50 years of Bathurst

2012 will be the 50th Anniversary of Australia’s greatest motor race being held at Mount Panorama, as well as the 40th Anniversary of its most prolific winner's first victory. That being when Peter Brock drove his little XU-1 across the finish line, defeating the more fancied GT-HO Phase III’s driven by the likes of previous Bathurst winner Allan Moffat.

We all know the history, Brock would go on to another eight Bathurst crowns, recording nine overall victories in an impressive streak at the Mecca of Australian motorsport. While not always in the best equipment, his ability at the mountain was, and remains, unmatched.

To celebrate such an impressive milestone for the race and the magical performances of the undisputed King of the Mountain, we thought we’d take a look at ten interesting stories that have made this race what it is today.

1. THE FIRST EVENT

While the first three 500 mile races from which the Bathurst 1000 draws its heritage were in fact raced at Phillip Island, Bathurst took over as the venue for the event in 1963 due to the Phillip Island circuit’s track surface falling into disrepair. The change of venue didn’t stop Harry Firth and Bob Jane however, as they continued their 500 form over to the mountain and won in a Mk1 Ford Cortina. We’ve dug up the video below that documents these early days at the mountain and talks to John Roxburgh, the first winner of the 500 at Phillip Island. When you think of the tracks and safety we have today, it is hard to imagine how they raced back then.

2. THE CHASE FOR CUBIC INCHES

In the early years common belief held out that big cars couldn’t run to win at Bathurst, but after a Mini domination in 1966 Ford decided to turn up with it’s biggest car of the time to take hold of the iconic Australian event. Harry Firth claimed his fourth 500 win with Fred Gibson as co-driver aboard a XR GT Falcon. This would trigger an ever increasing war between Ford, Holden and Chrysler for superiority at the mountain circuit, with each building faster and faster cars over the coming years until the Supercar Scare of 1972 would reign in development. The fiasco caused all three makes to ditch their original plans for the event and switch to other machinery. In the rain soaked event to follow it was Peter Brock who emerged victorious, stealing victory in the LJ GTR XU-1 Torana from Allan Moffat in his XY GTHO Phase III. It would be the last time a single driver was allowed to drive the duration of the race, with 1973’s race set to be increased to a 1000km affair in line with Australia’s switch to the metric system.

Check out this cool home video of the 1972 race for a unique perspective of the event.

3. THE FIRST 1000

1973 was the first running of the event in its current 1000km format, and without Conrod straight being interrupted by the chase (built in 1986). A finished race would see 163 laps of the circuit completed. Allan Moffat lead the field home after an early dice with Brock, taking victory for the XA GT Falcon and giving Ford the first victory in the new format of race.

To take a look at the event we have found another home movie of the race. Check out how cars were removed from the course while it was still live back in 1973. There were so many slower cars to dodge back then!

4. FORD DOMINATION

Allan Moffat and his Moffat Ford Dealers team dealt the most crushing team victory in the history of the race with Moffat leading home teammate Colin Bond in the first one-two form finish at the race. Moffat was lucky to get home with his XC Falcon having some sort of front end problem that the team would not discuss on race day. In later years Moffat has revealed that he in fact ran most of the race with a brake pedal that was going straight to the floor. Even with this major problem the Ford charge was too strong and Holden unhappy with the image decided to pour money into taking the Bathurst crown away from the dominant Fords.

Below is a video showing the final stages of the 1977 event, with commentators speculating if Moffat can even win the event.

5. BROCK BLOWS THEM AWAY

1979 would be Peter Brocks turn to dominate the race, winning by a margin of over six laps and setting a new lap record on the final lap of the race. To this day that margin is the biggest winning gap between any two competitors at the mountain. The A9X Torana is one of the most sought after Holdens on the market and commands authority wherever it runs.

Have a look at this video showing the final two laps of the 1979 race as Brock puts the pedal back down and sets the fastest lap of the race.

