The History Of: Bathurst Challengers

THE HISTORY OF: BATHURST CHALLENGERS

The dramas of Bathurst have always been more than just the metal at the sharp end.

Words: Dave Carey

THE HISTORY OF: BATHURST CHALLENGERS

Words: DAVE CAREY

Home » Community » History Of » Bathurst Challengers

Bathurst Challengers: The non-v8s

October marks sixty years since the final naturally aspirated four-banger won Bathurst without serious muscle nipping at its heels. Sure, there were V8s in the 1966 field; two 273ci V8-powered VC-series Valiants sedans came in 10^th and 11^th outright, behind an entire fleet of Morris Mini Cooper Ss, while a Studebaker Lark lobbed in at 38^th, but the results show they weren’t much chop.

The annual Bathurst 500/1000 would be dominated by V8s the very next year and forever more, with only eight of the next sixty races being taken by anything but, although V8-only rules from ’93 onwards helped. For every six-cylinder Torana, R32 Skyline GTR and turbo four Sierra RS500 that crossed the line first, there was a slew of mighta beens that were so close, yet so far. Here are five in order of year, but not importance.

1967 Gallaher 500

Alfa Romeo GTV – Doug Chivas & Max Stewart

First in class and third outright, the 105-series twin-cam Alfa came in on the lead lap behind two XR Falcon GTs, illustrating that V8 supremacy at Mt Panorama was not yet absolute. Kevin Bartlett and Laurie Stewart brought another Alfa home in fourth.

1972 Hardie Ferodo 500

Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E49 – Doug Chivas & Damon Beck

Italian-developed triple Webers helped make Chrysler’s 265ci Hemi one of the great naturally aspirated sixes, culminating in the 302bhp E49. The earlier E38 was hobbled by a three-speed, but shit brakes meant the four-speed E49s still missed Bathurst glory. Smashed it in NZ, but.

1983 James Hardie 1000

Mazda RX-7 – Allan Moffat & Yoshimi Katayama

When Ford left the touring car chat, Moff threw himself balls-deep into rotary power, getting peripheral porting approved under CAMS, bringing the RX-7 into outright contention. He won the 1983 ATCC, but not Bathurst, achieving two third places; 1981 with Derek Bell and 1984 with Gregg Hansford, and a second in 1983.

1985 James Hardie 1000

Jaguar XJ-S – John Goss & Armin Hahne

The first Bathurst under Group A rules saw V8s pushed way down the leader board as the Euros romped it in. Goss’s big V12 Jag both qualified first and finished first, ahead of a six-cylinder BMW 635CSi. Dick Johnson’s Mustang was the first V8 home, way down in seventh place.

1987 James Hardie 1000

Nissan DR30 Skyline RS – Glen Seton & John Bowe

Seto might be the best driver never to win Bathurst, but he gave it a red-hot crack in 1987, bringing his turbo Skyline home in second once the Eggenberger Sierras were officially disqualified. It was the early days of turbocharging, and a portent of things to come.

Whether these cars were has-beens of a bygone age or an early glimpse into the then-future, the dramas of Bathurst have always been more than just the metal at the sharp end. Borne of an era of class struggles; races within races, they don’t always get the coverage the winners do, but that doesn’t make them less interesting. Slower, yeah, but only just.

Whatever you DRIVE, we've got you covered.

Nissan GTR R34

Mazda RX 7

Mazda RX 3

Hot Rod

Nissan S15

Chevrolet Impala

Aston-Martin-Vintage Collage

Valiant Charger

Holden VL Turbo

Holden Torana

Holden Premier

Holden EJ

Ford Falcon XR6 turbo

Ford Cobra

Need Custom Cover?

From rare makes, to unique models, to full-on mods, we’ve got it covered.

it only takes 3 minutes