Further forays on the Mount
Despite not embracing a full-on race career, Bob made three other visits to Mount Panorama.
In 1970 he paired up with Brian ‘Brique’ Reed in an LC Torana XU-1.
“Brique started the race and at the rst pit stop when I got in, the seat belt got tangled up under the seat and I could not get it fastened. The pit stop nished, so I drove off not wanting to lose any time.”
He ddled around for a couple of laps trying to do the belt up, but to no avail. So he just concentrated on driving.
“I was conscious that fellow rally driver John Keran had already had a big off at McPhillamy when a tyre let go, driving a XU-1 with the same tyres, and had badly broken his leg.”
That accident virtually ended John Keran’s rally career, so Watson was thankful that when his Torana also had a tyre let go half way through his stint, it was much less dramatic and de ated a lot slower. Unlike Keran, he got away with it.
“I still had no seat belt on, but was able to keep the car on the track and get it back to the pits. Sometimes there is someone smiling down on you!”
Watson didn’t return to Bathurst for another four years, when he paired up with the versatile Roger Bonhomme in an LC Torana GTR.
Bonhomme was also a top rally driver and navigator, and had been a part of Bob’s Renault ARC team, pairing with Mal McPherson in 1970.
The LC Torana was a 2850cc GTR which meant it could run in the under three litre class. But the ageing Torana was no match for the gaggle of rapid Mazda RX3s and a hot factory Datsun 240K, along with a glittering array of drivers. The pair nished 15th outright in the treacherous conditions and fth in class. The class was won by Bob’s partner from the 1970 race, Brique Reed, paired with Tony Farrell in an RX3.
Bob’s last assault on the Great Race was in 1975 when he paired with fellow Victorian Lawrie Nelson in a V6 Capri. The Ford Capri effort was overseen and mentored by none other than former Ford works team manager, Howard Marsden. Watson reckons the V6 was a rocketship.
“Lawrie quali ed the car 24th and I think about fourth in class. It recorded 218km/h down Conrod with the rear wheels coming off the deck over the second hump! But it had a fuel blockage early in the race and retired after just 32 laps, so I didn’t get to drive in the race.”