[William Dale Jr]

Tooheys 1000
Mount Panorama, NSW (2/10/1988)

Circuit Length: 6.216 km
Race Distance: 161 laps
Weather: Sunny

Unlike the previous year the invasion of European teams didn't happen. Schnitzer got as far as entering two cars but didn't make the trip, one of their entries taken up by a NZ BMW. Wolf Racing brought a car and team out for Mark Petch and Robbie Francevic, while Ruedi Eggenberger came out to run Allan Moffat's ex-Eggenberger Sierra, bringing with him a team of mechanics and Klaus Niedzwiedz. Niedzwiedz regular co-driver, Klaus Ludwig, didn't return, but Dieudonne and Soper came out to co-drive the Miedecke Motorsport cars. Meanwhile, Nissan favourite Anders Olofsson made his first trip to Bathurst to co-pilot Skyline #15.

Brinksmanship was the order of raceweek as protests and counter-protests flew. Tom Walkinshaw protested the eligibility of cars #4, #17, #18, #25, and #28, but later bizzarely withdrew the protest on any of the cars should they win the race, "...in the interests of the sport". The Johnson team then protested the factory HSV Commodores for steering and body irregularities. All Sierras were eventually cleared - although a turbocharger issue with Bond's car was not resolved until long after the race - while the Commodores were found to be illegal. The protested Sierra teams claim the Friday night teardown of their cars compromised their race preparations, which was likely the whole point of the protest in the first place.

Meanwhile, there was a race to be run. Johnson, Bowe, Longhurst, and Niedzwiedz battled it out through qualifying, but it's Johnson and Bowe who lock up the front row, after Niedzwiedz's bid is derailed by a gearbox problem in the final qualifying session. With the top 10 runoff not counting for the grid this year, the times set during the week settle who starts where on the Sunday. Eight Sierras fill the top 10, with Perkins and Fury the only non-Ford runners. Walkinshaw would start from 13th in his English-built Commodore, just ahead of Armin Hahne in the Wolf Sierra. The lead Mobil BMW qualifies 16th, just ahead of Seton in the second Skyline. Several privateers miss the cut in qualifying after the 110% rule was strictly applied by FISA officials.

Johnson, Niedzwiedz and Longhurst took off at the start, setting a breakneck pace while Bowe watched on in fourth. Disaster for Walkinshaw as suspension failure eliminated his Commodore after just 5 laps. Attrition hit the top 10 early, with Miedecke, Granberg, Bagnall and Fury all retiring or suffering delays in the first hour. Brock is stuck behind the Commodore of Harvey, the two old teammates having a fair old dice which at one point saw the Mobil M3 take a trip across the sandtrap at Skyline. Meanwhile, Johnson picked up a slow puncture going up the hill in lapped traffic. The tyre blows half-way down Conrod, sending the Shell car into a lurid, high-speed spin. He dragged the car slowly back to the pits, but drivetrain damage causes the car to be retired. The team was soon reduced to one car when Bowe brought #28 in with a blown engine. Out front was Niedzwiedz alone, with Longhurst dropping a lap after making two trips to the pits to sort out a sticking throttle. The battle of the Commodores settled down with Grice heading to the pits with gearbox problems. Terry Finnigan's Commodore punctured a tyre, depositing the carcass on Conrod. An unsighted Brock slammed into it, smashing the oil cooler and delaying the #56 car. Richards is put into #57 with Brock scheduled to get in at the next stop, but the car soon retired with overheating problems. John Andretti crashed at Reid Park, bringing out the pace car.

The race finally settled down, with the ANZ Sierra leading by a lap. Hahne, Mezera, Hulme, and Bond scrapped for the minor placings. Johnson gets into the #18 car, but a broken starter motor delayed the car for 6 minutes. The Scott/Nakaya Starion worked its way up into the top 5 before gearbox failure ended their run. The Finnigan car blew an engine and parked off the road at Skyline, where it was later hit by the #54 BMW. The Crowe/Janson car was the strongest remaining M3, working its way inside the top 10 as the afternoon rolled on. The Peanut Slab Sierra retired from the top five with ovearheating, while Walkinshaw hopped into car #10. When the Willmington Commodore stopped in the sand trap at Skyline, the pace car came out to pick up all the dead cars. On the restart, Longhurst passed Hansford to move back onto the lead lap, but the end was nigh for the ANZ car. The car came in to make its final stop with 30 laps to go, but it was apparent something was amiss. The car was soon retired with a blown headgasket. Longhurst took the lead from Walkinshaw, Bowe, Bond, and Janson. The HSV Commodore soon retired, though, with no oil pressure. Mezera hopped in for the final stint, narrowly avoiding the spinning Lusty Commodore, to take the win. Johnson used three cars to finish second, while Bond/Jones take third despite a late stop. The Janson/Crowe M3 finishes a remarkable 4th outright in winning its class, while the class-winning Corolla snuck inside the top 10.

