DSC’s coverage of one of the few non-GT or sportscar endurance races that we cover starts here with a preview from Michael Zalavari
There’s often an argument of what the ‘pinnacle’ of motorsport might be. Whether or not it is the Formula 1 World Championship, or the Indy 500. Or for many readers here, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In Australian Motorsport, there is no argument. There is one event that rises above all others, atop a mountain of a different name.
Mount Panorama, Bathurst. 161 laps. 1000 kilometres.
The Repco Australia Supercars Championship sweeps into the country town of Bathurst this week for the Bathurst 1000. 3 hours west of Sydney, the 6.213km Mount Panorama Scenic Drive has captured the imagination of the sportscar world with the Bathurst 12 Hour, part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. But, for those who reside down under, it is the 1000km event that’s the big one.
Continuing a tradition that stretches back to 1963, the Bathurst 1000 is the jewel in the Supercars crown. All of the legends in the sport can trace their story back to The Mountain; stories of triumph, of heartbreak, of near misses or of fairytales. Bathurst has made careers, it has resurrected careers, and it has broken careers.
Australasian racing legends Dick Johnson, Larry Perkins, and Jim Richards, have all had defining moments at The Mountain.
In 1980, Dick Johnson was leading the event before striking a rock at Reid Park, destroying his Falcon. After an emotional TV interview, the viewing public pledged money to Johnson, allowing him to rebuild his car and come back to win Bathurst the following year. Larry Perkins suffered a first-lap puncture in 1995, sending him and Russel Ingall to the back of the grid. Through the day, they worked their way through the field, to pop out in the final stages in the lead, taking an incredible victory. Jim Richards holds the record as the oldest winner at 55 years and 41 days, but of his 7 victories, he is most famous for calling the jeering crowd gathered at the 1992 podium a ‘pack of arseholes’.
When Jim called them a pack of…:
This year will hold a special place for the Australian Supercars championship; with the arrival of the GM Camaro as part of Supercars Gen 3 in 2023, this year’s 1000 will be the final edition to feature the Holden name on the grid. The great rivalry, between the Red Lion and the Blue Oval, will come to a spiritual close this weekend. Because you’re either a Red or a Blue at Bathurst. Few drivers manage to step across the divide and maintain their fanbase and support; it’s a division unlike any other in motorsports.
The winner of the Bathurst 1000 is awarded the Peter Brock trophy, named after the undisputed King of the Mountain. Brock earned the nickname “Peter Perfect” for his exploits at the Mountain; 9 victories between 1972 and 1987, including an incredible performance at the 1979 event, driving the A9-X Torana with Jim Richards to win by 6 laps, setting the fastest lap on the final lap.
Peter Brock 1979 Victory:
In 2006, just weeks before that year’s Great Race, Brock lost his life after an incident in a Targa rally. The front row of the grid was left vacant, a minute’s silence was observed, and the trophy was redesigned and renamed in Brock’s honour.
6 hours later, the race had reached a fever pitch. Two cars remained in contention, one Ford, and one Holden, championship rivals and separated by less than a second for the final stint. The battle went down to the wire; Rick Kelly doing anything he could to usurp Craig Lowndes, but it would be Lowndes who prevailed with the smallest winning margin in the event’s history at the time.
A fitting tribute to the man he called his mentor.
When Lowndes won Peter’s first trophy:
This year, 9 Ford Mustang GT’s will go up against 21 Holden Commodores, totalling 28 cars, the 25 full championship cars plus three wildcard entries, making it the largest Bathurst grid since 2013.
The clear favourite coming into Bathurst is championship leader Shane Van Gisbergen and co-driver Garth Tander in the #97 Triple Eight Race Engineering Commodore.
