primotipo…

(oldracephotos.com)

John Goss races his new Matich A53 Repco for the very first time, the ‘Oran Park 100’ Gold Star round on 4 August 1974…

‘007’ was the last and best F5000 the Matich team built, arguably it’s the best F5000 built in Oz. The story of Frank Matich and his cars I chronicled in a long treatise a while back, have a read if you haven’t seen it;

https://primotipo.com/2015/09/11/frank-matich-matich-f5000-cars-etcetera/

Goss extended himself, buying the car and some spares. Later he also bought A51 ‘005’ which he converted to A53 spec, racing both cars for years inclusive of the ’76 AGP win at Sandown, check this article out on Gossy;

John Goss: Bathurst 1000 and Australian Grand Prix Winner…

This short piece is inspired by these photos posted on social media for the first time this month. They are ‘mouth-watering’ for me as i’ve always loved this car especially in its Matich original ‘mellow yellow’ Repco livery. Its just the nicest, oh-so-fast bit of beautifully integrated kit.

Grant O’Neill at the back, he looked after John’s cars right thru from this point ex-Matich as he was. Peter Hughes in red and Repco’s Ken Symes at the right. John Davison in Matich A50 ‘004’ behind Oran Park, Gold Star, August 1974 (Neil Stratton)

To have seen FM race it in the US L&M Series in 1974 would have been really something, the A53 showed it could run and beat the best of the Lola T330/2’s in Goss’ hands in Oz. Frank would definitely have given a few folks some curry with all of the teams learnings from its unsuccessful 1973 American campaign.

In the Oran Park form up area with Kevin Bartlett’s Lola T332 Chev behind (autopics.com)

John Goss, Tornado Ford at Catalina Park, Katoomba in Sydney’s Blue Mountains, 1970 (oldracephotos.com)

As a young enthusiast I thought F5000 was a big step up for JG, a mere ‘touring car driver’ in my mind. I was ignorant of his pedigree in real cars though, whilst he started in tourers he quickly progressed to a largely self built, potent Falcon in-line 6 cylinder mid-engined sportscar, the ‘Tornado Ford’.

It was in that he made his name in his adopted Tasmania and later when he moved to the big smoke, Sydney, and Ford Falcon GTHO ‘Series Production’ fame. In F5000 Gossy was ‘on it’ from the start, giving the established aces plenty, he was as ‘quick as his mouth’, legend that he was for saying so little in so many, many words!

What a driver and what a car.

Goss in the McLeod Ford, Falcon GTHO Ph3 at Amaroo Park 1972 (oldracephotos.com)

Credits…

oldracephotos.com, Neil Stratton

Tailpiece…

Goss at Oran Park again in ‘007’, this time the ’75 Tasman round in February 1975, DNF with electrical problems. The first of many livery and body ‘evolutions’ over the years John raced the two A51/3 cars…

Finito…