The Ford Works Team was a former Australian motor racing team that was supported by the Ford Motor Company of Australia. The team was formed in 1962 and was wound up when Ford withdrew from motor racing at the end of 1973. Regular drivers for the works team included Allan Moffat

Allan Moffat

Allan George Moffat, OBE is an Australian racing driver known for his four wins in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four wins in the Bathurst 1000...

, Fred Gibson

Fred Gibson (motor racing)

Fred Gibson is a former Australian racing driver and race team owner.-Competitor:After a career that began in small production sports cars, first an MGA, and later the first Lotus Elan to run in Australian competition , Gibson quickly moved up into the touring car ranks...

, Harry Firth

Harry Firth

Harry L. Firth is an Australian former racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager well into the 1970s...

, Bob Jane

Bob Jane

Robert "Bob" Jane is an Australian former race car driver and prominent businessman. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a four-time Australian Touring Car Champion, Jane is perhaps known best nowadays for his chain of tyre retailers,...

, John French

John French (racing driver)

John French is a retired Australian racing driver.French had a long career throughout the 60s and 70s and the early 80s. He won the 1962 Australian GT Championship driving a Centaur-Waggott and in 1969 French paired with Allan Moffat to win the Sandown Three Hour race in a Ford Falcon GTHO...

, Ian Geoghegan

Ian Geoghegan

Ian "Pete" Geoghegan, was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Geoghegan was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 1970s Australian motor racing scene...

 and his brother Leo

Leo Geoghegan

Leo Geoghegan is a retired Australian racing driver.Geoghegan is the elder of two sons of New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, who went on to become two of the dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s...

.

The Firth Years

In 1962 the Firth Motors workshop at Queens Avenue, Auburn (Melbourne) became the base for the Ford works team with Harry Firth

Harry Firth

Harry L. Firth is an Australian former racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager well into the 1970s...

 as team manager. At the 1962 Armstrong 500

1962 Armstrong 500

The 1962 Armstrong 500 was an endurance race for Australian built production cars. The race was held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 21 October 1962 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total of 501 miles. Cars competed in four classes based on the retail price of each...

 at Philip Island Firth and Jane drove a Ford Falcon

Ford Falcon

The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...

 to victory and the following year won again this time in a Ford Cortina GT

Ford Cortina

As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...

 at the first Armstrong 500 run at Bathurst. In 1964 Bob Jane and George Reynolds

George Reynolds (racing driver)

George Reynolds is a retired Australian racing driver.The career of Reynolds, who was born on 8 May 1928, extended from the late 1950s into the late 1960s...

 were first across the line at Bathurst in a works Cortina GT and also that year Harry Firth took out the Ampol Trial.

1966 saw Firth and navigator Graham Hoinville take out the inaugural Southern Cross Rally

Southern Cross Rally

The Southern Cross Rally was a major international rally mainly held in the Port Macquarie region of New South Wales, Australia, between 1966 and 1980. The rally attracted many of the world's leading rally drivers and factory teams....

 in a Cortina. In 1967 Firth won another Bathurst 500 with co-driver Fred Gibson

Fred Gibson (motor racing)

Fred Gibson is a former Australian racing driver and race team owner.-Competitor:After a career that began in small production sports cars, first an MGA, and later the first Lotus Elan to run in Australian competition , Gibson quickly moved up into the touring car ranks...

 in a Ford Falcon GT

Ford Falcon (Australia)

The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...

 with the Geoghegan brothers in second place. Then in 1968 Firth and Hoinville won the first Australian Rally Championship

Australian Rally Championship

The Australian Rally Championship is a 6 Round National motorsport Championship run in forested countryside throughout Australia.-Current Competition:...

 in a Cortina.

Allan Moffat and Al Turner

In 1969 Canadian-born Allan Moffat

Allan Moffat

Allan George Moffat, OBE is an Australian racing driver known for his four wins in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four wins in the Bathurst 1000...

 joined the Ford team and became the team's No.1 driver. With Harry Firth switching to the Holden Dealer Team

Holden Dealer Team

The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and sports sedans during the 1970s...

, American Al Turner was signed up as the new team boss. The Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1

Ford Falcon

The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...

 with a 351 cubic inch V8 engine looked to be a big threat at the Bathurst 500 but Al Turner's tactic of flying in untested special tyres from the USA proved to be the undoing of the Ford challenge as Falcons kept pulling into the pits with shredded tyres.

The 1970 Bathurst race was a 1-2 victory for the Ford works team with Allan Moffat winning his first Bathurst 500 in a GTHO Phase 2 and team-mate Bruce McPhee

Bruce McPhee

Bruce Alexander McPhee was a former Australian motor racing driver.He is most famous for winning the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 , defeating both the Holden and Ford factory teams. He drove a Holden Monaro GTS327 painted yellow and black stripes with the number 13...

 holding back in the final laps following team orders.

Howard Marsden and more Moffat victories

By 1971 Howard Marsden was the new team manager at Ford. Moffat drove his Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III to an 'all the-way' win at the 1971 Hardie Ferodo 500 at Bathurst. 1972 saw the 'Supercar Controversy' which killed off the Phase 4 Falcon project. Ford was forced to use the Phase 3 GTHO again for its Bathurst campaign and in a race that started on a wet track the light-footed Holden Torana GTR XU-1

Holden Torana

The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the...

 won the day. But Ford did add a major trophy to their cabinet by winning the 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship

Australian Manufacturers' Championship

The Australian Manufacturers' Championship is a motor racing title awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to the winning car manufacturer in a series of races held throughout Australia...