Van Gisbergen has been nigh-on untouchable this season, notching up his 18th win in an emotionally charged farewell to Pukekohe in arguably the race of the season, to tie the record for most wins in a season with 5 races remaining. In any conditions, in any race situation, Van Gisbergen and the team at Triple Eight Race Engineering have had the pace to overcome the field and put themselves in the box seat for victory. He maintains his partnership with Garth Tander, who has kept match fit driving in the SRO GT World Challenge Australia championship alongside Yasser Shahin. Shane and Garth took victory at Bathurst in 2020 and were on for a podium last year until a late puncture dropped them from contention.
Shane Van Gisbergen had his fair share of stories at The Mountain; in 2014 he was in the box seat in what was a crazy race, until a stall in the pit stop compounded by a broken starter motor not refiring the car dropped him from an assured position to completely out of the fight. As it happened, he and the team were on the race-winning strategy. Two years later, he was the aggressor in the final stint, finishing second by the barest of margins, 0.12 of a second. He finally broke through for his first win in 2020, after a series of near misses and podiums, and he will be looking to add another Bathurst crown to his illustrious 2022, which has included wins in Rally machinery as well as participation at Le Mans.
They will be well supported by the team car, with Supercars rookie Broc Feeney driving alongside Triple Eight Race Engineering team owner, 4-time Bathurst champion and series legend Jamie Whincup in the #88.
Broc’s rookie season has seen impressive growth from the youngster, currently sitting 6th in the championship just behind the big names. He will be making his third Bathurst appearance, after his wildcard entry last year came to a premature end after a big impact at Metal Grate while in the top 10.
Jamie Whincup is one who has had both feast and famine at The Mountain. His career was arguably saved by a drive in 2005 alongside Jason Richards, with the pair taking a surprise podium for Tasman Motorsport. This put him on Triple Eight’s radar, where he won his debut with the team in 2006, and the rest, as they say, is history. 7 Championships, 4 Bathurst’s, over 100 race wins and a legacy unmatched. Four Bathurst victories is a tally that only Whincup could be disappointed with. After his last win in 2012, he has been at odds with The Mountain: He was leading when he ran out of fuel in 2014 on the last lap, was leading when he received a penalty for incorrectly passing the safety car in 2015, was leading after being given a penalty for causing an incident late in the race in 2016, and has missed out in his last few attempts. With his full-time career now over, his role becomes one to mentor the young Feeney, and there are few with more experience to learn from than Whincup.
One of the few is 6-time winner Craig Lowndes, who will be piloting a wildcard entry run by Triple Eight Race Engineering, partnering Super 2 youngster Declan Fraser. Lowndes’ Bathurst story is full of great moments – ‘The Kid’ burst onto the scene in 1994 as a 20-year-old, co-driving the factory Holden with Brad Jones. Lowndes was given the final stint, and made an audacious pass around the outside of John Bowe at Griffins Bend to take the lead of the race. Unfortunately, he was baulked by traffic laps later, allowing Bowe to pass him again and take victory. But the Lowndes legend had a beginning, and almost 30 years later, it is yet to have an end. 6 wins including an iconic three-peat from 2006-08, Lowndes is one of the few drivers who has crossed brand lines and maintained the following and respect from both sides of the Supercars fanbase.
When the Lowndes Legend was born:
He is joined by Declan Fraser, who is driving for Triple Eight in Super 2, the second tier of Supercars. Fraser has had an impressive season, and is currently leading the Super 2 standings. The 22-year-old will be making his Bathurst debut, and with 888 on the door and the wealth of experience that is Lowndes alongside him, big things will be expected from the wildcard entry.
Ford’s greatest challenge comes in the form of Cameron Waters and James Moffat in the #6 Tickford Racing Mustang. Despite being only 28, Waters has over a decade of experience at The Mountain, making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2011 after winning a seat through a reality TV program run by the Kelly Racing team.
Waters has grown into the lead role at Tickford Racing, and has been the only driver to show consistent fight and determination against Van Gisbergen this year. Race wins at Winton and Hidden Valley have come under immense pressure, while a second-place last time out at Pukekohe was a valiant defeat in what was the race of the season. Coming off two consecutive podiums at The Mountain, Waters, and co-driver Moffat will be looking to go one better this year.