Position	Number	Entrant	Drivers	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps	Retirement Cause	Fastest Time	Qualifying Time	Grid Position	Tooheys Top Ten Time
1	25	Benson & Hedges Racing	Tony Longhurst / Tomas Mezera	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	7h02m10.28s		2m19.06s	2m17.96s	3	2m18.51s (Longhurst)
2	18	Shell Ultra-Hi Racing	John Smith / John Bowe / Dick Johnson / Alfredo Costanzo (DNS)	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	160 laps		2m21.22s	2m22.34s	12
3	4	Caltex CXT Racing Team	Colin Bond / Alan Jones	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	158 laps		2m23.18s	2m19.84s	6	2m20.33s (Bond)
4	53	Goold Motorsport / Schnitzer BMW	Trevor Crowe / Peter Janson	BMW M3	2	156 laps		2m31.66s	2m30.46s	36
5	44	Caltex CXT Racing Team	John Giddings / Bruce Stewart	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	155 laps		2m26.90s	2m27.84s	28
6	37	Brian Callaghan	Brian Callaghan / Barry Graham	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	152 laps		2m27.02s	2m26.14s	20
7	46	Sunliner Campmobiles	Tony Hunter / Steve Harrington	Holden Commodore VK	1	151 laps		2m31.10s	2m30.04s	33
8	24	Jagparts	Gerald Kay / Geoff Munday / Alf Grant	Holden Commodore VK	1	150 laps		2m32.06s	2m30.84s	38
9	71	Toyota Team Australia	John Faulkner / Drew Price	Toyota Corolla AE86 Coupe	3	146 laps		2m40.42s	2m38.84s	41
10	31	Ralliart Australia	Terry Shiel / Brad Jones / Mike Preston (DNS)	Mitsubishi Starion	1	145 laps		2m28.86s	2m27.62s	27
11	73	Toyota Team Australia	Brett Riley / Peter McKay	Toyota Corolla AE82 Hatch	3	145 laps		2m41.06s	2m41.32s	42
12	74	Bryan Bate	Bryan Bate / Andrew Maher / Dave Barrow	Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback	3	144 laps		2m40.82s	2m44.54s	43
13	23	Chris Lambden	Chris Lambden / Kerry Baily	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	141 laps		2m29.90s	2m30.18s	35
14	12	Bob Forbes Corporation Pty Ltd	John Harvey / Kevin Bartlett	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	140 laps		2m26.08s	2m26.26s	22
15	2	Roadways Racing	Allan Grice / Win Percy	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	139 laps		2m23.28s	2m22.32s	11	2m22.84s (Grice)
16	72	Toyota Team Australia	Mike Oliver / Mike Freeman	Toyota Corolla AE82 Hatch	3	133 laps		2m45.52s	2m46.46s	44
17	78	Bob Holden Motors	Bob Holden / Damon Beck / Jim Faneco	Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback	3	128 laps		2m47.30s	2m46.90s	45
18	49	Alcair Airconditioning	Wayne Park / Bob Tindall	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	1	127 laps		2m34.20s	2m29.36s	32
NC	22	Lusty Engineering Pty Ltd	Graham Lusty / John Lusty	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	142 laps	slow last lap	2m31.36s	2m30.06s	34
NC	39	Lansvale Smash Repairs	Trevor Ashby / Steve Reed	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	136 laps	slow last lap	2m28.86s	2m27.34s	26
NC	41	Mulvihill Motorsport	Tony Mulvihill / Geoff Leeds	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	117 laps	insufficient laps	2m29.60s	2m28.68s	31
NC	55	Bryce Racing	Paul Radisich / Ludwig Finauer	BMW M3	2	113 laps	insufficient laps	2m26.08s	2m25.60s	19
NC	76	Bob Holden Motors	Dennis Rogers / Garry Jones	Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback	3	88 laps	insufficient laps	2m50.44s	2m49.26s	47
NC	77	Marc Ducquet	Marc Ducquet / Brian Selby	Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback	3	85 laps	insufficient laps	2m50.68s	2m48.88s	46
DNF	10	Holden Special Vehicles	Larry Perkins / Denny Hulme / Tom Walkinshaw	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	137 laps	engine	2m22.44s	2m21.00s	8	2m22.47s (Perkins)
DNF	9	Allan Moffat Enterprises	Klaus Niedzwiedz / Allan Moffat / Gregg Hansford	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	129 laps	overheating	2m19.14s	2m18.02s	4	2m18.24s (Niedzwiedz)
DNF	75	Belgrave 2-Way Radio Services	Mike Mortimer / David Ratcliff	Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback	3	117 laps	cam follower	2m48.26s	2m49.96s	48
