After two years in the RA23 GT, Williamson returned with a new car for the 1979 Bathurst 1000, in which he had already won the Under 3.0 Class and finished a stunning fourth overall in the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) behind three A9X Torana V8s.
It was the larger, heavier second generation RA40 twin-cam GT coupe, which Williamson’s team built locally using a fresh body shell and well-developed engine and drivetrain components. Today he describes it as “a pretty ordinary car, with carburettors and a wet sump.”
Williamson’s pioneering efforts with the Celica during the previous two years had not gone unnoticed by other competitors. As a result, two more Celicas joined Williamson and Quinn in the 1601-2000cc Class C ranks for Bathurst that year, with one (Williamson’s RA23 GT from 1977-78) driven by NSW chicken farmer Graham ‘Chickadee’ Bailey and Doug Clark with another entered by Wally Scott and Peter Walton.
Williamson’s new Celica had more than its fair share of publicity in the days leading up to the race as it was to be the first car equipped with Channel Seven’s innovative ‘Racecam’ in-car camera, which for the first time would beam live images from the cockpit to millions of TV viewers watching at home.
The Racecam technology, which used a microwave link to transmit in-car vision, sound and driver chat via a chopper hovering high above the circuit, was an Australian invention and a world-first that would soon have TV broadcasters around the globe wanting a piece of the action.
The first Racecam unit was a goliath by today’s standards, featuring a pan-and-tilt camera head that could be adjusted via remote control from the pits. When installed in Williamson’s Celica, the whole kit resulted in a 27 kg weight penalty (from 1980 he was allowed to remove the car’s front passenger seat to compensate, as it weighed about the same).
The Racecam’s extra bulk certainly didn’t seem to be too much of a burden in the race, with Williamson and Quinn claiming their first victory in Class C. Not only that, they finished ninth outright and the first non-V8 car to cross the line behind eight A9X Toranas.
It was an outstanding result for the Celica, eclipsed only by the history-making success of its Racecam unit which triggered a global revolution in TV coverage of motor sport. “Willo” had provided not only stunning images and sounds but also some colourful commentary from the driver’s seat. A star was born!
WILLIAMSON: “Two blokes, John Porter and Peter Larsson, approached us at Amaroo Park when we were standing around at a barbeque after a race meeting there. They said they had this idea for an in-car camera but Brocky and the rest didn’t want anything to do with them. Anyway, I listened to what they had to say and it took me about 40 seconds to make a decision and we took it on. They did say it would require a fair commitment from us and that they’d need a fair bit of our time to help develop it and make it work, because it was just an idea at that stage.”
“Eventually Channel Seven agreed to fund its development and I remember going out to Oran Park every other week driving around and around with helicopters flying overhead as they experimented with different links and cameras and all that. It took a fair amount of time to work it all out.”
“It wasn’t perfect on the day of the race (at Bathurst). It rained a bit and when the trees got water in them it messed with the link, so when that happened they would yell out to me on the radio to switch this and turn that to cope with the problem and it worked.” Porter and Larsson would later move to the US where they established Broadcast Sports Technology (BST) and covered all major American motor sports with their innovative in-car camera system.
On behalf of the Great Lakes Historic Automobile Club, we trust you all had an enjoyable Christmas, and we wish all of our members and friends a safe and prosperous 2025.
There were prizes galore and delicious food provided by Sporties Tuncurry. Motoring related Christmas bon-bons were supplied by Super Cheap Auto, so everyone took home anything from 10mm spanners to LED torches.
Awards were presented to the owners of vehicles from each decade at our Club Viewing Day, with Hilton & Carol Tripp claiming the award for their 2018 Jaguar XKR, Peter Templeton won Best 1990’s Vehicle with his 1991 Holden Calais, Tommy Ryan won Best 1980’s Vehicle with his 1983 Holden WB, the best 1970’s Vehicle was awarded to Tony Brogan with his 1976 Triumph 2500, Des Moy stole the show in the 1960’s category with his 1966 Ford Galaxie, and last but not least, Mark Codling took out Best 1950’s vehicle with his plucky 1959 Ford Prefect – in spite of the inclement weather on the day, well done everyone!
John Amato once again hands out gifts to all the wonderful ladies in the Club, while sporting a very handsome Santa Clause outfit! Ho ho ho!
Of course there was the venerable Club Member of the Year Award, which was proudly presented to Hilton Tripp for all his hard work in the Club throughout the year in various roles including Events Director and of course our fearless Treasurer!
We can’t forget the Greatest Stuff Up Award, which was presented to Ron Pulling for designing this year’s Club Christmas Party tickets with next year’s date on them!! Nice one Ron!!
Please enjoy the pictures from our Club Christmas Party 🥳😀🎅🎄
The pictures are available on both the Club website gallery, and also our Facebook page.
It was a privilege to be invited to the Barrington Coast Airshow, November 2024. What a spectacular showcase of classic Warbirds including the iconic Supermarine Mk VIII Spitfire, Mustang P-51D, Hawker Sea Fury, Grumman Avenger, Vought F4U-1D Corsair, T-28 Trojan, Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk, and CAC Wirraway to name a few. The show’s owner Paul Bennett put on a breathtaking aerobatics display in his 400 horse-power Wolf Pitts Pro stunt plane.
Get ready for the ultimate day out at the Barrington Coast Airshow!
Join us for a spectacular display of aerobatic planes and warbirds soaring through the skies. But that’s not all! Explore market stalls, indulge in delicious street food, enjoy thrilling amusement rides, and check out an incredible car show. 🚗🍔🎡✈️🛩️
• Each driver will receive free entry (passengers will require a ticket)
• Each vehicle will be allocated a specific 3.5×7 meter space on the display ground which will prevent crowding around the cars and provide room for owners to sit with their vehicles and observed the show.
• Vehicles are to be in place by 8.30am and not unnecessarily moved
• Show cars will be checked in at the Lansdowne Rd “bump in gate” – only listed vehicles will have access to the display area. No other air field parking will be available.
• Each vehicle should be “dressed” in presentation mode that should include a car description so the public know what they are looking at.
• Club windscreen banners and flags are encouraged. “Do Not Touch” signs are highly recommended.
It looked like rain on the morning of the Old Bar Beach Festival this year, which seemed to keep people away. A lower number of classic cars on display this year, with Kombi’s accounting for nearly half of the classic cars on display. However, the weather stayed fine all day, the cars present attracted plenty of attention. An increased number of market stalls meant there was plenty for everyone to see and do. It would be nice to see our club represented by more than just three cars next year 😋
