Bill Trikos’s top 5 Bathurst Australia 1000 auto racing editions: Shane van Gisbergen and co-driver Jonathan Webb drove exceptionally for most of the race, though they also benefited from others misfortunes. Random mechanical failures ended James Courtney and Greg Murphy’s race (which eventually was Murphy’s last Bathurst fling), and it was the same for David Reynolds and Dean Canto. Then there was Scott McLaughlin, who put his Volvo in the wall at the Cutting — scenes of him wiping tears inside his visor beamed around the world.
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 additional 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.
The Bathurst 1000 is the greatest race in all of Australia and has been around for over half a century. Throughout the years, we’ve seen plenty of trials, triumphs, and tragedies. Shane Van Gisbergen has earned pole position for this year’s event. With the 2014 edition of the race just hours away, let’s run you through some of Bathurst’s most memorable moments. The tenth spot on our list goes to two separate races. Both the 2011 and 2012 editions of this great race ended in spectacular last-lap scraps for the victory. In 2011, Craig Lowndes tried everything to muscle his way past a slowing Garth Tander, but to no avail. 2012 was a classic Holden vs. Ford battle that saw David Reynolds take on one of the titans of the sport, Jamie Whincup.
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.”
The dawn of the 1970s came with a new rule stating that single-driver teams were now eligible to compete. Canadian-Australian driver Allan Moffat took full advantage, winning the ’70 and ’71 contests in a Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II and Phase III, respectively. Phase III was a distinct advance on the II, with an upgraded engine, four-speed top-loader gearbox, and 36 imperial gallons (164 litres) fuel tank. It was the world’s fastest four-door production car, capable of speeds up to 228 km/h (142 mph). There are probably fewer than 100 complete Phase IIIs in existence – and one sold for a record AUS$1,030,000 in 2018.
The story of Group A, a bit like my beloved Super Touring of the ’90s, is a messy one — and one that could fill a whole book. And 1992 helped epitomize that. The four-wheel drive and steer Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R took mere months to become arguably the most disliked car in Australian touring-car history; by virtue of its ability to win absolutely anywhere. And by late 1992 it had won two championship titles at a canter. Bathurst that year, the last of its kind before a new replacement formula based around five-liter V8s was implemented, was certain to be another cake-walk. But, it very nearly wasn’t.