John Goss (racing driver)

John GossOAM(born 2 May 1943, inGlen Iris,Victoria) is anAustralianretired motorracing driverwho competed in his home country during the 1960s, 1970's and 1980's. He is the only driver to have won Australia's two most prestigious races, theBathurst 1000(1974and1985), and theAustralian Grand Prix(1976).

John Goss
Nationality	Australia
Born	(1943-05-02)2 May 1943 Glen Iris,Victoria
Retired	1995
Australian Touring Car Championship
Years active	1972–78
Teams	McLeod Ford John Goss Racing
Wins	0
Best finish	11th in1972 Australian Touring Car Championship
Championship titles
1972 1974 1976 1985	South Pacific Touring Series Bathurst 1000 Australian Grand Prix Bathurst 1000

During his career, John Goss gained a reputation for long acceptance speeches, with many joking that his victory speech on the Bathurst podium following his 1974 win took almost as long as the race itself (the race, the second to be run in wet conditions, lasted 7 hours, 51 minutes and 43 seconds).

Goss was awarded theMedal of the Order of Australiain 2018 for services to motorsport.

Early career

Having moved from Victoria to Tasmania as a child, Goss began racing in his adopted state inHolden FJsandFord Customlines.He then built his own sports car, the TornadoFord,which he took to the mainland with some success, scoring points in theAustralian Sports Car Championshipin both1969and1970.He also racedFord Falcon GTHOsin production car racing from 1969 and stayed loyal to Ford for much of his career.

McLeod Ford

Series Production

Goss debuted at the Bathurst 500 in1969driving a McLeod Ford (with its distinctive yellow/black chequer windscreen strip) sponsoredFord Falcon GTHO,but Goss's co-driver Dennis Cribbin crashed the Falcon at Forrest's Elbow.In1970John Goss posted the fastest lap during the Bathurst 500 in hisXW Falcon GTHO Phase II.The following year Goss won two rounds of theToby Lee SeriesatOran Parkagainst such opposition asColin BondandFred Gibson.

Goss won the1972 South Pacific Touring Seriesand the1972 Sandown 250endurance race, this year being the last to run competition underSeries Productionrules. He also put his XY Falcon GTHO on the front row of the grid at the1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500,qualifying second fastest next to theWorks GTHOof expat-CanadianAllan Moffat.Engine failure after 24 wet laps ended Goss's race.

Group C

With the Series Production class being replaced by the newGroup C Touring Carclass in 1973, Goss was the first driver to develop and race the newFord Falcon XA GT Hardtop.Unlike Series Production, the new Group C rules allowed considerable modifications. Goss obtained sponsorship fromShelland continued his association with Max McLeod, a prominent Ford dealer (McLeod Ford) inRockdale, New South Wales– known for his "Horn cars"– as well as obtaining factory assistance fromFord Australia,who provided Goss with purpose-built XA racing chassis. Goss was actually the first to race the XA Hardtop in the1973 ATCC,even before the Works team who used a modified Phase III GTHO and didn't make the switch to the Hardtop until theEndurance raceslater in the year. Goss andKevin Bartlettteamed up for the1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000at Bathurst and qualified onpole positionwith a time of 2:33.4 (it was to be Goss' only pole at Bathurst) ahead of theGTR-XU1 Holden ToranaofPeter BrockandDoug Chivas.Goss started and built up a good lead which was kept until he was involved in a crash at The Cutting which damaged his front end.The Falcon suffered radiator damage which later caused its retirement on lap 110 of the now 163 lap race (prior to 1973, race distance was 500 miles and ran only 130 laps).

The pair returned to Bathurst for the1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000in the same car – repainted from yellow to blue after losingShellas their major sponsor – and proved to have the reliability needed to last through a race marred by driving rain, finishing first.To celebrate the victory,Ford Australiareleased a limited editionXB Falcon 500 Hardtopin 1975 called theJohn Goss Special.Actual production numbers of these cars were never released by Ford, but estimates range anywhere between 260 and 800 – they are now considered collectible.

