VALE Barry ‘Bo’ Seton

Australian motorsport has lost another of its early stars, with Barry Seton passing away on 17 April. Widely known as ‘Bo,’ Seton had a long career in motorsport, first as a driver, then as a highly respected engine builder for son Glenn’s eponymous racing team and many others.

Born in Moorebank, New South Wales, in 1936, Seton’s early racing exploits (against his father’s wishes) were behind the wheel of an FX ‘Humpy’ Holden during the Appendix J era. At Bathurst, Seton made his debut in 1963 – and would take the start at Mount Panorama every year for the next 21 years! Partnering Herb Taylor in a Mini 850 at the 1963 Armstrong 500 and finishing seventh in class, Seton would re-unite with Taylor in 1964, this time in a Ford Cortina GT for second outright.

In 1965, Seton joined youngster Midge Bosworth in a “Bathurst Special” Cortina GT500. Against a stacked field that included Harry Firth, Bob Jane, Bruce McPhee and the Geoghegan brothers, Seton and Bosworth prevailed to take the win.

The result brought Seton to the attention of the Ford Australia factory team, for whom he drove at Bathurst in 1968, ’69, ’70 and ’73, with Fred Gibson as co-driver on each occasion. Success eluded Seton in the factory team, and he would never take an outright victory again, although he did secure three class wins in the 1970s, driving a Ford Capri he prepared himself.

Beyond Bathurst, Seton raced in many other events, mainly in NSW. Mixing occasional ATCC starts in a Holden with regular appearances in a Capri for the AMSCAR series at Amaroo Park, Seton would win that championship in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1980.

For his penultimate Bathurst 1000 appearance in 1983, Bo partnered with Glenn for a rare father-son entry at Mount Panorama. In 1988, after a stint with Nissan Motorsport as an engine builder, Bo and Glenn founded Glenn Seton Racing, running Ford Sierras, then Falcons. Moving to a similar engine-building role with Longhurst Racing in 1996, Seton also built engines for competitors in historic touring car racing, taking the occasional drive himself.

A private funeral service to honour the life of Bo Seton was held on 30 April. JUST CARS extends its sympathies to Seton’s family and friends.