Peter McLeod
Encyclopedia
Peter Gerard McLeod was an Australian racing driver, best known as co-winner of the 1987 James Hardie 1000
at Bathurst
and for driving the distinctive yellow and black Slick 50 Mazda RX-7
Group C
touring car
during the early to mid 1980's.
's factory supported team (though with reportedly more horsepower than Moffat's cars). By 1981 he had scored his first podium result with a third at the Oran Park 250. His pace and consistency were rewarded by winning the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship
which didn't start well with 12th at both the Sydney
rounds (Amaroo
and Oran Park
) followed by a DNF at Sandown
. It was his results in the final 3 rounds of the series which lifted him above Jim Richards. McLeod finished 7th at Bathurst
co-driving with Graeme Bailey
, 3rd at Surfers Paradise
and finally 6th in the Humes Guardrail 300 at Adelaide
. Richards needed to finish at least 2 points in front of McLeod to win the title at Adelaide but could only manage 9th in his BMW 635Csi
giving the Wollongong based McLeod his only touring car championship.
Still driving the Slick 50 Mazda McLeod finished third in the 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship
behind Peter Brock
and winner Dick Johnson. McLeod went into the final round at Adelaide in 2nd position, 22 points in front of Brock and needed to only finish 14th to claim 2nd. Unfortunately he tangled with the BMW of Jim Richards on lap 4 at the end of AIR's 900m long straight. The resulting damage meant the Mazda was out on the spot and with Brock finishing the race 2nd behind Allan Grice
and gaining 23 points, he moved to 95 points, 1 point in front of McLeod..
Following the ATCC McLeod was unable to repeat his 1983 Endurance Championship win and finished the 1984 Championship
in 9th place. After finishing 3rd Silastic 300 at Amaroo Park behind the Nissan Bluebird Turbo
of Garry Scott, he finished 7th in the Valvoline 250 at Oran Park but it went downhill from their. McLeod and Graeme Bailey failed to finish at Sandown
and Bathurst
while Mcleod didn't compete at the Surfers Paradise 300 bringing an end to the Group C era in Australia.
There were two more Group C races held before the end of 1994. One was the support race for the Australian Grand Prix
at Calder
in Melbourne
. After qualifying 8th at Calder the RX-7 didn't get off the line and was a first lap DNF. McLeod didn't take the car to the final ever competitive Group C race at Baskerville Raceway
in Tasmania
.
and Gregg Hansford
in Mazda Australia's attack on the 24 Hours of Daytona
. Driving Moffat's ATCC RX-7 with a different rear wing and without the CAMS imposed 20kg of ballast, the car qualified in the 38th (11th in the GTO class) and ran strongly until mechanical failure near the end of the race. They were eventually classified 24th, 221 laps behind the winning Porsche 962
driven by A. J. Foyt
, Bob Wollek
, Al Unser
and Thierry Boutsen
.
and Kevin Bartlett's
De Tomaso Pantera
.
Following the 1985 championship the GT series wasn't seen on the Australian calender until 2005.
touring car regulations for the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship
forced McLeod to abandon the RX-7 as it would be uncompetitive. He opted to drive a Holden Commodore
for the season but like most Commodore teams, including the factory backed Holden Dealer Team
, the car in 1985 wasn't as competitive as it had been under the Group C
regulations. McLeod's car, built from an ex road car, came into its own in the 1985 James Hardie 1000
at Bathurst and for much of the race McLeod and co-driver Bailey had the car running in the top 10, and indeed held 5th place for a time and was the 2nd Commodore on the road behind Peter Brock
. Unfortunately their good run came to nothing though when the gearbox broke on lap 126.
