1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500
The day following the official launch of the Monaro on the Gold Coast, prominant Melbourne based Holden dealer and former racer Bill Patterson reportedly asked McKay (who was on the Gold Coast covering the cars launch) what it would cost to run three of the new Holden Monaro GTS327's in the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Mount Panorama. This led to an agreement being reached where McKay's Scuderia Veloce team, under the name Holden Dealer Racing Team, would run three Monaro's which were separately financed by three different Holden dealers, Patterson Motors (Victoria), Midway Motors (Queensland) and Sutton Motors (NSW), with each dealer named on all three cars. The Monaro's (not, as rumor had it, the London-Sydney cars) were delivered to the teams base in Wahroonga on Sydney's upper North Shore where they were prepared by Scuderia Veloce chief mechanic Bob Atkins.
Car #23D was driven by international sports car and Formula One racer Paul Hawkins and Bill Brown, #24D was driven by New Zealander Jim Palmer (a Tasman Series regular) and Phil West, while car #25D was driven by 1964 Bathurst 500 winner George Reynolds and veteran touring and sports car driver Brian Muir.
The race was won by the privately entered Monaro of Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland. The Palmer/West Monaro finished second outright, with the Muir/Reynolds car in fifth, while the Hawkins/Brown car was disqualified for receiving outside assistance after breaking a wheel in The Cutting. Palmer and West had actually finished 3rd on the road, but the 2nd placed Des West / Ron Marks Monaro was disqualified in post-race scrutineering, lifting the HDRT car to second place.
It was not until the 1969 Datsun Three Hour at Sandown that a permanent Holden Dealer Team, managed by Harry Firth, had its first outing. None of the six Holden Dealer Racing Team drivers from 1968, nor David McKay or Scuderia Veloce were involved in Firth's 1969 Holden Dealer Team campaign.
Read more about this topic: Holden Dealer Racing Team