The Bathurst 1000 is a 1,000-kilometre (621.4 mi) touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recent incarnation of the Australian Touring Car Championship. In 1987 it was a round of the World Touring Car Championship. The Bathurst 1000 is colloquially known as The Great Race among motorsport fans and media. The race originated with the 1960 Armstrong 500 with a 500 mile race distance at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit; it was relocated to Bathurst in 1963 also with the 500 mile distance and has continued there every year since extending to a 1,000 kilometer race in 1973. The race was traditionally run on the New South Wales Labour-Day long weekend in early October. Since 2001, the race has been run on the weekend following the long weekend, generally the second weekend of October.
The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and Sports Sedan races during the 1970s. From 1980 the Holden Dealer Team, by then under the ownership of Peter Brock, diversified into producing modified road-going Commodores and other Holden cars for selected dealers via HDT Special Vehicles.
Colin John Bond is an Australian former racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team. He quickly found success, winning the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 mile race at Bathurst, New South Wales in a Holden Monaro.
Allan George MoffatOBE is a Canadian-born Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four wins in the Bathurst 500/1000. Moffat was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 1999.
Bruce Alexander McPhee was an Australian motor racing driver. He is most famous for winning the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500, defeating both the Holden and Ford factory teams.
John GossOAM is an Australian retired motor racing driver who competed in his home country during the 1960s, 1970's and 1980's. He is the only driver to have won Australia's two most prestigious races, the Bathurst 1000, and the Australian Grand Prix (1976).
Ian Anthony "Pete" Geoghegan, was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Sometimes referred to as "Pete" Geoghegan, he was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 1970s Australian motor racing scene. His older brother Leo was also an accomplished driver and the brothers often shared a car in endurance events.
Robert Morris is an Australian former racing driver. Morris was one of the leading touring car drivers during the 1970s and continued racing until 1984. Morris won Australia's premier Touring car race, the Bathurst 1000 in 1976. He also won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1979. Morris was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2004.
The Ford Motor Company Falcon XY GT is a sports sedan based on the Ford Falcon XY. Released in 1970 by Ford Australia, with the GTHO Phase III released in 1971. Some 1,557 units were produced from September 1970 to December 1971 with 300 GTHO Phase IIIs produced from May 1971 to November 1971. It was the fourth in the initial series of the Ford Falcon GT. A limited number were exported to South Africa, wearing Fairmont GT badging. The Fairmont GT model is starting to increase in value as Falcon GTs become harder to find and buyers beginning to see the Fairmont as a genuine GT.
Henry Leslie Firth was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works team and then the famed Holden Dealer Team (HDT) well into the 1970s. Firth’s nickname was "the fox", implying his use of cunning ploys as a team manager.
The 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was a motor race for Group C Touring Cars, held on 2 October 1977 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was the 18th in a sequence of "Bathurst 1000" events commencing with the 1960 Armstrong 500.
The 1976 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 17th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 3 October 1976 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race was open to cars complying with CAMS Group C Touring Car regulations.
The 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was an endurance motor race open to Group E Series Production Touring Cars. The race was held on 1 October 1972 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. Cars competed in four classes defined by Capacity Price Units, where the engine capacity, expressed in litres, was multiplied by the purchase price in Australian dollars to arrive at a CP value for each vehicle. It was the 13th running of the Bathurst 500 race and the last to be held over the original distance of 500 miles. It was also the last to allow drivers to compete for the full distance without a relief driver. The race was the third round of the 1972 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
The 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was a motor race held on 3 October 1971 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was open to production vehicles competing in showroom condition, with the field divided into five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian dollars. Although an outright winner was officially recognised, all other official awards were for class results only. The race was the 12th in a sequence of annual "Bathurst 500" production car races dating back to the 1960 Armstrong 500. The outright winner was Allan Moffat driving a Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III.
The 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the 11th running of the Bathurst 500 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1970 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to standard production sedans competing in five classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle.
The 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 was the tenth running of the Bathurst 500 production car race. It was held on 5 October 1969 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. Cars competed in five classes based on purchase price of the vehicle.
Leo Francis Geoghegan was an Australian racing driver. He was the elder of two sons of former New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, both of whom become dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s. While his younger brother Ian "Pete" Geoghegan had much of his success in touring car racing, winning five Australian Touring Car Championships, Leo spent most of his racing career in open wheel racing cars.
The Ford Falcon GT is an automobile produced by Ford Australia from 1967 until 1976 as the performance version of its Falcon model range. Its production was resumed by a joint venture in 1992 and 1997 with Tickford, and then again between 2003 and 2014 with Prodrive, the latter being marketed as the FPV GT & GT-P. The Falcon GT is inextricably linked with the history of Australian sports sedan car production and with the evolution of Australian motor racing.The Falcon GT lineage includes many Bathurst wins and motorsport accolades over its entire production run.
The National Motor Racing Museum (NMRM) is located in the regional New South Wales city of Bathurst, approximately 200 km west of Sydney. The museum is situated adjacent to the Mount Panorama motor racing circuit at the end of Conrod Straight, close to the city.
The Supercar scare was a national controversy that arose in Australia in 1972 in regard to the sale to the public of high performance "homologation special" versions of Australian-built passenger cars.
