The 1978 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 19th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 1 October 1978, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group C touring car regulations with three engine capacity based classes.

The race was won by Peter Brock, his third win, and Sports Sedan racer Jim Richards, his first. The pair drove a Holden Dealer Team Holden Torana to a single lap victory over another Torana, that of Allan Grice and Formula 5000 driver John Leffler. Third was the first of the Ford Falcons, that of veteran Murray Carter and New Zealand open wheel great Graeme Lawrence. Richards became the first New Zealander to win the race and it was the Holden Dealer Teams third win.

Class structure

Class A

The 3001 - 6000cc class consisted entirely of compact muscle cars including V8 Holden Toranas and Ford Falcons.

Class B

The 2001 – 3000cc class featured Mazda RX3, Ford Capri, and BMW 3.0Si.

Class C

The Up to 2000cc class saw a mix of Alfa Romeo Alfetta and GTV 2000, Ford Escort RS2000, Holden Gemini, Toyota Celica, Triumph Dolomite and VW Golf.

Hardies Heroes

1978 saw the introduction of the Hardies Heroes Top 10 runoff (now referred as the Top Ten Shootout) for pole position, devised by race broadcaster Channel 7 and the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) for extra television time on the day before the race. With official qualifying now held on the Friday (previously held on the Saturday before the race from 1963-1977), the runoff was held on the Saturday morning with Seven showing half-hour highlights around Australia later in the afternoon. Drivers drew the order in which they would run out of a hat with the order being Allan Grice, Peter Brock, Jack Brabham, Dick Johnson, Derek Bell, Bob Morris, Garth Wigston, Colin Bond, John French and lucky last Allan Moffat. Each driver had two, one lap runs to set a quick time, though the second lap was optional.

Morning showers meant that the track was damp during the first run and with most cars on wet weather tyres, times reflected this with Grice recording a first up 2:38.2 and Brock a 2:35.6. No other driver was then able to lap better than 2:27 until Allan Moffat went out and ignoring the puddles (plus a little help from team members on top of the mountain who radioed in that the track was now dry enough for slicks), ran a 2:21.59 lap while hitting 159 mph (256 km/h) on Conrod Straight. Moffat's time in his 5.8 L V8 powered Ford Falcon Cobra was some 6 seconds faster than anyone else had managed and 4.8 seconds under his own Group C Touring Car lap record set in 1977.^[1] Taking Moffat's cue that the track was now dry enough for quick times, Brock then ran a 2:20.006 in his HDT Torana which was enough to give him his second Bathurst pole in succession and his third overall (his pole time would not be beaten until 1982). Moffat's team mate Colin Bond then joined Brock on the front row with a 2:20.871 lap (0.865 slower than Brock),^[2] and while Moffat then tried to respond, he had to settle for the inside of the second row with a time of 2:21.597. Bob Morris, the fastest in official qualifying with a 2:21.7 would start in fourth after equaling his time in the runoff, with his team mate Derek Bell rounding out the top 5, though he was some 2.8 seconds slower than Morris. John French in the second Bryan Byrt Ford Falcon was the slowest in the runoff, his time some 10.2 seconds slower than Brock's pole time and 4.6 seconds slower than team mate Dick Johnson.

Pos	No	Team	Driver	Car	Time
Pole	05	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	Peter Brock	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:20.006
2	2	Moffat Ford Dealers	Colin Bond	Ford XC Falcon Cobra	2:20.871
3	1	Moffat Ford Dealers	Allan Moffat	Ford XC Falcon Cobra	2:21.597
4	7	Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing	Bob Morris	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:21.766
5	27	Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing	Derek Bell	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:24.602
6	17	Bryan Byrt Ford	Dick Johnson	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	2:25.632
7	6	Craven Mild Racing	Allan Grice	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:25.950
8	8	Jack Brabham Holdings Pty Ltd	Jack Brabham	Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door	2:25.988
9	20	Roadways / Gown-Hindhaugh	Garth Wigston	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	2:26.144
10	32	Bryan Byrt Ford	John French	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	2:30.244