Like all Commodore runner's, McLeod upgraded to the newly homologated Holden VK Commodore SS Group A for 1986
. He competed in only 2 rounds of the 1986 ATCC
(Round 3 at Sandown in Melbourne
and the final round at Sydney
's Oran Park and finished 19th in the championship. Unfortunately for McLeod he did not have a good Endurance Championship
. He failed to finish the Castrol 500
at Sandown and after qualifying a good 15th at Bathurst
, McLeod crashed the Commodore heavily at the 160kmh right hand McPhillamy Park on lap 48 of the race, the car reportedly blew its right front tyre and McLeod, unable to steer the car, drove over the ripple strip on the outside of the track and flew clear over the sand trap and into the tyre wall destroying the front right of the car in the process. Thankfully the cars roll cars withstood the accident and Peter Mcleod was able to walk away from the incident unhurt although he was a little shaken. Bathurst 1986 was of course where McLeod's friend Mike Burgmann sadly lost his life in a 260kmh crash at the base of the bridge on Conrod straight. The consequence of Burgmann's crash saw the inclusion of Caltex Chase to the circuit in 1987 in a bid to slow the cars down. McLeod's former co-driver Graeme Bailey won the 1986 James Hardie with Allan Grice
in a Holden Commodore.
McLeod continued to run his VK Commodore during 1987
including the 1987 Castrol 500
at Sandown co-driving with Peter Fitzgerald (DNF after only 17 laps with a failed clutch). Following the Sandown race McLeod was drafted into the by then no longer factory backed Holden Dealer Team, running under the name Brock HDT P/L after Brock's well publicised split with Holden earlier in the year, to drive the teams 2nd car at the 1987 James Hardie 1000
. Channel 7
comentator Neil Crompton
was to drive but didn't have the proper international licence at the time for a World Championship event which is what the James Hardie was as it was part of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. McLeod joined formula 2 racer John Crooke in car #10 (Brock's 1986 car upgraded to VL Group A specs). Despite setting the qualifying time for his usual #05 car, Brock also set the time for car #10 (2 seconds faster than McLeod). Despite it being against the rules for a driver for a driver to qualify two cars (i.e Brock's time for car #10 should not have counted towards the cars grid position as he had also set fastest time in 05, his nominated #1 car), somehow Brock's time stood and was good enough to put the car in 20th place (McLeod's time was good enough for 27th on the grid). McLeod completed the first two stints totaling 61 laps, lifting the car to 5th place. Team mates Peter Brock and David Parsons
then took over the car after their 05 went out with engine failure on lap 34. Inspired driving by Brock and Parsons in a rain plagued second half combined with good strategy and a lucky break with safety car procedures placed them into third position behind the two Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500's at the end of the race. The car was only thrown together with old parts laying around the HDT workshop and wasn't expected to last very long (something McLeod didn't know at the time) so for it finish 3rd while the teams lead car expired early was a surprise to the team.
Before the race a formal protest had been lodged against the Eggenberger Sierra's for illegal bodywork relating to the size of their front wheel arches. As no road legal Sierra existed in Australia at the time the protest was delayed by a few months and it wasn't until January 1988 that McLeod, Brock and Parsons were declared the winners of the 1987 James Hardie 1000.
Like other privateer Commodore runners, McLeod saw little value in driving in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship
against the improving Ford Sierra's, though he did run in the first 5 rounds of the 9 race series. Following the ATCC, he HDT, by now running BMW M3's, built a new 'Walkinshaw
' spec Holden VL Commodore for McLeod who debuted the car at the Enzed 500
at Sandown complete with sponsorship from Yellow Pages
, the cars yellow and black paint scheme looking very similar to the Slick 50 Mazda of McLeod's Group C days. Clutch failure ended Mcleod and co-driver Jim Keogh's race after just 21 laps at Sandown after qualifying 15th. The Tooheys 1000
at Bathurst wasn't much better for the team. The car had 3 separate crashes in practice and qualifying and then blew its engine in the morning warmup. The crew replaced the engine and the car just made it to the end of pit lane to make the start but the car lasted only 7 laps before the replacement engine failed. Following the race, Peter McLeod bowed out of touring car racing claiming it was too expensive to run a competitive car.
at Bathurst, McLeod took to the Mountain again in a Citroën BX 16V
in 1991
finishing second in class B, returning the following year with a 3-car factory team to win the class, this time beating the Brock-prepared and driven Peugeot 405
s. Further 12-hr attempts followed in the BX 16V's and later in a Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo with moderate success.
racing. McLeod co-drove with Ryan McLeod in endurance races from 1994-96 before retiring completely. McLeod has stayed involved in the sport and recently has acted as driver of V8 Supercar's safety car.
