Ford XW Falcon GT-HO Phase II 1970 Bathurst - Classic Carlectables 1/18

The 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was dominated by the factory backed Ford XW Falcon GT-HO Phase IIs. Qualifying saw the factory cars lock-out the first three positions on the grid. Allan Moffat qualified in pole position with a lap time of 2:49.3 with Bruce McPhee in second and Fred Gibson in third. The Bob Holden and Bill Fanning Ford XW Falcon GT-HO Phase II entry qualified with a lap time of 3:00.3 leaving them in 26th position on the starting grid and a lot of work ahead of them on race day. Interestingly there were 16 XW Falcons in the race, most of them dealer-entered.
Ford were discovering much to their dismay that the new Cleveland engines were not proving to be as reliable as they should have been and they went into the 1970 Bathurst race with an air of uncertainty about their engines, their brakes and the potential of the opposition, particularly the Toranas, which had done very well at the recent Sandown 250.
The first lap of the race gave heart to the Holden supporters as Colin Bond, who had already worked up from fourth on the grid, dived under Allan Moffat under brakes to take the lead in his XU-1 Torana. It didn't take Moffat long to re-pass Bond, however, and the Canadian stayed in first place for the remainder of the race. Behind him, however, a lot of Falcons found themselves in trouble.
The works car of Fred Gibson and Barry Seton had its differential seize and Bruce Hodgson, Gary Rush, David McKay, Kyrn Aunger and Bob Beasley all suffered engine failures. Bruce McPhee, also in a works car came in second on the same lap as Moffat, but the next Falcon home was the car of John Goss and Bob Skelton, who had driven a good race to come in ninth, theirs being the first non-works Falcon to complete the distance.
Holden and Fanning, in their Alto Ford Racing entry, finished in a very respectable 14th position after starting from 26th, completing 123 of the 130 race laps.