliability had plagued the Fords. Several that had led the race retired, however sufficient examples finished to fill the three podium positions. Second was the last survivor of the three-car Dick Johnson Racing team, driven by former factory Toyota racer John Smith and DJR lead drivers Dick Johnson and John Bowe whose own hastily re-built cars had both failed early. Alfredo Costanzo qualified in the #18 DJR Sierra but did not get to race, as Johnson and Bowe took over that car. Third was the Caltex-sponsored Sierra of Colin Bond and 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones. The Caltex Sierra had to survive the Walkinshaw protest and post race disqualification (later overruled) to be finally classified third in December 1988. Indeed, it was Bond who successfully argued that Walkinshaw had no authority to lodge the original protest.

Defending race winners Peter Brock, David Parsons and Peter McLeod all failed to finish the race. Brock and Parsons, driving BMW M3s for Brock's Mobil 1 Racing, were both out with engine trouble just after half way through the race. It had been hoped by the team that the reliability shown by the BMW's in the European Touring Car Championship against the much faster, but relatively fragile Ford Sierra's would see them leading late in the race. Ironically the reverse was true and it was the BMW's which proved fragile.

McLeod, driving one of the new Holden Commodore's (built by Brock) with Melbourne solicitor Jim Keogh, was out with engine failure on lap 7. It was the team's second engine failure of the day having lost their race engine in the Sunday morning warmup session. It was a cruel blow for the McLeod team after both McLeod and Keogh had crashed during practice and qualifying, but work on the car and a Saturday night change of setup had seen McLeod record a faster warmup time than either driver had managed in qualifying.

Class structure

Cars competed in three engine capacity classes.

Class A

Taylor/Kennedy Mitsubishi Starion

For cars of over 2500cc engine capacity, it featured the turbocharged Ford Sierras, Nissan Skylines and Mitsubishi Starions, the V8 Holden Commodores and a BMW 635 CSi.

Class B

For cars of 1601-2500cc engine capacity, it was composed of BMW M3s and a Mercedes-Benz 190E.

Class C

For cars of up to 1600cc engine capacity, it was composed exclusively of various models of Toyota Corolla.

Tooheys Dozen

Due to FISA regulations the Top 10 run-off was not for Pole Position in 1988, but only for AUD$40,000 in prizemoney. This was the only time since the run off began as Hardies Heroes in 1978 that the top 10 grid positions had not been decided in the run off. As a result, the Australian Racing Drivers Club invited non-top 10 qualifiers and former race winners Allan Grice (Holden Commodore - 11th) and Peter Brock (BMW M3 - 16th) to participate.

After 10 years of being known as "Hardies Heroes", the name of the runoff was changed to the "Tooheys Top 10" (dozen for 1988) to go along with new race sponsor Tooheys Brewery.

Pos	No	Team	Driver	Car	TD	Qual
1	9	Allan Moffat Enterprises	Klaus Niedzwiedz	Ford Sierra RS500	2:18.24	2:18.02
2	25	Benson & Hedges Racing	Tony Longhurst	Ford Sierra RS500	2:18.51	2:17.96
3	28	Shell Ultra Hi Racing	John Bowe	Ford Sierra RS500	2:18.95	2:17.52
4	17	Shell Ultra Hi Racing	Dick Johnson	Ford Sierra RS500	2:19.22	2:16.46
5	6	Miedecke Motorsport	Andrew Miedecke	Ford Sierra RS500	2:19.60	2:18.78
6	4	Caltex CXT Racing Team	Colin Bond	Ford Sierra RS500	2:20.33	2:19.84
7	8	Andrew Bagnall	Pierre Dieudonné	Ford Sierra RS500	2:20.71	2:20.34
8	21	Team CMS Sweden	Ulf Granberg	Ford Sierra RS500	2:21.82	2:22.20
9	10	Holden Special Vehicles	Larry Perkins	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	2:22.47	2:21.00
10	15	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing	George Fury	Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R	2:22.72	2:21.92*
11	2	ICL Racing	Allan Grice	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	2:22.87	2:22.32
12	56	Mobil 1 Racing	Peter Brock	BMW M3	2:25.11	2:23.76