-engined Citroën SM
s from the early 70s. His work is highly regarded on an international scale and the cars are in demand by classic car enthusiasts worldwide. Over 30 such examples have now been completed. A return to Bathurst as a competitor occurred for the 2009 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour
driving a Holden Astra SRi Turbo
, co-driving with his two sons, Ryan and Gerad. The family run car finished 21st.
1987 James Hardie 1000
The 1987 James Hardie 1000 was the eighth round of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship, the first round to be held in the southern hemisphere. The race was held for cars eligible for Group A touring car regulations. It was the 25th anniversary of the original touring car endurance race...
at Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
and for driving the distinctive yellow and black Slick 50 Mazda RX-7
Mazda RX-7
Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980...
Group C
Group C (Australia)
In relation to Australian motorsport, Group C refers to either of two sets of regulations devised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport for use in Australian touring car racing from 1965 to 1984...
touring car
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
during the early to mid 1980's.
Group C Touring Cars
McLeod began his racing career in 1980 at the relatively old age of 32, progressing immediately into touring car racing where in just three seasons to become one of Australia's fastest privately entered touring car racers, and was usually among the fastest Mazda RX-7's behind Allan MoffatAllan 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...
's factory supported team (though with reportedly more horsepower than Moffat's cars). By 1981 he had scored his first podium result with a third at the Oran Park 250. His pace and consistency were rewarded by winning the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship
1983 Australian Endurance Championship
The 1983 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars. The championship was contested over a six round series with all rounds run concurrently with those of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes.-Calendar:* Round 1,...
which didn't start well with 12th at both the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
rounds (Amaroo
Amaroo Park
Amaroo Park was a motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It opened in 1967, hosting its first motorcycle meeting on 26 February with a 30 lap production race won by Larry Simons on a BSA Spitfire in heavy rain. The...
and Oran Park
Oran Park
Oran Park may refer to:*Oran Park, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney in Australia*Oran Park Raceway, a former motor racing circuit in Sydney...
) followed by a DNF at Sandown
1983 Castrol 400
The 1983 Castrol 400 was an endurance race for Touring Cars complying with CAMS Group C regulations. The event was staged at the Sandown Park circuit in Victoria, Australia on 11 September 1983 over 129 laps of the 3.1 km circuit, totalling 399.9 km...
. It was his results in the final 3 rounds of the series which lifted him above Jim Richards. McLeod finished 7th at Bathurst
1983 James Hardie 1000
The 1983 James Hardie 1000 was the 24th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was an endurance race for Touring Cars complying with CAMS Group C regulations. It was held on October 2, 1983 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst and was Round 4 of the 1983 Australian...
co-driving with Graeme Bailey
Graeme Bailey
Graeme Alfred Bailey , was an Australian racing driver, best known as co-winner of the 1986 Bathurst 1000....
, 3rd at Surfers Paradise
Surfers Paradise International Raceway
Surfers Paradise International Raceway was a motor racing complex at Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The circuit was designed and built by Keith Williams, a motor racing enthusiast. It was located opposite the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens at Carrara...
and finally 6th in the Humes Guardrail 300 at Adelaide
Adelaide International Raceway
The Adelaide International Raceway is a permanent circuit owned by Australian Motorsport Club Limited under the auspices of the Bob Jane Corporation. It is located on Port Wakefield Road at Virginia, a small town just north of Adelaide, South Australia, and is round the corner from Speedway City...
