11^th FALCON GT NATIONALS

Ballarat, 25-28^th March, 2005

Below is an article I did for Australian Classic Car Magazine on this tremendous event.  I hope you enjoy both it and the photos I took - the links for which you will find at the bottom of the page.  There you will also find details on how you can order a CD of those and other images.  I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Cheers

Paul

*********************************************************************

What is it about the Falcon GT that makes people so passionate about these iconic Aussie muscle cars???  Is it their rugged good looks, their stunning performance or their Bathurst racing history???  For me and many others, its probably a mixture of all these things that keeps the Falcon GT at the top of the Australian “Muscle Car” heap!!! 

In 1985, the first Falcon GT Nationals were held in Melbourne – being organised by the Falcon GT Club of Australia.  At this first event 20 years ago, there were less than 100 cars, however for those of us who did attend, we knew that it was the start of something very special.  Since that inaugural event, the Nationals have been hosted by a different club and in a different state, every two years and apart from helping bring GT enthusiasts together in one venue, also helps to showcase the very best of these great cars.  This year it was the Australian club’s turn to host the event again at Easter, with Ballarat, Victoria, being the selected location.

The Trip

As an owner of a number of GTs for just under 30 years, I have had the opportunity to attend all bar one of the previous 10 nationals events.  But late last year, I moved to the UK for an indefinite period and had resigned myself to missing the most important event on the GT calendar.  However a last minute change of heart by the wife allowed me to make the pilgrimage back home.  Some might consider this type of behaviour a bit obsessive… but I wasn’t the only one to travel a long way to get there, with a couple of entrants coming from New Zealand and another from Hong Kong… such is the dedication of GT owners.

Having put the word out in GT circles that I now needed a lift from Melbourne to Ballarat, I was able to make contact with a fellow GT owner who was also heading up to Ballarat on the Thursday – the day my flight got in.  However, my taxi was not going to be just any old car… I was being picked up from the Airport in a XY GTHO Phase 3… now that’s what I call traveling in style.  But things got even better when Chris asked me to take over the driving duties half way there.  Having had a diet of UK four cylinder buzz-boxes over the previous seven months, driving that big V8 felt tremendous and made me wish I could have had my own car there as well.

Now as one can imagine, coming all the way from the other side of the world, I was really looking forward to being back around the cars I love… but it actually wasn’t until we started to meet other GTs on the road to Ballarat, that it all really started to hit me and I became excited about the long weekend ahead.

Scrutineering

Having arrived in Ballarat and sorted out our accommodation, by mid afternoon it was time to go down to where scrutineering was being carried out and get registered for the weekend’s activities. Scrutineering, which is really the only official activity on the Thursday and Friday, is an important part of the Nationals.  Not only is the process used to verify the authenticity of the cars being entered, but it’s also to carry out preliminary judging and determine if the class nominated by the owner is the most appropriate for the car.  Preliminary judging helps ensure that judging at the Show & Shine is simplified by highlighting the higher quality cars.

Although quite a few cars turned up on the Thursday, Friday was the main day for scrutineering and it became the main venue for old friends to meet and catch up, with lots of entrants just hanging around even after their cars had been processed.  The day had a real party feel to it and you could sense everyone’s excited anticipation for what was to come in the days ahead.  Over the two days, over 250 cars and entrants were registered and processed and all the officials and scrutineers should be commended for the efficiency and good natured way in which they went about their respective jobs.  However one of the hardest workers at the scrutineering venue, was not an official, but the guy “red-walling” tyres for the entrants who wanted that period look for their cars.  All day Friday, there seemed to be a never ending line of cars awaiting his special services… and I guarantee he slept well that night.

The Show & Shine

For many people, the “Show & Shine” is THE big event of the weekend, where all the cars are presented in all highly polished glory for everyone to see and where the final judging takes place to determine the best of the breed.  Thankfully, Saturday dawned fine and clear and it didn’t take long before owners were out with buckets and hoses, giving their cars one final clean before heading off to the showground for what was going to be a very big day.

Once they arrived, the cars were directed to their parking areas on the oval, which were arranged in model order.  By the time all the entrants had arrived, the place was alive with people slowly moving around the vast array of brightly coloured and immaculately restored examples of Henry Ford’s finest.  Apart from the time, money and effort put into making these cars look their very best, many entrants also go to a lot of trouble to display their cars and provide information about their particular pride and joy.  Of particular interest to me are the period items used to help put these cars into their historical context, like the original sales and marketing literature, NOS part boxes and original road test magazines.  One display that I particularly liked was that of the Gallaher Silver XRGT, whose owner even included an unopened packet of Gallaher cigarettes and other Gallaher merchandise in his display.

From the original XR to the latest BA, all model GTs were well represented, although I think it is fair to say that XWs and XYs were probably the most numerous.  One car that had lots of people around it all day, was the replica of the 1974 Bathurst winning XAGT built by John Goss, who also just happened to be on hand to tell people about the car and answer questions about his glory days racing GT Falcons.  Apart from all the GTs to look at, people could also view the large display of the local Ford dealer, check out the merchandise in the FPV truck, or visit a variety of trade stalls.  One trade stall that was particularly busy, was that of Allan Moffat himself, who was also on hand to talk about his racing days as Ford’s number one driver, sign autographs and sell his racing merchandise.