* 9th fastest qualifier George Fury used the #15 Nissan Skyline as co-driver Mark Skaife had crashed the #30 car in practice and it was still being repaired at the time of the Top 10. This was only allowed as the Top 10 didn't count for grid positions.
* Fury and Swedish train driver Ulf Granberg were the only drivers to actually go faster than their qualifying times.
* Jim Richards set the qualifying time of 2:23.76 in the #56 Mobil 1 Racing BMW M3, but Peter Brock drove the car in the runoff.
* Klaus Niedzwiedz became the second West German driver in succession to win the runoff after his Eggenberger team mate Klaus Ludwig had won in 1987. Driving Allan Moffat's Eggenberger built Ford Sierra RS500, Niedzwiedz's time of 2:18.24 was 1.28 seconds slower than Ludwig's 1987 time.
* As the shootout was not for grid positions, Tom Walkinshaw withdrew the #10 HSV Holden VL Commodore SS Group A of Larry Perkins (who was suffering from the flu). Its place was to be taken by the Mitsubishi Starion Turbo of 1986 pole winner Gary Scott. However, after protesting Perkins was re-included and the Starion was removed from the list at the last minute.
* Allan Grice had an unconventional start to his shootout lap, using the escape road at Murrays Corner to gain more speed along pit straight. It didn't work as his Les Small prepared Commodore finished 11th, 4/10ths slower than Perkins.

