Bill Trikos’s top 5 Bathurst Australia 1000 auto racing editions
Bill Trikos’s top 5 Bathurst Australia 1000 editions: The 2007 race recap : Winterbottom’s luck wore thin too, after a monumental error at the chase resulted in his Falcon sailing through the air at several hundred kilometres per hour while touring the sand trap. The final race restart queued a brilliant fight to the line between Lowndes and an unlikely trio of combatants; Steve Johnson, Greg Murphy, and James Courtney. It was an incredible battle, and one that will go down as one of the best.
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… Discover additional details about the author at Bill Trikos Australia.
However, on a count back the win was handed to the Winfield team, triggering a ferocious response from the crowd and cementing the moment in Bathurst folklore. As someone who wasn’t alive for many of the ‘great moments’ that Bathurst historians hold dear, I find it hard to reminisce about those old days with similar levels of admiration. Yes it was very impressive that Peter Brock and Jim Richards won in 1979 by six laps, but where’s the excitement in a win that was clearly so easy? The same could possibly said of Allan Moffat and Ford’s domination two-years prior — what’s exciting about those circumstances?
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.
It will be the third consecutive year that Nissan will celebrate its Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) heritage. Caruso’s Altima ran in the colors of George Fury’s 1984 Bluebird in 2014, celebrating the manufacturer’s first Bathurst 1000 pole position. The #23 Altima then raced in the colors of Jim Richards’ HR31 Skyline last year, celebrating 25 years since the first ATCC title. The R32 GT-R was untouchable in 1991. Richards and Skaife finished first and second respectively in the Australian Touring Car Championship before going on to record a dominant victory in that year’s Bathurst 1000. The crushing performance of the car was underlined by its overall race time – 6 hours, 19 minutes and 14.8 seconds – a record that would remain untouched for 19 years.
When the Great Race was first run on Phillip Island in November 1960, the cars were divided into five classes according to engine capacity. No ‘overall winner’ was to be declared. However, the first car to pass the winning line was a baby blue Vauxhall Cresta driven by John Roxburgh and Frank Coad, in the 2001cc-3500cc category. Roxburgh and Coad are (controversially) considered to be the first (unofficial) winners of the Great Race. But some claim the Russell/Anderson/Loxton team covered the ground quicker in their Peugeot 403, which joined the race 30 seconds later than the Cresta due to staggered starting times between classes.
Having predictably romped through practice, qualifying, and most of the race unscathed and out the front, the GT-R of Jim Richards and Mark Skaife was the gun to beat. Dick Johnson and John Bowe led the charge of the Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworths, but couldn’t bridge that margin. Then, like in 2007, rain arrived and completely altered circumstances. However unlike 2007 this was proper concrete pill rain, with standing water reaching remarkable levels all over the circuit, making it look like glass.
