Last year’s running of the Bathurst 1000 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the endurance classic dubbed ‘The Great Race’. It’s a race with a history that few events could possibly hope to match.
In 1963, the inaugural event featured ordinary road cars lapping what was effectively a scenic tourist loop around Mount Panorama.
Today, the event sees up to thirty of the most expensive V8-powered machinery do battle for the Peter Brock Trophy over 161 laps of thrilling, high-speed racing.
While much may have changed, there is still plenty that has remained constant. It is truly one of the greatest tests of car and driver you can find. Dubbed the ‘Melbourne Cup of Australian motorsport’, it has remained the biggest and most important motor race in the country.
Charting every one of the fifty years of racing around Mount Panorama, Bathurst: 50 Years of the Great Race celebrates the event’s history with a year-by-year account of the highlights, triumphs, controversies and tragedies that unfolded at each race.
Starting out with dealer-bought saloons, the event moved through subsequent Muscle Car, Group A, and SuperTouring eras before its current V8 Supercars Championship guise.
The book tracks all of this, sourcing some of the finest photos from the Chevron Library archives and well-supported by Normoyle’s prose.
For long-time fans of touring car racing in Australia, this title is well worth adding to your collection. Using our unique ‘Chequered Flags’ rating system, we award Bathurst: 50 Years of the Great Race… 4 out of 4 Stars.
An extract from http://richardsf1.com
See more at: http://richardsf1.com/2014/01/23/review-bathurst-50-years-of-the-great-race/#sthash.HF50lCTW.dpuf
To Purchase Bathurst click here: https://www.rockpoolpublishing.com.au/bathurst
Geoff Burke. Richard's F1 – 23 January, 2014