The Hardie Ferodo ‘came of age’ with the entry of Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss. News of the legendary pair coming out of retirement to compete together in a Torana sparked world headlines.

And it sparked a rush of internationals, including British ace John Fitzpatrick, the eventual winner.

Practice was the fastest yet with Allan Moffat, who had imported Vern Schuppan as his co-driver, finally securing pole (2 mins 25 secs) ahead of Peter Brock (Torana), Colin Bond in the Dealer Team car, Bob Morris/John Fitzpatrick in the Hodgson Torana and John Goss in his Falcon.

Practice was not without drama, especially when Brabham came to the end of Conrod Straight with no brakes. The car skidded off the end of the track and it was only the legendary driver’s quick reflexes that prevented a major accident.

The race itself lived up to expectations with a sensational start and the most emotion-packed finish seen. Englishman Fitzpatrick coaxed his Torana over the line just 58 seconds ahead of a fast-finishing Bond.

The race started sensationally when Brabham stalled his Torana on the grid seconds before the flag dropped. A smaller car ploughed into the back of the stationary car, wrecking it. Mechanics worked three hours repairing the damage and finally got Moss on track only to see the car expire with engine problems.

In the meantime Moffat had put his Falcon into what looked like a winning position. But on lap 86 the car rolled into the pits with smoke and steam belching from the engine compartment. A head gasket had blown and Moffat’s race was run.

When Moffat left the scene, it looked as if the Holden Dealer Team had finally broken through for a win. The Bond/John Harvey car was more than one and a half laps ahead of the Morris/Fitzpatrick Torana with the Brock machine another lap down.

But a series of pit stops saw Morris just ahead of Bond when he handed over to Fitzpatrick on lap 123. Then two laps later Fitzpatrick was back in the pits with a flat tyre as Bond sailed to a clear lap lead.

Fitzpatrick responded and with 10 laps to go caught the Bond car. But the grinding sprint had done its damage. The Hodgson Torana was falling to pieces!

Then Bond came into the pits with a broken fan belt and a blown head gasket. Fitzpatrick coasted to a comfortable lead as the HDT decided to press on for second.

But with four laps to go the Fitzpatrick car came by much slower than before. Next time round it was down to a crawl. The gearbox had gone, the clutch was slipping and there was smoke billowing from it.

The car stuttered and stumbled around to the last lap with Bond closing rapidly. Then came the announcement from the Shell Tower ‘Fitzpatrick has made it to the top. He can coast home from here.’

And he did, just ahead of Bond, with Brock third.