John Goss's latter-day replica of his 1974 Bathurst winning car

Ford XB Falcon Hardtop "John Goss Special"

Formula 5000

Goss won theSandown Parkround of the1975 Tasman Seriesand the1976 Australian Grand Prixat Sandown Park in Victoria, driving an Australian builtMatich A53Repco Holdenin both events.In doing so he became the only driver to ever win both theBathurst 1000and theAustralian Grand Prix.During the mid-1970s Goss was concentrating his racing efforts more on the F5000 than his Croup C Falcons and ever loyal to Ford tried to run the A53 with a5.0L Ford V8but the concept had little success.

Jaguar

Group C

From 1977 to 1979, Goss registered three 'Did Not Finish' results at Bathurst driving Falcons with24 Hours of Le ManswinnerHenri Pescaroloas co-driver. In the1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000he ran a second team car for Australia's three timeFormula OneWorld ChampionJack Brabham,and Jack's sonGeoff.

Then in 1980, Goss began campaigning aV12poweredJaguar XJSat Bathurst, at first with no luck. In the1980 racehe started what was basically a standard car from 58th on the grid, but lasted only 14 laps before retiring with gearbox failure. In1981,he teamed with1965winnerBarry Setonin the XJS, and after an improved qualifying effort (19th), they weren't classified as finishers of the crash shortened race having completed only 73 of the 120 laps and being caught up in the crash on the top of the mountain. Goss returned with a better prepared effort in1982,sharing the driving withAmericanIMSAJaguarsports carrace driver / team ownerBob Tullius,who also assisted with technical info for the car and engine. Goss qualified the car 14th with a time of 2:22.3 (almost 5 seconds slower than pole sitterAllan Gricein aV8Holden Commodore,but some 5.7 seconds faster than he had achieved in 1981), but after a strong, consistent run, once again the big cat failed to finish following suspension failure on lap 119.

Goss missed the1983 James Hardie 1000,but returned in1984for the last year of Australia's Group C racing sharing a drive withTom Walkinshaw,team owner of theEuropean Touring Car ChampionshipsTom Walkinshaw Racing.Walkinshaw, who ran three factory backedGroup AXJS' in the ETCC (and would go on to win that title in 1984), added a lot of technical assistance to the team with revised suspension and the use of one of TWR's own V12 engines. Despite trouble in qualifying with no suitable rear tyres arriving in time to use, theScotqualified the car in 8th with a 2:16.09 lap (faster than Peter Brock's 1983 pole time), before falling to 10th in the Hardies Heroes top ten run-off with a 2:18.96, again due to unsuitable rear tyres. Walkinshaw also started the race never left the line. The Jags clutch had gone leaving Walkinshaw stranded with his arm out the window warning other drivers he was stationary. Before the race Walkinshaw had informedJohn Harvey,who was lined up behind him on that grid, that he wasn't confident of a quick start as the cars clutch was designed for the rolling starts used in the ETCC. Harvey took the precaution to line hisHDTVK Commodoreso that he could get around the slow starting Jag if needed, a tactic which allowed him to avoid the chaos that ensued. Unfortunately in the dust kicked up off the start, theKevin BartlettownedChevrolet Camaroof John Tesoriero was coming through at speed and could not avoid the #12 Jag, hitting it in the rear. The Camaro was then hit by the fast startingToyota Celica SupraofPeter Williamsoncausing a start line pile up. This caused the race to be stopped as the track was completely blocked by the three cars involved, with the back half of the field having to stop to avoid the incident. It would be the only time the race has ever been restarted in its history. While Goss later admitted that the team could have repaired the Jaguar and re-joined the race, the decision was made to withdraw the car as the repairs would have taken almost half the race.

Group A

The 1980Jaguar XJ-SJohn Goss repainted as a replica of the1985 James Hardie 1000race winner

Australian Touring Car racing changed to International Group A rules in1985,and Goss scored his second and last ourtightBathurst winthat year withWest Germanco-driverArmin Hahnein one of a three-car assault on the Great Race by Tom Walkinshaw's TWR team using the 1984 ETCC-winning V12 Jaguar XJS' (Walkinshaw had been stung by the bad showing in 1984 and was determined to bring his own team back to conquer the race). Goss, installed by Walkinshaw as lead driver of the team's third car (#10), actually qualified fastest going into Hardies Heroes, giving lie to those who believed he was past his best as a driver and that Walkinshaw had made an error by having him drive. He ended up 6th in the Top Ten run-off after mistakes on both laps (1985 was the last year that cars were given two laps in Hardies Heroes).

