With expansive sideburns poking out from beneath a black corduroy team cap, Ian Tate cut an unmistakable figure during the formative years of the Holden Dealer Team in the 1970s. Look at any crew photo or pit stop action in the Harry Firth era and Tate will be front and centre.
Mind you, that’s not altogether surprising considering that for many years there were only one or two full-time mechanics preparing the cars – Monaros, Torana XU-1s and L34s, driven mainly by the legendary duo of Colin Bond and Peter Brock – so Tate was central to everything that happened in the team’s Melbourne workshop and at the track.
It had been a similar scenario through the 1960s, though the cars wore Ford badges in those days and Firth himself was not only the front man but also the lead driver. First with a humble Falcon XL, then a series of Cortinas and finally the original V8-engined XR model Falcon GTs, Firth racked up numerous high-profile wins, with Tate in the pits for all of them. He was also one of only two mechanics who built the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon Falcon GTs that won the Teams Prize for Ford Australia.
On the track, Tate was involved in no fewer than seven Great Race wins – at both Phillip Island and Bathurst – as crew member, chief mechanic or engine builder, and sometimes all three at once. The last of these famous wins was an unsung role as engine builder for Bob Morris’ emotional victory in 1976, soon after Tate had finally left Firth and started out on his own.
For many years it was impossible to separate Tate from Firth, despite the latter being a towering figure who cast a considerable shadow. But the young mechanic learnt quickly to not only learn but also to understand how you get your way with the cantankerous old master in his declining years. Firth could be inspiring and infuriating in equal measure, and Tate’s patience finally expired, but he remained in awe of his time at the famous HDT workshop in Queens Avenue, Auburn.
“It was a privilege to be part of the Holden Dealer Team,” Tate tells AMC. “There were only two major teams, and in those days there weren’t many full-time race mechanics. It was a fantastic time to be involved in motor sport. You were very proud to be part of the Holden Dealer Team.”
Tate was also privileged to work with what he regards as two of the best three drivers in Australia at the time. “Bondy was excellent – you can’t take anything away from Colin, a different sort of person, different technique – but Brock on his day was unbelievable. And he just had an aura around him.”
Tate also rates Peter Janson very highly, having scored three Bathurst podiums with him – runner-up finishes behind Brock in 1979 and 1980, and third behind the Moffat Ford juggernaut in 1977. Tate said the rascally Captain was extremely smooth, surprisingly fast and could have won a lot of races had he raced more often and been more focused (ie: cut down on the drinking, smoking and partying).
Still energetic and building engines in Melbourne, Tate has for more than three decades been a prime mover in the Victorian historic racing scene and is the driving force behind the Phillip Island Classic. That meeting has won prestigious awards – but not as many as the man himself, whose accolades include an Order of Australia this year for services to the sport.
This, then, is the story
