Australian Muscle Car – July 01, 2019

suddenly found the Commodores had bigger
wheels and tyres, bigger brakes, stronger
struts and new front and rear spoilers, while the
Falcons would also bene t from wider wheels to
make their tyres last longer, as well as improved
cylinder heads. Even the BMWs bene tted,
gaining 24-valve race engines, suspension
improvements and centre-lock wheels. Nissan
had foolishly asked for nothing, and received it,
but woke up for the second round of concessions
and were granted new turbos and a driver-
controlled boost device.
Moffat also went back to the counter and was
given fuel injection, hoping improved economy
would eliminate at least one pit stop at Bathurst,
but he didn’t count on the extra consumption that
inevitably results from more power.
He set a blistering pace to win the Sandown
400 again with the 13B, but almost ran dry before
the vocal Sandown crowd had a chance to give

him another rousing booing.

“The 13B came straight from Japan and we

ran it at ten-six all day,” Webb says.

“One of the Japs came out and when we told

him after the race that we ran ten-six for the

whole race, we had to pull the engine out on

Monday morning and it was put in a box and sent

straight back to Japan. They wanted to have a

look at it to see how it had survived. They sent

out two new ones.”

Relations with Grice reached a new low at

Sandown, as Horsley recalls: “We had a pretty

vicious head-on clash with Grice in those days.

He protested against us for some small thing

(wheels sticking out from the guards), but I

already had a 10-point protest against him written

up, and I just stood at the stewards’ caravan

until one minute to go (until the cut-off) and then

handed it to them, which they had to deal with

before the race. So Grice’s team just about had

to pullthecarapartandputit backtogether

before the next day.”

At Bathurst, the fuel injection proved

troublesome due to the altitude and the team

struggled to get it working properly.

From a lowly 14th starting spot, Moffat worked

his way back into contention, only to have the

door jam, which delayed he and Katayama at

the stops. Brock’s #05 car expired early, but he

switched to the number 25 and raced to another

devastating victory, Moffat coming home a distant

second. Another one had slipped away. “We just

weren’t quick enough,” Horsley sighs.

The 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship

represents the high-water mark of Moffat’s Mazda

days. Most rivals – and many fans – headed to

Bathurst that year thinking he would dominate the

October classic. It wasn’t to be. Holden had again

outmanoeuvred its rivals politically, were better

prepared and also outraced them.