1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500
The 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the tenth running of the Bathurst 500 production car race. It was held on 5 October 1969 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. Cars competed in five classes based on purchase price of the vehicle.
The race was won by the newly formed Holden Dealer Team with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts with teammates Peter Brock and Des West finishing third in their Holden Monaro GTS350's, with the team's third car finishing sixth. In between them in second position was defending race winners Bruce McPhee and his single-lap co-driver Barry Mulholland driving a Phase 1 Ford Falcon GTHO. McPhee and Mulholland, who had won in 1968 driving the Holden Monaro GTS327, had originally intended to race a Monaro 350 in 1969 but after receiving no help from Holden, instead decided to race one of the new Falcons.
Peter Brock and Canadian Allan Moffat made their Bathurst débuts in the race. Brock with Harry Firth's Holden Dealer Team, and Moffat driving a works Falcon GTHO with Alan Hamilton. Between them, Brock and Moffat would go on to win 13 of the next 17 Bathurst 500/1000s, with Brock winning a record nine times, and Moffat winning four times for Ford.
The Ford Works Team were the favourites to win the race with their new Falcon GTHOs which with their new 5.8-litre V8's proved to have a speed advantage over the 5.7-litre Monaros. However, the decision by Ford Works Team's American manager Al Turner to import special racing tyres for the Falcons proved to be a disaster. During the race numerous tyre failures put the Works cars out of contention. After early tyre failures on the Ian and Leo Geoghegan car, as well as the Fred Gibson and Barry Seton car, Turner called Moffat into the pits for a tyre change. There it was found that Moffat had been far easier on his tyres than either Ian Geoghegan or Seton and that the stop was not necessary. As of 2016, Moffat believes that this decision cost himself and co-driver Alan Hamilton the race win. The day after the race, Ford ran a full page newspaper advert stating "We were a little deflated" referring to the tyre failures.
1969 was also notable for the first lap crash which saw at least one third of the field forced to retire or continue with accident damage. Bill Brown rolled his Falcon GTHO coming through Skyline, all but blocking the track while John French, who qualified 21st, rolled his Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV trying to avoid the carnage that Brown's rollover caused. One driver lucky to escape the carnage was Allan Moffat who had pulled up just out of The Cutting on the first lap with his Falcon stuck in neutral. Once he got going he was able to weave through the bedlam at Skyline and continue on his way. For Brown, it would be the first of three rollovers at Bathurst on the same piece of road, with the second in 1971 bringing a lucky escape from death.
Class structure
Class A
The smallest class was for under cars the cost less $1,860. It was made up of Datsun 1000, Hillman Imp, Morris Mini K and Toyota Corolla.Class B
The $1,861 to $2,250 class was dominated by the Datsun 1600, but also contained Ford Cortina, Hillman Gazelle, Morris 1500, Renault 10 and Volkswagen Type 3.Class C
The $2,251 to $3,100 class saw a mix of Chrysler Valiant, Fiat 125, Ford Capri, Mazda R100, Morris Cooper S and Renault 16.Class D
The $3,101 to $4,500 class featured the outright contenders, Ford Falcon GTHO and Holden Monaro, but also contained a single Toyota Corona.Class E
