A9X v Kawasaki Supertest

An unfair comparison you’d think, but the editors compiled a 10-point test inspired by the Olympics ‘Decathalon’ that would give both machines - running in standard road-registered trim - a chance to show their inherent advantages.
They also chose two champions to make sure both machines were driven and ridden at their limits. John Harvey drove the Torana and Mick Hone rode the Kawasaki, so there was parity in that department.
As expected, the Kawasaki dominated on the track, but not by as much as expected. For the test, the ‘old’ Calder Raceway was divided into three segments including one corner each - the Esses being counted as one corner. In fact, the RTS-equipped Torana proved faster than the Kawasaki through two of these sections, even though the bike had a faster lap time overall.
“As it transpired the car’s best section was the Esses. While John was able to indulge in lots of dramatic sideways motoring, squaring off both ends with wide, deep approaches which gave him the chance to accelerate hard between them, the bike demanded a longer, smoother line which limited the time spent screwing it on in the middle.”

The Torana covered this section in a best time of 9.0 seconds. The Kawasaki, “its rear suspension pogo-ing and the right-side header pipe grounding,” did it in 9.3 seconds.
Hone was marginally faster around Gloweave, the corner leading into the main straight, while Harvey was 0.2 of a second quicker around Repco, the notoriously bumpy 180-degree turn at the end of the straight on the old Calder short circuit. Hone’s fastest lap time was 54.3 seconds. Harvey recorded 57.2.
As expected, the bike was a clear winner under straight-line acceleration. Two wheels also proved faster than four over a slalom test (300 metres long with 25 metres between each marker cone) as well as in the braking, acceleration, top speed and fuel consumption categories.

“Okay, the testing seems conclusive,” said Modern Motor in its wrap-up. “As a sporting road-burner, a top bike has a top car pretty well covered. But not by as much as the wins in seven of the 10 categories would indicate, for the margins were for the most part small.”
Noise was the one category in which the Torana clearly won according to the dB(A) monitor (Car 3. Bike 7). No surprises that Torana also won in luggage capacity, although this wasn’t a factor in the 10-point test.

Peter Crick's Monaro taking on Mel Kenyon.

Oddball comparisons have also been done at various race meetings. In the early ‘70s, Peter Crick’s speedway Monaro was so dominant in the sedan category that he was asked to compete in a series of match races (three one-lap dashes) against Super Modifieds, which were then the fastest machines around a quarter mile dirt-track. On one occasion, Crick took on American veteran Mel Kenyon, the three-time USAC speedcar champion and Indy racer, driving a local Modified. As shown here, the Monaro was more than competitive!