1978 Bathurst 1000 Hardies Heroes Allan Moffat

[@madblank]

The Ford Falcon XA XB and XC must be one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

[@BJBFOREST]

Let us remember that you will no longer see the likes of an Allan Moffat in this country as racing has changed.....he was the team..the inspiration and the driving force. He is now struggling health wise ....Legend.

[@adamski3993]

Didn't need commentary...the howling of that V8 was telling the awesomeness all on its own!!

[@Lone-Wolf-66]

I’m no Ford fan but fk me those 2 door falcons are hot... and Moff is a true blue Aussie legend.

[@apeshit4banana]

He's actually Canadian, but no worries mate! 😊

[@captainkaos754]

He wasn’t Australian for a start he was Canadian and he was an arrogant smartarse who never worked on his cars AND treated his crews like shit.

[@daviddickson4015]

@@captainkaos754 and you know how

[@dennisdallenogare3930]

@@captainkaos754 he had very little rescourses compared with the Holden teams and did a great job with what he had . Highly respected by all of his peers except for you I see .

[@dennisdallenogare3930]

@@captainkaos754 you obviously never knew or met the man .I can tell you he is a gentleman.

[@greebo7857]

What everyone forgets, when they rave about Brock etc., was that the Falc was considerably heavier than the Torana, the power was similar, and yet Moff could peel off a lap like this. Man was a genius.

[@Niknteen1]

Agree. I get Brock was a brilliant driver, yet, his car was near 200kg lighter. With the $$ behind him with HDT, he should of been winning.. Watching him in his early years, is a totally different story to when Holden got behind him and poured in super funds. Not too sure how famous he'd be with out that input. Guess the same may be said of Moff.( though Moff was never the loaded man people thought he was, he struggled financially). yet, Moff's car was still way heavier, harder on brakes etc etc.. Which ever way people wish to view it, it was still the BEST days of Australian motor racing.. period. ( my humble little opinion, after watching motor racing in OZ for near 50 years.dont watch it anymore.. couple hrs of bathurst is my yearly dose, it's utter crap today)

[@sugarnads]

GrpC and grpA were the best. This current artificial formula is processional bullshit

[@peter6516]

@@Niknteen1 Everything you said is basically correct BUT please stop using American phrases. You're talking about oz racing and a (former Canadian) now aussie legend. I nearly puked, I mean vomited/spewed when I read 'period'. Please don't. It's a North American term. Been watching too much overseas road racing?

[@xbfalcon351coupe]

a few years ago when I was a cabbie I had the privelage of moving Allan, his wife and James from the Clipsal track to their hotel - we discussed this lap, the 1-2 finish, and James and I talked about our fave moff cars - apart from the coupes, the trans am mustang was discussed as one of his best. I told them I wasn't going to charge them but Allan wouldn't hear of it and tipped me - a very memorable day...

[@Holden308]

Everyone loves Moff's Coca-Cola Mustang, but even though I'm a Holden man at heart ... its hard to go past the Phase III GTHO isn't it?

[@AsinineComment]

Ummm, @@Holden308 - your reply was a _decade_ late, mate.

[@justdoesntaddup8620]

Will never be too late to talk about the Phase III GTHO or the hardtop 1 - 2 Allan Moffat finish @@AsinineComment .

[@Matt_Wilson01]

@@Holden308 Moffat wasn’t a fan of the big xy it’s why he decided to build that mustang and race it instead that year

[@doriankeating1963]

Gee that was special and so emotional for him.

[@russelldavies7953]

Agree Graham Clayton, Moffat is normally very composed but you sense he gave it everything. I'm a Holden fan but I think all of us, not matter what side of the fence we were on, owe a debt of gratitude to Alan Moffat - without him the racing wouldn't have been the same.

[@Holden308]

Exactly. Brocky was the golden child from Holden and the darling of the crowds.....but without the 'bad guy' Moffat, would have it been the same? Even Brock himself acknowledged that without Marvin it would have been a lot different.

