The 1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was an endurance race for Group C Touring Cars, held at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia on 6 October 1974. The race was Round 3 of the 1974 Australian Manufacturers' Championship[1] and was the 15th in a sequence of annual “Bathurst 1000” races commencing with the 1960 Armstrong 500.
The wettest race in the event's history to that time saw John Goss and Kevin Bartlett take victory in a Ford Falcon GT under pressure in the late stages from the Holden Torana SL/R 5000 L34 of Bob Forbes and Wayne Negus. New Zealand drivers Jim Richards and Rod Coppins finished third, five laps down in another Holden Torana SL/R 5000 L34. 1974 marked what was the longest running in the race's history at the time, at 7h 50m 59.01s. This record stood until the 2014 race, which ran for 7h 58m 53.20s.
The No.1 Holden Dealer Team Torana of pole winner Peter Brock and Brian Sampson dominated the first two-thirds of the race and had built up a 6 lap lead over the field until their race was ended on lap 118. The expected challenge from defending race winner Allan Moffat and his co-driver, 1971 European Touring Car Champion Dieter Glemser in their Ford XB Falcon was in trouble early. Moffat, who had easily won the Sandown 250 a month earlier, only qualified in 15th place and after numerous engine and gearbox problems, the Falcon was retired after 92 laps with engine failure.
- ^ Manufacturers Championships Review, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1975 Edition, pages 120–145