1974 – The little Alfa that couldn’t
In 1974 Gillard left Malcolm Motors to set up his own automotive repair business in a workshop in Annandale in Sydney’s inner west. His landlord was fellow racer, Gordon Rich.
“We got to talking about Bathurst. Gordon loved Alfa Romeos, and he wanted to do Bathurst, never been there. We had a bit of a think, and I had a look at the Alfa Junior. I suggested we get one and try to win the 1300cc class. On paper it looked good. Gordon bought one and I stripped it down and prepared it. We took it to Oran Park, and it was under the class lap record. Went to Bathurst, but what I had forgotten to do when I was preparing it was to put some blinkers on the headlights so it couldn’t see the big hill!
“It was a good car but it was too heavy. From Reid Park to Forrest’s Elbow I reckon it was the fastest car in the race – although everything held me up through there – but from Pit Straight to the top of the mountain it was as slow as a wet week. The only things we were able to pass up there was the Morris Marina and the other two Alfa Juniors!
“A lot of things happened at Reid Park, as it always does when it rains. A couple things happened that really could have changed that race. John Goss and Don Holland and I all arrived at Reid Park in the dip there together
“I was passing cars and being held up through The Dipper, although there was this one bloody red Torana that would catch me between The Dipper and Forrest’s Elbow. I’m thinking ‘Who is this bloke?’I found out later it was Jim Richards…”
– they’d both just passed me going up the hill. Suddenly it’s pissing down. Gossy spun, Don Holland went up the fence, two wheels on the fence and two on the track, then fell back down on the road and kept going, and I’m avoiding them and turning the steering wheel so many times that I didn’t know where straight ahead was – it was like driving on ice.
“I get back to down to Pit Straight and it’s dry – not raining there. I come into the pits and yell ‘Wets!’ Bill Slattery was our pit manager, and he says, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Put wets on, it’s pissing down on top of the mountain!’ ‘Are you sure?’ They all thought I was mad but Bill made the decision and I got wets. I took off and a few seconds later the entire eld is in for wets!
“I got up to third in class because the Alfa wasn’t much slower in the wet than it was in the dry. Up the end of Mountain Straight it was actually better because you could hurl it into the corner and get some revs up because it was wheel spinning and wouldn’t die as much! It was so much fun in the rain; I was passing cars and being held up through The Dipper, although there was this one bloody red Torana that would catch me between The Dipper and Forrest’s Elbow. I’m thinking ‘Who is this bloke?’I found out later it was Jim Richards…”
Gillard and Rich nished 19th outright and third in class.