In 1966 Bruce Gowans was employed as a service manager at Webster’s in Devonport when he got the opportunity to own a race car in somewhat unusual circumstances, when he swapped his FB Holden to become the owner of a cut and shut Triumph Herald fitted with a Hillman engine.

The car sat in his parents’ garage for six months before it hit the track in 1967.

Despite it’s ugly duckling looks, the car was very effective, with Bruce starting from pole position in his first race and eventually going on to prove to be successful in his hands.

Six months later he was invited by Alan Ling to race the ex-Pete Geoghegan-Greg Cusack Lotus 23 and over the next three years the combination won many races including the Tasmanian Sports Car Championship.

In 1970, with Bruce and Alan now business partners in a Toyota dealership, they purchased the ex-Glyn Scott Lotus 23B Cosworth FVA and over the next three years Bruce and the Lotus raced very successfully, establishing under 1600cc lap records at Adelaide, Calder, Phillip Island, Baskerville and Symmons Plains.

A highlight during that period was finishing third at the Symmons Plains round of the Australian Sports Car championship behind John Harvey’s McLaren M6B Repco and Phil Moore’s Elfin 360 Repco V8.

After the Lotus was sold in 1973, Bruce took a four year sabbatical from motorsport, but returned in 1977 to race a space frame Toyota Celica Sports Sedan built in Adelaide by Simon Aram, with assistance from Tasmanian John McCormack, and featuring a 5.0 litre V8 Holden engine fitted with a flat plane crankshaft.

Bruce and the Celica combination contested all seven rounds of the Australian Sports Sedan championship in 1978, recording three podium results (one second and two thirds) and finishing third overall in the championship behind Allan Grice in the soon-to-be-banned Chev Corvair, and Jim Richards in his XC Falcon Coupe.

Also in 1978, Bruce drove the Roadways-Gown Hindaugh A9X Torana on two occasions, finishing seventh in the Australian Touring Car Championship round at Calder and second in the Rothmans 500 at Oran Park, co-driving with Garth Wigston.

Bruce was also due to drive in the Bathurst 1000 that year, but unfortunately the dreaded motor sport politics intervened and he lost his chance to fulfil his racing dream.

The Celica was sold in 1981 after enjoying more success and Bruce quietly retired from the sport to concentrate on his growing Toyota dealership, before taking on a new challenge to compete in the famed Targa Tasmania tarmac rally.

It was all for fun, but he demonstrated his undoubted skill in a standard Toyota MR2 against much more competitive cars to finish 13th in 1993 and a great 8th in 1994.

In 2007, Bruce bought back the Celica as a wreck and commenced a nine-year restoration project to restore the unique car to it’s former glory.

Fittingly, at the end of 2016, the beautifully rebuilt car made it’s first track appearance at the Baskerville Historic meeting, with the sight and special sound of car proving to be a highlight of the meeting.

Bruce Gowans was respected as a smooth and very fast driver and a gentleman racer who competed for the sheer enjoyment but at the same time proved to be one of best drivers to come out of Tasmania.

Written by Barry Oliver.