. Richards needed to finish at least 2 points in front of McLeod to win the title at Adelaide but could only manage 9th in his BMW 635Csi
BMW E24
The BMW E24 series was the first BMW 6 Series coupé, produced by the German automaker BMW between the 1976 and 1989 model years. The 6 Series name reappeared with the BMW E63 chassis beginning in the 2004 model year. The E24 borrowed heavily from contemporary 5-series cars .- Model history :The...
giving the Wollongong based McLeod his only touring car championship.
Still driving the Slick 50 Mazda McLeod finished third in the 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship
1984 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 25th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship, and was the last year of Group C regulations. The following year would see the introduction of the international Group A regulations...
behind 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...
and winner Dick Johnson. McLeod went into the final round at Adelaide in 2nd position, 22 points in front of Brock and needed to only finish 14th to claim 2nd. Unfortunately he tangled with the BMW of Jim Richards on lap 4 at the end of AIR's 900m long straight. The resulting damage meant the Mazda was out on the spot and with Brock finishing the race 2nd behind Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Maxwell Grice OAM , known to motor-racing fans as Gricey, is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 , and as a privateer driver of a Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship.Grice also had a successful second...
and gaining 23 points, he moved to 95 points, 1 point in front of McLeod..
Following the ATCC McLeod was unable to repeat his 1983 Endurance Championship win and finished the 1984 Championship
1984 Australian Endurance Championship
The 1984 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to Group C Touring Cars. The championship, which was the fourth Australian Endurance Championship, was contested over a five round series...
in 9th place. After finishing 3rd Silastic 300 at Amaroo Park behind the Nissan Bluebird Turbo
Datsun Bluebird 910
The Datsun Bluebird 910 is an automobile which was produced by Nissan from 1979 to 1986.Nissan began realigning its export names with the home market with the 910 series in November 1979. The 'B' tags were dropped in favour of 'Bluebird', though the models were 'Datsun Bluebird' initially...
of Garry Scott, he finished 7th in the Valvoline 250 at Oran Park but it went downhill from their. McLeod and Graeme Bailey failed to finish at Sandown
1984 Castrol 500
The 1984 Castrol 500 was an endurance motor race staged at the Sandown Park circuit in Victoria, Australia on 9 September 1984. The event was open to Group C Touring Cars, competing in two engine capacity classes, Up to 3000cc and Over 3000cc. It also included a class for Group A cars which were to...
and Bathurst
1984 James Hardie 1000
The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship...
while Mcleod didn't compete at the Surfers Paradise 300 bringing an end to the Group C era in Australia.
There were two more Group C races held before the end of 1994. One was the support race for the Australian Grand Prix
1984 Australian Grand Prix
The 1984 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Mondial race held at Calder Park Raceway on November 18, 1984.It was the forty ninth Australian Grand Prix and the fourth to be held at Calder specifically for Formula Pacific or Formula Mondial racecars...
at Calder
Calder Park Raceway
Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a drag strip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clockwise or counter-clockwise .-History:Calder Park...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. After qualifying 8th at Calder the RX-7 didn't get off the line and was a first lap DNF. McLeod didn't take the car to the final ever competitive Group C race at Baskerville Raceway
Baskerville Raceway
Baskerville Raceway is a 2.01 km permanent motor and motorbike racing circuit. It is located at 473 Baskerville Rd, Old Beach- a northern suburb of...
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
.
1985 Daytona 24 Hour
In 1985 he joined Allan Moffat, Kevin BartlettKevin Bartlett (race driver)
Kevin Bartlett , often known by his nickname "KB", is an Australian former open wheel and touring car racing driver who won the CAMS Gold Star in 1968 and 1969, as well as the prestigious Bathurst 1000. Bartlett was named in Wheels magazine's annual yearbook in 2004 as one of Australia's 50...
and Gregg Hansford
Gregg Hansford
Gregg Hansford was an Australian motorcycle and touring car racer.-Racing career:Hansford began racing motorcycles in Australia, winning the 1973 500cc Unlimited title, as well as competing in the New Zealand Marlboro Series in 1975/76 and 1977/78 on Team Kawasaki 750s. He also won one leg of the...
in Mazda Australia's attack on the 24 Hours of Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
. Driving Moffat's ATCC RX-7 with a different rear wing and without the CAMS imposed 20kg of ballast, the car qualified in the 38th (11th in the GTO class) and ran strongly until mechanical failure near the end of the race. They were eventually classified 24th, 221 laps behind the winning Porsche 962
Porsche 962
The Porsche 962 was a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had...
driven by A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
, Bob Wollek
Bob Wollek
Bob Wollek , nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on March 16, 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of...
