They may not have won any major races, but two pieces of Australian touring car racing history will go under the hammer on December 11 in the latest Burns & Co. auction. A pair of privateer Ford Falcons are the star attractions of the December sale, the first is a 1978 Falcon XC GS500 Hardtop and the second is a 2000 Falcon AU V8 Supercar.
The ‘78 Ford was raced by long-time privateer Garry Willmington, and he shared the car with Jeff Barnes for the ‘78 and ‘79 Bathurst 1000 events. The pair finished 23rd in ‘78 and failed to make the finish in ‘79, but given the recent strength of both the Australian muscle car and former racing car markets it’s likely this classic tin top will be in demand.
The Falcon GS500 is still in its Bathurst livery and largely in original condition, including retaining its vehicle log books.
The second Ford up for grabs was raced by Rod Salmon and Damien White in the 2000 Bathurst 1000, claiming 17th place. After that Salmon ran the car at Mt Panorama in ‘01 (recording a DNF) before competing in the Konica-sponsored Development Series in 2002.
The car then changed hands and was run by father and son duo, Shane and Jonathan Beikoff, in the Development Series between ‘04 and ‘08. It was during this time that former Formula One driver, Alex Yoong, raced the car for two rounds when he was considering a switch to a V8 Supercars career.
After ‘08 the car was kept in storage with limited use until 2020 when it was restored back to its original 2000 ‘One World Sport’ livery.
For more details on these cars and more, and to register for the sale, visit Burns & Co. website here.
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