Saturday Night Dinner & Speakers

However, for those who didn’t get to talk to either Moffat or Goss at the show & shine, there was another opportunity to hear them at the informal Saturday night dinner, where both they, Bill Santuccione (famed Ford engine builder) and Trevor Haines (Team GT driver) were all guest speakers.  All speakers gave very entertaining and informative talks and were happy to respond to the numerous questions put to them.  Although Allan had to leave early, the other speakers stayed on to continue talking to entrants.  Gossy however was also busy signing autographs on what ever was put in front of him… and even a pair of ladies knickers (with the lady still wearing them) didn’t pose too much of a challenge, for this popular racing veteran.

Sunday Speed Trials

Whilst the Show & Shine is a major part of the Nationals and one for which much time and money is expended in ensuring that the cars look their very best, the track day has grown over the last few events, to become an equally important part of the Nationals for an increasing number of participants.  However, for those not interested in the motorsport event, the organisers arranged for a cruise down to the Ford Discovery Centre in Geelong.

First introduced at the 8^th Falcon GT Nationals in Adelaide, the track days have taken a variety of formats, from full circuit sprints and drag racing, to timed runs down Conrod Straight at Bathurst.  This year, 1/8^th mile “Speed Trials” (drag racing to you and me) were arranged with the help of the Ballarat Drag Racing Club, to allow those so inclined to show that these cars weren’t just show ponies, but could also go hard.  Well before the actual event, there had been plenty of banter on the GT forums between a number of those entered for the event and so not only was there a bit of state vs state rivalry, but there were also a few individual scores to settle.

Whilst some of the competing vehicles were basically stock, there were many that were highly modified and set up specifically for racing… it being fairly easy to tell which was which.  However, first cars to actually take to the strip were John Goss’ replica race car and the BAGT of Team GT.  Both cars did a limited number of demonstration runs before being put back on their trailers… much to the disappointment of the crowd.  However, that disappointment was short lived when the entrant’s cars started to come out and the competition started in earnest.  Most cars started each run with some preliminary tyre warming exercises, which left the air thick with tyre smoke, before setting off down the strip.  The crowd really loved this and the bigger the burnout… the bigger the cheers given to the driver.

Obviously all the drivers were having a ball, because they just kept coming back for run after run – much to the delight of the sizable crowd.  There were plenty of good performances during the day, but for me there were a few standouts.  The Silver Fox XWGT of John Grigorakis went hard all day long and reminded me so much of my own car, whilst Barry Cepulo in the dark green XAGT with the big dollar motor kept us all enthralled as we watched him lose control mid-track and fight to keep the car on the tarmac, finally ending up on the grass past the finish line.  But the performances of the day had to go to Gary Watson, in his indecently quick Gold XRGT and Mick Schawrz, in his equally impressive Candy Apple Red XWGT, with both cars launching so hard that you could see air under the left hand front tyre as the bodywork lifted up.

Presentation Dinner

Sunday night’s presentation dinner is where everyone finds out how well they and their car have done and whether or not they get to take home a trophy or two.  With five categories for most models, its impossible to go through all the winners, however there are a couple that I feel are worthy of mention.  In the Unrestored Class, Rohan Quirey took out the overall trophy with his low mileage, Ultra White XY GTHO Phase 3, whilst John Vandenberg scored overall top Restored, with his recently completed Walnut Glow RPO83 XAGT Coupe.  The prestigious Entrant’s Choice award went to Angie Gordon with her Cobolt Blue XBGT, whilst the Spirit of the Nationals award went to Rodney Hall with his Polar White XTGT.  However, the big winner on the night would have to be Gary Watson, who not only won the Grand Tourer trophy for his Gallaher Silver XRGT, but also took out Best Restored, Best Maintained and Best Show XRGT with his Silver, White and Gold XRGTs respectively.  Not a bad haul if you ask me… but very deserving when you consider the effort it takes to get three cars to that quality standard and get them to the Nationals.

Monday Farewell

Well after the highs and lows of the presentation dinner, it is customary for the host club to put on a farewell BBQ lunch on the Monday, for those entrants who haven’t left early for their long journeys home.  This is generally a low key affair and is a good way to start to wind down from what is a hectic few days and say your goodbyes to old friends and new, before heading back home. 

As for me, I still had a couple of days to fill in before I caught my return flight back to the UK… and just enough time to reflect on this 11^th Falcon GT Nationals.  With each event, the standard of preparation of the vehicles just seems to get better and better and whilst lots of the cars are familiar, its also pleasing to see previously unseen ones coming out of the woodwork.  With values rising, there is appearing a new bunch of enthusiasts who are prepared to help restore and preserve the limited number of genuine Falcon GTs still remaining.  But with the new BAGT, there is also a whole new generation of GT owners coming on board to provide an even more diverse mix of people in the GT movement.

The next GT Nationals in 2007, will be held in Perth for the first time and that will be a challenge for not only the organisers but the owners as well.  But knowing the dedication and enthusiasm of the owners and the importance of the Nationals as an event, I know it will also be a huge success… and I can’t wait to get there myself.

**************************

The following are just some of the photos DIGIPICS took at the recent Nationals in Ballarat!!!  Enjoy!!!  If you are interested in a copy of these and many more photos:

SCRUTINEERING
SHOW & SHINE
SATURDAY NIGHT
DRAG DAY
PRESENTATIONS
FAREWELL LUNCH