[@greatape5305]

Russell Davies but you get idiots like captain Kaos beating on about brock& V8 toranas, & how ford fans are worthless scum!

[@Chrismkeough]

Hi guys, I’m 57, so grew up in the time of Brock vs Moffat. As we have all grown older, we recognise what we didn’t back then. We were experiencing a golden time in Australian motor racing. I was always a Ford and Moffat fan, (sorry, I just couldn’t keep the smile off my face when you hear a GTHO Ph3 change down,.......music), but I admire both drivers. Brock was clearly the more naturally gifted, but Moffat, he gave the rest of us mere mortals hope. He showed us what sheer guts and determination could bring about. You could see how he was always totally spent when getting out of a race car. And who of my generation forget the duals between the Mustang and the Bob Jane Camero up the back straight at Sandown. Ah,.......I know,.......just living in the past. Need I talk about F5000 and the Tasman Series.....

[@twilightroach4274]

@@Chrismkeough to my understanding, Brock was a naturally gifted driver (like Jim Clark), & Moffat was a technical driver. Not wrong just different & both brilliant drivers! And I believe that Dick Johnson was probably better than the both of them! & this is coming from a one eyed Holden/ Brock fan!

[@anttonydamico2578]

@@twilightroach4274 Tricky Dicky 💪

[@fjbutch]

I'm a Holden fan, but this clip gave me goosebumps..

[@battery300]

Moffat at Bathurst now now would still hold his own !!! Absolute legend

[@asd36f]

Moffatt was usually pretty composed when he spoke, but at the end of this clip you can see and feel the emotion as he realised what he had done. He was pretty close to the "ragged edge" during this lap - he nearly hit the fence on the right hand side coming out of the Dipper, while the way that the car bottomed out when going through the Cutting and over the humps on Conrod Straight showed that he was giving 110%.

[@Holden308]

Moffat, unlike Brock, wasn't a natural talent. Oh he did have talent in spades, but it wasn't something that came natural to him. He worked long and hard to get to be as good as he was in a race car. That lap he literally put everything into, and you have to remember that Group C Touring Cars in Australia were little more than hotted up road cars with a few safety mods thrown in. When Evan Green was trying to interview him, Moff was buggared. And Alan wasn't one of those once a year drivers like Peter Janson. He really did work on his fitness (and despite his longtime sponsorship with Rothmans of Pall Mall tobacco, he wasn't a smoker)

[@darronmecak5720]

That cobra looks and sounds awsome,clean driving style !

[@gregp5257]

I was lucky enough to spend a day with him at an FPV day. Genuine and warm to all - and that aura of a true legend. Total gentleman and professional.

[@gregorybathurst4326]

During the interview A.M was speechless , not because he had nothing to say , he was overwhelmed .

[@darronmecak5720]

That car handles so well

[@markaylott1780]

I'm not a Ford fan, nor a Holden fan but those were the days and the COBRAS sure had a great sound. Moffat was a legend and the upcoming young guns like Brock, Johnson had great teacher's

[@sanctuaryism]

look at that beautiful blue and white girl.

[@doriankeating1963]

Very a emotional at the end as he had just set the fastest lap ever around the circuit 2:21:59 on a nearly dry track! Must have scared the shit out of him, he did state that he probably could not go harder than that. Well done Moff, you deserved far more credit and applause than you got! You put in huge ground work to get the most out of what you had and did an exceptional job.

[@blairknight7793]

I dont get the negative comments here guys, seriously all these cars were part of the greatest time in Australian racing. When real cars raced not the crap we have now! Go buy a v8 rear drive volvo...oh sorry it dont exist! I encourage everyone to head up to the Leyburn classic auto sprints in Qld. and re-visit these classic cars driven at ten tenths, it is an experience you won't forget, the badge simply don't matter.

[@Nuncal]

Awesome footage

[@pooguts9997]

What a beautiful car the xc was

[@Holden308]

I've always been a Holden fan but I'll agree to that. The XC Cobra's were a beautiful looking motor car.

[@captainkaos754]

A wallowing boat.