, Al Unser
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
and Thierry Boutsen
Thierry Boutsen
Thierry Marc Boutsen is a former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One.-Career:thumb|left|Boutsen driving for [[Arrows]] at the [[1984 Dallas Grand Prix]]....
.
1985 Australian GT
Peter McLeod continued to race his Slick 50 RX-7 in the 1985 Australian GT Championship. McLeod performed consistently during the series to finish 5th, his best finish being 3rd at Adelaide. Unfortunately the 13B Mazda in Group C trim was seriously outgunned by specially built cars such as Bryan Thompson's 6.0L Chev Monza'sChevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1975–1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width and 140 CID inline-4 engine...
and Kevin Bartlett's
Kevin Bartlett (race driver)
Kevin Bartlett , often known by his nickname "KB", is an Australian former open wheel and touring car racing driver who won the CAMS Gold Star in 1968 and 1969, as well as the prestigious Bathurst 1000. Bartlett was named in Wheels magazine's annual yearbook in 2004 as one of Australia's 50...
De Tomaso Pantera
De Tomaso Pantera
The Pantera was a sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italy from 1971 to 1991, the last one being delivered to a customer in 1992.The word "Pantera" is Italian for "Panther".-History:...
.
Following the 1985 championship the GT series wasn't seen on the Australian calender until 2005.
Group A Touring Cars
The change to Group AGroup A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
touring car regulations for the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship
1985 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Touring Cars. It was the 26th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the first to be contested using regulations based on the FIA's International Group A regulations...
forced McLeod to abandon the RX-7 as it would be uncompetitive. He opted to drive a Holden Commodore
Holden VK Commodore
The Holden VK Commodore was introduced in 1984 and replaced the VH. It was the first Commodore to have plastic bumpers and introduced rear quarter windows for a six-window design as opposed to the four-window design on previous Commodore models...
for the season but like most Commodore teams, including the factory backed 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...
, the car in 1985 wasn't as competitive as it had been under the Group C
Group C (Australia)
In relation to Australian motorsport, Group C refers to either of two sets of regulations devised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport for use in Australian touring car racing from 1965 to 1984...
regulations. McLeod's car, built from an ex road car, came into its own in the 1985 James Hardie 1000
1985 James Hardie 1000
The 1985 James Hardie 1000 was the 26th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 6 October 1985 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. It was the first time the race was held exclusively for cars complying with the Australian version of International Group A...
at Bathurst and for much of the race McLeod and co-driver Bailey had the car running in the top 10, and indeed held 5th place for a time and was the 2nd Commodore on the road behind 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...
. Unfortunately their good run came to nothing though when the gearbox broke on lap 126.
Like all Commodore runner's, McLeod upgraded to the newly homologated Holden VK Commodore SS Group A for 1986
1986 Australian Touring Car season
The 1986 Australian Touring Car season was the 27th season of touring car racing in Australia commencing from 1960 when the first Australian Touring Car Championship and the first Armstrong 500 were contested...
. He competed in only 2 rounds of the 1986 ATCC
1986 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 27th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. It began on 2 March 1986 at Amaroo Park and ended on 13 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds....
(Round 3 at Sandown in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and the final round at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's Oran Park and finished 19th in the championship. Unfortunately for McLeod he did not have a good Endurance Championship
1986 Australian Endurance Championship
The 1986 Australian Endurance Championship was open to drivers of Group A Touring Cars and was contested over a six round series.-Calendar:Rounds were run concurrently with those of the 1986 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.-Class structure:...
