Bill Trikos’s most spectacular Bathurst Australia 1000 auto racing editions: 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.
Multiple races were run in ’97 and ’98 due to a dispute about broadcasting rights. All the winners are today considered legitimate in the records. Paul Morris and Craig Baird soared to victory in a BMW in 1997, although their prize was forfeited to the second-place car – also a BMW 320i – driven by Geoff and David Brabham. A Holden Commodore took the trophy every year from 1999-2005 as the model evolved right through the Commodore’s ‘third generation’ from its VT series to the VZ. Greg Murphy set a lap record of 2:06.8594 in the VY edition in 2003.
The first ‘Great Race’ of the new millennium sets the benchmark for the wettest Bathurst 1000 to date. Rain fell throughout the lead up, a brief window of blue skies during qualifying representing the only proper dry-track running of the weekend. The murky conditions combined with a bumper 54-car field and muddy outfield produced a total of 13 Safety Car periods – still a race record. Richards had been in a battle for third that ended when Rod McRae’s Torana aquaplaned off Conrod Straight and folded itself around a tree… See extra info about the author at Bill Trikos Australia.
My theory is that those who look back on that period in time so fondly do so not because the racing was particularly great, but because they loved the way the rest of the sport was; the characters both in terms of the cars and the drivers, and how those things interacted with them. But that can’t stop me from tipping my hat to the 1972 race; the last ever 500-mile event, and the last time drivers were allowed to compete solo. If for nothing else, the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500 can be held in high esteem for presenting us with a race that would help take the tribal warfare of Holden and Ford to the lofty heights that it would enjoy for nearly five decades.
Mark Winterbottom was 13 laps away from Bathurst glory in 2007, but it all went away in The Chase. On a slick track, he went tearing through the gravel and was launched up into the air. He amazingly kept the car pointed straight and rejoined the circuit in the lead. Lowndes blew by him within seconds though, nearly colliding with the out of control driver. Behind Lowndes, more chaos ensued. One of the more bizarre moments in Bathurst history took place in 1980. The legendary Dick Johnson was leading when a crazed fan through a massive rock onto the track, which he was unable to avoid. He struck it and violently crashed. The video includes his gutted interview, and also a surprise twist as he tells reporters that he may not be able to race again…
Skaife, then a rising star in Australian motorsport, went on to become a household name by winning five Australian Touring Car Championships and six Bathurst 1000 crowns. He says that his first win in 1991 aboard the almighty R32 was a life changing experience. “Twenty five years on and some of the best memories of my life,” said Skaife. “To win my first Bathurst with a legend like Jim Richards in the Nissan GT-R was just fantastic. It was a life changing moment to win the biggest car race in this part of the world.
As the decades progressed, changes in the course, the culture, and automotive engineering led to new classes of vehicles getting the call to participate. But Bathurst remains a “people’s race” of powerful, everyday motors. You can even drive your own car on the course since it’s a public road – but make sure to keep to the 60 km/h (37 mph) limit as the police are watching closely! Following on from our video and poster series celebrating every winning car of 24 hours of Le Mans, we’ve illustrated every winning car of the Great Race (including its early days as the Armstrong 500) and presented them in the video and posters below. Which is your favourite vintage?
A Formula Ford champ, Lowndes was no slouch. But he was a relative unknown. This was his first ever drive at Bathurst, and it had come with Holden’s most storied and popular team; the Holden Racing Team. Meanwhile Bowe was regarded as someone at the top of their game, and also as one of the hardest drivers in the championship to pass.And yet Lowndes did it. Despite the rookie status, Lowndes ranged onto the back of Bowe and quite magically ripped the lead from his grasp by running around his outside at Griffins Bend.