THE COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of travel plans for many people around Australia, and also those of one of our most iconic touring cars.
Allan Moffat’s 1977 Bathurst 1000-winning Ford Falcon XC had received an invite to be displayed at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, scheduled for July 9-12.
The car featured in one of the most famous scenes in the history of the ‘Great Race’, with Moffat and his Bathurst rookie co-driver, international star Jacky Ickx, heading teammates Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton in a crushing one-two victory for the factory-backed Ford team.
This year’s Festival was set to celebrate motorsport’s all-rounders with Ickx the first legendary racer to confirm his attendance.
The Belgian great’s Bathurst-winning Falcon, which Moffat donated to Bathurst City Council in 1985 for the circuit’s then-new National Motor Racing Museum, had been invited to join him.
“We got an official request in late February/early March – just before we went into lockdown,” National Motor Racing Museum coordinator Brad Owen told V8 Sleuth.
“At that stage the international travel situation was looking like it was about to go bad but hadn’t been completely shut off, but within a week of the request coming through to us it was pretty clear that nothing was going to be happening for 2020 at least.
“The first letter (from Goodwood) says ‘we’re interested in the car and if you’re happy, let us know’. Not long after we got it, we then got the notification that their plans were changing and they were rescheduling the event.
“Time will tell if we get another letter (for 2021) in due course!”
The 1977 race-winning Falcon is one of the hundreds of Fords depicted in Ford at Bathurst, The Cars 1963-2018, our hardcover, limited to 2000 copies book that includes a photo of every Ford from each year’s race.
We have just over 20 copies left and you can order yours here now before they sell out.
Confirmation of the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s postponement came through in June with the event now scheduled to go ahead in July 2021.
