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The 2025 edition of the Phillip Island Classic marked not only the beginning of a new season of Group C & A racing, the introduction of some newly restored cars and welcome arrival of some fresh faces, but also a significant evolution in one of our most storied driver’s careers. After 51 years in motor racing, including 15 driving with Heritage Touring Cars, Carey McMahon announced his retirement from the sport at the event. So, we wanted to take this opportunity to mark this significant occasion with a chat with Carey about his motorsport career.
HTC: How did you get your start in the sport?
CAREY: In the mid ‘70s I was 19 and wanted to go racing, but I had no money. I was looking for opportunities, and found an advert for an incomplete home-made open wheeler project with a 1750 Morris Marina engine and transaxle in the back. That was my opportunity – I bought it and finished it, and ran it in a few club events at Oran Park as I got my licence.
The next step was to buy a serious race car that I could develop my skills in. I bought a division 2 sports sedan Torana (basically an XU1 with a 308 V8 engine) from Phil Lucas. I did really well in that car and won a few races before they put me into division 1. That was crazy. My $3,000 car against $100,000 cars like Pete Geoghan’s Monaro!
Check out the 1975 program and to see the competition I was up against. I was lapped in this race, but it remains a career highlight to be in the same race as these legends.
In 1974, I was offered a position as a race mechanic in the Bob Forbes team. I met Bob Forbes at Oran Park, where I had won a race driving my own XU1 in a sports sedan division 2 race. Bob Forbes leased a workshop space from Bob Holden at a Shell service station on Condamine Street in Manly Vale, using it to prepare his Escort team with Lyndon Arnel. Kevin Bartlett and Max Stewart also leased space there, so I was a kid in a candy store at such a young age with these legends. With Wayne Negus, we built the 1974 LH Torana SLR5000 that Bob and Wayne drove to second place in the Bathurst 1000 that year.
In 1975, Bob Forbes decided to step back from preparing his own cars, and so Bob Holden offered me a job with him and said I could drive his spare Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000. Over the next couple of years, I followed Bob Holden and Lyndon Arnel around to many different circuits. We did all the prep work ourselves and would often work through the night to get the cars finished. It was an amazing education for a young guy who just wanted to go racing, and it was a great pleasure to drive alongside Bob all the way up to recent years when we ran together in Heritage Touring Cars.
HTC: After your time with Bob, you had a stint racing go-karts, including winning the 250cc International Superkart series, where you broke several lap records.
CAREY: In 1979 I had been racing 100cc go-karts and had done pretty well. It was suggested that I should step up and buy an international 250cc kart as that was the top class at the time. I researched what was available in the UK and purchased a go-kart made by Zip for the British championship.
When the kart arrived in Australia, we promptly stripped it down and added some special touches of our own to improve its performance (even though I had never even driven it at that point). I entered a race at Amaroo Park and planned to get in a day of practice beforehand, but the circuit was not available. A friend told me about a new housing development in Sydney where there was no one around and suggested we take the kart there and get used to changing gears.
We arrived at this new housing estate, where no homes had been built so far, and unloaded the kart. I had heard that these karts were very difficult to get started and that I needed to slip the clutch to get it going. I didn’t even have a helmet that day, but sat in the kart and took off. Or that was the plan, at least – I stalled. I tried again. Another stall. I tried again and really slipped the clutch this time, giving it 50 metres or more, and this thing took off like I couldn’t believe.
I plucked second gear and my head shot backwards with great force. I pulled third and my head shot backwards again! I reached the end of the long street and pulled over to just think about what had happened. I was terrified of this rocket! I sat there thinking about how embarrassing it was going to be when I got back to the van and told my friend that I am going to sell this kart as it is just too dangerous.
I summoned up the courage to drive back and decided not to say anything. Race day came around at Amaroo Park, and I was outfitted in my new leathers and helmet. My strategy was to try and get up close to the NSW, VIC and QLD champions in the field so I could learn from them.
I started mid-field but got a great start up Bitupave Hill and was in fourth place heading into turn one. I passed the guy in third on the way out and passed the guy in second going through Mazda Corner. As we got down to Stop corner, I took the lead. Then I was driving up Bitupave Hill and was wondering who I was going to follow now to show me the way around! I just couldn’t believe how quick this kart was. I won all three races and broke the lap record. It was quite something!
I also purchased the ex-Paul Gulson Rotary Mini and raced that at Amaroo Park. It was a mid-engined car with a F2 transaxle mounted in the front. Quite the weapon!