* Bob Morris was fastest qualifier going into Hardies Heroes in his Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback with a 2:21.7 lap, and although he equalled this time in the shootout, he fell to 4th on the grid.
* Dick Johnson made the first of 20 consecutive starts in the Top 10 runoff at Bathurst. He finished the shootout in 6th position in his Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop.
* Peter Brock's pole time of 2:20.006 would stand as the fastest pole time at Bathurst until Allan Grice recorded a 2:17.501 to claim pole in a Holden VH Commodore SS in 1982.
* Triple Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham qualified for his only top 10 shootout at Bathurst in a 4-Door version of the A9X Torana, finishing in 8th position. The Brabham name would not appear in another Bathurst Top 10 runoff until his son David qualified 8th in 1993 in a Holden VP Commodore.
* The top 10 consisted of 6 Holden Torana's and 4 Ford Falcons. While the Torana's were spread over 5 different teams, the Falcons only came from Moffat Ford Dealers and Bryan Byrt Ford.

Results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps	Qual Pos	Shootout Pos
1	A	05	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	Peter Brock Jim Richards	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	163		1
2	A	6	Craven Mild Racing	Allan Grice John Leffler	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	162		7
3	A	18	Brian Wood Ford	Murray Carter Graeme Lawrence	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	160	31
4	A	11	Citizens Watches Australia Pty Ltd	Gary Cooke Doug Chivas	Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door	158	27
5	A	17	Bryan Byrt Ford	Dick Johnson Vern Schuppan	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	153		6
6	A	8	Jack Brabham Holdings Pty Ltd	Jack Brabham Brian Muir	Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door	153		8
7	A	23	Settlement Road Motor Wreckers	Warren Cullen Johnnie Walker	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	152	13
8	A	33	Amco Pty Ltd	Barry Seton Don Smith	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	152	15
9	C	69	Brian Wood Ford	Rod Stevens Bill Evans	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I	149	38
10	B	52	Amco Pty Ltd	Steve Masterton Phil Lucas	Ford Capri Mk.I	149	40
11	C	70	Peter Williamson Pty Ltd	Peter Williamson Mike Quinn	Toyota Celica	149	36
12	B	41	B&J Tyre Co Pty Ltd	Terry Shiel Ross Burbidge	Mazda RX-3	148	37
13	B	42	Fury Ford Pty Ltd	Terry Daly Eric Boord	Ford Capri Mk.I	148	30
14	B	37	Shell Sport	Peter Hopwood Jim Davidson	Ford Capri Mk.II	147	35
15	B	35	Amco Pty Ltd	Don Holland Lawrie Nelson	Ford Capri Mk.II	145	29
16	C	62	Greater Pacific Finance Co	Ray Gulson Paul Gulson	Alfa Romeo GTV 2000	143	55
17	B	48	James Mason Pty Ltd	Barry Jones Brian Potts	Mazda RX-3	142	63
18	C	57	Thomson Ford	Bill Stanley Ian Messner	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	142	52
19	A	15	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	John Harvey Charlie O'Brien	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	139	11
20	B	51	JD Duggan	John Duggan Brian Wheeler	Mazda RX-3	137	45
21	B	36	Arthur Hardwick	Arthur Hardwick Greg McCombie	Mazda RX-3	136	34
22	A	10	Garry & Warren Smith Pty Ltd	Bob Forbes Kevin Bartlett	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	136	12
23	A	29	Garry Willmington	Garry Willmington Jeff Barnes	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	136	23
24	A	19	Bonds Coates Patons	Graham Ryan Phillip Arnull	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	135	20
25	C	73	B&G Myers Leyland	Terry Wade John Myers	Triumph Dolomite Sprint	134	47
26	C	60	Peter Brown	Peter Brown Graham Ritter	Alfa Romeo GTV 2000	133	41
27	B	43	Gough Motors Mazda	Nick Louis Stephen Stockdale	Mazda RX-3	132	43
28	C	54	Bruce T Hodgson	Bruce Hodgson Dave Morrow	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	130	46