[@leighharley1]

Love the Cobra

[@bretloyd8097]

Weapons. . . Both the car and the man.

[@paulbrennan3091]

Great Footage ,So thank U ! What a Legend ! What a man ! A bit hard hard to Say True Blue, but the next best thing anyway ? As a Canadian ,He Came here to Australia & fitted inn perfectly ?To the Aussie Way of Life & With a Skill few will master ?A Real man & gentlemen ! Quietly spoken ,Generous to all ,humble & a Champion bloke ! And never ever got the Accolades that He deserved ! Yes ,He was Speechless after his Shoot out lap & pole setting one at that ! But I Remember a few years before this in His Phase 3 HO doing exactly the Same ! He was I think even more fired Up ,because He could hardly talk at all ? What a Champion 😂🏆 in every Sense of the Word ! Simply never the Same Since his departure ? Especially to The Ford Teams & the Ford Fraurity ! I believe 159 mph is a little Short ? Murray Carter Clocked 178mph down Conrod in the xa GT, being the fastest Car down Conrod that year ! So here ,this being possibly 2 years Later proves my point ? Thank U once again, as an old bloke,appreciated this So much & Thank U Allen !

[@fjbutch]

Awesome...lucky fella...my Uncle was one of his mechanics in Adelaide years ago...

[@gregwhitbread700]

Allan & his beautiful xc cobra. need i say more

[@gregorybathurst7171]

Allen was really blown away by that drive when informed he was speech less . The driving was awesome that was the cars potential .

[@rcfirdy]

Funny you say that.I have heard it directly from one of the ex-factory ford drivers that when Carol Smith came out to work on the cars,they couldn't believe it was the same guy who wrote the books.They were not that impressed with the guy.And I have the utmost respect from the factory ford driver/bathurst winner who told me that.

[@redoz9768]

Moffat is completely spent but he still manages to get in a plug for Motorola.

[@dennisdallenogare3930]

He always made sure he gave his sponsors what they paid for.

[@zetecryt]

Professional to the core, and what a legend he is.. And this shows the enormous stress and exertion involved in wrestling the big Falcon around the mountain as it was back then. Real track, real cars and real balls..

[@joyharp3088]

Go Moffat Go.love you.

[@chooseaname50]

Yep, i allways liked those XC coupes too, they had perfect curves on them, just like an italian woman :)

[@markharris4421]

It's been 9 years...those Italian women now have a curve and a moustache!

[@Pablo668]

Phenomenal lap, great driver. What I liked about this era was that they were trying to do the same thing (go fast/win) using different engineering solutions. Big powerful and fast Ford Falcons, but heavy on brakes and fuel and more difficult in handling. Smaller less powerful but lighter and better on brakes and handling Holdens. And a whole gamut of other cars besides.

[@sugarnads]

Yep. And grpA was the same we had 6 or 7 manufacturers all going balls out with different cars which were fast in different areas.

[@kerrykelaher2607]

" cobra in its heyday should have had stiffer springs and shocks ( to properly manage this beast allan did " amazing job to wrestle the beast ")

[@trishave5639]

Having driven around Mt Panorama at a considerably slower speed my admiration for the drivers has only risen, especially coming down off Skyline heading to Conrod. It was hair-raising at 60 ks an hour, never mind what Moffat is doing here with nothing more than minimal amco railing o_O

[@Countdown70s]

Watching Dick Johnson's TruBlue XC down straight at Surfer's Paradise 1979, possibly a more beautiful looking and sounding car than Moffat's ...it led all day, then , lost.I can't remember why.

[@cassowaryind]

Crashed on the back straight when the brake linings came off the RF disc pads. The linings sheered off at the end of the front straight and he had too much speed. Another time the cdi ignition failed and we stole a standard distributor from a car in the pit area just to get him back out, we were about 3 laps down but stayed out on the track.

[@dazza027]

159 MPH, but that's HALFWAY down the straight, there was another 400m of full throttle to come... 175 - 180 MPH would be nearer to the truth considering that the TCM's manage over 280kph WITH the chase in the way...

