LIVING LEGENDS: ALLAN GRICE

Living Legends: Allan Grice

Gricey. The controversial underdog who enlivened touring car racing for a decade from the mid-1970s. Allan Grice’s unimaginative nickname still resonates with hardcore fans 30 years after his last great success.

By MARK FOGARTY

Gricey was a villain and an underdog. Biffed and bashed his way to fame in privateer machinery, enhancing his appeal by speaking his mind.

Nothing has changed. The apprentice pie- and cake-maker who left school at the end of 1961 and a few years later began what would be a tumultuous career in racing, remains unrepentantly outspoken.

Here is a sample of the latest Living Legend feature covering the two-time Bathurst winner’s early career, ahead of the second instalment out in Auto Action 1796, next week.

How and why did you get into racing?

I really don’t know. I was never interested as a kid. I didn’t have go-karts or anything like that. I went to a motor race meeting at Warwick Farm with a couple of mates from Maitland and I was just transfixed. I made the decision on the way home that I was going to do that somehow. So then I had to figure out how to do it. The first car I bought was an MG TC that was already modified for racing and I won my first ever race at the Warwick Farm club circuit, and then I wrote it off at Oran Park in the second race!

How did the Craven Mild sponsorship come about?

They went along to watch Paul Older in his first race, which was at Amaroo Park, and I was driving the XU-1 that day. John Goss tipped me arse over head in our heat race and we brought it back to the pits and the boys belted and bashed back into shape for the final – including using somebody’s belt to hold the door closed. We were late to the grid while we found the right sort of belt, but I won the final and beat Goss.

The crowd went mad because we’d gone from last to first. (Wills promotions manager) Phil May decided to champion me and he recommended to management that Craven Mild back me. That’s how that started.

Your best shot at winning a touring car championship was in 1975, which was a very controversial season. Talk about the infamous thermostat incident that arguably cost you the title.

Anybody who knows me knows I wouldn’t know a thermostat from a con rod. A person who shall remain nameless built the engine and he was the bloke who didn’t put the thermostat in, which certainly wasn’t known to me. My attitude was always that the car had to be kosher. He left the thermostat out and at Surfers Paradise Harry Firth went to the scrutineers and told them that they should pull the water pump off Grice’s car because he didn’t it had a thermostat. So they pulled the water pump off and, sure enough, there was no thermostat there. It was in the glovebox.

Pick up Auto Action 1795 online or at your local newsagent to read on for more of Grice’s stories including his start in the Singapore Grand Prix, his association with BMW, Bathurst 1986 and his European campaign with Nissan.

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