Where It All Began: The field takes off for the start in 1960.
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6:15 AM Wed 25 January, 2012
Source: BigPond Sport
HISTORY is an important part of any sport and in the case of the Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars Championship; February 1, 1960 – 52 years ago next week - is a very important date.
It was then that the very first Australian Touring Car Championship was held over a single 20-lap (120 kilometre) race on a Monday at the Gnoo-Blas circuit in Orange as part of the Orange Centenary Year Celebrations.
A field of 44 cars of varying makes and models took part in what would be the start of what we now know as the V8 Supercars Championship.
The six-kilometre circuit, using roads on the southern fringe of Orange, was a quick one, with the leading cars averaging 140km/h.
While Holdens and Fords are the cars to have in modern-day V8 Supercars competition, it was British Jaguars that were the dominant ‘must-have’ car in the 1960 ATCC race.
David McKay’s Jaguar 3.4 won, six seconds clear of Bill Pitt’s similar car and Ron Hodgson’s 3.8-litre Jag.
While full official outright results have not been located for this historic race, it is known that 31 of the 44 starters finished the race and that one known car – Des West’s 11th-placed Holden 48-215 – still exists today.
You can read all about the Gnoo Blas 1960 ATCC and 50 years of championship history in Chevron Publishing’s new release book covering the five-decade history of the ATCC/V8 Supercars Championship.
Full championship points tables for each year are also included and, again as with unearthed images, co-author David Greenhalgh has unearthed many official results that update the previous edition of the book and make this latest edition a must-have for the bookshelf.
To order your copy: mymagazines.com.au