. He failed to finish the Castrol 500
1986 Castrol 500
The 1986 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for cars complying with CAMS Touring Car regulations, which were based on FIA Group A rules. The event was staged on 14 September 1986 over 129 laps of the 3.9 km Sandown circuit in Victoria, Australia, a total distance of 503 km...
at Sandown and after qualifying a good 15th at Bathurst
1986 James Hardie 1000
The 1986 James Hardie 1000 was an endurance motor race held on 5 October 1986 at the Mount Panorama Circuit, just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia...
, McLeod crashed the Commodore heavily at the 160kmh right hand McPhillamy Park on lap 48 of the race, the car reportedly blew its right front tyre and McLeod, unable to steer the car, drove over the ripple strip on the outside of the track and flew clear over the sand trap and into the tyre wall destroying the front right of the car in the process. Thankfully the cars roll cars withstood the accident and Peter Mcleod was able to walk away from the incident unhurt although he was a little shaken. Bathurst 1986 was of course where McLeod's friend Mike Burgmann sadly lost his life in a 260kmh crash at the base of the bridge on Conrod straight. The consequence of Burgmann's crash saw the inclusion of Caltex Chase to the circuit in 1987 in a bid to slow the cars down. McLeod's former co-driver Graeme Bailey won the 1986 James Hardie with Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Maxwell Grice OAM , known to motor-racing fans as Gricey, is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 , and as a privateer driver of a Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship.Grice also had a successful second...
in a Holden Commodore.
McLeod continued to run his VK Commodore during 1987
1987 Australian Touring Car season
The 1987 Australian Touring Car season was the 28th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500....
including the 1987 Castrol 500
1987 Castrol 500
The 1987 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for cars complying with CAMS Touring Car regulations, which were based on FIA Group A rules. The event was staged on 13 September 1987 over 129 laps of the 3.9 km Sandown circuit in Victoria, Australia, a total distance of 503 km.-Dulux...
at Sandown co-driving with Peter Fitzgerald (DNF after only 17 laps with a failed clutch). Following the Sandown race McLeod was drafted into the by then no longer factory backed Holden Dealer Team, running under the name Brock HDT P/L after Brock's well publicised split with Holden earlier in the year, to drive the teams 2nd car at the 1987 James Hardie 1000
1987 James Hardie 1000
The 1987 James Hardie 1000 was the eighth round of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship, the first round to be held in the southern hemisphere. The race was held for cars eligible for Group A touring car regulations. It was the 25th anniversary of the original touring car endurance race...
. Channel 7
Seven Sport
Seven Sport is the brand that all sporting events broadcast on the Seven Network are broadcast under.-History:The Seven Network is a major player in Australian sports broadcasting. Before 1999, Seven telecasted all matches of the Australian Football League. However, in 2000 Nine and pay TV provider...
comentator Neil Crompton
Neil Crompton
Neil Crompton is a well-known V8 Supercars presenter and commentator for Australia's Channel Seven, having previously worked in a similar role at Network Ten...
was to drive but didn't have the proper international licence at the time for a World Championship event which is what the James Hardie was as it was part of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. McLeod joined formula 2 racer John Crooke in car #10 (Brock's 1986 car upgraded to VL Group A specs). Despite setting the qualifying time for his usual #05 car, Brock also set the time for car #10 (2 seconds faster than McLeod). Despite it being against the rules for a driver for a driver to qualify two cars (i.e Brock's time for car #10 should not have counted towards the cars grid position as he had also set fastest time in 05, his nominated #1 car), somehow Brock's time stood and was good enough to put the car in 20th place (McLeod's time was good enough for 27th on the grid). McLeod completed the first two stints totaling 61 laps, lifting the car to 5th place. Team mates Peter Brock and David Parsons
David 'Skippy' Parsons
David John 'Skippy' Parsons , was an Australian racing driver, who while never a full time racing driver, drove for the biggest racing teams in Australia....
then took over the car after their 05 went out with engine failure on lap 34. Inspired driving by Brock and Parsons in a rain plagued second half combined with good strategy and a lucky break with safety car procedures placed them into third position behind the two Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500's at the end of the race. The car was only thrown together with old parts laying around the HDT workshop and wasn't expected to last very long (something McLeod didn't know at the time) so for it finish 3rd while the teams lead car expired early was a surprise to the team.
