1976 Australian Sports Sedans

This is Round 2, Heat 2 of the 1976 Australian Sports Sedan Championship, held at Sandown Park. This epic highlights package features the best and fastest Sports Sedans in Australia, in what was the very first time a national Sports Sedan Championship took place. Featured are Allan Moffat, Pete Geoghegan, Colin Bond, Ron Harrop, Jim Richards, Tony Edmondson, and a bunch of others in an era when Sports Sedan racing was the biggest thing in Aussie motorsport.

[@estelja]

Love how they just leave the dead car in the middle of the track and keep on racing. Damn, I miss the '70's.

[@markmark5269]

F1 race today would have an hour red flag period, it's a fooking joke. No, I don't want it to be dangerous, but the over-zealousness today is ridiculous.

[@nealenewton4193]

Those sure were the days...! As an avid 15year old car nut, I used to watch as many races on telly as were broadcast. Outside of channel 7 showing Bathurst, ABC would televise these races. Wheels,Modern Motor, Racing Car News and Cheque Flag were assiduously read each month. With so much sport, including car racing behind paywalls, it has become expensive viewing. Thanks for the upload, great memories and times 👍😁

[@chopperking1122]

a 14 year old me would of been there , watching the most exciting stuff id ever seen in my life ! watching it even now , its just fantastic ! one backmarker car that was missed was bob gill in geoghans old 67 mustang , its yellow with red stripes

[@markmark5269]

15 for me. Not only did we go to all the Sandown races in those days, and Calder, but later in my early 20's I got a job on the corner of Dandy Rd (Princes Highway) and Smith St just a few hundred meters away, and we used to jump on the roof and watch Saturday's practice and minor races! :-) Great days, motor racing is contrived shite now.

[@piglos]

I remember being there for this race as a 13yo, we would wait on the overpass and bum a lift in with someone as children were free if accompanied by an adult. This was early July, hence Moffats #200 as the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence in the USA. Even though he was Canadian. Great times

[@robertmarshall7938]

Loved these Sport Sedans l remember seeing this race and many others thanks for the video great 👍

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Just awesome! You Aussies sure had some great cars. We had some good ones here in the States. But I think you guys outdid us

[@lawrencecauchi665]

Nice words, we HAD a proud motor industry.

[@marktiltins8845]

As a 15 year old sitting in the J1 Bedford towtruck in the pits got some good photos of the day ,still have them. Amaroo Park How's the Minis 1310 crossflow head twin 45mm Webbers Flyer I think it was Bob Mason had the flying brick

[@PeterPiper-wf9hn]

Real drivers in real race cars. The best era

[@weaksignal8009]

Looks a lot like a Yank' IMSA Monza wide body. Very cool thanks!

[@brucemoxon3771]

That's exactly what it was, one of the Dekon cars.

[@oz2strokeman394]

The Geoghan Monaro was on the limit and sometimes a bit over, floating the front end down the straight at top speed. Turning in and catching the rear just at the right time what a Master drive. Only smoked the rears once with all that power, speaking of power it seems plenty of street cars nowadays have way more, Crazy.

[@chadraynal7962]

Great lead in to a great bit of race coverage!

[@chopperking1122]

and he knows what hes talking about !

[@ronniebraine9692]

Awesome racing.

[@burniezarsoff4118]

Thankyou for sharing this awesome video with us. Liked and subscribed.👍

[@The888Redlich]

Thanks for sharing, great race and great memories

[@nigelmarshall2139]

Thankyou 😊 that was great , very very well spoken👌🏁

[@theroaringseason1394]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it

[@Holden308]

Under CAMS Group B Sports Sedan rules, cars like the Torana's were only allowed engines up to 5000cc because the biggest engine their road cars only came with was Holden's 5.0L V8 (even though it was technically 5044cc, it was just rounded down not being 50 or over). Conversely the Monaro, Monza and Mustang could run up to 6000cc engines because their road cars came with engines larger than 5000cc. While that meant the Torana's etc could run powerful Formula 5000 engines, they still lacked the power of the 6.0L V8's.

