The magnificent six

One of the most enduring images from the first Bathurst 1000 half a century ago was something that wasn’t even in the race. It was the spectacle of a Fleetways car carrier loaded up with six LJ Torana road cars decked out in signwriting identical to the Ron Hodgson Motors race version driven in the race by Bob Morris and John Leffler. 

It was an idea way ahead of its time – race team promo replica cars back then were almost unheard of. But it was just the kind of publicity stunt for which Ron Hodgson became famous (Sydney residents in the ‘70s will remember his quirky ‘Update’ TV ads) – and it worked a treat.

On the Friday the week before the ’73 race, Hodgson hosted a pre-Bathurst ‘sponsors night’, which also coincided with Hodgson’s first anniversary as a Holden dealer. Guests were greeted to the impressive display of the six mocked up #7 Toranas and the race version taking pride of place out the front of the Ron Hodgson Motors dealership showroom at Cabramatta in western Sydney, flanked by the tender car and trailer and the Ron Hodgson team hospitality double-decker bus. 

There were speeches by Bob Morris and Holden’s Sales and Marketing manager John Bagshaw, and Ron Hodgson Racing team manager Ian Maudsley took guests on a tour of the dealership’s racing division. The night was capped off with a buffet dinner and a screening of the ’72 Hardie-Ferodo highlights film (showing a glorious victory for the HDT Torana XU-1 of Peter Brock). 

The images shown here from the night are from Holden’s internal company journal, Pointers, which noted the huge exposure the display of the six replica race cars generated for Ron Hodgson – and also of course for Holden itself.

The magazine observed that the car carrier with the six replicas did a full lap of the circuit ‘only moments before the race began. The Fleetways carrier was then parked in the centre of the track where it regularly featured in the live television coverage of the race. The Ron Hodgson Holden bus, also parked in full view of panning television cameras, added further drive to a great promotion’.

As it turned out, sadly Hodgson’s innovative off-track promotion provided most of the exposure his team got at Bathurst that year – the Morris/Leffler Ron Hodgson Motors XU-1 retired with engine failure after just four laps.