[@velocityjet1884]

wow 175 plus miles an hour down conrod straight, right before the breaking, i never knew they could do those sort of speeds in them days. Amazing!

[@johncusumano2043]

You can shit the door on this one Maxi. It’s the ducks guts

[@Holden308]

Did you see how the Falcon's nose rose up coming over the 2nd hump on Conrod? Makes it easy to see how Mike Burgman's crash would have happened in 1986.

[@alanjm1234]

Amazing how soft and floaty it looks, yet if you took in on the road it would feel like it had bricks instead of springs.

[@kerrykelaher2607]

2024 " legend allan moffat is a old man " suffering from dementia !

[@brianhoffman4861]

Awesome.. did he tell you about the rock., and the new titanium valves

[@foldedpaperboats]

@Holden308 Mike Burgman's crash wasn't directly related to the hump, according to the Bathurst annuals of the time he was off the track before the second hump

[@johnfisher7143]

I think right there is a great example of the difference between Moffat and Brock. Moffat had to give 110% of himself to compete with Brock who was so gifted that he hardly looked like he was trying. When they had the in-car audio from both cars, Moffat was always stressed out and Brock was so laid back but both driving equally fast.

[@jimpikoulis6726]

Allan Moffat Ford Wheeling and Dealing

[@MrGoblin60]

There are few things more asthetically pleasing that a hardtop being driven around the mountain by a virtuoso. The 1000 in 1978 wasn't a happy hunting ground for Allan and if I remember correctly Carol Smith, the team manager who engineered the '77 victory, had gone back to the states by then. May have had a bearing on the lack of success that year.

[@Steveaustin007]

Ford didn’t spend any extra money after winning in ‘77 , (but in reality the A9X’s all broke down). Cams wouldn’t let the Falcons have a dry sump , and Ford didn’t help with any go faster bits for homologation as they basically pulled out due to issues with CAMS approving parts for the opposition brand and not for Ford.

[@gmarshall1026]

@@Steveaustin007 How true

[@MrGoblin60]

Interesting insight. Thanks for that. I don't doubt the judgement of your source.

[@chopperking1122]

@Holden308 im pretty sure that 78 was the last year of the bathurst humps , they ironed them out the following year

[@battleboat2487]

why would you have the speed camra half way down the straight makes no sencse

[@jimmydcricket5893]

$8250 When money had value.

[@aus80srockradio94]

159 mph = 260 km/h, and for the last 20 or years, 290 km/h is about the norm, based on the diff ratio's run at this track.

[@tomsutho3074]

The radar appeared to come out around the middle of Conrod, be interesting to see what speed it pulled before the braking zone? I believe a couple of years later with cars like the Camaros, they were getting close to the 300 mark, getting cars to go fast has never really been an issue, getting them to handle though, that's another matter.

[@iansneddon9519]

You

[@phil4977]

Commentators just dribbling saying nothing

[@Holden308]

@chopperking1122 No they didn't

[@brianhoffman4861]

Give me a ford coupe... and I will show you a 351

[@brianhoffman4861]

That could beat myxr6

[@Niknteen1]

Fun fact, the 1973 landau had more apprx 90 HP than the 78 Cobra 351's.. .

[@RtB68]

2.21.59... A bog standard VXSS can do it in 2.15...the point here is that to imagine you, in your run of the mill modern SS could win the great race.

[@markharris4421]

Hell no I couldn't. There'd be someone like Moffat there driving one too!

[@captainkaos754]

Land yachts and compared to the A9x not even in the same race.

[@Matt_Wilson01]

Moffat doesn’t get the respect he deserves from most Aussies, crying shame, guy was awesome

[@Jamiebroskitart21]

My favourite racer of all time. Up the race of 77!!

[@gregwhitbread700]

Allan & his beautiful xc cobra. need i say more

[@captainkaos754]

No because it was thrashed mercilessly by a superior RACE car not a knobbled up road car. The XC wasn’t even in the same galaxy as the mighty A9x.

[@lifelongbachelor3651]

@@captainkaos754 quiet, knob jockey.