For cars over $4,500, had a single automatic gearbox version of the Ford Falcon GT but otherwise was all Alfa Romeo with 1750 GTV and a single 1750 Berlina.Top 10 Qualifiers
Results
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Car | Laps | Qual Pos |
| 1 | D | 44 | Holden Dealer Team |  Colin Bond Tony Roberts | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 130 | 7 |
| 2 | D | 46 | Kloster Pty Ltd | Bruce McPhee Barry Mulholland | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 130 | 2 |
| 3 | D | 43 | Holden Dealer Team | Peter Brock Des West | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 130 | 10 |
| 4 | D | 61 | Ford Australia |  Allan Moffat Alan Hamilton | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 129 | 4 |
| 5 | D | 59 | Ford Australia | Ian Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 128 | 1 |
| 6 | D | 42 | Holden Dealer Team | Peter Macrow Henk Woelders | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 128 | 8 |
| 7 | D | 54 | Wright Ford Motors Pty Ltd | Bob Beasley Bob Muir | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 127 | 18 |
| 8 | E | 71 | Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo | Kevin Bartlett Len Goodwin | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 126 | 22 |
| 9 | E | 68 | C Smith | Charlie Smith Bill Ford | Ford XW Falcon GT Automatic | 126 | 20 |
| 10 | D | 58 | Byrt Ford | Martin Chenery Ernie Johnson | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 125 | 19 |
| 11 | E | 69 | Canberra Speed Shop | Peter Brown Ray Gulson | Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina | 122 | 27 |
| 12 | D | 63 | R Genders | Joe Butta Bob Genders | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 122 | 24 |
| 13 | D | 48 | Rowell Thiele Ford Pty Ltd | Mike Savva Bob Wilkinson | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 121 | 11 |
| 14 | C | 30 | Waterloo High Performance Tuning Centre | Ron Gillard Warren Gracie | Morris Cooper S | 119 | 36 |
| 15 | C | 38 | Grenville Motors P/L | Peter Finlay Bob Forbes | Fiat 125 | 119 | 34 |
| 16 | C | 31 | Zanardo & Rodriguez Sales & Service | Ron Kearns Gerry Lister | Fiat 125 | 119 | 37 |
| 17 | C | 22 | Graham Ryan Auto Repairs | Graham Ryan Mike Kable | Chrysler Valiant Pacer | 118 | 30 |
| 18 | B | 18 | W.H. Motors | Bruce Stewart George Garth | Datsun 1600 | 117 | 41 |
| 19 | C | 25 | G Cooke | Gary Cooke Geoff Spence | Mazda R100 | 117 | 35 |
| 20 | C | 32 | Marque Motors | Ian Hindmarsh Bill Stanley | Morris Cooper S | 117 | 33 |
| 21 | C | 23 | Trevor Mason Developments | Trevor Mason Neil Mason | Mazda R100 | 117 | 32 |
| 22 | C | 26 | Regal Motors Pty Ltd | Les Grose Graham Moore | Morris Cooper S | 117 | 45 |
| 23 | B | 15 | Datsun Racing Team | John Roxburgh Doug Whiteford | Datsun 1600 | 117 | 44 |
| 24 | B | 17 | W.H. Motors | Don Smith Peter Wilson | Datsun 1600 | 114 | 43 |
| 25 | B | 19 | McInnes Automotive Conversions | Dave Morrow Bob Wootton | Datsun 1600 | 114 | 51 |
| 26 | D | 57 | P Bradford | Roy Griffiths Glyn Scott | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 114 | 17 |
| 27 | B | 14 | Datsun Racing Team | William Coad Jon Leighton | Datsun 1600 | 113 | 46 |
| 28 | C | 28 | D Frazer | David Frazer Allan Johns | Morris Cooper S | 113 | 42 |
| 29 | A | 2 | AMI Toyota | Brian Sampson Bob Morris | Toyota Corolla | 112 | 52 |
| 30 | A | 6 | Datsun Racing Team | Bill Evans Barry Tapsall | Datsun 1000 | 110 | 55 |
| 31 | B | 20 | McLeod Ford Pty Ltd | Max Dickson Diane Dickson | Ford Cortina Mk.II 240 | 108 | 57 |
| 32 | B | 10 | Provincial Motors Pty Ltd | Gary Campbell Gerry Murphy | Volkswagen 1600 | 107 | 58 |
