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NEWS
Ex-Goss/Moffat Falcon to go under the hammer
XB GT Falcon hardtop from the golden era of touring cars to be auctioned at MotorExFord's illustrious XB Falcon GT is rare and precious enough these days – without the added allure of a motor racing history as the mount for two different Bathurst winners.
Shannons will auction one such example at Meguiars MotorEx in Sydney on Sunday July 21. The car in question was bought new by John Goss in 1975, fresh from his win at Bathurst in an XA GT Hardtop the year before. While the XB didn't bring him the same luck in Australia's most famous race, it's a car with quite a story to tell.
Goss raced the car from 1975 to 1978 after purchasing it new from his principal sponsor, McLeod Ford in the weeks immediately prior to the Bathurst 1000 in '75. Just 10 laps into the race, the 351CID V8 blew and the Falcon's race was finished.
The following year, Goss lent the car to Allan Moffat after Moffat lost his own race car when the transporter caught fire on the way to Adelaide. Moffat won the round in Adelaide with Goss's car and also picked up a win in one heat and second in another at Queensland's Lakeside Raceway. With Goss's generosity – and the two point-scoring results – Moffat won the 1976 touring car championship.
Goss fronted at Bathurst in 1977 with a two-car team, the car that Moffat had borrowed being crewed by Sir Jack Brabham and his son Geoff. The Brabhams were up to fifth before losing power due to a rocker arm and finishing in 18th. A year later Goss sold the car, which was also driven by Kevin Bartlett at one point.
Current owner Kerry Turley has restored the car to its original 1975 Bathurst livery – Blaze Blue and White. Shannons say that the car is "the finest Group C Falcon Hardtop available today." That explains the guiding value for the car, which the auction house estimates to range from $330,000 to $360,000.
Along with the Falcon, Shannons will also auction a Mazda RX3 coupe that won its class and placed fifth outright in the 1975 Bathurst event; Don Holland and Hiroshi Fushida sharing the driving. The Mazda was beaten in outright placing by four L34 Toranas that year. Over the course of many years it changed hands repeatedly. Plans to re-register the car for the road and enter Targa Tasmania came to nought, but the RX-3 was eventually purchased in the mid 1990s by a Mazda rotary enthusiast based in Sydney.
Recognising the exclusivity of the RX-3 – reputedly the sole surviving Group C touring car of its type – the owner had the 12A Wankel engine rebuilt mid-way through last year. It hasn't been raced at all by the current owner, and is expected to fetch between $80,000 and $100,000 at auction.
“The resurgent interest in Group C & A racing that is now producing large grids of the actual cars that raced in the 1970s and 1980s has made these cars increasingly collectable and valuable,” said Shannons National Auction Manager Christophe Boribon.
“To find two in such excellent condition represents a rare opportunity.”
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