The 1978 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 19th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 1 October 1978, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine capacity based classes.
The race was won by Peter Brock, his third win, and Sports Sedan racer Jim Richards, his first. The pair drove a Holden Dealer Team Holden Torana to a single lap victory over another Torana, that of Allan Grice and Formula 5000 driver John Leffler. Third was the first of the Ford Falcons, that of veteran Murray Carter and New Zealand open wheel great Graeme Lawrence. Richards became the first New Zealander to win the race and it was the Holden Dealer Teams third win.
The 3001 - 6000cc class consisted entirely of compact muscle cars including V8 Holden Toranas and Ford Falcons.
The 2001 – 3000cc class featured Mazda RX3, Ford Capri, and BMW 3.0Si.
The Up to 2000cc class saw a mix of Alfa Romeo Alfetta and GTV 2000, Ford Escort RS2000, Holden Gemini, Toyota Celica, Triumph Dolomite and VW Golf.
1978 saw the introduction of the Hardies Heroes Top 10 runoff (now referred as the Top Ten Shootout) for pole position, devised by race broadcaster Channel 7 and the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) for extra television time on the day before the race. With official qualifying now held on the Friday (previously held on the Saturday before the race from 1963-1977), the runoff was held on the Saturday morning with Seven showing half-hour highlights around Australia later in the afternoon. Drivers drew the order in which they would run out of a hat with the order being Allan Grice, Peter Brock, Jack Brabham, Dick Johnson, Derek Bell, Bob Morris, Garth Wigston, Colin Bond, John French and lucky last Allan Moffat. Each driver had two, one lap runs to set a quick time, though the second lap was optional.
Morning showers meant that the track was damp during the first run and with most cars on wet weather tyres, times reflected this with Grice recording a first up 2:38.2 and Brock a 2:35.6. No other driver was then able to lap better than 2:27 until Allan Moffat went out and ignoring the puddles (plus a little help from team members on top of the mountain who radioed in that the track was now dry enough for slicks), ran a 2:21.59 lap while hitting 1590NaN0 on Conrod Straight. Moffat's time in his 5.8 L V8 powered Ford Falcon Cobra was some 6 seconds faster than anyone else had managed and 4.8 seconds under his own Group C Touring Car lap record set in 1977.[1] Taking Moffat's cue that the track was now dry enough for quick times, Brock then ran a 2:20.006 in his HDT Torana which was enough to give him his second Bathurst pole in succession and his third overall (his pole time would not be beaten until 1982). Moffat's team mate Colin Bond then joined Brock on the front row with a 2:20.871 lap (0.865 slower than Brock),[2] and while Moffat then tried to respond, he had to settle for the inside of the second row with a time of 2:21.597. Bob Morris, the fastest in official qualifying with a 2:21.7 would start in fourth after equaling his time in the runoff, with his team mate Derek Bell rounding out the top 5, though he was some 2.8 seconds slower than Morris. John French in the second Bryan Byrt Ford Falcon was the slowest in the runoff, his time some 10.2 seconds slower than Brock's pole time and 4.6 seconds slower than team mate Dick Johnson.
