1969 Rothmans 12 Hour Classic Explained

The 1969 Rothmans 12 Hour Classic was an endurance motor race for production cars[1] held at the Surfers Paradise International Raceway in Queensland, Australia on 5 January 1969.[2] It was the first of two such races to be held at the circuit.[3]

The race was won by Bill Gates and Jim Bertram driving a Ford XT Falcon GT.[2]

Classes

Cars competed in five classes based on the retail price of the vehicle in Australian Dollars.[1]

Results

Position[4] Drivers No.CarEntrantLaps
Outright Winner
Bill Gates, Jim Bertram 16Ford XT Falcon GTMcCluskey Ford427
Class A : Up to $1850[5]
1B Tapsall, R Sorensen, R Gibson62Datsun 1000Datsun Racing Team404
2W Scott, E Olsen66Toyota CorollaW Scott392
3W Evans, J Cosworth61Datsun 1000Datsun Racing Team383
4T Floyd, P Wherrett, A Vincent65Toyota CorollaMTR Services368
564Toyota CorollaMTR Services359
6Noel Riley, Ken Brian63Honda ScampTeam Honda334
Class B : $1851 to $2250
1John Roxburgh, Doug Whiteford54Datsun 1600Datsun Racing Team415
2W Coad, F Sutherland53Datsun 1600Datsun Racing Team411
3P Lefrancke, R Skelton, B Reed57Toyota Corolla SLFarsley Motors404
4A Whitchurch, T Gilltrap58Datsun 1600Coolangatta Tweed Heads Car Club403
555Hillman GazelleEiffel Tower Motors403
649Datsun 1600MTR Services381
7Edgerton49Renault R10Robert Edgerton375
DISQWooton, Morrow52Datsun 1600McInnes Auto Conversions
Class C : $2251 to $3000
1Garry Hodge, John Leffler42Morris Cooper SDenis Geary Motors426
2John Smailes, John Millyard35Morris Cooper SMartinz Place421
3T Basile, F Leggatt31Fiat 125Tony Basile Motors414
4J Eiffeltower, D O'Keefe39Hillman Hunter GTEiffeltower Motors413
5Gracie32Morris Cooper SW.R. Gracie409
6Cooke, Brewster, Hindmarsh41Morris Cooper SMarque Motors404
7Haylen (?)33Morris Cooper SGrand Prix Auto Service374
DNFJoe Camilleri, John Humphries? Morris Cooper S
DNFIan Kenny, Hans Marquard?Morris Cooper S
DSQJohn Goss, John Cooke[6] 37 or 38Holden HK KingswoodThe High Performance School
DSQBill Tuckey, Sib Petralia37 or 38Hullman Hunter GTThe High Performance School
Class D : $3001 to $4500
1Bill Gates, John Bertram16Ford XT Falcon GTMcCluskey Ford427
2Glyn Scott, Keith Williams25Holden HK Monaro GTS327Glyn Scott Motors420
3R Jones, R Forbes, D West21Fiat 124S CoupeNanda Marcaroni Products413
4G Trebilcock, N Trebilcock, H Woelders22BMW 1600Gerry Trebilcock411
5Lionel Ayers, Max Volkers18Ford XT Falcon GTCentral Auto Sales405
6Seldon, Kearns23Volvo 144British & Continental355
7Denis Geary, Bill Brown19Holden HK Monaro GTS327Denis Geary Motors310
8Bruce McPhee, Doug Chivas13Holden HK Monaro GTS327Bruce McPhee245
DNF Paul Zacka,[7] Graham Perry ?
Class E : Over $4500
1Kevin Bartlett, John French1Alfa Romeo 1750 GTVAlec Mildren Pty. Ltd.424
2R Gulson, P Brown2Alfa Romeo 1750 GTVCanberra Speed Shop408
3Ivan Tighe, B Schuster5Citroen DS21Glyn Scott Motors349

References

  1. 45 In Road Race, The Courier Mail, Thursday, Jan 2, 1969 page 9
  2. Sweet Smell of Success, Racing Car News, February 1969, pages 30-33
  3. Paradise Lost, Australian Muscle Car, Issue 41, pages 88-98
  4. Provisional Results (Issued 7.1.69), Rothmans 12 Hour Race, 5 January 1969, as reproduced in Australian Muscle Car magazine, Issue 105, page 37
  5. 12 Hour Guessing game, Modern Motor, March 1969
  6. The Goss on the Bathurst Kingswood, Australian, Muscle Car, 1 May 2015
  7. Gates’ 3 lap win in 12-Hr, The Courier Mail, Monday, 6 January 1969, page 9

Further reading

-28.0164°N 153.3761°W