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The 1960 Armstrong 500 was an endurance motor race for Australian made or assembled standard production sedans. The event was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria on 20 November 1960 over a distance of 167 laps x 3.0 miles = 501 miles.
Contents
This was the first event held in the history of the race later to become known as the Bathurst 1000, the race that would come to dominate Australian motor racing.
Jim Thompson, managing director of shock absorber manufacturer Armstrong York Engineering, was encouraged by his PR man Ron Thonemann to increase its business with major carmakers (particularly Ford and Holden) by sponsoring a race.
Outright controversy
Officially only class placings were awarded. In later years as the fame of the Bathurst 1000 grew, outright placings, particularly the outright winner, became more widely recognised. John Roxburgh and Frank Coad have been widely acclaimed as the outright winners of the event, and have been recognised in CAMS motorsport manual in more recent times. This has been the source of some controversy as claims the winners of class C, Geoff Russell, David Anderson and Tony Loxton covered the race distance in a faster time. The source of the discrepancy arises from the starting procedure which saw the classes released at thirty second intervals, with the Class D Roxburgh/Coad Vauxhall starting the race thirty seconds before the Class C Russell/Anderson/Loxton Peugeot. With surviving records not sufficiently accurate to say whether the Peugeot was closer than thirty seconds behind the Vauxhall at the finish, the issue has petered out over time.
Class A
Class A was for cars with an engine capacity of 750cc or less. The class featured Fiat 600, Lloyd Alexander, NSU Prinz and Renault 750
Class B
Class B was for cars with an engine capacity of between 751cc and 1300cc. The class featured Ford Anglia, Renault Dauphine, Simca Aronde, Triumph Herald and Volkswagen Beetle
Class C
Class C was for cars with an engine capacity of between 1301cc and 2000cc. The class featured Austin Lancer, Hillman Minx, Morris Major, Peugeot 403 and Singer Gazelle.
Class D
Class D was for cars with an engine capacity between 2001cc and 3500cc. The class featured Ford Falcon, Humber Super Snipe, Mercedes-Benz 220SE, Standard Vanguard, Vauxhall Cresta.
Class E
Class E was for cars with an engine capacity over 3500cc. There was only one entry in the class, a Ford Customline.
Results
Class results were as follows: