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Ford Fan to Celebrate 30 Straight Years at Bathurst
Staff, Tuesday September 26, 2006.
Page 1 of 1
One man will be making his 30th consecutive appearance at the Super Cheap Auto 1000 this October and not once has he been in a racing car at Mount Panorama!
Tony Hawton is a small businessman from Penrith in the west of Sydney with a passion that revolves around the ‘Great Race’ and Ford.
Hawton’s affinity with Mount Panorama began in 1977.
“My brother took me to the top of Mount Panorama on the Saturday of the race weekend in 1977,” said Hawton.
“I watched Allan Moffat and Colin Bond in the Ford Falcon XCs go around and I was hooked. The following day I watched them finish 1-2 and have been back every year since.
“I have seen it all in those years; Dick Johnson hitting the rock and then his three wins, the Sierra days and Jason Bright victory in 1998. I would have liked to see more wins for the Blue Oval, but that doesn’t stop my enthusiasm for going to Bathurst.”
Over the years Hawton has collected a wide range of Ford Racing memorabilia and keeps it all in a permanent display in a garage in his backyard. Also part of the display is a 1965 Mustang Coupe and 1971 Falcon XY GT – all V8s.
Hawton is now counting down the days until he heads to the 2006 Super Cheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst.
“Family comes first, but Ford really does means a lot to me,” said Hawton.
“I don’t smoke or gamble, so my wife is quite happy for me to indulge in my passion.
“Right now the excitement is right up there. The win for Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom in the CAT Ford at the Sandown 500 has stirred my emotions – I actually find it hard to sleep!
“Each year it gets to a stage where my wife and daughters say I just have to go. I actually get to Bathurst on the Saturday a week prior to the race in a specially hand-painted trailer that I sleep in.
“We book the same area behind the pits each year. I get in first and put up a fence around the area and arrange for a couple of truck loads of pine chip to be laid. That’s so everything is right for the other guys in our group when they arrive closer to the race. All up we have around ten different vans and tents with blokes from all around the country – we all met over the years at Bathurst.
“Monday is always an exciting day for me as that’s when the transporters with all the race cars start to arrive. From that point on we are in race week!
“Being so close to the pits we have been very fortunate over the years to have had just about all the Ford stars call in and have a look at the set-up. They have been good enough to sign plenty of things and even give us some memorabilia from the race weekends.
“Come race day I’m set. We have the luxury of watching the start from the pit straight and then move around throughout the day. It doesn’t matter if it’s sunny or hailing, and you usually get both at Bathurst, I’m enjoying my favourite day of the entire year. It’s like having my birthday and Christmas on the same day!”
With Ford not winning at Mount Panorama since 1998 he has had to be patient for that next Blue Oval win.
“I want Ford to win that’s the bottom line,” said Hawton.
“However, I’d really like to see Glenn Seton finally win this race. Glenn and Dick Johnson are my heroes, but Dick has three wins.
“The perfect result would be a win to Glenn and James Courtney in 2006, with Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup in second, that would keep Craig in front of the championship; then Steven Johnson and Will Davison in third. That would be the best way to celebrate 30 years at the mountain.”
The Super Cheap Auto 1000 runs from October 5-8
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