1964 Armstrong 500

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit (1938-1986)

The 1964 Armstrong 500 was a production car race held on 4 October 1964 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The 500 mile race was open to Australian built production sedans of which 100 examples had been registered.^[1] It was the fifth Armstrong 500 and the second to be held at Bathurst although it is commonly referred to as the fifth "Bathurst 500".

Official results reflected only class placings, with no outright winner recognized by the organizing body, the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club. The first car to complete the full 130 lap distance race was a factory backed Ford Cortina GT driven by Bob Jane and George Reynolds, the 1964 event being the fourth consecutive Armstrong 500 in which Jane had achieved an unofficial "line honours" victory.

Class structure[]

Cars competed in four classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian pounds. There was little change from the 1963 race. Class A entries proliferated, taking up space on the grid from a shrinking Class B. Ford Australia had a strong presence in Class C with three factory entered Cortina GTs and Australian Motor Industries entered two Triumph 2000s in Class D.

Class A[]

The up to £900 class was composed of Hillman Imp, Morris 850, NSU Prinz, Vauxhall Viva and Volkswagen Beetle.

Class B[]

The £901 to £1,000 class featured Ford Cortina 1500, Morris Cooper, Renault R8 and Simca Aronde.

Class C[]

The £1,001 to £1,200 class included only Ford Cortina GT and Holden EH entries.

Class D[]

The £1,201 to £2,000 class featured Chrysler Valiant, Citroën ID19, Ford Zephyr, Humber Vogue Sports, Holden EH Premier, Studebaker Lark, Triumph 2000 and Vauxhall Velox.

Race[]

While the V8 powered Studebaker Larks again led early, fragile brakes saw them overtaken by the leading Cortinas as the race wore on. The Cortina driven by the Geoghegan brothers fell from the mid-race lead after a generator bracket broke, allowing teammates Jane and Reynolds into the race lead they would not relinquish. Barry Seton and Herb Taylor finished second ahead of Jane's former partner Harry Firth co-driving the third factory Ford with John Reaburn. In the other three classes, the early leaders each retained their leads throughout the day. Bert Needham and Warren Weldon brought their Class D winning Studebaker home as fourth car across the line, two laps down on Jane/Reynolds and a lap behind Firth/Reaburn. Charlie Smith and Bruce Maher won Class B, leading home a 1-2-3-4 for Morris Cooper ahead of four Renault R8s. Smith/Maher finished just six laps behind the Cortina GTs. Class A was dominated by Vauxhall, with the Viva of Spencer Martin and Bill Brown leading home five other examples. Seven cars failed to finish the event, with another being disqualified.^[2]

Results[]

As follows:^[3][4]

