Fred Gibson (motor racing)
| Fred Gibson | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 16 January 1941 (age 76) |
| Retired | 1983 |
| Australian Touring Car Championship | |
| Years active | 1968, 1972-74, 1982-83 |
| Teams |
Ford Works Team Nissan Motorsport Australia |
| Best finish | 4th in 1968 Australian Touring Car Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 1967 | Bathurst 1000 |
| Awards | |
| 2004 | V8 Supercars Hall of Fame |
Fred Gibson (born 16 January 1941) is a former Australian racing driver and race team owner.
After a career that began in small production sports cars, first an MGA, and later the first Lotus Elan to run in Australian competition, Gibson quickly moved up into the touring car ranks. In just his second Bathurst start he claimed second place in the 1966 Gallaher 500.
In 1967, Frank Matich, who was to co-drive one of the new Ford XR Falcon GTs at Bathurst with Harry Firth, had to pull out due to other commitments, and recommended Gibson as his replacement. Gibson first met Firth on the Thursday before the Gallaher 500 and later set the second fastest qualifying time behind their Sydney based team mates Ian and Leo Geoghegan, 1967 was the first year at Bathurst that grid positions were determined by qualifying times and not by class.
Alongside his team boss, Gibson scored his first major win, defeating the Geoghegans after a re-count of laps (the Geoghegans were flagged in 1st but a lap scoring error had been made during their first pit stop). The leading V8 Falcon GT's battled for most of the race with the Alfa Romeo 1600 GTVs, but for the first time in the history of the race, the bigger cars proved up to the challenge and went on to a strong win over the leading GTV of Doug Chivas and Max Stewart.
Gibson became a mainstay with the Ford Works Team for the next six years, taking much success at Sydney's Oran Park and Amaroo Park in particular. He won the competitive Oran Park production sedan series, the Toby Lee Series, in 1970 and 1971 driving his Falcon GTHO supported by his Sydney speedshop, Road & Track. At Bathurst however in the early 1970s he suffered a string of retirements. When the racing industry went into decline during the 70s Gibson raced less frequently but was a still regular at Bathurst.
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