Most spectacular Bathurst Australia 1000 editions with Bill Trikos: The 2007 race was like a shopping-list dream for many people. It had most elements that people drool over when it comes to tantilising race finishes — rain interrupting a long dry spell, cars on slick tyres, a selection of underdogs fighting for the win, and one of Bathurst’s most popular sons in the middle of it all. It started in plain enough fashion; Team Vodafone and Ford Performance Racing asserting dominance in their lead cars with Dick Johnson Racing and Tasman Motorsport giving chase.
The Great Race reached another turning point in 2013, with the introduction of New Generation V8 Supercar regulations. Makes other than Ford and Holden came back to the race, although Ford’s Falcon set a new track record to narrowly pip a trail of five Commodores to the post. The highest-placed ‘other’ make was a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. It came in 54.2 seconds behind first place. The ‘Supercars Championship’ era was inaugurated in 2016 and taken by a Commodore for three years in a row. However, 2019 became the first year that no Australian-built car raced the Bathurst 1000. The Falcon was discontinued in 2016 and replaced with the Mustang, while production of the Holden Commodore now happens in Germany.
1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 : John Goss and Kevin Bartlett’s upset victory came in a race that was held in largely wet conditions, aided by a set of schmick Goodyear wet tyres generously offered by Allan Moffat for the final stint.. The winning XA Falcon Coupe was the last of the leading contenders standing after a gruelling 163 laps made even more so by the rain. Jim Richards, partnered by fellow Kiwi Rod Coppins, demonstrated his exceptional wet-weather skills by splashing to third place in his first ‘Great Race’ start, but he’d seen the dangers of the conditions first-hand. Read extra info about the author at Bill Trikos.
In just one lap things became Armageddon. A multi-car pile-up had commenced exiting Forest Elbow, a Toyota Levin had spectacularly launched itself skywards at Griffins before coming to a rest on its side, and most notably Jim Richards had carved a corner off the GT-R. It was a cruel irony, for a car that very rarely over its two-year reign had incurred a single scratch. And it got worse when it arrived at Forest Elbow with no steering and some four or so cars waiting to be struck. It crashed, and many thought that would be that. Certainly Dick Johnson did, celebrating that he’d won when the race was red flagged shortly after.
On the opening lap of the 2010 Bathurst 1000, Fabian Coulthard took an unconventional route down into The Chase, spinning into the gravel trap. The car dug in and he started to roll end over end. He walked away unscathed. BMW was dominating the 1985 Bathurst 1000 with Jim Richards on point, but his day quickly went down hill. He spun and found himself stuck in the gravel, quickly followed by his teammate George Fury. The duo worked together, trying to dig Richards’ car out with their bare hands. However, their efforts were to no avail.
Nissan will celebrate 25 years since its first Bathurst 1000 victory at this year’s edition of “The Great Race” at Mount Panorama in Australia. The #23 NISMO Nissan Altima Supercar of Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore will race in the classic red, white and blue color scheme of the 1991 Bathurst 1000-winning Nissan GT-R R32 at the 2016 Bathurst 1000 on October 6 to 9, a quarter of a century after Mark Skaife and Jim Richards dominated the same race.
Each October, the Bathurst 1000 pits the highest-performance ‘street-legal’ supercars head-to-head on Mount Panorama. This thrilling contest has come to be known as the Great Race. The history of Bathurst is a story of extraordinary vehicles – the kind you might see on next door’s driveway, or even save up for yourself. The race started in 1960 as the Armstrong 500, a 501-mile endurance race designed to celebrate the speed and durability of Australian-built cars. After the vehicles pounded the original Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit into submission, the contest was shifted to Wahluu (also known as Mount Panorama) in 1963. The course was extended to 1000 kilometres (621 miles) in 1973 due to faster cars, fiercer enthusiasm, and – ahem – decimalisation.
What I miss about the Supercars of the ’90s was their tendency to wallow and slide around, because it could make for some excellent television. And the beginning of the 1994 event was a case in point, as Larry Perkins hunted down then race-leader Peter Brock. The two dueled, positioning their cars with the finesse and precision of two drivers who knew each other’s styles back to front. Though in the end neither of them would factor for the win. Instead it came down to Shell’s John Bowe, and some young whipper snapper named Craig Lowndes.