The 1980 Hardie Ferodo will go down in the record book as the year Peter Brock and Jim Richards made it three in a row. But for the fans it will be remembered as the ‘Year of the Rock’.

Battling Dick Johnson rocketed into the world headlines when his Falcon No. 17, on lap 17, came to a sudden halt when it collided with a rock on the circuit.

Johnson had led from the start of the race and had the big crowd on its toes when the sudden end came.

He hit the rock and crashed his car and was out of the race, with only $850 in his pocket from lap money. But while he had lost the race he had actually won the money stakes.

A public appeal started through Channel 7 saw the young Queenslander some $70 000 richer, nearly $30 000 better off than the race winners Brock and Richards.

At first it was thought that the rock had been thrown on the track. But police later established the villainous boulder had been dislodged accidentally and rolled onto the circuit.

The rock was a feature of what had proved to be a sensational Bathurst.

The sensations began with the announcement, as distinct from a rumour, that Paul Newman would be coming to Bathurst — to race a Camaro with American colleague, the millionaire Dick Barbour.

But the ink was hardly dry on the headlines when it was discovered that Newman would not be coming. According to the people responsible for the announcement there had been a ‘mix-up’. Instead of the movie star the Camaro team was joined by the experienced American driver Sam Posey.

There was another sensation when Allan Moffat declared he would not be starting after the controversial peripheral port Mazdas were ruled out. But the Bathurst lure was too much and Moffatt declared himself a last-minute entry — with England’s John Fitzpatrick in a Falcon.

When Bathurst arrived, people were ready for another Brock win and he was being quoted an odds-on favourite to take out the big race. But there were some shocks in store …

Kevin Bartlett started showing Brock he wouldn’t have things his own way when he put in some very quick times in early practice. Then came the big shocks when the Top 10 lined up for a special qualifying session on the Saturday. Bartlett threw his Camaro around the circuit in an electrifying 2 min 20.97sec.

Brock answered with a 2:21.87, then saw himself pushed to the second row of the grid as Johnson slipped by with a 2:21.11. Brock had missed the money and the front row, and Bathurst was buzzing.

A fine, sunny race day saw the main grid: Bartlett, Johnson, Brock, John Harvey, Allan Grice and Bob Morris (in a Falcon). Colin Bond and Steve Masterton led the three-litre class in their Capris, in the 16th spot, while the fastest two-litre cars was the Celica of Peter Williamson (27th) and the fastest under 1600cc was Chris Heyer’s VW Golf (42nd).

On race day, Bartlett missed the start badly, slipping back to sixth spot as Johnson stormed to the lead ahead of Brock, Grice and Morris. Down Conrod for the first time it was Johnson ahead of Brock, with Bartlett up to third.

On lap 3, Bartlett squeezed the big Camaro past Brock and was quickly followed by Grice. It was the furthest back Brock had been in three years. This lap also saw the demise of the Moffat Falcon, which retired in a cloud of smoke. This early retirement robbed John Fitzpatrick of a drive and the Englishman was on his way home by lunchtime.

Meanwhile, the race settled down … until lap 17. Then things began to happen. First, Bartlett pulled the Camaro into the pits with the rear brakes inoperative. His crew changed the brakes three times during the day and he eventually finished 11th.

Johnson hit that fateful rock at Reid Park at almost the same time Brock hit a Gemini and tipped it over. The collision damaged the front of the Commodore, forcing Brock into the pits with a leaking radiator.

Amid the confusion, Allan Grice slipped comfortably into the lead, ahead of Morris, Harvey, Johnson and Rogers.

Brock was now back in 12th spot, but steadily fighting his way up through the field. It took him to lap 50 to get the Commodore's nose in front. In the meantime, Grice, Harvey and Larry Perkins in the Janson car held the spectators’ attention. Grice led until lap 37, then Harvey took over until Brock rounded them both in. Grice held the lead briefly again, but his partner John Smith put the Craven Mild challenge out of contention when he got the car caught in a sand trap at the end of Conrod, losing a lot of time. Then, with Grice behind the wheel, the car suffered an electrical fire under the dash adding to their woes. But Grice battled on to finally finish seventh.

Bob Morris' challenge ended shortly before half distance, but not before his Falcon had got itself involved in controversy. His partner, Bill O'Brien, stood down to allow Moffat another drive. But Morris felt Moffat's times were too slow and called him in, replacing him with O'Brien, only to see the car expire a lap later.

While the Brock/Richards car was grinding to victory, several other drivers were putting up very creditable performances. The Janson/Perkins car ran like clockwork all day to take second. But the surprise result came from lan Geoghegan and Paul Gulson, who finished outright eighth with a consistent performance which also won them the index of performance.