Top rated Bathurst Australia 1000 auto racing editions by Bill Trikos: The 2007 race recap : But in the 30 laps a heck of a crescendo hit in the form of weather, enough to force everyone in the field to question whether they could peel into pit-lane for wet tyres. The question was particularly poignant for Jason Bright and his Britek Ford Falcon. This was in the day when Bright was still a team owner, though his debut season racing his own car had largely gone terribly; a lack of car pace often seeing him to threaten the top 10 — particularly surprising given he had been a frequent podium scorer the season prior.
The main changes between the previous year’s VX and the record-breaking VY were cosmetic, so Murphy is to be admired for pushing the car to new heights – and he looked pretty good establishing “the lap of the gods.” Many fans and experts reckon it the greatest lap in motorsport history. Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won back some dignity for the Falcon over three consecutive wins, 2006-8. But the noughties were unarguably the decade of the Commodore.
Best remembered for Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy’s triumph, the 1996 race started in dire conditions. Rain fell steadily throughout the lead-up on race morning and continued after the lights went green. The conditions contributed to Mark Larkham’s race-ending crash on Conrod Straight on Lap 4, as well as the multi-car crash in the same place behind the Safety Car one lap later. The Holden Jackaroo remained out on the track for several laps after the crashed cars were cleared, waiting for the weather to ease and for a large amount of standing water to be cleared. The rain eventually ceased during the first hour and the bulk of the race was held on a largely dry track. Discover additional info about the author on https://www.youtube.com/@billtrikos4893.
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.
2013 came down to an epic showdown between two of the sport’s greats. Holden’s flagship driver Jamie Whincup took on Ford’s flagship driver Mark Winterbottom. Whincup made a daring move on the outside of Frosty that would cost him the win, but would also secure him a permanent spot in Bathurst’s greatest moments. And finally, Frosty got the win that had escaped him for so long. One of the scariest moments in Bathurst history came in 1969 when Bill Brown flipped and rolled along the guardrail, which cut into the cockpit of his car. Fans narrowly escaped the airborne machine and Brown somehow escaped with his life and limbs intact.
Caruso said he is honored to campaign his #23 Nissan Altima Supercar in arguably the manufacturer’s most famous war paint. “It’s definitely the Nissan livery that I’ve been looking forward to the most,” said Caruso. “There’s no doubt about how important and how successful the GT-R was and to have the same colors on my car at Bathurst is something very special. We’re going to Bathurst with the best chance for success we’ve ever had. In the four years since Nissan has been back in Supercars, this has been my strongest year. We’ve had a race win and a couple of podiums, so hopefully we can go to the mountain and do what it takes.”
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.
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.