HARVEY CELEBRATED AT HISTORIC SANDOWN

John Harvey will be celebrated at Historic Sandown – Photo: Auto Action Archives

Australian motor racing legend John Harvey is the patron for the upcoming Historic Sandown event, which has moved to a new weekend, October 25-27.

Harvey was a multiple Australian Speedcar Champion in the 1960s before transitioning to circuit racing, where he finished runner-up in the prestigious Australian Drivers Championship for the Gold Star.

He joined Bob Jane’s race team the following year and went on to win the Australian Sports Car Championship driving the legendary McLaren M6B Repco V8 in 1971 and 1972, before moving into Touring Cars and Sports Sedans, taking victory in the Toby Lee Series and Marlboro Series piloting the legendary Holden Torana Repco V8.

From there he joined the Holden Dealer Team, being Peter Brock’s loyal lieutenant when he took over the team from John Sheppard in 1980 until he resigned amid the release of the Director in 1987.

Harvey continued to work with Holden and in 2018 was inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame.

Also celebrated is the 50th anniversary of Formula Ford, with 40 cars set to contest the weekend, highlighted by the pair of Van Diemen RF89s of Jon Miles and Andrew McInnes.

A big field of Group N and S machinery add to the variety of the event, as do the Sports Sedans, which concludes its National Series at Historic Sandown with multiple champion Tony Ricciardello in the box seat to seal another title, though young Jordan Caruso in John Gourley’s Audi A4 will push the veteran all the way.

After his record was broken by John Martin last month in S5000, Tom Tweedie is eager to regain the record driving his family’s Chevron B24/28 in what will be a competitive historic Formula 5000 field.

More than 600 cars and living legends Harvey, Kevin Bartlett, John French, Murray Carter and Brian Sampson will provide the entertainment off track.

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