Also in the Tickford Racing stable are the #5 car of James Courtney and Zane Goddard, the #55 of Thomas Randle and Zak Best, and the #56 of brothers Jake and Kurt Kostecki. While Waters has consistently been at the pointy end this season, the remainder of the Tickford garage has not been as prolific. The mix of experience and youth in the #5 car would be the next best bet for the team, with 2010 series champion Courtney finding a new lease of life at the team, and highly rated youngster Zak Best capable of some serious pace.
Bolstering the Ford ranks will be Dick Johnson Racing, with a pair of Mustangs dressed in a throwback livery calling back to the 1998 race.
Will Davison and brother Alex will pilot Dick’s famous #17, while Anton De Pasquale will have Tony D’Alberto in the car renumbered #100 in celebration of 100 years of the series sponsor Repco.
While the DJR cars started the year strongly, they have been off the boil in recent races, culminating in some mid-pack mix ups and pit-stop dramas dropping them away from good positions. Will was in a race-winning position in the last race of the championship before a mix-up in the pit lane saw the car released without a tyre fully secured. De Pasquale hasn’t had the outright pace to manage races as he did last year, only taking one victory this season. Of the two cars, two-time Bathurst winner Will seems the more likely to be the car to watch; he and brother Alex are looking to become the first pair of brothers to win together since Geoff and David Brabham won the 1997 Super Tourer 1000 in a BMW 320i.
Looking to cap off their last Bathurst in GM machinery will be the Walkinshaw Andretti United team, featuring the reigning Bathurst champion in the form of Chaz Mostert. Formerly the Holden Factory team, Walkinshaw will be moving to Mustangs for season 2023, a move that has seen widespread uproar amongst the fanbase. It will be a second crossing of the line for Mostert, who took his first of two Bathurst wins in 2014 driving for the Ford factory team. Mostert outlasted the mountain on that occasion, starting from the rear of the grid, crashing at turn 2, and having a drive through penalty throughout the race. Come the frantic last hour, it was Mostert who was best positioned to challenge Whincup, and when the 88 ran out of fuel, Chaz streamed through to take an iconic victory in arguably the greatest Bathurst 1000 in memory. Last year’s race was dominated by the #25, with Chaz and Lee Holdsworth looking untouchable from first practice, taking a dominant win.
Final Laps: 2014 Bathurst 1000:
Mostert has shown flashes of brilliance this year, with a win in the third race at Hidden Valley the highlight. Unfortunately, this has been mixed with anonymous weekends at Winton and Wanneroo, leaving Chaz firmly fifth in the championship. This year he is joined by Fabian Coulthard; only just out of a main game drive, Fabian is looking to make amends with the Mountain. He was at the heart of DJR Team Penske’s manipulation of the race in 2019, enabling team-mate Scott McLaughlin his chance of victory. But, with recent supercars experience, he is sure to be a quick co-driver.
The sister #2 car features 2011 Bathurst champion Nick Percat with perennial Bathurst podium-getter Warren Luff.
Percat was the last rookie to win the 1000, playing co-driver to Garth Tander, who withstood an onslaught from Craig Lowndes in the latter stages of the 2011 race. Since then, Percat has taken two podiums at Bathurst, only half as many as his experienced teammate. Luff has a knack for standing on the podium at Bathurst: in the last decade, he has 6 podiums, two top 10’s, a DNS after an accident in practice, and was crashed out of a possibly race winning position. While the #2 has struggled in patches this season, you can never write off a Walkinshaw Commodore at the mountain.
The other half of last year’s winning duo is at Grove Racing, which have an exciting pair of co-drivers alongside the main duo. Lee Holdsworth stepped into the #10, earning a full-time drive after his efforts last year, and will be joined by exciting young kiwi Matt Payne.
