John Harvey (racing driver)
| John Harvey | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born |
21 February 1938 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Retired | 1988 |
| Australian Touring Car Championship | |
| Years active | 1965-86 |
| Teams | Holden Dealer Team |
| Wins | 2 |
| Best finish | 3rd in 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship |
| Previous series | |
| 1965-70 1966 1966-72 1969-72 |
Australian Drivers' Champ. Australian 1½ Litre Champ. Tasman Series Australian Sports Car Champ. |
| Championship titles | |
| 1966 1971 1972 1983 |
Australian 1½ Litre Champ. Australian Sports Car Champ. Australian Sports Car Champ. Bathurst 1000 |
John Francis Harvey (born 21 February 1938 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a retired Australian racing driver. He was a top Speedcar driver for many years in the 1950s and 1960s, winning many championship races including the NSW Championship for three successive years and the Victorian Championship twice before turning his skills to road racing where he had a long and successful career until his retirement at the end of 1988.
Despite being regarded as one of the best Speedcar drivers in Australia, Harvey switched from speedway to road racing in 1964 following the deaths of a few friends in Speedcar racing, as well as a contentious 6-month suspension received from the Sydney-based National Speedcar Club officials after he was alleged to spin fellow driver Al Staples in a scratch race at the Sydney Showground Speedway. Although this decision was later reverted to no suspension at the drivers meeting, Harvey decided to opt out of Speedway to go road racing. He would make a short lived comeback to racing speedcars in 1974 at the Liverpool Speedway in western Sydney after the track promoters changed the 440-metre (480 yd) D-shaped oval from a dirt track to a bitumen track, once again racing for the same car owner he had in the 1960s, Ronald Mackay.
Harvey drove cars such as the Austin Cooper S and Brabham BT14 Ford 1.5 litre. Harvey won the 1966 Australian 1½ Litre Championship in the Brabham and in the same year finished runner up in the Australian Drivers' Championship for 2.5 litre Australian National Formula cars in the same car, competing against much more powerful machinery. Also winning the NSW 1.5 litre Road Racing Championship.He began an involvement with Bob Jane’s racing team in 1967 and moved to Melbourne. Harvey won the 1971 and 1972 Australian Sports Car Championships driving the McLaren M6B Repco V8 for Bob Jane. He drove Jane's Repco V8 powered Holden Torana in Sports Sedan racing in the early 1970s, winning both the Toby Lee Series at Oran Park and the Marlboro Series at Calder Park Raceway in 1973.
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