Before the race a formal protest had been lodged against the Eggenberger Sierra's for illegal bodywork relating to the size of their front wheel arches. As no road legal Sierra existed in Australia at the time the protest was delayed by a few months and it wasn't until January 1988 that McLeod, Brock and Parsons were declared the winners of the 1987 James Hardie 1000.
Like other privateer Commodore runners, McLeod saw little value in driving in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship
1988 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group 3A Touring Cars. It was the 29th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. Promoted as the “1988 Shell Ultra Australian Touring Car Championship”, it began on 6 March at Calder Park...
against the improving Ford Sierra's, though he did run in the first 5 rounds of the 9 race series. Following the ATCC, he HDT, by now running BMW M3's, built a new 'Walkinshaw
Tom Walkinshaw
Tom Walkinshaw was a Scottish racing car driver and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing...
' spec Holden VL Commodore for McLeod who debuted the car at the Enzed 500
1988 Enzed 500
The 1988 Enzed 500 was an endurance race for Group 3A Touring Cars. The event was held at the Sandown circuit in Victoria, Australia on 11 September 1988 over 129 laps of the 3.9 km circuit, a total distance of 503 km...
at Sandown complete with sponsorship from Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
, the cars yellow and black paint scheme looking very similar to the Slick 50 Mazda of McLeod's Group C days. Clutch failure ended Mcleod and co-driver Jim Keogh's race after just 21 laps at Sandown after qualifying 15th. The Tooheys 1000
1988 Tooheys 1000
The 1988 Tooheys 1000 was the 29th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 2 October 1988 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst...
at Bathurst wasn't much better for the team. The car had 3 separate crashes in practice and qualifying and then blew its engine in the morning warmup. The crew replaced the engine and the car just made it to the end of pit lane to make the start but the car lasted only 7 laps before the replacement engine failed. Following the race, Peter McLeod bowed out of touring car racing claiming it was too expensive to run a competitive car.
Bathurst 12 Hour
With the advent of the 12 hour Production Car RaceBathurst 12 Hour
The Bathurst 12 Hour is an endurance event for production racing cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, Australia in February annually. The event was inspired by the long running Bathurst 1000 touring car race, which began in the early 1960s as a race for cars with minimal...
at Bathurst, McLeod took to the Mountain again in a Citroën BX 16V
Citroën BX
The Citroën BX is a large family car that was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1982 to 1994. In total, 2,315,739 BXs were built during its 12-year history. The hatchback was discontinued in 1993 with the arrival of the Xantia, but the estate continued for another year.-History:The...
in 1991
1991 James Hardie 12 Hour
The 1991 James Hardie 12 Hour was an endurance race for production cars. The event was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on 31 March 1991...
finishing second in class B, returning the following year with a 3-car factory team to win the class, this time beating the Brock-prepared and driven Peugeot 405
Peugeot 405
The Peugeot 405 is a large family car released by the French automaker Peugeot in July 1987 and which continues to be manufactured under licence outside France. It used TU/XU petrol and XUD diesel engines....
s. Further 12-hr attempts followed in the BX 16V's and later in a Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo with moderate success.
V8 Supercars
McLeod faded out of the scene over the next few racing seasons but returned to the sport in 1994 as McLeod's son Ryan started to make his way into V8 SupercarV8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...
racing. McLeod co-drove with Ryan McLeod in endurance races from 1994-96 before retiring completely. McLeod has stayed involved in the sport and recently has acted as driver of V8 Supercar's safety car.
