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The 1962 Armstrong 500 was an endurance race for Australian built production cars. The race was held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on October 21, 1962 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total of 501 miles. Cars competed in four classes based on the retail price of each model. Officially, only class placings were awarded but the No 21 Ford Falcon driven by Harry Firth and Bob Jane was recognised as "First across the line". This was the third and last Armstrong 500 to be held at Phillip Island prior to the race moving to the Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst in New South Wales where it would later become known as the Bathurst 1000.
Class structureFor the 1962 race the division of classes was changed from engine capacity, used in the previous two Armstrong 500's, to the purchase price (in Australian pounds, the currency of the era) of the vehicle on the Australian market, the intention being to allow the public to make comparisons according to their potential financial circumstances rather than approximating cars of equivalent vehicle performance. An upper limit of £2000 was established to prevent the race from becoming dominated by sports exotica. In terms of actual cars entered the changes saw the Renault Gordinis move up from Class D to Class C, while the Volkswagens dropped from C to D. Class AClass A was for cars with a purchase price of between £1251 and £2000. The class featured Chrysler Valiant, Citroën ID19, Ford Zephyr, Studebaker Lark and Vauxhall Velox. Class BClass B was for cars with a purchase price of between £1051 and £1250. The class was dominated by the new Ford Falcon but also feature Austin Freeway and Holden EJ. Class CClass C was for cars with a purchase price of between £901 and £1050. The class featured Hillman Minx, Morris Major, Renault Gordini, Simca Aronde and Volkswagen Beetle. Class DClass D was for cars with a purchase price of less than £900. The class featured Ford Anglia, Morris 850, Triumph Herald and Volkswagen. RaceIn a pointer towards the future the race results outright order was dominated by the new XL series Ford Falcon were three of the first four cars home, led by the factory supported car of defending race champions Harry Firth and Bob Jane. On the same lap as Firth/Jane was the Class A winning Studebaker of Fred Sutherland and Bill Graetz, who won the class by four laps, defeating the factory supported Ford Zephyr being driven by Geoff Russell and David Anderson, denying them of a third consecutive class victory. The performance of the big Studebaker was noteworthy in that while Larks continued to be entered into the race until 1968 this was as close as they would get to an outright victory. In Class C one of the Renault Gordini's won despite being the victims of the new class structure with Rex Emmett, John Connolly and Brian Sampson racing to a four lap victory. Sampson in particular would become a fixture of the race in the next decade, which after demolishing the 1974 field only to blow their engine, would finally win the race outright in 1975 as Peter Brock's co-driver. Jim McKeown, an emerging star in small bore touring cars, and George Reynolds took their Volkswagen to the Class D victory, beating the leading Mini by a lap. Reynolds too had an outright victory in store in just two years time in 1964. AftermathThe toil placed on the cold mix bitumen surface by the race, with the largest entry the race had seen, overwhelmed the Phillip Island racetrack. Dangerous potholes formed all around the circuit, leaving a hefty repair bill, and an ominous threat to the future growth of the race. Staying at Phillip Island, as attractive as other factors presented, was plainly impossible and the search began for the promotors for a new home for the increasingly popular endurance production car race. ResultsNotes
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