| 33 | C | 27 | President Car Sales | Bill Bryden John T. Smith | Renault 16TS | 107 | 53 |
| 34 | A | 7 | Kent BMC | David Bye Richard Willis | Morris Mini K | 104 | 61 |
| 35 | B | 9 | R Edgerton | Bob Edgerton Ross Edgerton | Renault 10 | 100 | 62 |
| 36 | A | 8 | P & R Williams | Arthur Olsen Sandra Bennett | Morris Mini K | 99 | 63 |
| 37 | B | 12 | R. G. Lanyon | Alf Barrett Mel Mollison | Morris 1500 | 97 | 56 |
| 38 | D | 52 | Harry Gapps Ford Pty Ltd | Harry Gapps Frank Hann | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 94 | 23 |
| 39 | A | 4 | C.J. Cronin | Martin Cortese Steve Parkes | Toyota Corolla | 93 | 60 |
| 40 | C | 35 | T Meehan | Trevor Meehan Mal Brewster | Morris Cooper S | 93 | 39 |
| 41 | B | 16 | M.T.R. Services | Nick Ledingham Damon Beck | Hillman Gazelle | 84 | 49 |
| 42 | C | 36 | E.M. Automation Pty Ltd | Paul Mander Phil Edwards | Morris Cooper S | 82 | 29 |
| DNF | D | 51 | Fair Deal Car Sales | Digby Cooke David Bowden | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 96 | 2 |
| DNF | D | 60 | Ford Australia | Fred Gibson Barry Seton | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 93 | 5 |
| DNF | C | 24 | K Grose | Keith Grose John Wright | Ford Capri Mk.I 1600GT | 92 | 38 |
| DNF | A | 1 | A Johns | George Geshopulos Ray Scanlan | Hillman Imp GT | 88 | 59 |
| DNF | C | 37 | Grand Prix Auto Services | Ann Thomson Carole Corness | Morris Cooper S | 82 | 47 |
| DNF | D | 56 | Scuderia Veloce Alto Ford | David McKay Brian Foley | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 78 | 6 |
| DNF | D | 45 | AMI Toyota | Max Stewart Brian Reed | Toyota Corona 1900SL | 78 | 28 |
| DNF | B | 21 | M.T.R. Services | Hans Tholstrup Brian Connell | Datsun 1600 | 73 | 64 |
| DNF | D | 50 | McLeod Ford Pty Ltd | John Goss Denis Cribbin | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 50 | 9 |
| DNF | C | 33 | Brian Foley Motors Pty Ltd | Christine Gibson Lynne Keefe | Fiat 125 | 48 | 40 |
| DNF | D | 62 | Anthony Horden & Sons Ltd | Nick Petrilli Max Stahl | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 45 | 15 |
| DNF | D | 64 | Boyded of Bankstown | Bill Tuckey Sib Petralia | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 44 | 13 |
| DNF | D | 53 | B Arentz | Barry Arentz Brian Michelmore | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 36 | 12 |
| DNF | C | 39 | D.H. Whitehead | Bernie Haehnle Peter Wherrett | Mazda R100 | 31 | 31 |
| DNF | B | 11 | Dependable Motor Sales Pty Ltd | Bruce Darke Dennis Cooke | Datsun 1600 | 4 | 50 |
| DNF | C | 29 | Central Motors Penrith P/L | Bob Cook Alan Cant | Ford Capri Mk.I 1600GT | 1 | 48 |
| DNF | D | 55 | Scuderia Veloce Alto Ford | Bill Brown Phil West | Ford XW Falcon GTHO | 0 | 16 |
| DNF | E | 72 | Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo | John French Doug Chivas | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 0 | 21 |
| DNF | E | 67 | Bryan Thompson Motors | Bryan Thompson Graham Ritter | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 0 | 25 |
| DNF | C | 34 | Varsity Auto Centre | John Prisk Alan Cameron | Morris Cooper S | 0 | 27 |
| DSQ | A | 3 | AMI Toyota | Barry Ferguson Jim Laing-Peach | Toyota Corolla | 103 | 54 |
| DNS | D | 49 | Young & Green Pty. Ltd. | David Sheldon Don Holland | Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | 15 | |
| DNS | A | 5 | Datsun Racing Team | Bob Holden Don Toffolon | Datsun 1000 |
Statistics
- Pole Position - #59 Ian Geoghegan - 2:48.9
- Fastest Lap - #61 Moffat/Hamilton & #60 Gibson/Seton - 2:52.1
- Average Speed - 123 km/h
- Race Time - 6:32:25