[@dhbc1908]

Holden308, you are mistaken on the then Sports Sedan rules. It was permissible to either (a) run the original engine type block with a capacity up to 6000 cc or (b) an alternative engine block up to 5000 cc. A Holden Torana could and did run (Group C cars as an example) with a Holden V8 in excess of 5000 cc such as the 308 (5044cc) and some were overbored 0.003" for 5126 cc. The rules did not prohibit a Holden V8 of up to 6000 cc, however in those early days there were no 355 stroker kits and the Holden heads of the time, Repco Holden F5000 included did not flow well enough to make a 6000cc engine worth pursuing. So if the choice was to go to another non Holden engine block, then the Chev small block was the normal alternative with a 5000 cc limit. Of course the Holden Monaro was available from the factory with the Chev 350 (5735 cc), so it could use that engine as could Chev Camaro's etc. Ford likewise could use 351 engines in Falcons, Mustangs etc. Another car that was affected by these rules was the Charger Repco Holden V8 of John McCormick, which because it did not use the Chrysler 340 (5600 cc)V8, and instead used an alternative engine block, a Holden, was restricted to a sub 5000 cc engine, a Repco Holden F5000.

[@dhbc1908]

Holden308, you are mistaken on the then Sports Sedan rules. It was permissible to either (a) run the original engine type block with a capacity up to 6000 cc or (b) an alternative engine block up to 5000 cc. A Holden Torana could and did run (Group C cars as an example) with a Holden V8 in excess of 5000 cc such as the 308 (5044cc) and some were overbored 0.003" for 5126 cc. The rules did not prohibit a Holden V8 of up to 6000 cc, however in those early days there were no 355 stroker kits and the Holden heads of the time, Repco Holden F5000 included did not flow well enough to make a 6000cc engine worth pursuing. So if the choice was to go to another non Holden engine block, then the Chev small block was the normal alternative with a 5000 cc limit. Of course the Holden Monaro was available from the factory with the Chev 350 (5735 cc), so it could use that engine as could Chev Camaro's etc. Ford likewise could use 351 engines in Falcons, Mustangs etc. Another car that was affected by these rules was the Charger Repco Holden V8 of John McCormick, which because it did not use the Chrysler 340 (5600 cc)V8, and instead used an alternative engine block, a Holden, was restricted to a sub 5000 cc engine, a Repco Holden F5000.

[@mosca3289]

great stuff.

[@barrycuda3769]

Those were the days .

[@chopperking1122]

as a 14 y/o , being there , watching that , those memories are among the best of my life ! then i would go buy " auto action " so i could read all about it as well !

[@barrycuda3769]

​@@chopperking1122lucky ' that would have been really good 'I was twelve at that time living in Dunedin 'which unlike most other places in NZ 'had no race circuit '(and still doesn't) except a dirt speedway track ' I could only imagine what car racing would be like ' or look at the hoons on the streets.

[@axelknutt5065]

Who are the commentators? Max Stahl? ‘Max’ actually sounds like a Colin Bond’

[@daveastondrums]

Stahl and John Sheppard.

[@axelknutt5065]

@@daveastondrums of course! Thanks Aston

[@axelknutt5065]

It just doesn’t look right having Moffat in a Chevy

[@obiemichaels9675]

What about when he drove bob Morris’ A9X 3 years later

[@borismcfinnigan3430]

​@@obiemichaels9675It was a one off meeting in a non atcc amscar race..Big deal

[@obiemichaels9675]

@@borismcfinnigan3430 big deal? It was a big deal actually. Think about it, a privateer Holden team, one of Holdens biggest dealers at the time allowing fords number 1 driver to race one of their cars just because his transport truck couldn’t get through due to a truck drivers blockade.

[@borismcfinnigan3430]

@@obiemichaels9675 It wasnt near as big a deal as you make it to be. And it was fck all tp do with transport LOLOL. Moffat hated Grice, Grice was the only thing between Morris and wrapping up an Amscar title. Morris asked Moffat of he could be the wingman and Moffat agreed. Holden as a company had sweet fck all to do with motorsport then, other than a few select marketing people, and Ford had nothing to do with anything ...Stop talking as if you are wise to how anything went down back then because you weren't there.

[@obiemichaels9675]

@@borismcfinnigan3430 Holden had nothing to do with motorsport back then? Are you serious? And you’re the one claiming I know nothing. Wow Moffat wasn’t the only one that hated grice , bob always told me there was one Alan he liked and one he more than disliked, especially after they teamed up in 1980 . And yes I do know bob personally so yeah I have a pretty good idea of what happened.

[@jocelinjohnston3091]

'promo sm'