Vale Harry Firth - 1918 - 2014
After serving in World War II, Firth was one of those in at the genesis of Australian motorsport in the early post-War period. In addition to being a more-than-handy driver in hillclimb, rallying and circuit competition, Firth's engineering know-how made him a 'go to' guy for a number of other drivers looking to extract more performance from their cars.
Firth's long association with the Bathurst enduro can be traced back to its origins, ie. Before Bathurst, when he partnered Bob Jane in a Mercedes 220SE, then in a Falcon at Phillip Island, before also winning the first enduro held at Mount Panorama in 1963 - in a Mk1 Cortina GT. As a driver, Firth also partnered Fred Gibson to win Bathurst in 1967, in an XR Falcon GT, but the Victorian was actively involved in car preparation and team management for Ford Australia's racing efforts by this period, too.
Firth drove for, managed and prepared the three Falcon GTs for Ford Australia's assault on the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon. Firth partnered Graham Hoinville and Garry Chapman in the 'KAG-001' car that was in contention for the overall win in the final stages, but ultimately finished eighth. Some consolation came from the fact that third, sixth and eighth place finishes were enough for the Ford Falcon GTs to win the team's prize. The Fords were also the best-performed Australian crew, beating home locally-crewed Volvos, Holden Monaros, Mercedes and Austin teams.
Early development of what would become the GT-HO Falcons has been credited to Firth, too, but he would leave Ford before this project came to fruition, crossing the fence to join Holden after Ford hired American Al Turner to oversee their racing program.
At Holden, Firth would be pivotal in the foundation of the Holden Dealer Team, and GMH's attempts to wrest the racing ascendency from the Blue Oval. It's widely-known that Firth brought a young Peter Brock to HDT and mentored the emerging talent.
Firth continued car development at Holden, having an influence on the '68 Bathurst-winning Monaro GTS, as well as the XU1, L34 and A9X Toranas. When Brock stepped up to run HDT, Firth took on a role with CAMS as National Chief Scrutineer.
In 1998, Firth was added to CAMS Membership of Honour, then received an Order of Australia medal in 1999, followed by an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
More recently, Firth had a book published on his development of the Australia-only GT500 Cortina, a machine produced specifically to win at Bathurst. In 2007, Firth was inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame, and still attended car shows and enthusiasts' gatherings into his 90s, including the 1st Australian Cortina Nationals in 2012.
A family funeral service will be held in Springvale on May 6. A broader memorial service, open to the general public, is still to be confirmed at this stage.
JUST CARS extends its condolences to Firth's wife, Janet, family, friends and colleagues.