| Pos | No | Team | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pole | 05 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team |  Peter Brock | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 2:20.006 |
| 2 | 2 | Moffat Ford Dealers | Colin Bond | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 2:20.871 |
| 3 | 1 | Moffat Ford Dealers |  Allan Moffat | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 2:21.597 |
| 4 | 7 | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | Bob Morris | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 2:21.766 |
| 5 | 27 | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing |  Derek Bell | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 2:24.602 |
| 6 | 17 | Bryan Byrt Ford | Dick Johnson | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 2:25.632 |
| 7 | 6 | Craven Mild Racing | Allan Grice | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 2:25.950 |
| 8 | 8 | Jack Brabham Holdings Pty Ltd | Jack Brabham | Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door | 2:25.988 |
| 9 | 20 | Roadways / Gown-Hindhaugh | Garth Wigston | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 2:26.144 |
| 10 | 32 | Bryan Byrt Ford | John French | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 2:30.244 |
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Car | Laps | Qual Pos | Shootout Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 05 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Peter Brock Jim Richards | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 163 | 1 | |
| 2 | A | 6 | Craven Mild Racing | Allan Grice John Leffler | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 162 | 7 | |
| 3 | A | 18 | Brian Wood Ford | Murray Carter Graeme Lawrence | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 160 | 31 | |
| 4 | A | 11 | Citizens Watches Australia Pty Ltd | Gary Cooke Doug Chivas | Holden LX Torana SLR5000 A9X 4 Door | 158 | 27 | |
| 5 | A | 17 | Bryan Byrt Ford | Dick Johnson Vern Schuppan | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 153 | 6 | |
| 6 | A | 8 | Jack Brabham Holdings Pty Ltd | Jack Brabham Brian Muir | Holden LX Torana SLR5000 A9X 4 Door | 153 | 8 | |
| 7 | A | 23 | Settlement Road Motor Wreckers | Warren Cullen Johnnie Walker | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 152 | 13 | |
| 8 | A | 33 | Amco Pty Ltd | Barry Seton Don Smith | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 152 | 15 | |
| 9 | C | 69 | Brian Wood Ford | Rod Stevens Bill Evans | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I | 149 | 38 | |
| 10 | B | 52 | Amco Pty Ltd | Steve Masterton Phil Lucas | Ford Capri Mk.I | 149 | 40 | |
| 11 | C | 70 | Peter Williamson Pty Ltd | Peter Williamson Mike Quinn | Toyota Celica | 149 | 36 | |
| 12 | B | 41 | B&J Tyre Co Pty Ltd | Terry Shiel Ross Burbidge | Mazda RX-3 | 148 | 37 | |
| 13 | B | 42 | Fury Ford Pty Ltd | Terry Daly Eric Boord | Ford Capri Mk.I | 148 | 30 | |
| 14 | B | 37 | Shell Sport | Peter Hopwood Jim Davidson | Ford Capri Mk.II | 147 | 35 | |
| 15 | B | 35 | Amco Pty Ltd | Don Holland Lawrie Nelson | Ford Capri Mk.II | 145 | 29 | |
| 16 | C | 62 | Greater Pacific Finance Co | Ray Gulson Paul Gulson | Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 | 143 | 55 | |
| 17 | B | 48 | James Mason Pty Ltd | Barry Jones Brian Potts | Mazda RX-3 | 142 | 63 | |
| 18 | C | 57 | Thomson Ford | Bill Stanley Ian Messner | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II | 142 | 52 | |
| 19 | A | 15 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | John Harvey Charlie O'Brien | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 139 | 11 | |
| 20 | B | 51 | JD Duggan | John Duggan Brian Wheeler | Mazda RX-3 | 137 | 45 | |
| 21 | B | 36 | Arthur Hardwick | Arthur Hardwick Greg McCombie | Mazda RX-3 | 136 | 34 | |
| 22 | A | 10 | Garry & Warren Smith Pty Ltd | Bob Forbes Kevin Bartlett | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 136 | 12 | |
| 23 | A | 29 | Garry Willmington | Garry Willmington Jeff Barnes | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 136 | 23 | |
| 24 | A | 19 | Bonds Coates Patons | Graham Ryan Phillip Arnull | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 135 | 20 | |
| 25 | C | 73 | B&G Myers Leyland | Terry Wade John Myers | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | 134 | 47 | |
| 26 | C | 60 | Peter Brown | Peter Brown Graham Ritter | Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 | 133 | 41 | |
| 27 | B | 43 | Gough Motors Mazda | Nick Louis Stephen Stockdale | Mazda RX-3 | 132 | 43 | |