Payne has been accelerated through the ranks with the Groves, winning the Toyota Racing series in 2021, jumping into Porsches with Earl Bamber Racing, before getting a shot at Super 2 with the Groves. Having already tasted GTE machinery in the ELMS and a tilt at the Spa 24 hours with Grove Racing, Payne is an exciting name to keep an eye on.
Across the garage in the #26 Mustang is 2017 Bathurst winner David Reynolds, with current Porsche factory driver Matt Campbell for company. Reynolds has found a new happy home with the Groves and sits 6th in the championship with 6 podiums so far. Adding Campbell, who has experience at Bathurst in both GT and Supercars machinery, makes this pair certainly one to watch.
The remaining Ford contingent features the Cooldrive Racing #3 of Tim Slade and Tim Blanchard, and the Matt Chahda Racing Wildcard #118 of Matt Chahda and Jaylyn Robotham.
After a long time working through the ranks, the wildcard for Matt Chahda Racing is a significant stepping stone for Chahda, bringing along a young talent in Robotham who has taken championships at lower levels. The pair are making their Bathurst debut in a feel-good story for the sport.
A team that’s sure to have an international interest is Brad Jones Racing.
While the #8 machine of Andre Heimgartner and Dale Wood is the most likely to spring a result, the #4 car of Jack Smith features Porsche Supercup driver Jaxon Evans.
Evans has experience at the mountain in GT3 machinery, but is making his debut in the 1000.
The 4-car Brad Jones stable is rounded out by Brad’s son Macauley alongside Jordan Boys in the #96, and Bryce Fullwood and Dean Fiore in the #14.
Erebus Motorsport are entering three cars; their two full-season cars of Brown/Perkins and Brodie Kostecki/David Russell plus a fan-favourite wildcard: the return of the #51, and of Kiwi Supercars legend Greg Murphy and former Aston Martin GTE driver Richie Stanaway.
Murphy has four wins at The Mountain, as well as possibly the most famous lap in the 2003 shootout; needing to beat the best time of the weekend to score pole, Murphy set his ‘Lap of the Gods’, taking pole by over a second and setting a new lap record in the process. While the #51 is sure to stir emotions in the nostalgic, with neither driver having any significant seat time of late, expectations for the pair are low.
Greg Murphy’s Lap Of The Gods:
The field is rounded out by two cars each for Team 18, PremiAir Racing, and Matt Stone Racing. Team 18 have had a difficult season, with Scott Pye involved in several serious incidents throughout. But Pye is on a hot run of form with 6 top 10’s on the trot, and partnering with young-gun Tyler Everingham is an exciting prospect. The #18 features 2013 Bathurst winner Mark Winterbottom alongside experienced steerer Michael Caruso.
Matt Stone Racing fields a double team of experience and youth, with the #34 of Jack Le Brocq being paired with youngster Aaron Seton, and Todd Hazelwood in the #35 being joined by Jayden Ojeda.
Aaron Seton becomes the first third-generation driver to race in the 1000, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, 1965 race winner Barry Seton, and his father Glenn, who was on track to win in 1995 before an engine failure only 9 laps from the finish.
Finally, new team PremiAir racing will be making their Bathurst debut, with drivers Chris Pither and debutant Cameron Hill in the #22, while James Golding returns to the mountain in the #31 with TCR Australia race winner Dylan O’Keeffe for company.
Practice for the Bathurst 1000 is split into 6 sessions; two each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Qualifying on Friday afternoon sets the grid from positions 11-28, with the top 10 progressing to the all-important Shootout on Saturday afternoon.
The Green Flag for the 62nd Bathurst 1000 will fly at 11:15 Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time (UTC +11) on Sunday morning. Those in Australia can watch via Foxtel or Kayo Sports, or free to air on the 7 network. International viewers can watch all sessions live on Superview (https://www.supercars.com/superview/) across the weekend.