Semi-Retirement
McLeod has since turned his attention to his passion for Citroëns, importing and fully restoring the rare and highly prized MaseratiMaserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
-engined Citroën SM
Citroën SM
The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the U.S. in 1972.-History:In 1961,...
s from the early 70s. His work is highly regarded on an international scale and the cars are in demand by classic car enthusiasts worldwide. Over 30 such examples have now been completed. A return to Bathurst as a competitor occurred for the 2009 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour
2009 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour
The 2009 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for Group 3E Series Production Cars. It was the eighth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour, and the third since the races 2007 revival....
driving a Holden Astra SRi Turbo
Holden Astra
The Holden Astra is a compact car that was marketed by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors. Spanning five generations, the original, Australia-only Astra of 1984 was a derivative of the locally-produced Nissan Pulsar, as was the 1987 Astra...
, co-driving with his two sons, Ryan and Gerad. The family run car finished 21st.
Career results
| Season | Series | Position | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 21st running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. Peter Brock won his third and final ATCC title, driving a Holden VB Commodore for the Holden Dealer Team.-Teams and drivers:... |
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... |
24th | Mazda RX-7 Mazda RX-7 Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980... |
Peter McLeod |
| 1981 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars. The championship, which was the 22nd running of the Australian Touring Car Championship, began at Symmons Plains Raceway and ended at Lakeside International Raceway after 8... |
Australian Touring Car Championship | 17th | Mazda RX-7 | Peter McLeod |
| 1982 1982 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1982 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars. It began on 18 February 1982 at Sandown Raceway and ended on 16 May at Oran Park Raceway after eight rounds... |
Australian Touring Car Championship | 15th | Mazda RX-7 | Strongbow |
| 1983 1983 Australian Endurance Championship The 1983 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars. The championship was contested over a six round series with all rounds run concurrently with those of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes.-Calendar:* Round 1,... |
Australian Endurance Championship Australian Endurance Championship The Australian Endurance Championship was first contested in 1981, as a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for car manufacturers. Replacing the Australian Championship of Makes , it was decided over a series of endurance races for touring cars complying with CAMS Group C regulations.In the... |
1st | Mazda RX-7 | Petrolon Slick 50 |
| 1984 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 25th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship, and was the last year of Group C regulations. The following year would see the introduction of the international Group A regulations... |
Australian Touring Car Championship | 3rd | Mazda RX-7 | Petrolon Slick 50 |
| 1985 | Australian GT Championship Australian GT Championship The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race and those after that year over a series of races... |
5th | Mazda RX-7 | Petrolon Slick 50 |
| 1985 1985 Australian Endurance Championship The 1985 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Touring Cars complying with an Australian version of FIA Group A Touring Car regulations... |
Australian Endurance Championship | NC | Holden VK Commodore Holden VK Commodore The Holden VK Commodore was introduced in 1984 and replaced the VH. It was the first Commodore to have plastic bumpers and introduced rear quarter windows for a six-window design as opposed to the four-window design on previous Commodore models... |
I.M.B. Team Wollongong |
| 1986 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 27th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. It began on 2 March 1986 at Amaroo Park and ended on 13 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds.... |
Australian Touring Car Championship | 19th | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | Autopart Centre |
| 1986 1986 Australian Endurance Championship The 1986 Australian Endurance Championship was open to drivers of Group A Touring Cars and was contested over a six round series.-Calendar:Rounds were run concurrently with those of the 1986 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.-Class structure:... |
Australian Endurance Championship | 56th | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | Autopart Centre |
| 1987 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship was a motor racing competition which was open to Touring Cars complying with regulations as defined by CAMS and based on FIA Group A rules. The championship, which was the 28th Australian Touring Car Championship, began on 1 March 1987 at Calder Park... |
Australian Touring Car Championship | NC | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | Peter McLeod |
| 1988 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group 3A Touring Cars. It was the 29th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. Promoted as the “1988 Shell Ultra Australian Touring Car Championship”, it began on 6 March at Calder Park... |
Australian Touring Car Championship | 17th | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | Peter McLeod |