Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
On the weekend of October 9 -12 was the Repco Bathurst 1000!
The Bathurst 1000 is the biggest and most well known motor car race on the Australian calendar. It is arguably bigger than the Australian Grand Prix and comparable to the Melbourne Cup horse race as a cultural event that stops the nation!
This year marked the 65th anniversary of The Bathurst 1000. And Boy, what a show it was! It will certainly go down in history as one of the best ever.
The pre-race sessions started 3 days beforehand. The preparations included 6 practice sessions, qualifying, top 10 shootout and a warmup session.
In a surprise to most punters, season leader Broc Feeney with co-driver Jamie Whincup didn’t get the pole position. The winner of last year’s Bathurst 1000 and the 2023 season champion Brodie Kostecki earned pole position for the 3rd year running. His co-driver was Todd Hazelwood.
Alongside them on the front row for the start was Cameron Waters and co-driver Mark Winterbottom.
Todd Hazelwood took the lead off the startline. He was followed by Mark Winterbottom, Jayden Ojeda, Fabian Coulthard and Cooper Murray.
Meanwhile, the last car on the grid driven by Brad Vaughn had stalled! He had to be towed off the track. What a way to start a 1000km race!
Todd Hazelwood kept the lead in the initial laps. Behind him there was plenty of chopping and changing in the top 5 drivers. David Russel, Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes were all in the mix. Pretty soon, so was Jamie Whincup.
Jack le Brocq was the first car to pit on lap 12.
On lap 26 Broc Feeney took the wheel from Jamie Whincup and beat leader Todd Hazelwood to the pit exit. The drivers in front of them were soon out of the way as they took their pit stops. Feeney was the new leader.
Broc Feeney soon carved a 4+ second lead over the rest of the pack. Although it was still early in the race, he was looking strong and confident.
Around lap 27 the rain started to fall.
Although the rain was light, the wet track was obviously a challenge. Aaron Cameron made heavy contact with the wall at turn 2. The impact was so hard that the car lifted off the ground into the air! Somehow, he was able to push on.
It was also probably the rain that caused Mark Winterbottom to run wide at the top of the mountain and losing 2nd place.
As they reached laps in the mid 30s, Car 25 of Chaz Mostert and co-driver Fabian Coulthard was not running on all 8 cylinders and sounding terrible. They pushed on.
Tim Slade’s car also suffered the same issue and chose to pit after lap 50. The Bendix Racing team felt they couldn’t reliably make the repairs and became the first car to exit the race early.
It was only 3 laps later that Tony Dalberto hit the wall on the exit of Forest Elbow and the safety car deployed once again. The Will Davison/Tony Dalberto car was soon declared the 2nd victim of The Great Race.
Mostert was still having his engine problem. After lap 57 he came to a stop on Conrod Straight. Again, the safety car was deployed. Mostert must have known the car was beyond repair. By the time the team declared they wouldn’t be able to continue, Mostert was at the bar having a cold one!
While the race was under the Safety Car conditions for Mostert, leader Broc Feeney took his next pit stop. This handed the lead to Brodie Kostecki followed by Cameron Waters. Feeney returned on track in 6th place.
The rain started getting heavier. Drivers were slip-sliding all over the place.
On lap 65 Nash Morris and Cameron McLeod made contact and in spectacular fashion went spinning around to end up facing the wrong way.
Brodie Kostecki had reported clutch issues earlier and then ran wide at The Chase. Cameron Waters snuck through and now had the lead.
Waters didn’t hold the spot for long. He joined Kostecki in the pits. The lead was taken up by Lee Holdsworth, followed by Jamie Whincup and Jayden Ojeda.
Cameron McLeod slid off track into a sand trap to bring out another safety car.
Next thing you know, Kai Allen travelling at 300kmph had a near miss with a kangaroo.
Kai Allen’s luck was used up. Soon after he was hit from behind and ended up in the wall at Forest Elbow. Another Safety Car was deployed.
Lee Holdsworth pitted from his leading position and left Jayden Ojeda in the number one spot. What a thrill for the young driver on his 2nd running at Bathurst.
By the middle of the race David Russell co-driving for James Golding had taken the lead from Jayden Ojeda in 2nd place. 13+ seconds further back was Scott Pye in 3rd.
They young Jayden Ojeda was like an enthusiastic puppy. In a matter of laps he closed the gap and then took over David Russsell.
Jayden Ojeda surprised everyone. He sped ahead and quickly created his own 5+ seconds buffer in the pouring rain. He was in the 1st spot but must have been in 7th heaven.
Brodie Kostecki was still in the top 10 drivers when he hit the rear of Kai Allen. Kostecki was in the pits for repairs. The delay caused him to drop so far back it would be impossible to recover.
There was plenty more action on the track throughout the race.
With 37 laps remaining Broc Feeney hit the wall at Forest Elbow requiring the safety car to be deployed. The time needed for repairs left him out of race contention. It must have been devastating for Feeney who is at the top of the championship ladder with 12 wins this season.
