1971 Rothmans 3 Hour

The 1971 Rothmans 3 Hour was motor race ^[1] for Group E Series Production Touring Cars.^[2] It was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 12 April 1971.^[1] The race, which was Heat 1 of the 1971 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, was won by Allan Moffat driving a Ford Falcon GTHO.^[1]

Classes

As a heat of the 1971 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, classes were defined by a Capacity/Price Units formula with the value for each model calculated by multiplying the engine capacity in litres by the retail price.^[3]

• Class A : 0 to 3,000 CP units ^[1]
• Class B : 3,001 to 4,600 CP units ^[1]
• Class C : 4,601 to 9,000 CP units ^[1]
• Class D : 9,001 to 18,000 CP units ^[1]
• Class E : Over 18,000 CP units ^[1]

Results

Position [3]	Drivers [3]	No. [3]	Car [3]	Entrant [3]	Class [3]	Laps [3]
1	Allan Moffat	40	Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase 2 [4]	Ford Motor Company of Australia	E	65
2	John French	41	Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase 2 [4]	Ford Motor Company of Australia	E	65
3	Peter Brock	23	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	Holden Dealer Team	D	65
4	Colin Bond	22	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	Holden Dealer Team	D	64
5	Don Holland	26	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	Max Wright Motors Pty Ltd	D	64
6	Bob Morris	31	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	Mark VI Car Air Conditioning	D	63
7	Doug Chivas	34	Chrysler VG Valiant Pacer	Geoghegans Sporty Cars	D	62
8	Mick Brown	24	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	M Brown	D	62
9	Bill Evans	18	Ford Escort Twin Cam	Bill Evans Developments	C	61
10	Barry Seton	21	Ford Escort Twin Cam	Barry Seton	C	61
11	Murray Carter	37	Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase 2 [4]	Bob Rollington	E	60
12	Bob Forbes, John Millyard	13	Fiat 124 Coupe	Fiat Dealers Team	C	60
13	Norm Beechey	32	Chrysler VG Valiant Pacer	Shell Racing	D	60
14	Bruce McPhee	42	Holden HT Monaro GTS350	Bardahl International Oil Corporation	E	57
15	Bert Fenton	38	Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase 2 [4]	BP Muirfield	E	57
16	Lakis Manticas	4	Morris Cooper S	British Leyland Works	B	57
17	Bill Stanley	5	Morris Cooper S	Marque Motors	B	57
18	Doug Whiteford	3	Datsun 1200	Datsun Racing Team	A	55
19	Peter Cray, Carl Kennedy	1	Mazda 1300	Tynan Motors	A	53
20	Caroline O'Shanessy	8	Morris Cooper S	Miss C O'Shanessy	B	21
21 [5]	Jim Murcott	20	Ford Escort Twin Cam	J Murcott	C	?
DNF	Phillip Edwards, N Ledingham	7	Morris Cooper S	Phillip Edwards	C	?
DNF [1]	G Kratzman, Eric Olsen [4]	19	Ford Escort Twin Cam	G Kratzman	C	?
DNF [1]	Paul Gulson	6	Morris Cooper S	Marque Motors	C	?
DNF [1]	Peter White, D Goodwin	25	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	Peter White	D	?
DNF [6]	Les Grose	9	Morris Cooper S	Les Grose	C	?
DNF	Don Smith	27	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	WH Motors	D	?
DNF	James Laing-Peach	14	Mazda Capella Rotary	Mazda House	C	44 [1]
DNF	Geoff Leeds	30	Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1	Commonwealth Industrial Gases Ltd	D	37 [1]
DNF [1]	Clive Millis, Terry Southall [1]	15	Mazda Capella Rotary	Clive Millis Motors	C	34 [1]
DNF	Leo Geoghegan	36	Chrysler VG Valiant Pacer	Geoghegans Sporty Cars	D	31
DNF [1]	Phil Barnes	39	Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase 2 [4]	Byrt Ford Pty Ltd	E	29 [1]
DNF	Geoff Hunter, Joe Butta	35	Chrysler VG Valiant Pacer	Harvey Drew Pty Ltd	D	29 [3]
DNF	Ross Hewison	16	Ford Escort Twin Cam	John Hiles Ford	C	19
DNF	Alan Cant, Bob Cook [1]	33	Chrysler VG Valiant Pacer	Central Motors (Nepean) Pty Ltd	D	3

35 cars started the event and 14 failed to finish.^[7]

Allan Moffat recorded the fastest practice time (2:46.4) and the fastest race lap (2:46).^[1]

References

1. Max Stahl, Fords 1-2 in Opener, Racing Car News, May 1971, pages 54 & 55
2. Australian Title Conditions, 1971 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 82
3. John Medley, Bathurst - Cradle of Australian Motor Racing, 1997, page 423
4. Stewart Wilson & Max Stahl, Ford - The racing History, 1989, page 286
5. Medley does not include Murcott in his list of outright finishers but does include him in his list of Class C finishers
6. Grose is shown by Stahl as competing in the race and he is not included in Medley’s list of finishers
7. David McKay, Ferodo Fever, Modern Motor, June 1971