Tony Longhurst

Tony Longhurst
Nationality Australian
Born (1957-10-01) 1 October 1957
Sydney, New South Wales
ATCC / V8 Supercar
Years active 1985-2007
Teams JPS Team BMW
Tony Longhurst Racing
Longhurst Racing
Stone Brothers Racing
Rod Nash Racing
Holden Racing Team
Perkins Engineering
Team Dynamik
Starts 191
Wins 5
Best finish 3rd in 1991 & 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship
Previous series
1983
1986-91
1994
Alfasud Series
AMSCAR
Australian Super Touring
Championship titles
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1994
2001
2009
AMSCAR
AMSCAR
Bathurst 1000
AMSCAR
AMSCAR
AMSCAR
Australian Super Touring
Bathurst 1000
Bathurst 12 Hour

Tony Longhurst (born 1 October 1957 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian racing driver and former Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series.

Career

The Ford Sierra RS500 Longhurst drove to win 1988 Bathurst 1000

Longhurst is a two-time winner of the Bathurst 1000, winning the event in 1988 with Tomas Mezera[1] and in 2001 with Mark Skaife,[2] and is one of only four drivers to win Bathurst in both a Ford and a Holden (the others being Craig Lowndes, Steven Richards and Jamie Whincup).[3]

He has raced internationally in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship and 1993 FIA Touring Car Challenge, both times for BMW. He also won the Australian Super Touring Championship for BMW in 1994.

After four years of service to the Frank Gardner run JPS Team BMW from 1984–87, Longhurst started his own touring car team in 1988 named Tony Longhurst Racing which based itself on the Gold Coast behind the Longhurst family owned Dreamworld. For sponsorship reasons the team was known by various names during its time including Freeport Motorsport and Benson & Hedges Racing. Initially running the powerful Ford Sierra RS500 from 1988–90, the team then began using the evolution model BMW M3 (1991–93), before running a Holden Commodore VP supplied by Perkins Engineering in 1994. In 1995, Longhurst sold out to fellow shareholders Gardner and Terry Morris and formed Longhurst Racing to compete in the V8 Supercars series with a Ford Falcon EF.

Tony Longhurst is the only driver to have won five of the now defunct AMSCAR series run at Sydney's Amaroo Park circuit. He won the series in 1986 (BMW 325i), 1987 (BMW M3), 1989 and 1990 (Ford Sierra RS500) and 1991 (BMW M3 Evolution).

He announced his retirement from competitive racing after the 2005 Bathurst 1000, where he and Brazilian co-driver Max Wilson failed to finish the race. He also made an appearance at the Targa Tasmania that year. He returned to this event in 2006, finishing fourth overall. He went one better in the event in 2007, placing third overall in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI. In 2009 he added a Bathurst 12 Hour victory, co-driving with Rod Salmon and Damien White.[4] By winning the 12 Hour, Longhurst joined Allan Grice, Gregg Hansford, Dick Johnson and John Bowe as winners of both the Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12 Hour races (this list was later joined by Paul Morris and Jonathon Webb).

In 2016, Longhurst returned to competition making an appearance at the Sydney Motorsport Park round of the Australian GT Championship in a Marque Sports Ford Focus and at the Silverstone Classic driving his 1994 Australian Manufacturers' Championship winning BMW 318i Super Touring car.[5][6]

The Benson & Hedges Ford Sierra RS500 driven by Longhurst and Tomas Mezera to victory at Bathurst in 1988 (pictured right) is on display at the National Motor Racing Museum which is located on the outside of the final turn of the famous Mount Panorama Circuit.

Longhurst continues to live on the Gold Coast in Queensland and owns and manages the Boat Works facility at Coomera.[7]

Career results

Sourced from Driver Database[8]