Pos	No	Entrant	Drivers	Car	Laps
Class A
1	46	Boyded Pty Ltd[2]	Spencer Martin	Vauxhall HA Viva	116
2	55	Boyded Pty Ltd[2]	Brian Muir	Vauxhall HA Viva	115
3	58	Clinton Motors Pty Ltd[2]		Vauxhall HA Viva	114
4	56	Boyded Pty Ltd[2]		Vauxhall HA Viva	114
5	54	Apex Autos		Vauxhall HA Viva	114
6	44	Bill Warren Austin Spares	C. McLean	Vauxhall HA Viva	112
7	40	Lennox Motors	David Walker	Volkswagen 1200	112
8	47	P. Williamson	Midge Bosworth	Hillman Imp	112
9	41	Wal Truscott and Company	Chris McSorley	Hillman Imp	110
10	59	Stradbroke Motors		Hillman Imp	110
11	43	Denlo Motors		Volkswagen 1200	110
12	38	Lanock Motors		Volkswagen 1200	109
13	49	Buckle Motors		Hillman Imp	108
14	51	Wal Truscott and Company		Hillman Imp	107
15	42	Kinsley Motors		Volkswagen 1200	105
16	50	Scuderia Octagon		Morris 850	104
DNF	39	Ryan Equipment Company		NSU Prinz	94
DNF	52	Vaughan & Lane Pty Ltd		Morris 850
DNF	53	White Nicholson B.M.C.		Morris 850
DNF	57	Vaughan & Lane Pty Ltd		Morris 850	15
DNF	45	B. Orr		Hillman Imp	0
DNS[2]	48[2]		Kennedy Stewart[2]	Ford Anglia[2]	-
Class B
1	26	Ron Wood Pty Ltd[2]		Morris Cooper	124
2	36	P & R Williams Pty Ltd[2]		Morris Cooper	123
3	23	College Auto Parts[2]		Morris Cooper	121
4	33	W. Blomfield[2]		Morris Cooper	120
5	34	B. March		Renault R8	120
6	35	Rex Emmett		Renault R8	120
7	28	Killara Motor Garage	Bob Holden	Renault R8	119
8	29	G.P. Cars		Renault R8	119
9	32	P. Brown		Morris Cooper	118
10	37	Les Park Tyre Service	John Roxburgh	Renault R8	117
11	30	Ira L. and A.C. Berk		Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500	116
12	27	M. Martin		Morris Cooper	114
13	25	Advanx (Gosford) Motor Service		Simca Aronde	112
14	31	Sentinel Motors		Renault R8	103
DNS[2]	24[2]		Doug Chivas unknown[2]	Morris Cooper[2]	-
Class C
1	15	Ford Motor Co. of Australia[2]	Bob Jane George Reynolds	Ford Cortina Mk.I GT	130
2	18	Fairfield Motors Pty Ltd[2]	Barry Seton	Ford Cortina Mk.I GT	130
3	19	Ford Motor Co. of Australia[2]	Harry Firth	Ford Cortina Mk.I GT	129
4	22	Ron Hodgson Motors Pty Ltd[2]	John French	Ford Cortina Mk.I GT	127
5	21	Ford Motor Co. of Australia[5]	Ian Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan	Ford Cortina Mk.I GT	127
6	20	Frank Delandro Motors[5]	Bruce McPhee Barry Mulholland	Ford Cortina Mk.I GT	126
7	16	W.H. Lober and Co.[5]		Holden EH 179	101
DNF	14	Beautihome Constructions		Ford Cortina Mk.I GT
DSQ	13	J. Turner and Sons	W. Mitchell	Holden EH 179	10
DNS[2]	17[2]		Budda Smith[2]	Holden EH S4[2]	-
Class D
1	11	Needham Motors Pty Ltd[2]		Studebaker Lark	128
2	8	Canada Cycle & Motor Company[2]		Studebaker Lark	126
3	9	Buckle Motors[2]	Brian Foley Bill Buckle	Citroën ID19	124
4	2	Jubilee Motors Pty Ltd[2]		Ford Zephyr Mk III	123
5	1	British & Continental Cars P/L		Triumph 2000	123
6	4	Selke Motors		Chrysler SV1 Valiant	123
7	7	Alex Strachan Motors		Humber Vogue Sports	119
8	10	Australian Motor Industries[5]	Lex Davison	Triumph 2000	117
9	3	Reg Smith Motors		Triumph 2000	116
10	5	Australian Motor Industries[5]	Max Stewart	Triumph 2000	105
11	6	Stack & Company	Lionel Williams	Holden EH Premier	95
DNF	12	Alec Mildren Motors[5]		Vauxhall Velox

The Team Prize was won by the three Ford Motor Co. entered Ford Cortina GTs driven by Jane/Reynolds, Seton/Taylor and Firth/Raeburn.^[6]

Statistics[]

• Fastest Lap - #21 Geoghegan/Geoghegan - 3:21.3
• Fastest "flying eighth mile" speed was achieved by the Studebaker Lark of Warren Weldon & Bert Needham at 114.65 mph^[2]
• Race Time - No time published by the ARDC

References[]

External links[]

• Race results from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au
• Autopics Bathurst images
• Race images from www.motorsportarchive.com