.

In 1973 the Ford team contested the Australian Touring Car Championship

Australian Touring Car Championship

The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...

 with Allan Moffat winning from Holden rival Peter Brock

Peter Brock

Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...

. At Bathurst (now a 1,000 km race) Moffat and co-driver Ian Geoghegan

Ian Geoghegan

Ian "Pete" Geoghegan, was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Geoghegan was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 1970s Australian motor racing scene...

 won in a Falcon XA GT after early leader John Goss

John Goss (race driver)

John Goss is the only Australian racing driver to win Australia's two most prestigious races, the Bathurst 1000 , and the Australian Grand Prix .-Early career:...

 was involved in a collision and Doug Chivas

Doug Chivas

Doug Chivas was an Australian rally and racing car driver. Chivas drove the first Lotus Mark 6 in Australia in the early 1950s winning many races....

 famously ran out of petrol.

On 25 January 1974, the Ford Motor Company announced that they were pulling the plug on factory involvement in motor racing, with the effects of the 1973 Oil Crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

 being cited as one of the reasons for the company's withdrawal. The Australian Ford works team was wound up, with Moffat driving as a privateer in 1974 with sponsorship from Brut 33.

Later Ford involvement in racing

In 1977 Ford supported a two-car team, the Moffat Ford Dealers Team, in the Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 1000

Bathurst 1000

The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...

 with Allan Moffat and Colin Bond

Colin Bond

Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...

 as drivers. Moffat and Bond finished 1-2 in both the Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 1000 in 1977 but when Moffat and Bond split at the end of 1978 Ford again withdrew factory support from Australian touring car racing.

In rallying, in 1977 a very competitive Ford works rally team was formed with Colin Bond

Colin Bond

Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...

 as team manager and driver and Greg Carr

Greg Carr (driver)

Greg Carr is an Australian former rally driver. Carr won the Australian Rally Championship three times and dominated the prestigious Castrol International Rally in the 1970s as well as winning numerous other rallies....

 as the other team driver. Carr won the 1978 Australian Rally Championship

Australian Rally Championship

The Australian Rally Championship is a 6 Round National motorsport Championship run in forested countryside throughout Australia.-Current Competition:...

 for Ford in a Ford Escort BDA. The team was wound up at the end of the 1980 season.

List of Championships and major races won

1962 Armstrong 500

1962 Armstrong 500

The 1962 Armstrong 500 was an endurance race for Australian built production cars. The race was held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 21 October 1962 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total of 501 miles. Cars competed in four classes based on the retail price of each...

 at Philip Island (Firth, Jane)

1963 Armstrong 500

1963 Armstrong 500

The 1963 Armstrong 500 was the fourth running of the Armstrong 500 touring car race. It was held on 6 October 1963. After the 1962 race, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was too damaged to continue to stage the race, forcing it to move to a new location, the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside...

 at Bathurst (Firth, Jane)

1964 Armstrong 500

1964 Armstrong 500

The 1964 Armstrong 500 was a production car race held on 4 October 1964 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The 500 mile race was open to Australian built production sedans of which 100 examples had been registered...

 at Bathurst (Jane, Reynolds)

1964 Ampol Trial (Firth, Hoinville)

1966 Southern Cross Rally (Firth, Hoinville)

1967 Gallaher 500

1967 Gallaher 500

The 1967 Gallaher 500 was the eighth running of the Bathurst 500 production car race. It was held on 1 October 1967 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. Cars competed in five classes based on purchase price of the vehicle.In a seminal moment for the race, the first Australian built...

 at Bathurst (Firth, Gibson)

1968 Australian Rally Championship (Firth, Hoinville)

1969 Australian Rally Championship (Kilfoyle, Rutherford)

1969 Datsun 3 Hour

1969 Datsun Three Hour

The 1969 Datsun Three Hour was an endurance race for production cars. The event was staged at the Sandown circuit in Victoria, Australia on 14 September 1969.- Results :* There were 42 starters in the event, 4 of which are not shown in the above table....

 at Sandown (Moffat, French)

1970 South Pacific Touring Series (Moffat)

1970 Sandown 3 Hour

1970 Sandown Three Hour 250

The 1970 Sandown Three Hour 250 was an Australian endurance motor race for Series Production Cars. The event was held on 13 September 1970 over 130 laps of the 1.9 mile Sandown Park circuit in Victoria, Australia, a total of 247 miles. There were 42 starters in the event.Canadian racer driver Allan...

 (Moffat)

1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500

1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500

The 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the twelfth running of the Bathurst 500 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1970 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst...

 at Bathurst (Moffat)

1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500

1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500

The 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the 13th running of the Bathurst 500 production car race. It was held on 3 October 1971 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race was open to production vehicles competing in showroom condition with the field divided...

 at Bathurst (Moffat)

1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship

1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship

The 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for car manufacturers. It was contested over a five round series.*Round 1, Chesterfield 250, Adelaide International Raceway, South Australia, 27 August...

1973 Australian Touring Car Championship

1973 Australian Touring Car Championship

The 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 14th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. It began at Symmons Plains on 5 March 1973 and ended at Warwick Farm after eight rounds. The series was won by Allan Moffat in a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III.-Teams and drivers:The following...

 (Moffat)

1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000

1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000

The 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 15th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. The was the first race to be held under the new metricised distance of 1000 kilometres, rather than the 500 miles previously contested. It was held on 30 September 1973 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside...

at Bathurst (Moffat, Ian Geoghegan)