Way out west

Gerry Lister and David Seldon both left British and Continental Cars in 1974 and headed west over the divide to start Orange City Motors in the central west city of Orange. They introduced dealerships for Volvo, Renault and Peugeot and acquired the franchise for Volkswagen, with Leyland soon to follow. This potpourri of European marques provided racing fodder for Seldon for several years (see Bathurst by the Year breakout) leading to his first (and only) time as a paid professional driver.

“For 1977 Ron Hodgson approached me and asked whether I wanted to join his Triumph Dolomite Sprint team and race in the (Sun 7–Rothmans) 3-litre series. It was better than arrive and drive – I actually got paid to race!”

There were two Dolomite Sprints; an ex-Andy Rouse Broadspeed-built car imported from the UK for Bob Morris and a locally sourced car built up by Ron Missen for Seldon. Both drivers would compete at the Amaroo Park-based under 3-litre series, whilst Seldon would also do limited ATCC rounds and the endurance races. The year was a bit of a mixed bag. The best result was a class win and seventh outright with (Graeme Lawrence/Phil Ward) in the Rothmans 500 at Oran Park.

After the Bathurst debacle (see breakout) the team was closed down and Seldon was back on the racing driver’s scrapheap without a drive. In 1978, the year that he moved back to Sydney, the phone didn’t ring and it looked like his racing days were over.