29	C	66	Brian Hilton Toyota	Jeff Harris Doug Clark	Toyota Celica	128	58
30	A	28	Rod Donovan	Rod Donovan Craig McAllister	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	125	24
31	C	61	Consolidated Pneumatic Tools Co (Aust) Pty Ltd	Ian Sonneman John English	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.I	121	50
DNF	A	26	Craven Mild Racing	Ralph Radburn Robyn Hamilton	Holden LX Torana SS A9X 4 Door	148	21
DNF	B	49	ABE Copiers Pty Ltd	Sue Ransom Bill Brown	Ford Capri Mk.I	144	33
DNF	A	31	Norm G Smith Racing	Leo Leonard Gary Sprague	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	119	18
DNF	A	20	Roadways / Gown-Hindhaugh	Garth Wigston Wayne Negus	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	118		9
DNF	C	65	LR Morris	Rod Morris Terry Finnigan	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	115	56
DNF	A	9	ReCar Racing / Cadbury - Schweppes	Peter Janson Phil Brock	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	110	14
DNF	C	59	Kevin Dennis Motors (Sunshine) Pty Ltd	Allan Gough Kel Gough	Holden Gemini	109	59
DNF	A	14	Thomson Ford	Ron Dickson John McCormack	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	100	16
DNF	C	56	Paul-Francois Berthier	Paul Berthier Bob Wootton	Triumph Dolomite Sprint	95	49
DNF	C	63	Bob Holden / Shell Sport	Bob Holden Lyndon Arnel	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	93	48
DNF	A	34	Tim Slako	Tim Slako Colin Hall	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	92	26
DNF	B	50	ATP Australia Pty Ltd	Alan Cant Bruce Stewart	Ford Capri Mk.I	91	61
DNF	A	4	John Goss Pty Ltd	Rusty French Graham Moore	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	90	25
DNF	C	64	Bob Holden / Shell Sport	Greville Arnel Greg Toepfer	Ford Escort RS2000 Mk.II	89	51
DNF	B	39	Citizens Watches Australia Pty Ltd	Barry Lee David Clement	Mazda RX-3	82	44
DNF	A	1	Moffat Ford Dealers	Allan Moffat Jacky Ickx	Ford XC Falcon Cobra	81		3
DNF	A	24	Hendersons Federal Spring Works / Shell Sport	Jim Keogh Grant Walker	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	74	19
DNF	A	7	Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing	Bob Morris John Fitzpatrick	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	73		4
DNF	A	13	Scotty Taylor Holden	Alan "Scotty" Taylor Kevin Kennedy	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	68	22
DNF	A	3	John Goss Pty Ltd	John Goss Henri Pescarolo	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	67	28
DNF	B	46	Brian Wood Ford	Ray Farrar Gerry Wittenden	Ford Capri Mk.I	66	62
DNF	B	47	Selby's Steering & Suspension Service Pty Ltd	Dean Gall Allan Bryant	Mazda RX-3	61	54
DNF	A	2	Moffat Ford Dealers	Colin Bond Fred Gibson	Ford XC Falcon Cobra	59		2
DNF	A	32	Bryan Byrt Ford	John French Warwick Brown	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	57		10
DNF	C	53	Lennox Motors	Chris Heyer Rudi Dahlhauser	Volkswagen Golf GTi	35	60
DNF	B	44	Geoff Leeds	Cam Worner Geoff Leeds	Ford Capri Mk.I	29	32
DNF	A	12	Bob Jane T-Marts	Ian Geoghegan Garry Rogers	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	29	17
DNF	B	45	Robert Darley	Jim Hunter Barry Lake	BMW 530i[3]	27	53
DNF	B	40	Phil McDonell	Phil McDonnell Lynn Brown	BMW 3.0Si	21	39
DNF	C	72	Alf Grant	Alf Grant Geoff Russell	Alfa Romeo GTV 2000	21	57
DNF	A	27	Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing	Derek Bell Dieter Quester	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	5		5
DNF	C	71	Brian Foley Pty Ltd	Garry Leggatt Patrick Nève	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV	3	42
DNS	A	30	Everlast Battery Service	Bill O'Brien Ray Winter	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
DNS	C	74	Rejon Industries Pty Ltd	Bernie McClure David Langman	Holden Gemini

Statistics

• Provisional Pole Position - #7 Bob Morris - 2:21.7
• Pole Position - #05 Peter Brock - 2:20.006
• Fastest Lap - #1 Allan Moffat - 2:22.0 (lap record)
• Average Speed - 149 km/h
• Race Time - 6:45:53.9