Vale Allan Moffat, the gentleman racer

With Allan Moffat's 1977 Hardie-Ferrodo 1000 winner's trophy at the Dog on the Tuckerbox.

Allan Moffat was Canadian by birth, but Australian by choice and by deed. He arrived here with an accent, a ruthless work ethic, and a gift for driving a race car on the absolute limit with a grace that made it look effortless. Four Bathurst wins, four Australian Touring Car titles, a Le Mans class victory, and more lap records than most drivers have race starts. Yet he was never less than courteous, never less than impeccably turned out, never anything less than a gentleman.

He gave us the 1-2 fairy tale of ’77, and decades of Ford versus Holden battles that felt like civil war on wheels. Australian motorsport would have been quieter, slower, and far less colourful without him.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Vale Allan Moffat, the gentleman racer.

I was seven years old when Allan Moffat and Colin Bond crossed the line 1-2 in their Ford XC Falcon Hardtops at Bathurst in 1977. I still remember seeing these incredible cars crossing the finish line in a manner that defied the plan of Ken Miles and the Shelby Cobras at Le Mans… pic.twitter.com/r5fVh4La69

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) November 22, 2025