4 times Bathurst
winner and a name synonymous with Aussie racing car
legends. The Canadian born Moffat would move
to Australia with his parents in the early
1960’s as a college student, however
his passion was for racing, something he had
enjoyed Stateside prior to moving to Australia.
His first foray on the Australian Touring Car
Championship (ATCC) came in 1965, then driving
a
Ford Lotus Cortina.
He switched to driving
a Ford Mustang, and with sponsorship provided
by Coca-Cola his brightly coloured red car
soon became a favourite of race fans around
the country. He would go on to win 101 ATCC
races in this car between 1969 and 1972 – but
there was a problem - Bathurst eligibility
requirements dictated that all cars entered
had to be Series Production cars.
Moffat either
had to switch cars, or continue to miss the
premier racing event in the country. With the
arrival of the GTHO the answer was simple,
and on his debut at the Mount he would finish
4th with co-driver Alan Hamilton. The following
two years would see Moffat come into his own
as one of Australia's most dominant race drivers,
and the Falcon GTHO as an almost unbeatable
car.
By 1970 Ford had made significant improvements
to the Falcon GTHO and Moffat, racing without
a co-driver, took the car to two crushing victories
in the
1970 and
1971 Bathurst races. Moffat
looked headed for an historic third straight
Bathurst victory in 1972 when Ford unveiled
plans for a "Phase IV" Falcon GTHO,
even faster and more brutal than the Phase
III which Moffat had taken to victory in 1971.
The Phase IV Is Scrapped
But
the Australian press intervened, publishing headlines
declaring "160 mph Super-cars
On Our Roads!". To make the cars eligible
for entry at Bathurst, Ford needed to manufacture
at least 200 to meet homologation rules. Facing
pressure from the media and government not
to produce the car, Ford scrapped production
of the Phase IV and forced Moffat and other
Ford drivers had to instead continue to use
year-old Phase III cars. Brake problems and
wet weather would conspire to prevent the heavier
GT Falcon’s from taking another win,
leaving the gate open for one Peter Brock to
snatch victory in the more nimble and less
weather affected Torana GTR.
In
1973 the Confederation
of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) changed the
rules for the Australian Touring Car Championship
and Bathurst cars to allow racing modifications,
such modifications having previously been outlawed
(prior to 1973, cars had to be stock, with
only a few concessions made in relation to
safety equipment). First the controversy over
the Phase IV, and now combined with the change
in the rules, it was little wonder that Ford
would withdraw from competition at the end
of 1973, leaving drivers such as Moffat to
form their own privateer teams.
The “Great
Race” would convert from 500 miles to
1000 kilometers, the added length putting even
more pressure on car and driver for endurance
and reliability. Moffat struggled through the
1974 and
1975 seasons, failing to finish Bathurst
in those years, and was only moderately competitive
in ATCC races, although in 1975 he drove a
BMW 3.0CSL with Brian Redman to win the Sebring
12-hour.
Although he failed to finish Bathurst
again in
1976, Moffat returned to drive his
Falcon GT full-time in the ATCC that year and
won his second title, despite the setback of
a transporter fire which destroyed his race
car, with several rounds left to run. Moffat
re-established his dominance in
1977, winning
his second consecutive ATCC title that year
(the third of his career) and of course there
was the crushing
1-2 victory of both Moffat
and team-mate Colin Bond at Bathurst.
Ford's Finest Hour
By the
mid-point of the race, Moffat and Bond led
by over six laps from the rest of the field,
however the drama would unfold as Moffat's
car encountered brake problems and had to slow,
allowing Bond to catch up and be in position
to snatch victory.
Obviously on orders from
the team, Bond held position along side Moffat
for much of the last lap, the pairs
formation
down Conrod Straight one of the most enduring
Bathurst images of all time.
The pair finished
the race side-by-side, Bond allowing Moffat
to stay barely in front. This moment is remembered
as one of the most famous in Australian motor
sport history, and still regarded by many as
Ford's finest hour.
Moffat was unable to repeat
his
1977 successes over the following three
years. He retired from the 1978, 1979 and 1980
Bathurst races (his last in an Aussie built
Ford) and did not win the ATCC title in those
years as Holden began to gain a manufacturer's
edge with the Torana A9X, a car both lighter
and more nimble than the heavy Falcons.
During
the early 1980’s Moffat competed in various
international events, including Le Mans and
Indycar, where he partnered with race legend
Bobby Rahal. He even made a “guest drive” for
the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team, taking 3rd
place in the Sandown 400km race.
The event was marked by the fact that it was Moffat's second only time in a Holden and that he was driving in the same team as his nemesis
Peter Brock.
In 1981 he would ditch Ford to instead drive a Mazda RX-7 in both the ATCC and Bathurst, managing to finish in the top six four consecutive times. His fourth and final ATCC win would come in 1983, however he would sit out the 1985 season.
His return to Bathurst in 1986 would be somewhat controversial, not only driving a Commodore, but partnering with Peter Brock. Then, like most were forced to due to their dominance, he switched to driving the Ford Sierra’s. The halcyon days of the 1970’s may have been over, but Moffat had etched his name indelibly onto the side of the Mount, and into any race fans heart.