| 28 | C | 54 | Bruce T Hodgson | Bruce Hodgson Dave Morrow | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II | 130 | 46 | |
| 29 | C | 66 | Brian Hilton Toyota | Jeff Harris Doug Clark | Toyota Celica | 128 | 58 | |
| 30 | A | 28 | Rod Donovan | Rod Donovan Craig McAllister | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 125 | 24 | |
| 31 | C | 61 | Consolidated Pneumatic Tools Co (Aust) Pty Ltd | Ian Sonneman John English | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I | 121 | 50 | |
| DNF | A | 26 | Craven Mild Racing | Ralph Radburn Robyn Hamilton | Holden LX Torana SLR5000 A9X 4 Door | 148 | 21 | |
| DNF | B | 49 | ABE Copiers Pty Ltd | Sue Ransom Bill Brown | Ford Capri Mk.I | 144 | 33 | |
| DNF | A | 31 | Norm G Smith Racing | Leo Leonard Gary Sprague | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 119 | 18 | |
| DNF | A | 20 | Roadways / Gown-Hindhaugh | Garth Wigston Wayne Negus | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 118 | 9 | |
| DNF | C | 65 | LR Morris | Rod Morris Terry Finnigan | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II | 115 | 56 | |
| DNF | A | 9 | ReCar Racing / Cadbury - Schweppes | Peter Janson Phil Brock | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 110 | 14 | |
| DNF | C | 59 | Kevin Dennis Motors (Sunshine) Pty Ltd | Allan Gough Kel Gough | Holden Gemini | 109 | 59 | |
| DNF | A | 14 | Thomson Ford | Ron Dickson John McCormack | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 100 | 16 | |
| DNF | C | 56 | Paul-Francois Berthier | Paul Berthier Bob Wootton | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | 95 | 49 | |
| DNF | C | 63 | Bob Holden / Shell Sport | Bob Holden Lyndon Arnel | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II | 93 | 48 | |
| DNF | A | 34 | Tim Slako | Tim Slako Colin Hall | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 92 | 26 | |
| DNF | B | 50 | ATP Australia Pty Ltd | Alan Cant Bruce Stewart | Ford Capri Mk.I | 91 | 61 | |
| DNF | A | 4 | John Goss Pty Ltd | Rusty French Graham Moore | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 90 | 25 | |
| DNF | C | 64 | Bob Holden / Shell Sport | Greville Arnel Greg Toepfer | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II | 89 | 51 | |
| DNF | B | 39 | Citizens Watches Australia Pty Ltd | Barry Lee David Clement | Mazda RX-3 | 82 | 44 | |
| DNF | A | 1 | Moffat Ford Dealers | Allan Moffat Jacky Ickx | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 81 | 3 | |
| DNF | A | 24 | Hendersons Federal Spring Works / Shell Sport | Jim Keogh Grant Walker | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 74 | 19 | |
| DNF | A | 7 | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | Bob Morris John Fitzpatrick | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 73 | 4 | |
| DNF | A | 13 | Scotty Taylor Holden | Alan "Scotty" Taylor Kevin Kennedy | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 68 | 22 | |
| DNF | A | 3 | John Goss Pty Ltd | John Goss Henri Pescarolo | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 67 | 28 | |
| DNF | B | 46 | Brian Wood Ford | Ray Farrar Gerry Wittenden | Ford Capri Mk.I | 66 | 62 | |
| DNF | B | 47 | Selby's Steering & Suspension Service Pty Ltd | Dean Gall Allan Bryant | Mazda RX-3 | 61 | 54 | |
| DNF | A | 2 | Moffat Ford Dealers | Colin Bond Fred Gibson | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 59 | 2 | |
| DNF | A | 32 | Bryan Byrt Ford | John French Warwick Brown | Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop | 57 | 10 | |
| DNF | C | 53 | Lennox Motors | Chris Heyer Rudi Dahlhauser | Volkswagen Golf GTi | 35 | 60 | |
| DNF | B | 44 | Geoff Leeds | Cam Worner Geoff Leeds | Ford Capri Mk.I | 29 | 32 | |
| DNF | A | 12 | Bob Jane T-Marts | Ian Geoghegan Garry Rogers | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 29 | 17 | |
| DNF | B | 45 | Robert Darley | Jim Hunter Barry Lake | BMW 530i[3] | 27 | 53 | |
| DNF | B | 40 | Phil McDonell | Phil McDonnell Lynn Brown | BMW 3.0Si | 21 | 39 | |
| DNF | C | 72 | Alf Grant | Alf Grant Geoff Russell | Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 | 21 | 57 | |
| DNF | A | 27 | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | Derek Bell Dieter Quester | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 5 | 5 | |
| DNF | C | 71 | Brian Foley Pty Ltd | Garry Leggatt Patrick Nève | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | 3 | 42 | |
| DNS | A | 30 | Everlast Battery Service | Bill O'Brien Ray Winter | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | |||
| DNS | C | 74 | Rejon Industries Pty Ltd | Bernie McClure David Langman | Holden Gemini | |||