# 1976 Rover 500K

The 1976 Rover 500K was an endurance race for Group C Touring Cars. The race was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 28 November 1976 over 106 laps, totalling 501.4 kilometres. The Rover 500K was Round 4 of the 1976 Australian Championship of Makes and Round 11 of the 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship. It was the sixth "Phillip Island 500K" race to be held.
The race was notable for being Colin Bond's last drive for the Holden Dealer Team after more than seven years in their lineup. Bond won the race from Charlie O'Brien, the driver who would replace him in 1977. In a generally poorly attended entry the pair finished four laps ahead of Peter Janson, providing a clean sweep of the podium positions for Holden Torana drivers.

## Class structure

Cars competed in four classes, defined by the engine capacity.
* Class A : Up to 1300cc
* Class B : 1301–2000cc
* Class C : 2001 – 3000cc
* Class D : Over 3000cc

## Results

Results were as follows:
| Position | Drivers | No. | Car | Entrant | Laps |
| 1 | Colin Bond | 1 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | 106 |
| 2 | Charlie O'Brien | 8 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Tweed Motors | 106 |
| 3 | Peter Janson | 20 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Captain Peter Janson | 102 |
| 4 | Garth Wigston | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Roadways Racing | 102 |
| 5 | Allan Grice | 25 | Mazda RX-3 | Craven Mild Racing | 101 |
| 6 | Lou Stoopman Martin Power | | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | | 95 |
| 7 | John Pollard | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | 95 |
| 8 | David Langman Bernie McClure | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | 95 |
| 9 | Frank Porter | 60 | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT | Clemens Motors | 94 |
| 10 | Bob Nissen | | Ford Capri V6 | | 93 |
| 11 | Geoff Newton | | Ford Capri V6 | | 93 |
| 12 | Chris Heyer | | Volkswagen Golf | | 92 |
| 13 | Roger Bonhomme | | Honda Civic | | 92 |
| 14 | Ray Farrar John Millard | | Ford Escort GT 1300 | | 89 |
| 15 | Tony Niovanni | | Holden Gemini SL | | 87 |
| 16 | Max McGinley | 65 | Honda Civic RS | | 86 |
| 17 | Bronwyn Taylor Frank Brewster | | Honda Civic | | 82 |
| 18 | Kel Gough Alan Gough | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | 78 |
| 19 | Geoff Wade | | Ford Escort 1300 MkII | | 75 |
| 20 | Granton Harrison Warwick Henderson | | Alfa Romeo GTV | | 67 |
| Class A : Up to 1,300 cc ||||||
| 1 | Roger Bonhomme | | Honda Civic | | 92 |
| 2 | Ray Farrar John Millard | | Ford Escort GT | | 89 |
| 3 | Max McGinley | | Honda Civic | | 86 |
| 4 | Bronwyn Taylor Frank Brewster | | Honda Civic | | 82 |
| 5 | Geoff Wade | | Ford Escort 1300 | | 75 |
| Class B : 1,301 to 2,000 cc ||||||
| 1 | Frank Porter | | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT | Clemens Motors | 94 |
| 2 | Chris Heyer | | Volkswagen Golf | | 92 |
| 3 | Tony Niovanni | | Holden Gemini SL | | 87 |
| 4 | Graham Harrison Warwick Henderson | | Alfa Romeo GTV | | 67 |
| Class C : 2,001 to 3,000 cc ||||||
| 1 | Allan Grice | | Mazda RX-3 | Craven Mild Racing | 101 |
| 2 | Bob Nissen | | Ford Capri V6 | | 93 |
| 3 | Geoff Newton | | Ford Capri V6 | | 93 |
| Class D : Over 3,000 cc ||||||
| 1 | Colin Bond | 1 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | 106 |
| 2 | Charlie O'Brien | 8 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Tweed Motors | 106 |
| 3 | Peter Janson | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Peter Janson | 102 |
| 4 | Garth Wigston | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Roadways Racing | 102 |
| 5 | Lou Stoopman Martin Power | | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | | 95 |
| 6 | John Pollard | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | 95 |
| 7 | David Langman Bernie McClure | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | 95 |
| Retirements ||||||
| DNF | Bill Evans | | Datsun 1200 | | |
| DNF | Jim Murcott | | Ford Escort RS2000 "MkI" | | |
| DNF | Peter Brock | 5 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Team Brock | |
| DNF | Terry Wade | | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | | |
| DNF | John Harvey | 2 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Marlboro-Holden Dealer Team | |
| DNF | Murray Carter | | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Brian Wood Ford | |
| DNF | Jim Stewart | | Morris Mini Clubman GT | | |
| DNF | Jim Keogh | | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | | |
| DNF | Geoff Moran | | Ford Capri V6 | | |
| DNF | Bob Morris | | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | Ron Hodgson Motors | |
| DNF | Lawrie Nelson | | Ford Capri V6 | Capri Components | |
| DNF | Wayne Mitchell | | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | |
| DNF | James Laing-Peach | | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | | |
Note: The event was contested by a 43 car field.