6. EUROPEAN INVASION

1985 saw the first sucessful invasion of European entrants with European cars occupying the top three steps of the podium. The 1985 Bathurst 1000 event was run under an Australian version of the International Group A rules for the first time. As a result Tom Walkinshaw had returned to the mountain with his Tom Walkinshaw Racing-run Jaguar XJ-Ss. Their commanding power advantage allowed them to finish first and third in the race. While Walkinshaw's Jaguars dominated the Hardies Heroes taking first and second places, it was the team car of John Goss which qualified in sixth place that would take out the race.

The video below shows Tom Walkinshaw leaving nothing behind in his shootout lap as he takes pole position with a 2m 18s lap.

7. WORLD TOURING CARS

1987 Saw the Bathurst 1000 included as a round of the World Touring Car Championship. The event saw the English Texaco Sierras decimate the opposition as they ran away with the event. After the race the Texaco cars were excluded from the final result due to a rule infringement with wheel arches that allowed them to run bigger front tyres. This left third place getter, Peter Brock, to take his ninth and final Bathurst victory. Perhaps the most memorable moment from the 1987 event was the incar footage of Glenn Seton trying to pilot his Nissan Skyline across the mountain in atrociously wet conditions. Have a look at the video below to check out the driving skill of the driver who would later become known as The Baby Faced Assassin.

8. GODZILLA FALLS TO THE V8 ERA

1992 was the final race before Australian Touring Car racing saw a formula change to V8 Touring Cars. For the past two years the Nissan GT-R had dominated the Australian racing scene and Bathurst was to be the swansong of the vehicle's competitive days on the continent. However, the race was hit by possibly the worst storm ever seen at the mountain that saw the GT-R in the hands of Jim Richards finish its race in the wall on Conrod Straight. Due to the red flag finish and subsequent backdating of results, the GT-R was announced to be the winner of the race much to the dismay of fans who, along with Dick Johnson, believed the Sierra driver had won the race. What followed is the stuff of legend as Richards, berated by the crowd delievers one of the most memorable victory speeches of all time as a dazzled Mark Skaife watches on.

9. FROM LAST TO FIRST

1995 was the year of the greatest ever comeback for victory seen at the mountain. On the first lap of the race Larry Perkins in his VR commodore made contact with the slow starting Commodore of Craig Lowndes. As a result the valve came out of his tyre forcing Larry into the pits for a tyre change after limping around the first lap of the circuit. What followed over the next six hours was the stuff of legend; Larry and co-driver Russel Ingall clawed their way back into contention in the race. With nine laps to go they found themselves in second place, seven seconds behind the Ford of Glenn Seton. With Seton looking so strong the race looked lost, and while Larry and Ingall's drive was brilliant, Seton would be a deserving winner of his first ever crown. However, disaster was to befall Seton as his car suffered engine failure. The fairytale was complete as Perkins passed Seton and went on to record one of the most amazing victories in the history of the race.

10. THE LAP OF THE GODS

2003 marked the pinnacle of performance for cars at Mount Panorama as Greg Murphy piloted his VY commodore to the fastest ever time around the 6.21km course. On that fateful Saturday, John Bowe had already set a pretty impressive 2.07.9556 lap time, in the top ten shootout, to be the quickest car out. Pole looked set to be his until Murphy pushed his car to the limit to record a lap which can only be described as one for the ages. In 2.06.8954 he was back at the start line over a second quicker than Bowe, who was now relegated to second place on the grid. At a time when the cars are so similar the ability to go so much quicker than a competitor is a remarkable achievement. Craig Lowndes has since recorded a quicker time at the mountain, but as Murphy’s lap was set cold straight out of pit lane, we still believe this to be the mightier performance.

To see Murphy’s unbelievable lap, check out the video below and see just how far racing at Bathurst has come.

So there is our selection of ten of the most memorable moments to happen at Bathurst. While there are hundreds more that could be included on this list, it is that which makes this race and track such a special place. If you have never been, make sure you get up there for this year’s fiftieth anniversary event, it is bound to be spectacular as always.