Image thanks to Ian Welsh
HTC: Like many of us in this sport, you had some time away in your 30s and 40s. What did you get up to in this time, and what drew you back?
CAREY: At this point in my career I was married with a young son and daughter, and needed to establish a stable and decent income. I started my own business called Tappets Auto Accessories in Gordon. While I did own quite a few quick road cars during this period, I had no time on weekends to spend racing as my kids were heavily involved in sport.
Eventually, in 2010, I had a conversation with Chad Parrish about getting back into motor racing and he encouraged me to look at buying some kind of Group A race car. I looked at Commodores and Sierras and other things until I eventually came upon the HR31 Nissan owned by Rod Markland. It was pristine and I felt I could prepare the car myself for motor racing.
I bought the car and settled in almost immediately, becoming quite quick. I won the Heritage Touring Cars Group C & A Championship in 2011. I loved racing that car.
In 2014 I purchased the 1991 Bathurst-winning GTR and got involved in restoring that. What a weapon! We raced the GTR in 2015 and won the Championship again. I broke the lap record for Group A cars at SMSP by 3.2 seconds and matched the same time that Jim Richards had done in 1991.
HTC: From there you spent some time in the Touring Car Masters series, competing in Pro-Am class in Australia and New Zealand.
CAREY: John Bowe suggested I would go well in Touring Car Masters, so I bought a Torana LH SLR5000 and set about preparing it with Nigel Bolling for 2014.
Touring Car Masters is a tough series, where the competitors are playing for keeps. I completed the season and finished 6th in the pro-am class. I was happy with the result, but I wasn’t so happy with the amount of damage inflicted on my car during that season.
The B & H Sierra in Carey’s hands in the 2022 ARDC SUPER 70, thanks to Craig King
HTC: From 2016 you went to compete in Europe as well as taking part in the Heritage Touring Cars series back home.
CAREY: So this is an interesting one. Dad was an Australian dental surgeon, and took the family to the UK in 1956. We travelled there by sea over a six week journey.
While we were there, Dad bought a Triumph TR3A sports car and went to do an advanced driver training course at Brands Hatch. His instructor was another Aussie you may know – Jack Brabham! In 1962, Jack gave Dad tickets to the next Formula 1 event at Brands Hatch. Dad took me along and we sat at turn 1 (Druids Corner) and watched the race.
I was mesmerised. I became alive that day and suddenly knew what I wanted to do in life. I now had a goal.
In 1964, we came back to Australia and were sent to Sydney Grammar School. In my year there were young men who wanted to be the Prime Minister, lawyers, doctors, accountants, entrepreneurs… and me who wanted to race cars. So, when I had the chance to take my RS500 Sierra to England in 2019, I jumped.
Guess where the first meeting was? Brands Hatch. I was lucky enough to finish second in the final event at that meeting and it was a very emotional experience to be on the podium at the same race track where my dream was born decades prior. We then raced at Oulton Park, Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps (just wow!!) and then Portimao in Portugal. It was a remarkable three months.
HTC: You’ve raced an incredible collection of cars through your career – what were the highlights?
CAREY: I’ve been privileged to act as custodian for many different cars and am also thankful to have had the opportunity to drive cars owned by other people. I can’t say there was any one car that I didn’t like, but there are a few special cars in my mind – particularly the three turbo cars, the Skyline HR31, Skyline GTR R32 and the RS500 Sierra. I just seemed to have the right driving style for those cars.
The 1991 GTR was a fun car to drive but curiously not a fun car to race. It did in 2015 exactly what it did in 1991 in the ATCC. It beat everything easily, and as a racer, that wasn’t a lot of fun as I’d rather dice with other cars.
The Detomaso Pantera GTS was a labour of love to build. It turned out so well and was extremely quick, albeit with a transaxle that was not strong enough for the engine. It was a pleasure to drive for sure.
The BMW M1 on the other hand was a nightmare to build and a disaster at the track. The engine had a pronounced miss which we couldn’t solve and eventually it expired during qualification, so we didn’t even start the race.
I will always be building cars, so now I have the Frank Gardner Corvair to finish and then a couple of classic road cars to restore. I’ll be busy for sure.
We would like to send a huge ‘THANK YOU!’ to Carey for collaborating with us and putting this story together. We are grateful for the time we have had driving together, and the days we have shared in the pits and paddock and wish you all the best in your coming endeavours.
