1974 RE-PO 500K

The 1974 RE-PO 500K was an endurance race for Group C Touring Cars. It was held at the Phillip Island Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 24 November 1974 over 106 laps, a race distance of 501 kilometres (311 mi). The race, which was the fifth round of the 1974 Australian Manufacturers' Championship,[1] was the fourth annual "Phillip Island 500K".

The race was won by Holden Dealer Team driver Colin Bond driving a Holden Torana. Bond finishing a lap ahead of the Ford XB Falcon of Murray Carter. Brothers Rod and Russ McRae finished three laps behind Bond in a Holden Torana to take third.

Class structure

Cars competed in four classes:[2]

• Class A : Up 1300cc [2]
• Class B : 1301–2000cc [2]
• Class C : 2001 – 3000cc [2]
• Class D : More than 3000cc [2]

Race results

Race results were as follows:

Position [1][3]	Drivers [1][3]	No.[2]	Car [1][3]	Entrant [2]	Class [1]	Laps[1]
1	Colin Bond	2	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	D	106
2	Murray Carter	18	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Murray Carter	D	105
3	Rod McRae Russ McRae	28	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Dustings of Burwood	D	105
4	Graeme Blanchard	16	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Insul Fluf Home Insulation	D	103
5	Stuart Saker	17	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Stuart Saker	D	101
6	Tony Farrell		Mazda RX-3	Mazda Racing Team	C	100
7	Kevin Kennedy	15	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Kevin Kennedy	D	99
8	Ray Gulson	48	Alfa Romeo GTV	Ray Gulson	B	99
9	Jim Murcott	49	Alfa Romeo GTV	AF & M Beninca	B	99
10	Mel Mollison	42	Mazda RX-3	Bainbridge Motors	B	98
11	Matt Phillip	37 [3]	Holden Torana GTR	Mollison Motors	C	96
12	Bill Evans	58	Datsun 1200 Coupe	Datsun Racing Team	A	94
13	Brian Ovenden	21	Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T	Brian Ovenden	D	94
14	Stewart McLeod		Datsun 240K	Datsun Racing Team	C	93
15	Colin Campbell	44	Ford Escort Twin Cam	Alan Coffey Motors of Dandenong	B	93
16	Ken Brian	63	Honda Civic	Auto Village - Nowra	A	92
17	Gary Toepfer	64	Toyota Corolla	G Toepfer	A	88
18	Gary Rowe [2]	45	Ford Escort Twin Cam	Peter Mac's Towing Pty Ltd	B	87
19	Max McClure		Mazda RX-3		B	84
20	Max McGinley	65	Honda Civic	Max McGinley	A	82
21	Geoff Wade	46	Ford Escort Twin Cam	Peter Mac's Towing Pty Ltd	B	78
DNF [3]	Dave Clement	53	Morris Cooper S	Clement Motors	A
DNF [3]	Cam Richardson	11	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Richardson Engine Reconditioning	D	83 [3]
DNF [3]	John Bundy	57	Morris Cooper S	JF Bundy	A	72 [3]
DNF [3]	Robin Dudfield	59	Alfa Romeo Junior [3]	Victorian Police Motor Sport Club	A [2]
DNF	Lawrie Nelson	19	Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T [3]	Lawrie Nelson [2]	D [2]	61? [3]
DNF	John Stoopman	14	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Bayside Holden	D	51 [3]
DNF	Peter Brock	1	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	D
DNF	Peter Janson	4	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	P Janson	D
DNF	Allan Moffat	33	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Allan Moffat Racing	D	35 [3]
DNF	Robert Bride	9	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Torana Club of Victoria	D
DNF	Bernie McClure	25	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Bendigo Motor Co	D
?	Geoff Newton [3]	32 [4]	Ford Capri V6 [2]	Geoff Newton [3]	C [2]
Excl	Nick Louis		Mazda RX-3	Kernan Motors (Mazda) Flemington	C	95

Note:

• The Mazda RX-3 of Tony Farrell was excluded from the results due to a modification to the half shafts.[5] An appeal was successful and the car was re-instated.[5]

References

1. Australian Competition Yearbook, 1975 Edition, pages 144-145
2. Official Souvenir Programme, The RE-PO Meeting of Champions, Phillip Island Auto Racing Club, 24 November 1974
3. Tom Naughton, aaaand Bond Takes Manchamp, Racing Car News, January 1975, pages 60-64
4. G Newton - Capri V6 - 24/11/1974 - Phillip Island, autopics.com.au Retrieved 21 July 2017
5. Six months late but..., Australian Auto Action No 109, Friday, 25 April 1975, page 1

• CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1974
• The Australian Racing History of Ford, © 1989
• The Official Racing History of Holden, © 1988