Official results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps	Qual Pos
1	A	25	Benson & Hedges Racing	Tony Longhurst Tomas Mezera	Ford Sierra RS500	161	3
2	A	18	Shell Ultra Hi Racing	John Smith Dick Johnson John Bowe Alfredo Costanzo	Ford Sierra RS500	160	12
3	A	4	Caltex CXT Racing Team	Colin Bond Alan Jones	Ford Sierra RS500	158	6
4	B	53	John Sax	Trevor Crowe Peter Janson	BMW M3	156	36
5	A	44	Caltex CXT Racing Team	Bruce Stewart John Giddings	Ford Sierra RS500	155	28
6	A	37	Brian Callaghan	Brian Callaghan Barry Graham	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	152	20
7	A	46	Sunliner Campmobiles	Tony Hunter Steve Harrington	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	151	33
8	A	24	Jagparts	Gerald Kay Geoff Munday	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	150	38
9	C	71	Toyota Team Australia	John Faulkner Drew Price	Toyota Corolla GT	146	41
10	A	31	Ralliart Australia	Terry Shiel Brad Jones Mike Preston	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	145	27
11	C	73	Toyota Team Australia	Brett Riley Peter McKay	Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82	145	42
12	C	74	Bryan Bate	Andrew Maher Bryan Bate Dave Barrow	Toyota Corolla GT AE86	145	42
13	A	23	Chris Lambden	Chris Lambden Kerry Baily	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	141	35
14	A	12	Bob Forbes Racing	Kevin Bartlett John Harvey	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	140	22
15	A	2	ICL Racing	Allan Grice Win Percy	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	139	11
16	C	72	Toyota Team Australia	Mike Freeman Mike Oliver	Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82	133	44
17	C	78	Bob Holden Motors	Bob Holden Jim Faneco Damon Beck	Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82	128	45
18	A	49	Alcair Air Conditioning	Bob Tindal Wayne Park	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A	127	32
19	B	55	Bryce Racing	Paul Radisich Ludwig Finauer	BMW M3	113	19
DNF	A	22	Lusty Engineering	Graham Lusty John Lusty	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	141	34
DNF	A	10	Holden Special Vehicles	Larry Perkins Denny Hulme Tom Walkinshaw	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	137	8
DNF	A	39	Lansvale Smash Repairs	Steve Reed Trevor Ashby	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	135	26
DNF	A	9	Allan Moffat Enterprises	Allan Moffat Klaus Niedzwiedz Gregg Hansford	Ford Sierra RS500	129	4
DNF	A	41	Mulvihill Motorsport	Tony Mulvihill Geoff Leeds	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	118	31
DNF	C	75	Belgrave 2-Way Radio Services	David Ratcliff Mike Mortimer	Toyota Corolla GT AE86	118	48
DNF	A	45	Mark Petch Motorsport/ Wolf Racing Australasia	Robbie Francevic Armin Hahne	Ford Sierra RS500	103	14
DNF	A	6	Miedecke Motorsport	Andrew Miedecke Steve Soper	Ford Sierra RS500	102	5
DNF	A	50	Leeson Civil Engineering	Garry Willmington John Leeson	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	101	30
DNF	B	54	John Sax	John Sax John Sorenson Kayne Scott	BMW M3	100	40
DNF	B	56	Mobil 1 Racing	Peter Brock Neil Crompton Jim Richards	BMW M3	89	16
DNF	C	76	Bob Holden Motors	Dennis Rogers Garry Jones	Toyota Corolla GT AE86	89	47
DNF	A	16	Ralliart Australia	Gary Scott Akihiko Nakaya	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo	88	15
DNF	C	77	Marc Ducquet	Marc Ducquet Brian Selby	Toyota Corolla GT AE86	85	46
DNF	A	19	Mathews/Finnigan Racing	Terry Finnigan Ken Mathews	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	84	23
DNF	A	26	Formula 1 Investments	Graham Moore Tony Noske	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	79	21
DNF	B	57	Mobil 1 Racing	David Parsons Jim Richards Neil Crompton	BMW M3	68	24
DNF	A	36	Everlast Battery Service	Bill O'Brien Ray Lintott Brian Sampson	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	66	25
DNF	A	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Garry Rogers John Andretti	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	37	18
DNF	B	51	Phil Ward Racing	Phil Ward David Clement	Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16	27	39
DNF	A	28	Shell Ultra Hi Racing	John Bowe Robb Gravett Neville Crichton	Ford Sierra RS500	26	2
DNF	A	17	Shell Ultra Hi Racing	Dick Johnson John Bowe	Ford Sierra RS500	22	1
DNF	A	14	Netcomm Australia	Murray Carter Steve Masterton	Ford Sierra RS500	22	37
DNF	A	30	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing	George Fury Mark Skaife	Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R	17	9
DNF	A	8	Andrew Bagnall	Andrew Bagnall Pierre Dieudonné	Ford Sierra RS500	9	7
DNF	A	3	Yellow Pages	Peter McLeod Jim Keogh	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	7	29
DNF	A	21	Team CMS Sweden	Ulf Granberg Christer Simonssen Ian Tulloch	Ford Sierra RS500	6	10
DNF	A	20	Holden Special Vehicles	Tom Walkinshaw Jeff Allam	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	5	13
DNF	A	15	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing	Glenn Seton Anders Olofsson	Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R	0	17
DNQ	A	11	Ray Gulson	Ray Gulson Graham Gulson	BMW 635 CSi
DNQ	A	47	Craig Kinmoth	Alf Grant Craig Kinmoth	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A
DNQ	A	38	Grellis Marketing	Ray Ellis Bruce Williams	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A
DNQ	A	48	Tony Kavich	Tony Kavich Ken Davison	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A
DNQ	A	29	The Xerox Shop	Alan Taylor Kevin Kennedy	Mitsubishi Starion Turbo
DNQ	A	42	Steve Williams	Steve Williams Chris Clearihan	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A
DNS	A	40	Holden Special Vehicles	Tom Walkinshaw Larry Perkins	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV

Italics indicate driver practiced in the car but did not race.

Statistics

• Pole Position – #17 Dick Johnson – 2:16.46
• Fastest Lap – #25 Tony Longhurst – 2:19.06 - Lap 4 (new lap record)
• Race time of winning car- 7:02:10.28
• Average Speed – 142.16  km/h

See also

1988 Australian Touring Car season

External links

• www.touringcarracing.net
• race results