Article on Christine Gibson on shannons.com.au

[Evan Bottcher]

http://www.shannons.com.au/club/news/the-mum-to-be-and-the-alfa-that-almost-stole-the-1975-atcc/

You have to register with the club to read the whole article - quite a nice read!  Anyone know where that car is now?

(link arrived via VRA mailing list, thanks!)

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Cool story bro.

[Chris Blanden]

Yes, I own the car and have since the early 1990's.

It had a bit of an altercation with the scenery on a Targa Tasmania in the late 1990's and then sat dormant waiting for a rebuild until mid 2011. The body should be ready later this year (and should be sensational) with the whole project looking to be completed in early/mid 2014, when it will be back on track with a Grp C log book.

BTW, the car's history is a lot more extensive than referred to in the article. It was actually Brian Foley's original GTV 2000, starting competition life in the 1973 Series Production series. Foley had his last win in the car in the Shell 100km 2 Litre Touring Car race at Amaroo Park in 1974. After the 1975 ATCC the car raced on, notably coming 8th outright and winning class C at Bathurst 1977, driven by Derek Bell and Gary Leggatt. IT did the Hang Ten 400 at Sandown and Bathurst again in 1978 in Autoricambi colours, after which it finally got pensioned off to run in Marque sports for a while in the 1980's. It has been a racing car its whole life and the poor old girl really did need a bit of TLC. It will return to the track in the same colours it ran Bathurst in 1977.

It's taken forever but i'm sure it will be worth the wait.

Cheers

[Davidm1600]

That is such great news the car not only has survived but is being lovingly brought back to life.  Photos if possible once finished would be wonderful. 

For those in the know, what ever happened to Christine and did she return to racing after having her children given how talented she was ?  Also why are there no women in top level racing.  Is it a matter of not allowed by some rules, or perhaps they are just not interested ??  It kind of does seem strange to me that there are not some women racing.  Even at the lower levels this doesn't seem to occur.

[colcol]

Christine Gibson returned to racing in the early 80's to race a fearsome front wheel drive Group C Nissan Turbo EXA, while hubby Fred drove a Datsun Bluebird Turbo, the Exa was a fearsome car to drive with all that power at the front wheels.
They were the Leanne and Garth Tander of the late 70's and early 80's.
Why are there no women in top level motor racing?, this is a subject i dare not comment on, Colin.

[GTV-074]

Here is some more info on Christine,

http://www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/01/christine-gibson/

I seem to recall a recent issue of 'Australian Musclecars' that had a few paragraphs on her and other Aussie drivers.

She was at the heart of the pile up that shortened '81 Bathurst Race. She race there a number of times in various makes.

Some of you may have seen this, but here is the front cover of SCW that did a story on those 'Giant Killers' ....

(this issue August 75, also had the "Journey in a Classic' story by Steve Cropley where he takes an old friend on one last drive, namely a GTV 2000 for the last time!)

Cheers.

[Evan Bottcher]

I bought a copy of that magazine today on ebay after reading the online article.  It cost more than 60c!

[Chris Blanden]

The front car on the cover of the mag and the same car, which is the subject of the track test inside, is the very same car we have been talking about.

[Evan Bottcher]

Yep, that's why I bought it

Good article, it has some cracking lines.  Like "Chris is 28 years old now and is a super bird as well as a superb driver".  Or "I asked her to drive me around the track for about five laps, so I could get used to her lines, (through the corners, you daft fool!)".

Definitely 1975.

I really enjoyed the club night a few years ago where Christine and Fred were guests, and Christine was definitely star of the show telling stories of driving Alfas.