I haven't watched Bathurst for the last two years. But this weekend I got to watch it all on tv loved all the pre race build up (footage of the old races etc)
But I have been loosing interest since they became supercars. Don't know if I'll bother next year.
To top it off after having the tv on seven all day from 7am now I have the image "live 7" burnt into the top right side of the screen not happy at all.
Does anyone know if the image will fade away over time

I haven't been that interested in V8s since they became supercars as well but I thought it was pretty good as I had the live stream going while I did things on the computer. I wasn't interested enough to sit and watch TV - this from someone that used to watch V8s all the time....

Bring on Nissan joining!

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

I lost interest when the Ford Sierras were racing. I sit and watch the old footage, the start and the end. Rest of the day I just check it out when walking past the TV

I loved it when it was Group A and there was professional overseas teams involved. Some of it was patriotism but it pitted us against the best from the rest of world.

Had it continued then the cars would have evolved and it would have been just as exciting over time.

The V8s are exciting as its state of the art racing but I inwardly feel cheated that they are purpose built race cars with only the name badges coming from the factories.

But like all sport - it has become a syndicated and franchised entertainment industry.

Given a choice between going to a club race day and a V8 race day I would choose the club racing every time - it just sems more honest to the sport in a lot of ways.

Mike

I couldn't have said it better Mike

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1968 Morris Mini Deluxe - members gallery
1970 Morris Cooper S - members gallery
Mini's I grew up with
Slot car couch

Im driving up from Tassie in my mini next year!!

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2000 Holden Rodeo TD - The Daily
1998 JDM Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V -The Weekender
1977 Leyland Mini 998cc, 1293cc in the works - The project
1977 Leyland Mini Van - Sold
1966 Morris Mini Deluxe - Sold
2004 MINI Cooper S Chilli - Sold

A good idea but I would suggest you start planning today.
Most accommodation is probably already booked out for next year and the camping sites usually sell out in hours when they are released for sale.
But I thoroughly recommend attending this event at least once.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

I was massively into V8's back in the early 2000's - the 300kw HSV GTS got me into Holdens, and I was a pretty avid fan - my old man is a Ford fan which always made bathurst.... interesting

The last 5 or so years though I've been less and less interested, as Bathurst turned into a long sprint race - it's lacking the unpredictability, the "anyone can win" feel that the sport seemed to have as recently as 10 years ago. (plus as I got older I realised there are many other better cars out there than Holdens )


Not to mention the similarity of the cars - when an entire team can change manufacturer without missing a beat and stay on top of the championship, the badge really does seem to become irrelevant...

Watching the end of the race on Sunday I wasn't really bothered about who ended up taking the flag (although it was great racing towards the end). I still have a soft spot for GRM, and was glad to see Caruso finish top 5, but I've given up following a manufacturer.


I think I'll be cheeering the nissans next year, purely because they're the most different looking cars out there

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"smooth seas do not make skillful sailors"

Exactly. It used to be a case.of no matter who you were there was a possibility of getting mixed up with back markers/privateers, mechanical issues (not caused by crashing), and general bad luck. So winning wasn't just having the quickest car, it was about luck, great driving and excellent prep.
Now they only have issues due to having driver errors.

I do still watch it, and I enjoy Bathurst, but there is a lack of competition. Next year will add some spice with Mercedes & Nissan involved. I'll still probably support Ford though

The last laps of Bathurst were great this year. The driving of Reynolds was exciting. Car sliding around, right on whincups bumper. whincup is basically the most boring driver in V8SC racing.

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1963 850 - laid up
1970 Morris mini K van - eating up the kms!

Re lap times - The more boring to watch, usually the faster they are.
If you're not travelling straight ahead at maximum acceleration, you're losing time. Think about the physics involved in that statement for a moment.

KB

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But if you sit behind someone and can't get past you might as well make it wiggle a bit to try and distract the bloke in front.

The first time I went to Bathurst was 1974, ( I was very young then)
John Goss won that year , I was at the old Castrol curve , Glued to the chain wire fence 10 feet back from the armco rail on the side of the track ,no concrete then . TV shows Gossy going down conrod with a flat tyre , it dosn't show you him hitting the armco right in front of me when it started to rain. Followed by a Torana , a Mazda Capella that bounced back on to the track and was stuffed and then a mini threading the needle between the Capella and the armco as the officialls tried to bounce the Capella off the track , I can still see one of the officialls sumersalting over the armco when he seen the mini coming out of control,
I returned to Bathurst a further 25 years , Progressing from the top of mountain to the back of the pit area,
It use to be Production racing . all different classes, different makes, drivers drove , drivers pasted , drivers got pasted , they didn't p!ss and moan about being held up.
Car Of The Future ! welcome to Australian NASCR
I will still watch it , as allways , We have some great talent in our motor sports



End my rant

Mark

I started going to Bathurst in 1982.
I nearly drove a Group A Mustang in 1985 but the deal fell apart and in hindsight I probably wasn't ready for it anyway.
I drove in quite a few support races in the 90's. Started from pole in one race...
I was supposed to drive in a 12 Hour but I walked out of the team a week before the race (a very wise decision!)
I almost bought a drive in a Commodore in 1997. I was offered a seat for somewhere between $5000 and $7000. I probably should have done it.
I worked as an official at a few meetings including the first V8 only race.
But by 2000 I was pretty much over it.
The last time I went was 2002 as a corporate guest and even then I wasn't interested at all. The last ten years I haven't watched it or cared.

Will two new manufacturers make a difference? How can it. They are all the same car with slightly different shaped bodies.

A Mercedes with an F100 diff isn't a Mercedes.

lowndes, Courtney & Reynolds were all quicker than whincup. It's just whincup & 888's boring sanitary efficiency that meant he led

At Bathurst it's quite often the guys who drive hard across the top who are quickest, it's a strange place.

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1963 850 - laid up
1970 Morris mini K van - eating up the kms!

Just wanted to say, yours is a cool story. Was that really the price of a drive in a V8 touring car/SC (obviously you could also drive)

As for different marks and makes, how many people watch the improved production racing?

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1963 850 - laid up
1970 Morris mini K van - eating up the kms!