High speed pursuits

We’ve all heard stories about local Highway Patrol officers busting countless ‘tourists’ for doing lead-footed laps of Mount Panorama on their way through Bathurst. However, there was a time in the 1960s when the cops actually raced there themselves, driving hot V8 ex-pursuit cars that were the fastest things down Conrod Straight at the time. AMC reflects on the fascinating era of the Victorian Police Motor Sports Club.

Story: James Cockington

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It’s incredible to think that the car that led the 1964 Bathurst 500 for the first few laps had previously clocked up 30,000 miles as a Victoria Police Traffic Patrol vehicle.
Also amazing is that the two drivers were both active police officers. They finished seventh outright in the race and second in Class D. The following year, the same pair in a newer model police Studebaker finished 12th outright and sixth in Class D.
First Constable Fred Sutherland worked as a police driving instructor. His team-mate, First Constable Alan Mottram, was in the Mobile Traffic Division (or a ‘pursuit driver’ in today’s terminology). Both were members of the Victorian Police Motor Sports Club and competed at the top level in the early to mid 1960s in a series of de-commissioned V8 Studebakers.
Members of the club also competed in the Armstrong 500 during The Great Race’s first three years at Phillip Island Raceway in Victoria.

1961 Armstrong 500 at Phillip Island had the smallest field in the Great Race’s history. Firth/Jane Mercedes 220SE was class and outright winner. Sutherland/Graetz (No.44) and McKay/Foley (No.43) Studebakers finished second and fourth outright.

In fact, the club (unofficially) won the 1962 Armstrong 500. Fred Sutherland and Bill Graetz in a four-door Studebaker Lark were shown the chequered flag at the end of the race before an official protest was made. A recount of the lap charts saw Harry Firth and Bob Jane declared official winners in a Falcon and the Studebaker demoted to second outright. Some Vic Police club members still dispute this result.

Fred Sutherland and Bill Graetz thought they’d won the ’62 Armstrong 500 outright, until a lap recount dropped them to second place.

The greatest success for the club was at Sandown for the two International Six Hour races held in 1964 and 1965, when Sutherland and Mottram won Class A both years in a pair of two-door special sedans made expressly for the Victoria Police Traffic Control Service.
The two Sandown events were more prestigious at the time than the Bathurst enduro, which was still evolving into Australia’s Great Race. International drivers competing at Sandown included Indy competitor Rodger Ward, Jackie Stewart, Rauno Aaltonen, Paddy Hopkirk, John Fitzpatrick (1964), Albert Poon from Hong Kong (1965) and of course Englishman Sir Gawaine Baillie, who shared his massive 7.0 litre Ford Galaxie with Lex Davison.