On lap 127 James Courtney (with co-driver Jack Perkins) had scored so much damage they became the 4th car to not complete the race.
Only two laps later Jaxson Evans with co-driver Jack Smith were the next casualties.
Ryan Wood (with co-driver Jayden Ojeda) still had the lead. With 24 laps remaining, Wood went off the track at The Chase. James Golding was right there to take the lead.
A couple of laps later Ryan Wood’s pace dramatically slowed. The car pitted. The repairs took time and the team knew there was no chance to regain their place. Regardless, they still chose to get back out there and to not quit. It is a shame they finished 19th.
On lap 143 of 161, after 6+ hours of driving, Ritchie Stanaway and Nash Morris were the 6th and final car to crash out of the race.
With 11 laps remaining, Golding had the lead. He was followed closely by Cooper Murray and Matt Payne. They were all within arms reach of each other.
The final 10 lap countdown was on, and the leading drivers were close together. The “win” for the biggest race of the year was up for grabs, and they all showed how much they wanted it.
With 9 laps left, the rain was still falling and track very wet.
Coming down The Dipper they push their cars to the max. Golding lost traction causing him to fishtail. He managed to hang on to the lead.
On Conrod Straight, Matt Payne was side by side in a challenge to Golding. At 300 kmph they approach the bends of The Chase. As they exit The Chase, Payne slides onto the trackside grass and fishtails. He regains control and stays on the attack. Any mistakes could cost dearly, and the pressure was on.
As they reach the last turn of the lap, Cooper Murray attempted a pass on the outside of Payne. Payne ran wide and Murray cut behind him to the inside and comes out of the corner leading. It was a fantastic manoeuvre.
Payne worked through lap 8 to close the gap on the cars ahead.
With 7 laps remaining, Murray made an attack on Golding. They were side by side for what seemed a long time in a fierce battle for the lead. Murray finally managed to pass taking the number 1 spot!
Reynolds was in 4th place about 6 seconds behind, but desperately wants in on the action. He completed the circuit 1.5+ seconds faster than the three cars ahead and closed in on them.
With 5] laps to go, the top 3 cars are still bumper to bumper. The cars were pushed to the max in the rain and the driving was faultless.
At turn 2, Golding attacked on the inside of Murray and made contact. Golding went wide and Murray slid sideways. In a magically fluid motion Matt Payne cut across them to the inside of the corner to take the lead! James Golding remained in 2nd place. Cooper Murray dropped from 1st to 3rd.
Soon after, the officials issued James Golding a 5 second time penalty for causing the issue. Unable to serve the time penalty in the pits, the 5 seconds would be added to his final time at the end of the race. The 5 seconds penalty could result in losing the win and even being out of a podium finish.
Fog and mist from the low heavy cloud cover, blocked visibility across the top of Mount Panarama. The cars emerging from the mist and screaming down the mountain just looked incredible.
In the second last lap Matt Payne was aggressively driving to keep his lead. Golding is just as good and right on his tail.
The race had started nearly 7 hours ago and were just shy of 1000kms on one of the most challenging circuits anywhere. The leaders had been behind the wheel for more than 3 hours straight. In the car the temperature soars. How they could still be driving so competitively was a show of astounding stamina.
Hitting maximum speed down Conrod Straight, Golding cut to the inside of Matt Payne and they battled each other side by side through the turns. Payne comes out of the duel to keep his lead.
Golding was desperate and attacked again and again.
They reach the final lap. Amazingly, Golding attacked again and came out of turn 1 with the lead. The crowd goes absolutely mental!
Side by side they race through the bends up the mountain. Payne looks like he is about to come out ahead, but Golding is on the inside of the next bend and defends the lead.
David Reynolds is on Matt Paynes tail. He tries going around the outside of Payne on the next bend but gets cut off. It was close.
They screamed down the mountain single file towards Conrod Straight. The tension was incredible. Three cars in the last seconds of a gruelling battle. Who would crack under the pressure? Could Golding get far enough ahead to negate the 5 second time penalty at the end?
The air was filled with the roar of the crowd who had completely lost control in the excitement.
Top speeds, neck in neck, maximum focus! Noone cracked through The Chase and the final turn.
The 3 cars were so close together. The crowd was in a frenzy.
James Golding crossed the finish line 1st. Matt Payne 2nd, David Reynolds 3rd and Cooper Murray 4th.
Once the 5 second time penalty was applied to Golding, the final results were announced.
Race 27 results:
1st Matt Payne and Garth Tander – Grove / Penrite Racing
2nd David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth – Team 18 / TRADIE Energy
3rd James Golding and David Russell – PremiAir Racing
The result gave Garth Tander his 6th Bathurst win and elevates him to upper level ‘living legend’.
The Payne / Tander team also ended up winning the Enduro Cup.
Broc Feeney still leads the championship but only by 56 points over Matt Payne.
The next event is the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 24 – 26 2025.