The cars were held on the grid for a long time before the green flag was shown. This caused several cars, including the Goss Jaguar, to start overheating. To avoid this Goss actually turned the car off and only restarted it when the 30 second sign was shown, though the car was still overheating. Goss made a good start and for the opening laps was in a dice for 2nd withAllan Grice(Commodore),Robbie Francevic(Volvo),Dick Johnson(Ford Mustang),Jim Richards(BMW 635 CSi) andPeter Brock(Commodore). First Francevic, then Goss, broke free of the dice. Once free of the dice, Goss would chase down and take second from the Volvo in less than 10 laps, giving Jaguar a 1–2 on the road for the first time since the early laps before the team's second car driven byJeff Allamretired with engine failure. From then on, the Goss/Hahne Jaguar was in second place for most of the race behind the Walkinshaw/Win Percycar. Goss and Hahne's job was made all the more difficult by the driver's seat of their car having completely broken at the base of the back. The seat first cracked during Hahne's first driving stint and broke completely when Goss returned to the car, giving both drivers very little support despite efforts by the team to hold it in place with cable ties to the roll cage. The team could have replaced the seat but felt they would have lost at least a lap in doing so and decided to soldier on, a decision ultimately justified. The #10 car took the lead on about lap 120 following a split oil line on the Walkinshaw/Percy car. Goss, unable to drive the car hard through the corners due to the broken seat, had to use the superior power of the V12 on Mountain and Conrod straights to keep up lap times, with both Peter Brock andRoberto Ravaglia(BMW) closing the gap to within 30 seconds. The chase effectively ended with Brock's engine failure on lap 160 allowing Goss to back off over the last 3 laps. Team owner Walkinshaw, who qualified on pole following the Top Ten, finished third with Win Percy, the pair crossing the finish line together.

After Jaguar Rover Australia declined to help fund a return effort by TWR in1986Goss returned with his own privately entered XJ-S backed byCitibank Australiaand co-driven by veteranBob Muir.After numerous problems in before and during qualifying including not passing scrutineering due to the liberal interpretation of the rear suspension pick up points and not having suitable size tyres, the pair started 26th, slower than the only other XJS in the race, a private effort driven byGarry WillmingtonandPeter Janson.Electrical troubles in the race resulting in a flat battery saw them complete 140 laps and finish 24th outright. Goss was involved in an incident on lap 2 of the race that took out theRoberto Ravaglia/Dieter QuesterSchnitzerBMW 635 CSiwhich resulted in Ravaglia physically attacking Goss from behind following the Jag's first pit stop. Despite being offered by the race stewards the chance to lay charges against Ravaglia for the incident, Goss refused to take the case any further believing it was just one of those things and that theItalianwas just caught up in the emotion of the moment. Goss later toldChannel 7pit reporterPat Welsh(who had seen Ravaglia attack him) that he was "astounded" by what the Italian had done both on and off the track, though he did not elaborate on what took place in the pits.

1987-1990

Goss missed the1987World Touring Car Championshipround as well as the1988race but returned to drive forGlenn Seton Racingin1989in aFord Sierra RS500.He paired withGlenn Setonfor a fourth-placed finish at theSandown 500.At theBathurst 1000,Goss was teamed withTony Noskein the team's second car, they were joined during the race by Seton after his own car had failed. After a troubled run the trio went on to finish 20th outright after the car started 17th.

Goss' final Bathurst 1000 came in1990when he paired with fellow Sydney based veteran Phil Ward in aPhil Ward RacingMercedes-Benz 190Eto finish 12th outright and a Division 2 class win after starting 38th. In contrast to his outright wins at Bathurst in 1974 and 1985, Goss' Div2 win with Ward was relatively straight forward as the Mercedes-Benz ran the race with no problems.

