MOTORSPORT veteran Geoff Leeds has passed away at the age of 77 following a short battle with cancer.
A staple of touring car racing throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Leeds made 21 starts from 24 attempts at the race that is now known as the Bathurst 1000.
It was still called the Bathurst 500 when a 20-year-old Leeds made his debut in 1966, although he had to pull a swindle on the organisers in order to share a Mini with Mick Crampton.
“I was desperate to race at Bathurst no matter what, but to get a CAMS licence you had to have a parent’s signature if you were under 21,” Leeds said.
“I knew Mum wouldn’t do it, so I forged her signature.”
Leeds had grown up in Bathurst, living in the historic Tattersalls Hotel just a couple of kilometres away from Mount Panorama.
He’d go on to line up in the ‘Great Race’ aboard a wide array of machinery, ranging from little Minis, Mazda 1300s and Ford Escorts to bigger-bore Chevrolet Camaros, Rover Vitesses and Holden Commodores.
His greatest success in the race came in 1972, when he and Digby Cooke piloted an Escort to victory in Class B against a swag of rival Datsuns, Fiats and Mazdas, the pair finishing 12th outright.
Two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Allan Grice paid tribute to Leeds, who raced a Mazda RX-3 for his Craven Mild-backed team during the 1970s.
“Geoff was very well respected by all in the sport, he just got on with the business of racing with no fuss – he never gave me any grief on track, and I returned the favour!” Grice said.
“Geoff was very active in touring cars and raced for my Craven Mild Team a number of times. He raced with Yoshimi Katayama in a Mazda RX3 at Bathurst in 1977, Katayama was regarded as a demi-god in Japan and they were doing well until Yoshimi turned the Mazda into sushi spectacularly at the end of Conrod Straight.
“Guys like Geoff are sadly missed from the sport. My condolences to his family.”
Leeds made his final start in the Bathurst 1000 at the age of 45, sharing Terry Finnigan’s Foodtown-backed Holden Commodore VN to eighth place in 1991 – his best result among his starts in the event.
Outside Bathurst, Leeds was also a regular in touring car racing at Amaroo Park in the 1970s when the track hosted a televised championship for under three-litre cars, a precursor to the AMSCAR Series of the 1980s.
Leeds continued racing into the 2000s outside of touring car racing, including seasons in Aussie Racing Cars and the similar Future Racer category.
He moved into the administrative side of the sport as his driving career wound down, serving as the Investigating and Prosecuting Officer for what is now known as the Super2 Series in 2002 and 2003, and later became the general manager of the Oran Park circuit.
Outside of motorsport, Leeds was the dealer principal at a number of successful car dealerships in Sydney in his earlier years before moving to Queensland in 2007 with his wife Sandra, where he operated a series of retail outlets.
Leeds remained active in the sport in recent years and served as the Driving Standards and Prosecuting Officer for the TA2 Muscle Car Series for the past four seasons, right up to his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
“Gentleman Geoff Leeds will be truly missed by everyone whose life he connected with, especially the TA2 family who he loved so much,” TA2 Muscle Car Series owner Peter Robinson said.
“‘Race hard and race fair’ were the last words he’d say to all at the track briefings, I will never forget those words.”
Leeds’ son Ben remains active in the industry, notably working for Team Johnson and helping Jett Johnson to the TA2 Muscle Car Series win last year.
The V8 Sleuth team extends its condolences to Leeds’ family and friends.