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Vale Harry Firth: Australian Motorsport Legend Dies, Aged 96

Australian motorsport legend Harry Firth has died, aged 96. Firth was best known for his role as team manager for both the Ford and Holden factory teams in Australian Touring Car racing throughout the 1960s and 70s, along with his success as a driver i


Australian motorsport legend Harry Firth has died, aged 96.

Firth was best known for his role as team manager for both the Ford and Holden factory teams in Australian Touring Car racing throughout the 1960s and 70s, along with his success as a driver in the early years of ‘The Great Race’.

Known as ‘The Fox’, Firth teamed up with Bob Jane to win the 1961 and 62 Armstrong 500 races at Phillip Island, before the race moved to Mount Panorama in Bathurst for 1963.

Jane and Firth made it three-in-a-row at Bathurst in ’63, and Firth teamed up with Fred Gibson to win the Gallaher 500 in 1967; Firth’s fourth and final Great Race victory.

The Fox earned his nickname through crafty displays as both a driver and team manager, one example of which was the ‘misplaced’ racing number on one of the Ford Works Falcons at Bathurst in 1968.

Firth later said he deliberately placed the car’s racing number off-centre on the front doors to draw attention away from the car’s lower-than-standard ride height.

Harry was also well known for fashioning engineering solutions to prepare road cars for the stresses of motorsport.

In 1969, Firth jumped ship from Ford to Holden and the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was formed around his leadership. 

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