Blame the Armstrong 500!

[Ray Bell]

The discussion about getting openwheelers back up to their rightful place in Australian racing, and the very reason for this separate forum, really takes one back to the Armstrong 500.

Sure, before that there were touring car races. But without any real following, and without support from factories.

The Armstrong 500 saw all that change. Phillip Island put it on in 1960 and all kinds of importers, distributors and makers came to the party. Would you believe a team of NSU Prinz (all 600cc of them, both cylinders beating furiously!) with the cream of Australia's driving talent on board?

This was going to grow, but not nearly so much as it did when it moved to Bathurst in 1963. This was the springboard to turn Australia into a Touring Car-oriented nation (from the promoters' viewpoint), and as the Mustangs were only sixteen months away, the time was ripe for it.

And on the way it created a situation where promoters were loathe to put on Racing Car races without the tintops...

[Crash Test]

Yep thats true... but really, they've only started to get really big crowds again since they started racing on those street circuits... Bathurst still is why all of the sponsors sign up, because every man and his dog and hi misses watches it on the box.