1969 Rothmans 12 Hour Classic

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]

Classes

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

Results

Position[2][4]	Drivers	No.	Car	Entrant	Laps
1	Bill Gates, Jim Bertram	16	Ford XT Falcon GT	McCluskey Ford	427
2	Garry Hodge, John Leffler	42	Morris Cooper S	Denis Geary Motors	426
3	Kevin Bartlett, John French	1	Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV	A Mildren Pty Ltd	424
4	John Smailes, John Millyard		Morris Cooper S	Martinz Place	421
5	Glynn Scott, Keith Williams	25	Holden HK Monaro GTS327	Glyn Scott Motors	420
6	John Roxburgh, Doug Whiteford		Datsun 1600	Datsun Racing Team	415
	Class A : Up to $1850
1	B Tapsall, R Sorensen, R Gibson		Datsun 1000	Datsun Racing Team	404
2	W Scott, E Olsen		Toyota Corolla	W Scott	392
3	W Evans, J Cosworth		Datsun 1000	Datsun Racing Team	383
4	T Floyd, P Wherrett, A Vincent		Toyota Corolla	MTR Services	368
?	Noel Riley, Ken Brian		Honda Scamp		334
	Class B : $1851 to $2250
1	John Roxburgh, Doug Whiteford		Datsun 1600	Datsun Racing Team	415
2	W Coad, F Sutherland		Datsun 1600	Datsun Racing Team	411
3	P Lefrancke, R Skelton, B Reed	57	Toyota Corolla SL	Farsley Motors	404
4	A Whitchurch, T Gilltrap		Datsun 1600	Coolangatta Tweed Heads MC	403
?			Datsun 1600
?			Datsun 1600
?			Hillman Gazelle
?	Edgerton		Renault 10
DISQ	Wooton, Morrow		Datsun 1600	McInnes Auto Conversions
	Class C : $2251 to $3000
1	Garry Hodge, John Leffler	42	Morris Cooper S	Denis Geary Motors	426
2	John Smailes, John Millyard		Morris Cooper S	Martinz Place	421
3	T Basile, F Leggatt		Fiat 125	Tony Basile Motors	414
4	J Eiffeltower, D O'Keefe		Hillman Hunter GT	Eiffeltower Motors	413
?	Cooke, Brewster, Hindmarsh	41	Morris Cooper S
?	Gracie		Morris Cooper S
?	Haylen		Morris Cooper S
?	Ian Kenny, Hans Marquard		Morris Cooper S
?	Joe Camilleri, John Humphrey		Morris Cooper S
DISQ			Hillman Hunter GT
	Class D : $3001 to $4500
1	Bill Gates, John Bertram	16	Ford XT Falcon GT	McCluskey Ford	427
2	Glyn Scott, Keith Williams	25	Holden HK Monaro GTS327	Glyn Scott Motors	420
3	R Jones, R Forbes, D West		Fiat 124S Coupe	Nanda Marconi Products	413
4	G Trebilcock, N Trebilcock, H Woelders		BMW 1600	G Trebilcock	411
5	Lionel Ayers, Max Volkers		Ford XT Falcon GT
6	Seldon		Volvo 144		355
DNF	Bruce McPhee, Doug Chivas	13	Holden HK Monaro GTS327
DNF	Denis Geary, Bill Brown		Holden HK Monaro GTS327
DNF	Paul Zacka, Graham Perry		Holden HK Monaro GTS327
DNF			Holden HK Monaro GTS327
	Class E : Over $4500
1	Kevin Bartlett, John French	1	Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV	A Mildren Pty Ltd	424
2	R Gulson, P Brown	2	Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV	Canberra Speed Shop	408
3	Ivan Tighe, B Schuster		Citroen DS21	Glyn Scott Motors	349

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. Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, page 147

Further reading

• The Australian racing history of Ford, 1989
• Family Sedan Battle, The Courier Mail, Monday, 6 January 1969, page 1
• Gates’ 3 lap win in 12-Hr, The Courier Mail, Monday, 6 January 1969, page 9
• Stewart Wilson, The official racing history of Holden, 1988, pages 61 & 331
• Ford Scores at Surfer’s 12 Hour, Australian Motor Manual, March 1969, page 27

Coordinates: 28°0′59″S 153°22′34″E / 28.01639°S 153.37611°E