The 70's were probably better except for that very disapointing staged Ford 1 - 2 finish, that was such a disapointing finish to what was a great race.
Was the one race I was lucky to be at. Watched from the bottom of the mountain for a bit before we made it easy up to the top. Just arrived and Bartlet rolled right in front of us. Thanks for the video of the race, I never got to see the TV coverage until now...
Very grateful for the upload. This is the first car race I can remember watching as a kid of ten. Been a fan of the Great Race ever since. My Da was telling us how Brock was the greatest. Da'd just bought a Commodore, which everyone in the parish had decided was a 'sports car'. All I knew was that those lines were very nice to look at, and the sound of those Group Cs were better than a rocket launch. Still my goal to own a Malboro Holden Dealer Team Torana A9X or VC V1 Commodore. I think this was the first Aussie telecast of an in-car camera in a race. Watch the first two laps of this for old school touring car racing. Evan Green was a great commentator. Like the Dennis Cometti of touring car commentary.
I’m very grateful for this video! I wasn’t even a thought or a twinkle in the eye, I was born in 89’ I grew up watching NASCAR, So to have Bill France Jr give the command is something special to me. I could only imagine being at this race in person!! Iv always imagined a NASCAR race car turning laps around the mountain. & I kid you not I have put Bathurst on my bucket list of tracks that I MUST visit. I put the Mountain over the Nurburgring, Easily.
I went to Bathurst every year between 1980 and 1990. I always camped up at McPhillamy Park and it was awesome. It then started to get much regulated and I stopped going. I still watch bits of it on TV every year but it isn't the same.
Dad drove up from Melbourne every year from the late 60s to...I'm not quite sure when, sometime a little after this l imagine. I was lucky enough to tag along in 75, 77 and 82. We'd stay in a Pub in either Bathurst or Orange and it was such an adventure for a kid, especially the siggts and sounds of the mountain. What happened? What did these bastards do? What "regulations" are you speaking of?
Bring back this real Bathurst. Different classes of cars in the same race that anyone could buy in Australia and besides the slicks and lack of muffler were roadworthy. Bring back the 1982 rules (not group A) and scrap the circus v8 super crap (Mockup passenger cars that don't exist ) aren't available to the common man. The wining car means nothing if you can't buy that car and drive it on a public road. In today's market not just motorsports fans would take an interest if the team had to make 2000 of the cars raced available to the public. Back in 1982 I think they had to offer 500 of the same race car.
Michael Irish I agree.....I don't even bother watching the shit boxes of today. There all the same car now with a different badge stuck on the front. And if you don't have foxtel either you get the rubbish ch10 broadcast of Bathurst. Which is typical ch10 shithouse. The good old days, real cars, 60 of them, with real men not the puncey tinker bells we have today steering them.....and don't get me started on the commentators, crompo, skaife and larks could take a leaf out of Wilkinson, Evan Green and mike Raymond. Good memories. Brock, Johnson , gricey, Hansford, bond, Harvey, Bartlett, fury, Richards and the rest or the real Aussie motor legends. All we got now really is lowndesy..... Now we stuck with, chad in his commoford, whine-cup in his falcondorre, and Rick in his V8 patrol powered Nissan (not so) Altima.
So true Michael. I started watching the 1000 back in '76 when it was multi class homologated road cars, not the silhouette nonsense they race today. These days "The Great Race" is the 12 hour, not the 1000. It's a far more entertaining spectacle.
Group C was political nightmare. But folks like yourself wear the rose tinted glasses and can't acknowledge this fact. Group A was just as bad. The V8 formula has been the best and most stable, but is currently showing some cracks.
Now that we've lost Holden, Commodores and Falcons, it would probably be a good thing to go back to slower, more road-going cars. I lost interest when I could no longer tell what the cars were, and I have even less interest now they are mostly American. Would love to see mixed class, but the trouble is Group C became obstacles, and it got dangerous as the Group A cars got faster. There would need to be lower caps on HP, and modifications. I'm more excited now by SuperUtes. Something more of us own, and we can recognise.
Gotta love these cars compared to now. Only minor modifications done. Can anyone imagine today's V8 Supercars with an ashtray and lighter like Brocks at 45:25 ?
This 14yo was so excited when KB flipped over, that was the moment that I found my Bathurst addiction, every year since, I have prepared everything near the Tele, and don't miss anything unless necessary ...
Evan Green. "I don't know what the alternative is" re the flatbed trucks on the track at the same as the cars. The same superbrain that kicked off the supercar scare
the alternative turned out to be safety cars, which killed racing altogether and made bathurst a boring joke, his "supercar scare" ushered in the group c banger era, which wasnt topped before or since, evan was mr bathurst
i'm a bit surprised that they were no safety cars in 1982 it was only with the introduction of Gr A in 1985 and the WTCC in 1987 that pace/safety cars were introduced given that the race organisers were keeping races going despite cars lying in dangerous areas with cars having to avoid the recovery trucks and it was the trucks that caused Dick Johnson' collision with the rock in 1980 2 years before
The only Sunday of the year I was ready a couple of hours before church time so i could watch the start of the race uninterrupted. The '82 start has to be up there with one of my favourite Bathurst memories.. Gricey and Brock just going for it.
Fukn awesome footage...godd car racing know ..almost boring...computer this that...tells uwhen u skidded urself lol...loove the lost years lol Thats living....i tell ya...
Oops, that was the 1983 Bathurst where Brocky Broke His Car Going Too Fast from the Start and then Jumped-In John Harvey's Car (The Back-Up Commodore No. 25)..... Here, Brocky Amazingly Circulated Very Quickly the Whole Race, with Tremendous Reliability. Factory Support just sooo essential in those days, with Privateers having Very Little Chance to Win.
1:34:20 Is that competition still going ?? The old ford of mines getting a bit long in the tooth. Great racing, into the era of race cam, various makes of cars and still no safety cars to gamble on. I'm really enjoying this.
I miss these days when men were men, and racing was raw and exciting. I miss having the slower cars in the mix, and leaving broken cars on the track, it sorted the men from the boys. Nowadays they call out the pace car if someone gets a splinter. How did we let racing get so sterile?
Bill France tainted this racing with his visit there , just like him and his son have done to Nascrap .The same thing has happened to racing down under ....... all clone car racing .......Badge stickers on the same car , just not represent different car companies ..........
