Barry Seton

Barry Seton (known as 'Bo'), (born 5 October 1936), is an Australian racing driver. He won the Bathurst 500 (500-mile race, about 800 km) in 1965 with co-driver Midge Bosworth driving a Ford Cortina GT500.[1] He has competed in the Bathurst 500 (and later 1000 km) 22 times, competing every year from 1963 to 1984,[2] and completing the race in fifteen of those.[1] In addition to his outright win in 1965, he won his class at Bathurst (co-driven on each occasion by Don Smith) in 1976, 1977 and 1980.[1]

The Ford Cortina GT500 in which Seton and Midge Bosworth won the 1965 Armstrong 500 at Bathurst

Seton, who suffered from Polio as a child, was particularly noted for his mastery of the Ford Capri in the mid-1970s, registering not only the class wins at Bathurst, but also winning the Sun-7 Rothmans 3-Litre Series at Amaroo Park.

For his 21st Bathurst start in 1983, his co-driver was his son, Glenn Seton[1] making the first of so far 25 Great Race starts and who would go on to become a two time ATCC winner. The pair were leading Class B by over a lap when their Ford Capri blew its engine resulting in a DNF.[1]

His last start, in the 1984 James Hardie 1000 was driving a Group A Ford Mustang paired with longtime co-driver Don Smith. The pair finished 20th outright and 3rd in Group A.[3]

He later became known as an engine builder,[1] firstly with the Peter Jackson Nissan Team building their turbocharged engines from 1986 until 1988 before Glenn formed his own team, Glenn Seton Racing in 1989. Seton joined his son and was chief engine builder of the teams Ford Sierra RS500s until the team switched to racing the V8 Ford Falcon in late 1992. Seton also built a number of customer engines mostly for privateer V8 Supercar teams. He left his son's team after 1995 in order to give himself a new challenge and was immediately snapped up by Longhurst Racing as their chief engine builder from 1996.

Bo Seton no longer competes at the top level, but still competes in some historic touring car races with his Historic Touring Car Mk.I Ford Capri as well as building both Capri and Holden Torana engines for various cars in Group 2 of the Touring Car Masters series, including the engine for so Glenn's Group 1 1973 Ford Falcon XB Hardtop.

Career results
Season Series Position Car Entrant
1964 Australian Touring Car Championship 9th Holden 48/215 BP Boomerang Service Station
1974 Australian Touring Car Championship 9th Ford Escort Twin Cam
1975 Sun 7 - Rothmans Series 1st Ford Capri
1976 Australian Touring Car Championship 3rd Ford Capri Barry Benson
1976 Rothmans Sun-7 Series 2nd Ford Capri
1977 Australian Touring Car Championship 12th Ford Capri
1977 Sun-7 Rothmans Touring Car Series 1st Ford Capri
1978 Australian Touring Car Championship 9th Ford Capri
1979 Better Brakes Under 3 Litre Series 1st Ford Capri
1980 Better Brakes Touring Car Series 1st Ford Capri
1982 Australian Endurance Championship 13th Ford Capri Barry Seton

Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results
Seton won the 2000-3000cc class at the 1980 Hardie Ferodo 1000 driving a Ford Capri with Don Smith (image from 2017)
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1963 Herb Taylor Morris 850 A 112 NA 7th
1964 Fairfield Motors Pty Ltd Herb Taylor Ford Cortina Mk.I GT C 130 2nd 2nd
1965 Fairfield Motors Pty Ltd Midge Bosworth Ford Cortina Mk.I GT500 D 130 1st 1st
1966 B Arentz Barry Arentz Morris Cooper S C 125 8th 8th
1967 C Smith Charlie Smith Morris Cooper S C 127 6th 2nd
1968 Ford Motor Company of Australia Fred Gibson Ford XT Falcon GT D 113 31st 11th
1969 Ford Motor Company of Australia Fred Gibson Ford XW Falcon GTHO D 93 DNF DNF
1970 Ford Motor Co of Australia Fred Gibson Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II E 33 DNF DNF
1971 Road & Track Auto Services Fred Gibson Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III E 32 DNF DNF
1972 Finnie Ford Pty Ltd Herb Taylor Ford Escort GT 1600 Mk.I B 116 15th 4th
1973 Ford Australia Fred Gibson Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop D 17 DNF DNF
1974 WH Motors Pty Ltd Don Smith Holden LC Torana GTR 2001 – 3000cc 56 DNF DNF
1975 B Benson Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.I GT 3000 C 138 15th 3rd
1976 Barry Benson Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.I 2001cc - 3000cc 156 8th 1st
1977 Amco Pty Limited Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.I 2001cc – 3000cc 154 6th 1st
1978 Amco Pty Limited Don Smith Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback A 152 8th 8th
1979 Unipart Australia Don Smith Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback A 148 7th 7th
1980 Don Smith Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.III 2001-3000cc 156 8th 1st
1981 John Goss Racing John Goss Jaguar XJS 8 Cylinder & Over 73 DNF DNF
1982 Barry Seton Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.III B 147 12th 2nd
1983 Barry Seton Glenn Seton Ford Capri Mk.III B 134 DNF DNF
1984 Nu-Truck Spares Don Smith Ford Mustang GT Group A 136 20th 3rd
gollark: I'd be interested in someone to add new concrete cubes to chorus city.
gollark: There's a shop in chorus city with very cheap glass.
gollark: The brief period when the GICR was public was kind of a bad idea...
gollark: Can't.
gollark: The chat box rule was *indirectly* me, and the potatOS rule possibly more directly me but eh.

References
  1. "Barry 'Bo' Seton" SpeedCafe.com 24 September 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. "Glory days of Bathurst revisited". Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  3. Young driver surprises everyone but himself
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Bob Jane
George Reynolds		 Winner of the Bathurst 500
1965
(with Midge Bosworth)		 Succeeded by
Bob Holden
Rauno Aaltonen
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