Season Series Position Car Team
1983 Australian Endurance Championship 65th Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Mike Burgmann
1984 Alfasud Series 1st Alfa Romeo Alfasud
1984 Australian Endurance Championship NC BMW 635 CSi JPS Team BMW
1984 World Sportscar Championship NC BMW 320i JPS Team BMW
1985 Australian Touring Car Championship 16th BMW 323i JPS Team BMW
1985 AMSCAR Series 2nd BMW 323i JPS Team BMW
1985 Australian Endurance Championship 2nd BMW 323i
BMW 635 CSi
JPS Team BMW
1986 AMSCAR Series 1st BMW 325i JPS Team BMW
1986 Australian Touring Car Championship 4th BMW 325i JPS Team BMW
1986 Australian Endurance Championship 3rd BMW 325i
BMW 635 CSi
JPS Team BMW
1987 AMSCAR Series 1st BMW M3 JPS Team BMW
1987 Australian Touring Car Championship 4th BMW M3 JPS Team BMW
1987 World Touring Car Championship NC BMW M3 JPS Team BMW
CiBiEmme
1988 Australian Touring Car Championship 5th Ford Sierra RS500 Freeport Racing
1988 Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship 5th Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1989 Nissan Mobil 500 Series 2nd Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1989 AMSCAR Series 1st Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1989 Australian Touring Car Championship 5th Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1990 AMSCAR Series 1st Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1990 Australian Touring Car Championship 6th Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1990 Australian Endurance Championship 24th Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing
1991 AMSCAR Series 1st BMW M3 Evolution Benson & Hedges Racing
1991 Australian Touring Car Championship 3rd BMW M3 Evolution Benson & Hedges Racing
1992 Australian Touring Car Championship 3rd BMW M3 Evolution Benson & Hedges Racing
1993 Australian Touring Car Championship 9th BMW M3 Evolution Benson & Hedges Racing
1993 Touring Car World Cup 22nd BMW 318i Bigazzi Team
1994 Australian Super Touring Championship 1st BMW 318i Benson & Hedges Racing
1994 Australian Touring Car Championship 11th Holden VP Commodore Benson & Hedges Racing
1995 Australian Touring Car Championship 11th Ford EF Falcon Castrol Longhurst Racing
1996 Australian Touring Car Championship 11th Ford EF Falcon Castrol Longhurst Racing
1997 Australian Touring Car Championship 8th Ford EL Falcon Castrol Longhurst Racing
1998 Australian Touring Car Championship 8th Ford EL Falcon Castrol Longhurst Racing
1999 Shell Championship Series 14th Ford AU Falcon Castrol Longhurst Racing
2000 Shell Championship Series 10th Ford AU Falcon Stone Brothers Racing
2001 Shell Championship Series 13th Holden VX Commodore Rod Nash Racing
Holden Racing Team
2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 11th Ford AU Falcon Briggs Motor Sport
2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 37th Holden VY Commodore Holden Racing Team
2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 29th Holden VY Commodore Perkins Engineering
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 39th Holden VZ Commodore Rod Nash Racing
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 45th Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team
2011 Australian V8 Ute Series 48th Holden Commodore SS VE Ute Auto One Wildcard

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1984 Australia JPS Team BMW BMW 320i MNZ SIL LMS NUR BHT MOS SPA IMO FJI KYL
SAN
ovr:14
cls:1
NC 0

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1987 Australia JPS Team BMW BMW M3 MNZ JAR DIJ NUR SPA BNO SIL BAT
ovr:4
cls:1
CLD
Ret
NC 0
West Germany BMW Motorsport
Italy CiBiEmme
WEL
ovr:7
cls:2
FJI

Complete Bathurst 1000 Results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1983 Australia Dreamworld Australia Mike Burgmann Chevrolet Camaro Z28 A 121 DNF DNF
1984 Australia JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi Group C 39 DNF DNF
1985 Australia JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi C 160 4th 4th
1986 Australia JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi C 161 6th 5th
1987 Australia JPS Team BMW New Zealand Jim Richards BMW M3 2 156 4th 1st
1988 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Tomas Mezera Ford Sierra RS500 A 161 1st 1st
1989 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Alan Jones
New Zealand Denny Hulme
Ford Sierra RS500 A 158 5th 5th
New Zealand Neville Crichton Ford Sierra RS500 27 DNF DNF
1990 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Mark McLaughlin Ford Sierra RS500 1 53 DNF DNF
1991 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Alan Jones BMW M3 Evolution 2 138 DNF DNF
1992 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Venezuela Johnny Cecotto BMW M3 Evolution A 142 4th 4th
1993 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing United Kingdom Steve Soper BMW M3 Evolution A 79 DNF DNF
1994 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Charlie O'Brien Holden VP Commodore A 161 4th 4th
1995 Australia Castrol Longhurst Ford Australia Wayne Park Ford EF Falcon 149 9th 9th
1996 Australia Castrol Longhurst Ford Australia Steven Ellery Ford EF Falcon 161 3rd 3rd
1997 Australia Castrol Longhurst Ford Australia Charlie O'Brien Ford EL Falcon L1 110 DNF DNF
1998 Australia Castrol Longhurst Ford Australia Geoff Brabham Ford EL Falcon OC 157 8th 8th
1999 Australia Castrol Longhurst Ford Australia Adam Macrow Ford AU Falcon 150 DNF DNF
2000 Australia Stone Brothers Racing Australia David Besnard Ford AU Falcon 151 DNF DNF
2001 Australia Holden Racing Team Australia Mark Skaife Holden VX Commodore 161 1st 1st
2002 Australia Team Betta Electrical Australia Matthew White Ford AU Falcon 161 6th 6th
2003 Australia Holden Racing Team New Zealand Jim Richards Holden VY Commodore 161 5th 5th
2004 Australia Perkins Engineering Australia Paul Dumbrell Holden VY Commodore 129 DNF DNF
2005 Australia Team Dynamik
Australia Longhurst Racing
Brazil Max Wilson Holden VZ Commodore 32 DNF DNF
2006 Australia Rod Nash Racing Australia Steve Owen Holden VZ Commodore 161 7th 7th

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Peter Brock
David Parsons
Peter McLeod
Winner of the Bathurst 1000
1988
(with Tomas Mezera)
Succeeded by
Dick Johnson
John Bowe
Preceded by
Peter Doulman
Winner of the Australian Manufacturers' Championship
1994
Succeeded by
Paul Morris
Preceded by
Garth Tander
Jason Bargwanna
Winner of the Bathurst 1000
2001
(with Mark Skaife)
Succeeded by
Mark Skaife
Jim Richards
Preceded by
Graham Alexander
Rod Salmon
Damien White
Winner of the Bathurst 12 Hour
2009
(with Rod Salmon & Damien White)
Succeeded by
John Bowe
Garry Holt
Paul Morris
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