Holden VC Commodore 1980 Bathurst 2nd Place

The 1980 Hardie-Ferodo Bathurst 1000 was run on the 5th of October at the great mountain circuit. The field consisted of 4 classes: A - Over 3000cc, B - 2001 to 3000cc, C - 1601 to 2000cc and Class D - Up to 1600cc. 1980 was also the debut of the all-new racing Commodore, the VC. There were quite a few of the new VCs starting in the Top Ten with cars starting in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, Peter Janson and Larry Perkins starting in 8th; and a VC to complete the grid in 10th.
It was a bright, sunny day for the Great Race and from the start it was a mix of marques alternating the lead, settling in to the big day ahead.
Peter Janson in the number 4 VC had started in 8th position and had put himself amongst good company on the track. There was a fair bit of action with car failures and crashes aplenty; by lap 73 Janson was sitting comfortably in fourth. On lap 105 Kevin Bartlett in his Camaro hit a Gemini and around this time in a separate incident, Allan Grice’s co-driver John Smith spun his VC Commodore; putting their position in jeopardy for a good finish in the later part of the race. As a result the Janson/Perkins car was now in second position, 40 seconds ahead of Grice/Smith and now, like Jim Richards in the Peter Brock VC, content to coast to the line.
The 1980 Bathurst Race was a bit of a turning point for many reasons. There were many rule changes tested, good and bad; and the debut and race win of the brand new Holden VC Commodore. Larry Perkins as co-driver had driven well and the second place finish of the number 4 entry was Peter Janson’s best ever result at the Bathurst track. To beat every car in the 60-car field, except Peter Brock’s gun HDT entry, was a testament to the quality of the small privateer team’s slick pit work, mechanical preparation and superb driving.

Item includes certificate and production number plate, mounted to the chassis.