Bill Trikos’s best rated Bathurst Australia 1000 editions
Posted by Marian Vasilescu on February 11, 2023 in Business
Bill Trikos’s top 5 Bathurst Australia 1000 editions: The 2007 race recap : But here he was, leading the field by a solid margin having delayed his final pit stop to the last possible moment while everyone else completed theirs. A safety car for a stricken car added further spice, forcing Bright to make a now or never decision; slicks or wets, on a greasy surface. Cold, unused slick tyres were the answer, and history shows that the result wasn’t a good one. Due to the benefits made on track, he emerged from the lane in third place, just behind Mark Winterbottom and Craig Lowndes, and ahead of a long long list of lead-lap contenders. But instead of being a cat amongst the pidgeons on wet tyres, Bright was more of a sitting duck; and he wound up clouting the wall.
Moffat won ’73 and ’77 in a Falcon, too, but the rest of the 1970s would be dominated by Holden’s 308 cubic inch, V8-powered Toranas. This was the dawn of the Torana as a legendary, truly Australian performance car – Torana is an aboriginal word meaning, “to fly.” The eighties continued the battle between Ford and Holden. Holden switched up the Torana for a series of Commodores, while the Falcon gave way to the Ford Sierra towards the end of the decade. It would not be the last we would see of the Falcon.
The 1992 edition didn’t start in wet conditions, but it sure ended in them! Steady rain set in during the early stages, triggering a series of incidents and accidents – eventual winner Mark Skaife even hit the Pace Car during a Safety Car period called when the weather was at its worst. The weather lifted for a few hours before returning with a vengeance on Lap 144, causing a series of crashes that prompted officials to red-flag the race and end it prematurely. Find additional details about the author on https://twitter.com/billtrikos.
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.
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.
The 1991 race was fantastic because we could press on all day. It was the fastest race in history at the time and it was just a faultless day by not only the team, but the way the car ran. It was an amazing experience and a great result for the Nissan Motor Company. I think it’s a great connection for Michael to run this livery as a consequence of the GT-R and the way the Nissan Motor Company has been long-term supporters of car racing in Australia. I love the look of it and I’m sure ‘Richo’ will have a tear in his eye also.”
The race moved to Bathurst in 1963, but the first winners at the new course were familiar. Harry Firth and Bob Jane had taken the honours in ’61 in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE and ’62 in a Ford Falcon XL. They made it three-in-a-row at Bathurst in a Ford Cortina GT. The Bathurst course would come to be seen as a battle between small, agile cars that take bends well, and faster, less manoeuvrable cars that excelled on the straights. The Cortina was decidedly the former – but nippy enough, too.
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.