Career results

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
1969	Australian Sports Car Championship	9th	TornadoFord	John Goss Racing
1970	Australian Sports Car Championship	10th	TornadoFord	McLeod Ford
1972	South Pacific Touring Series	1st	Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III	McLeod Ford
	Australian Touring Car Championship	11th
1973	Australian Touring Car Championship	14th	Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	McLeod Ford
1974	South Pacific Touring Series	2nd	Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	McLeod Ford
	Toby Lee Sports Sedan Series	7th
	Australian Drivers' Championship	9th	Matich A53Repco Holden	John Goss Racing
1975	Tasman Series	6th	Matich A53 Repco Holden	John Goss Racing
	Toby Lee Formula 5000 Series	2nd
	Australian Drivers' Championship	13th
1976	Australian Drivers' Championship	5th	Matich A53 Repco Holden	John Goss Racing
	Rothmans International Series	5th
1977	Rothmans International Series	4th	Matich A53 Repco Holden	John Goss Racing
	Australian Touring Car Championship	28th	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Ford XC Falcon Hardtop
1978	Australian Touring Car Championship	30th	Ford XC Falcon Hardtop	John Goss Racing
1982	Australian Endurance Championship	NC	Jaguar XJS	John Goss Racing
1984	Australian Endurance Championship	NC	Mazda RX-7 Jaguar XJS	Valentine Greetings John Goss Racing Pty. Ltd.
1985	Australian Endurance Championship	10th	Jaguar XJS	JRA Ltd
1986	Australian Endurance Championship	NC	Jaguar XJS	John Goss Racing
1990	Australian Endurance Championship	NC	Mercedes-Benz W201	Phil Ward Racing

Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1969	McLeod Ford Pty Ltd	Dennis Cribbin	Ford XW Falcon GTHO	D	50	DNF	DNF
1970	McLeod Ford Pty Ltd	Bob Skelton	Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II	E	127	9th	3rd
1971	McLeod Ford Pty Ltd	Barry Sharp	Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III	E	129	6th	5th
1972	McLeod Ford Pty Ltd	drove solo	Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III	D	24	DNF	DNF
1973	McLeod Ford	Kevin Bartlett	Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	D	110	DNF	DNF
1974	McLeod Ford - 2UW	Kevin Bartlett	Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	3001 – 6000cc	163	1st	1st
1975	John Goss Racing Pty Ltd	Kevin Bartlett	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	D	10	DNF	DNF
1976	John Goss Racing Pty Ltd	Jim Richards	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	3001cc - 6000cc	129	DNF	DNF
1977	John Goss Racing Pty Limited	Henri Pescarolo	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	3001cc - 6000cc	113	DNF	DNF
1978	John Goss Pty Ltd	Henri Pescarolo	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	A	67	DNF	DNF
1979	John Goss P/L	Henri Pescarolo	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	A	118	DNF	DNF
1980	John Goss Pty Ltd	Ron Gillard	Jaguar XJS	3001-6000cc	14	DNF	DNF
1981	John Goss Racing	Barry Seton	Jaguar XJS	8 Cylinder & Over	73	DNF	DNF
1982	John Goss Racing	Bob Tullius	Jaguar XJS	A	119	DNF	DNF
1984	John Goss Racing	Tom Walkinshaw	Jaguar XJS	Group C	0	DNF	DNF
1985	JRA Ltd	Armin Hahne	Jaguar XJS	C	163	1st	1st
1986	John Goss Racing	Bob Muir	Jaguar XJS	C	140	DNF	DNF
1989	Peter Jackson Racing	Glenn Seton Tony Noske	Ford Sierra RS500	A	140	20th	17th
1990	Phil Ward Racing	Phil Ward	Mercedes-Benz 190E	2	148	12th	1st

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1976	"Beurlys"	John Blaton Nick Faure	Porsche 934	GT	168	DNF	DNF

References

• A History of Australian Motor Sport, © 1980
• Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974
• Australian Competition Yearbook, 1975
• Australian Competition Yearbook, 1976
• Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977
• Australian Competition Yearbook, 1978
• Racing Car NewsChampions, 1972
• The History of the Falcon GT – Stewart Wilson (1978) – pg 44
• Team Dan
• Cams Manual