1985 Castrol 500

The 1985 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for "Group A" Touring Cars staged at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit in Victoria on 15 September 1985. Race distance was 129 laps of the 3.878 km (1.928 mi) circuit, totaling 500.262 km.

The field was divided into three classes according to engine displacement.

Class A : 3001cc to 6000cc
Class B : 2001cc to 3000cc
Class C : Up to 2000cc

The event was Round 3 of both the 1985 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1985 Australian Manufacturers' Championship. There were 36 starters, of whom 18 were classified as finishers.

The race was won by the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of Australian Touring Car Champion Jim Richards, and his co-driver Tony Longhurst. It was Longhurst's first major win in Australian touring car racing. JPS Team BMW made it a 1-2 finish when their second car, driven by Neville Crichton and on-loan Nissan team driver George Fury finished only a few seconds behind. Finishing in third place was the surprising Toyota Supra of Peter Williamson and 1985 Formula Ford Driver to Europe champion Tomas Mezera.

The 1985 Castrol 500 was the first time since 1972 that neither Peter Brock or Allan Moffat had won the Sandown enduro. 1984 Castrol 500 winner Brock, who claimed pole position with a time of 1:52.3 in his Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore, suffered engine failure after 41 laps, while Moffat, who was without a drive in 1985 due to Mazda not racing in Group A, was part of the ABC television commentary team.

Before his retirement, Brock set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:53.7.

Results are given below.

Results

Top 10 Qualifiers

Pos	No	Team	Driver	Car	Time
Pole	05	Mobil Holden Dealer Team	Peter Brock	Holden VK Commodore	1:52.3
2	6	Roadways Racing Services Super K-Mart	Allan Grice	Holden VK Commodore	1:52.4
3	17	Palmer Tube Mills	Dick Johnson	Ford Mustang GT	1:52.4
4	1	JPS Team BMW	Jim Richards	BMW 635 CSi	1:52.7
5	55	Mark Petch Motorsport	Robbie Francevic	Volvo 240T	1:52.9
6	43	Mitsubishi Ralliart	Peter Fitzgerald	Mitsubishi Starion turbo	1:53.3
7	7	Mobil Holden Dealer Team	John Harvey	Holden VK Commodore	1:53.7
8	42	Mitsubishi Ralliart	Kevin Bartlett	Mitsubishi Starion turbo	1:54.4
9	31	JPS Team BMW	George Fury	BMW 635 CSi	1:54.4
10	3	H. Kent Baigent	Neal Lowe	BMW 635 CSi	1:54.4

Race

Position	Class	No.	Entrant	Drivers	Car	Laps
1	A	1	JPS Team BMW	Jim Richards Tony Longhurst	BMW 635 CSi	129
2	A	31	JPS Team BMW	Neville Crichton George Fury	BMW 635 CSi	129
3	B	44	Peter Williamson Toyota	Peter Williamson Tomas Mezera	Toyota Supra	127
4	B	47	Network Alfa	Colin Bond Gregg Hansford	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6	126
5	A	36	Lusty Engineering	Graham Lusty Ken Lusty	Holden VK Commodore	123
6	A	39	Sleepy Head Bedding Co.	Graham Bowkett Wayne Wilkinson	Holden VK Commodore	123
7	A	14	Auckland Coin & Bullion Exchange Co.	Denny Hulme Ray Smith	Holden VK Commodore	121
8	A	13	Grellis Marketing	Ray Ellis Bernie McLure	Holden VK Commodore	121
9	C	61	Toyota Team Australia	Ray Cutchie John Faulkner	Toyota Sprinter	115
10	C	57	Bob Holden Motors	Bob Holden Glenn Clark	Toyota Sprinter	115
11	C	58	David Ratcliff	David Ratcliff Don Smith	Toyota Sprinter	114
12	C	65	J. White	John White Les Szreniawski	Isuzu Gemini ZZ	112
13	B	45	Ray Gulson	Ray Gulson Frank Porter	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6	111
14	B	62	John Craft	John Craft Les Grose	Ford Capri	107
15	B	52		Pat Hogbin John Hogbin	Ford Capri	102
16	A	64	K. Harrison	Ken Harrison Ian Wells	Ford Escort	100
17	B	50	J. L. Hazelton	Laurie Hazelton Jerry Stauberg	Ford Capri	100
18	B	42	Mitsubishi Ralliart	Kevin Bartlett Peter McKay	Mitsubishi Starion turbo	100
19	C	17	Dick Johnson Racing	Dick Johnson Larry Perkins	Ford Mustang GT	92
20	A	66	Jagparts Racing	Lorraine Orchard Paul Taylor	Triumph Dolomite	84
21	B	54	Melbourne Clutch & Brake	Brian Sampson Garry Waldon	Mitsubishi Starion turbo	51
DNF	C	41	Barry Jones	Barry Jones Tony Mulvihill	Holden VK Commodore	92
DNF	A	27	Jagparts Racing	Gerald Kay Martin Power	Holden VK Commodore	92
DNF	A	12	Gary Willmington	Gary Willmington Peter Janson	Jaguar XJS	81
DNF	A	7	Mobil Holden Dealer Team	John Harvey David Parsons	Holden VK Commodore	78
DNF	A	6	Roadways Racing Services Super K-Mart	Allan Grice Warren Cullen	Holden VK Commodore	68
DNF	A	60	Toyota Team Australia	John Smith Drew Price	Toyota Corolla	66
DNF	B	49	John Bundy	John Bundy Norm Carr	Mazda RX-7	65
DNF	B	55	Mark Petch Motorsport	Robbie Francevic John Bowe	Volvo 240T	60
DNF	B	43	Mitsubishi Ralliart	Peter Fitzgerald Brad Jones	Mitsubishi Starion turbo	50
DNF	A	21	Erle McRae Motor Sport	Charlie O'Brien Andrew Miedecke	BMW 635 CSi	50
DNF	A	05	Mobil Holden Dealer Team	Peter Brock David Oxton	Holden VK Commodore	41
DNF	A	28	Capri Components	Lawrie Nelson Bill O'Brien	Ford Mustang GT	41
DNF	A	20	Jim Keogh	Jim Keogh Garry Rogers	BMW 635 CSi	39
DNF	A	3	H. Kent Baigent	Kent Baigent Neal Lowe	BMW 635 CSi	38
DNF	B	56	M.Minear	Mike Minear Paul Elliott	Volvo 360GLT	22

Notes

Pole Position: #05 Peter Brock - Holden VK Commodore - 1:52.3
Fastest Lap: #05 Peter Brock - Holden VK Commodore - 1:53.7
Race Time: 4:12:26.4

References

Australian Motor Racing Year, 1985/86
James Hardie 1000, 1985/86
Official Programme, Castrol 500, 14 and 15 September 1985
The Australian Racing History of Ford, 1989
The Official Racing History of Holden, 1988