DNF	45	Wolf Racing	Robbie Francevic / Armin Hahne	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	103 laps	overheating	2m24.24s	2m22.62s	14
DNF	6	Andrew Miedecke	Andrew Miedecke / Steve Soper	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	102 laps	engine	2m21.60s	2m18.78s	5	2m19.60s (Miedecke)
DNF	50	Leeson Civil Engineering	Garry Willmington / John Leeson	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	101 laps	suspension	2m31.98s	2m28.42s	30
DNF	54	John Sax	John Sorrensen / Kayne Scott	BMW M3	2	100 laps	accident	2m32.52s	2m33.38s	40
DNF	56	Mobil 1 Racing	Peter Brock / Neil Crompton / Jim Richards (DNS)	BMW M3	2	89 laps	engine	2m26.02s	2m23.76s	16	2m25.11s (Brock)
DNF	16	Ralliart Australia	Gary Scott / Akihiko Nakaya	Mitsubishi Starion	1	88 laps	gearbox	2m26.52s	2m23.34s	15
DNF	19	Finnigan/Mathews Racing	Terry Finnigan / Ken Mathews	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	84 laps	engine	2m28.28s	2m26.28s	23 (pit lane)
DNF	26	Formula 1 Investments	Tony Noske / Graham Moore	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	79 laps	rocker arm	2m28.34s	2m27.58s	21
DNF	57	Mobil 1 Racing	David Parsons / Jim Richards / Neil Crompton (DNS)	BMW M3	2	68 laps	overheating	2m26.40s	2m26.74s	24
DNF	36	Everlast Automotive Service	Bill O'Brien / Ray Lintott / Brian Sampson	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	66 laps	crashed	2m29.32s	2m27.14s	25
DNF	33	Garry Rogers	Garry Rogers / John Andretti	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	37 laps	crashed	2m25.80s	2m25.08s	18
DNF	51	Phil Ward	Phil Ward / David Clement	Mercedes-Benz 190E-16	2	27 laps	accident	2m31.70s	2m32.08s	39
DNF	28	Shell Ultra-Hi Racing	John Bowe / Robb Gravett / Neville Crichton	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	26 laps	engine	2m20.30s	2m17.52s	2	2m18.95s (Bowe)
DNF	17	Shell Ultra-Hi Racing	Dick Johnson / John Bowe	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	22 laps	differential	2m19.30s	2m16.46s	1	2m19.22s (Johnson)
DNF	14	NetComm Australia	Murray Carter / Steve Masterton	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	22 laps	driveshaft	2m32.50s	2m30.50s	37
DNF	30	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing	George Fury / Mark Skaife	Nissan Skyline GTS-R HR31	1	17 laps	water pump	2m22.78s	2m21.92s	9
DNF	8	Andrew Bagnall	Andrew Bagnall / Pierre Dieudonne	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	9 laps	head gasket	2m24.06s	2m20.34s	7	2m20.71s (Dieudonne)
DNF	3	Yellow Pages Racing	Peter McLeod / Jim Keogh	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	7 laps	engine	2m28.10s	2m28.14s	29 (pit lane)
DNF	21	Team CMS Sweeden	Ulf Granberg / Inky Tulloch / Christer Simonsen	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	1	6 laps	turbo	2m23.14s	2m22.20s	10	2m21.82s (Granberg)
DNF	20	Holden Special Vehicles	Tom Walkinshaw / Jeff Allam	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1	5 laps	axle	2m24.92s	2m22.48s	13
DNF	15	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing	Glenn Seton / Anders Olofsson	Nissan Skyline GTS-R HR31	1	0 laps	gearbox	NTR	2m24.14s	17	2m22.72s (Fury)
DNQ	11	Ray Gulson	Ray Gulson / Graham Gulson	BMW 635CSi	1				2m31.48s
DNQ	29	The Xerox Shop	Alan Taylor / Kevin Kennedy	Mitsubishi Starion	1				2m41.06s
DNQ	38	Grellis Marketing	Ray Ellis / Bruce Williams	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	1				2m33.98s
DNQ	42	Steve Williams	Steve Williams / Chris Clearihan	Holden Commodore VK	1				2m34.70s
DNQ	47	Craig Kinmonth	Craig Kinmonth / Alf Grant	Holden Commodore VK	1				2m33.68s
DNQ	48	Tony Kavich	Tony Kavich / Richard Davison	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	1				2m34.50s
DNQ	40	Holden Special Vehicles	Tom Walkinshaw / Larry Perkins	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1		T-car		NTR
ENT	35	Barbagallo Motor Sport	Tim Slako / Geoff Leeds	Holden Commodore VL (TWR)	1
ENT	52	Goold Motorsport / Schnitzer BMW	TBN / TBN	BMW M3	2