This weekend 27 Supercars will pursue victory in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at the famous Mount Panorama.
Team Holden dominates this year’s starting list with 14 cars, with drivers including Garth Tander and David Reynolds.
Favourites to take out the 2016 race are Holden’s Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards.
To get you in pole position for the big race, Zero Throttle will countdown our top 5 most memorable Bathurst moments.
- RIP Peter Brock
When Australian motorsport legend Peter Brock, died on September 8th 2006 whilst competing in the Targa West Rally, it resulted in the following month’s Bathurst 1000 being one of the most remembered races in history.
The race drew a record live crowd and it became a memorial for the ‘King of the Mountain’, with many of his old cars and co-drivers in attendance. From this year on, the drivers were now competing for the Peter Brock Trophy.
It was only fitting that Craig Lowndes, who was mentored by Brock, won the race and inaugural Peter Brock Trophy alongside racing partner Jamie Whincup.
- Holden vs Ford
A classic Holden vs Ford final lap showdown, would have to feature in our countdown.
In 2013 a 1000-kilometre race came down to a head-to-head thrilling last lap, between Holden’s Jamie Whincup and Ford’s Mark Winterbottom.
Despite a bold move from Whincup, Winterbottom held on and finally got his first win after 10 starts in the race.
- Greg Murphy vs Marcos Ambrose
This heated face-to-face argument between Holden’s Greg Murphy and Ford’s Marcos Ambrose in 2005 will be forever remembered.
Following a restart from a safety car, Murphy and Ambrose came together in between Griffins Bend and the Cutting. It resulted in almost putting Ambrose’s Ford over the concrete barrier and ended both of their races for the day.
But who’s fault is it? Will this will always be a disagreement between Holden and Ford fans and the two men themselves.
- Brock’s six lap victory
The ‘King of the Mountain’, lived up to his name with his six lap victory in 1979, in which was undoubtedly his best of his nine wins on the mountain.
To top it off, his last lap of the race he set a record time.
- The underdog
There’s two things Australian’s love most when it comes to sport. The first is beating New Zealand and the second is the story of an underdog and this following victory contains both.
Ford’s Chaz Mostert and co-driver Paul Morris started the race in dead last and weren’t really considered an option to win the overall race.
For majority of the race, New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen lead the race until his car failed to start following a late pitstop.
Though this allowed Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom to speed ahead, only for Winterbottom to spin out soon after.
The race was now left between the experienced Whincup and the underdog Mostert to battle it out for the victory.
However, experience wasn’t enough to give Whincup the win. Whincup was battling through on little fuel, which was rapidly running out and had an eager Mostert quickly approaching to take the lead from him.
Mostert found the gap he needed and had enough fuel to speed away from Whincup with half a lap to go and took out the victory.
