Doug Chivas
Encyclopedia
Doug Chivas was an Australia
n rally and racing car driver. Chivas drove the first Lotus Mark 6
in Australia in the early 1950s winning many races.
In the 1960s and 1970s he drove for some of the most important racing and rally teams in the country, including the Mitsubishi
works rally team, Alec Mildren’s Alfa Romeo
team, the Holden Dealer Team
and the factory-supported Chrysler
Series Production teams of the early 1970s.
Chivas won the 1967 Surfers Paradise Four Hour race
with Kevin Bartlett
in a Mildren team Alfa Romeo Giulia Super
. He registered class wins at the Bathurst 500
in 1963, 1967 and 1968 and won a hard-fought final round of the Toby Lee Series
in 1971 driving a Chrysler Valiant Charger E38
.
In 1972 Chivas achieved the best result for the Chrysler team at Bathurst by finishing third outright and second in class in a Charger E49.
Chivas is best remembered however for a sensational second place at the 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000
, while co-driving for Peter Brock
in the leading Holden Torana
the car ran out of fuel and had to be pushed by Chivas, unaided, along part of pit lane. The exhausted 50 year old had to be supported by pit crew after the effort of pushing the car in the hot conditions but the time lost may have cost the Brock/Chivas Torana a Bathurst victory.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rally and racing car driver. Chivas drove the first Lotus Mark 6
Lotus 6
After building multiple trials and road racing cars, Colin Chapman introduced his first 'production' car, the Lotus Mark VI, in 1952. The heart of the Mark VI was a space frame chassis...
in Australia in the early 1950s winning many races.
In the 1960s and 1970s he drove for some of the most important racing and rally teams in the country, including the Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
works rally team, Alec Mildren’s Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
team, the Holden Dealer Team
Holden Dealer Team
The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and sports sedans during the 1970s...
and the factory-supported Chrysler
Chrysler Australia
Chrysler Australia is the importer of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles for sale in the Australian marketplace. However, there had previously been a "Chrysler Australia Ltd" which had operated as a vehicle manufacturer in Australia from 1951 until 1980....
Series Production teams of the early 1970s.
Chivas won the 1967 Surfers Paradise Four Hour race
1967 Surfers Paradise Four Hour
The 1967 Surfers Paradise Four Hour was an endurance race for production cars held at the Surfers Paradise International Raceway in Queensland, Australia on 9 April 1967.-Class structure:...
with Kevin Bartlett
Kevin Bartlett (race driver)
Kevin Bartlett , often known by his nickname "KB", is an Australian former open wheel and touring car racing driver who won the CAMS Gold Star in 1968 and 1969, as well as the prestigious Bathurst 1000. Bartlett was named in Wheels magazine's annual yearbook in 2004 as one of Australia's 50...
in a Mildren team Alfa Romeo Giulia Super
Alfa Romeo Giulia
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is an Alfa Romeo automobile. Alfa was one of the first manufacturers to put a powerful engine in a light-weight car for mainstream production. The Giulia weighed about . The car was equipped with a light alloy twin overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine, similar to that of...
. He registered class wins at the Bathurst 500
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
in 1963, 1967 and 1968 and won a hard-fought final round of the Toby Lee Series
Toby Lee Series
The Toby Lee Series was an Australian motor racing series run at Oran Park Raceway in Sydney, between 1970 and 1975.In 1970 Oran Park, with backing from sponsors Toby Lee and department store Grace Brothers, launched a new series of races for Group E Series Production sedans...
in 1971 driving a Chrysler Valiant Charger E38
Valiant Charger
The Chrysler Valiant Charger is a muscle car introduced by Chrysler Australia in 1971. It was a short wheelbase two door coupe based on the concurrent Australian Chrysler Valiant sedan...
.
In 1972 Chivas achieved the best result for the Chrysler team at Bathurst by finishing third outright and second in class in a Charger E49.
Chivas is best remembered however for a sensational second place at the 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000
1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000
The 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 15th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. The was the first race to be held under the new metricised distance of 1000 kilometres, rather than the 500 miles previously contested. It was held on 30 September 1973 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside...
, while co-driving for Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
in the leading Holden Torana
Holden Torana
The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the...
the car ran out of fuel and had to be pushed by Chivas, unaided, along part of pit lane. The exhausted 50 year old had to be supported by pit crew after the effort of pushing the car in the hot conditions but the time lost may have cost the Brock/Chivas Torana a Bathurst victory.
Further reading
- Australia's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1999 (Chevron) © 2000
- Australian Motor Racing Annual 1971