Layout using both the road course and the oval

The 1987 Yokohama/Bob Jane T-Marts 300 was an endurance race for Group A touring cars held at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne, Australia on the rarely used combined circuit which incorporated both the recently redeveloped road course and the newly completed NASCAR-style “Thunderdome” oval. The combined oval/road course was 4.216 km (2.620 mi) long and the race was run over 70 laps.

The race took place on 9 August 1987.

The race, which attracted 20 starters and was the first ever run on the combined road course / oval circuit, was won by the Peter Jackson Nissan Racing turbo Skyline DR30 RS of John Bowe and Terry Sheil. For Bowe, the 1984 and 1985 CAMS Gold Star winner and the 1986 Australian Sports Car Champion, it was his first touring car victory after coming close numerous times in the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship in the Volvo Dealer Teams Volvo 240T. Bowe started the race in the Nissan and later joined the Channel 7 commentary team for the concluding stages, unashamedly cheering "You beauty" when Sheil took the lead on the last lap.[1] The Skyline used for the event was actually the team's spare car that had rarely seen any racing and in fact had spent the majority of its time as a static display car in various shopping centres throughout the country. Second was Larry Perkins and Canberra's Bill O'Brien in O'Brien's brand new Perkins Engineering built Holden VL Commodore SS Group A. After a tangle while lapping the New Zealand BMW M3 of Graham Lorimer which damaged the Commodore's steering, Perkins drove all but the last 2 laps of the race. The car was passed by Sheil soon after O'Brien exited the pits on the last lap through the Thunderdome and had to settle for second place. Finishing in third were Australian sprintcar stars Tony Noske and Garry Rush in Noske's ex-Perkins Holden VK Commodore SS Group A.[2]

The race was missing some of the big names in Australian touring car racing, namely Peter Brock's Melbourne based Holden Dealer Team who now being privateers and not backed by Holden were saving money by not attending, and Dick Johnson's Brisbane based Shell team who were busy converting their 1987 ATCC Ford Sierra RS Cosworth's into the newly homologated Ford Sierra RS500 in readiness for the Castrol 500 at Sandown just over a month later as well as the all important James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst which in 1987 was a round of the World Touring Car Championship. The race was attended however by the Peter Jackson Nissan team who fronted with one car for their endurance co-drivers Bowe and Sheil, Roadways Racing with their VL Commodore for Allan Grice and wise-cracking Kiwi Graeme Crosby, while the JPS Team BMW also raced and looked likely winners until a late race mishap between Tony Longhurst and Perkins when Longhurst locked his brakes coming off the Thunderdome and hit the back of the Commodore. While Perkins was able to continue with only minor body damage, Longhurst was forced to park the black and gold BMW M3 with a broken ball joint.[3]

The race was broadcast by Channel 7 with commentary from Mike Raymond, Neil Crompton, John Harvey and Brad Jones.

Classes

Cars competed in three classes based on engine capacity.[4]

  • Class A: Over 3001cc
  • Class B: 2001-3000cc
  • Class C: Up to 2000cc

Results

Pos Class No Entrant Drivers Car Laps Qual Qual
Time
1 A 30 Australia Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Australia John Bowe
Australia Terry Sheil		 Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 70 4 1:47.59
2 A 11 Australia Everlast Battery Service
Australia Perkins Engineering		 Australia Larry Perkins
Australia Bill O'Brien		 Holden VL Commodore SS Group A 70 3 1:46.84
3 A 26 Australia Kalari Transport Services Australia Tony Noske
Australia Garry Rush		 Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 69 8 1:50.29
4 B 43 New Zealand Graham Lorimer New Zealand Graham Lorimer
New Zealand John Sax		 BMW M3 66 11 1:55.29
5 A 14 Australia Netcomm Australia Murray Carter
Australia Denis Horley		 Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 66 9 1:50.40
6 A 42 Australia Jagparts Australia Gerald Kay Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 64 12 1:56.21
7 A 69 Australia Sunliner Campervans Australia Paul Trevathan
New Zealand Tony Hunter		 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 63 16 2:03.10
8 A 20 Australia Salisbury North Service Station Australia John Virgo
Australia Brian Lee		 BMW 635 CSi 60 17 2:06.19
9 C 88 Australia David Sala Australia David Sala
Australia Grant Bailey		 Isuzu Gemini ZZ 60 19 2:07.27
10 C 86 Australia Gemspares Australia Daryl Hendrick
Australia John White		 Isuzu Gemini ZZ 57 18 2:07.24
DNF B 3 Australia JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards
Australia Tony Longhurst		 BMW M3 51 2 1:46.29
DNF A 21 Australia Lusty Engineering Australia Graham Lusty
Australia John Lusty		 Holden VL Commodore SS Group A 43 13 1:56.45
DNF A 25 New Zealand Team Nissan Racing NZ New Zealand Graeme Bowkett
New Zealand Kent Baigent		 Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 39 5 1:48.72
DNF A 24 New Zealand Team Nissan Racing NZ New Zealand Kent Baigent
Australia Kevin Bartlett		 Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 28 6 1:48.78
DNF A 2 Australia Roadways Racing Australia Allan Grice
New Zealand Graeme Crosby		 Holden VL Commodore SS Group A 22 1 1:45.74
DNF A 48 Australia Tony Kavich Racing Australia Tony Kavich
Australia Ken Davison		 Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 21 10 1:54.98
DNF A 66 Australia The Xerox Shop Australia John Mitchell
Australia John Internis		 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 21 15 1:58.35
DNF A 47 Australia Brian Callaghan Racing P/L Australia Brian Callaghan
Australia Barry Graham		 Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 19 7 1:49.65
DNF C 90 Australia Toyota Team Australia New Zealand John Faulkner
Australia Drew Price		 Toyota Corolla GT 10 14 1:56.92

Statistics

  • Pole Position - #2 Allan Grice - 1:45.74
  • Fastest Lap - #24 Kent Baigent - 1:46.17
  • Race Time - 2:09.47.41

See also

1987 Australian Touring Car season

References

  1. ↑ 1987 Yokohama/Bob Jane T-Marts 300 highlights
  2. ↑ 1987 Yokohama/Bob Jane T-Marts 300 at History of Touring Car Racing
  3. ↑ Naismith, Barry (1987). Bathurst 1987/88 (First ed.). Glen Waverley, Victoria: Garry Sparke & Associates. pp. 56–59 The Preliminaries. ISBN 0 908 081 359.
  4. ↑ Australian Auto Action, 23 October 1987, pages 12-13

Further reading

  • Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1987/88
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