Motorsport: Men versus the mountain

Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes of Team Vodafone celebrate after winning the Bathurst 1000. Photo / Getty Images

The Bathurst 1000 is what all drivers want to win, where all fans want to be; it's the race that separates the men from the boys, writes Eric Thompson

Ask any of the big taxi racers, on either side of the ditch and a few overseas drivers, what race they'd most want to win and the answer will always be the Bathurst 1000. The place, the track, the mountain and the race itself is a mecca for V8 drivers and fans alike.

That single race has produced more joy, despair and great driving than any other race meeting in Australasia.

For nearly half a century, the battle between man and mountain has made and destroyed more than a few reputations. The heat of battle has forged some of greatest names in V8 racing; the likes of the legendary Peter Brock, Allan Moffat, Jim Richards and Larry Perkins.

In later years, it's been five-time winner Mark Skaife and four-time winner Kiwi Greg Murphy who had owned the place until relative newcomers, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup, teamed up to have the wood on the rest of the field for the past three years.

Last year's race, for the second time in succession, came down to the wire again, with Kiwis Jason Richardson and Murphy closing in on the then two-time winners, as co-drivers, Lowndes and Whincup.

Coming out of Murray's and heading for the chequered flag on the last lap, Lowndes and Whincup grabbed the win to equal Brock and Perkins for three straight wins.

1 Revved up for historic attempt

TeamVodafone duo Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. It'll be a first as nobody has achieved the feat at Bathurst. However, Bob Jane did win the last two big endurance races held at Phillip Island in 1961 and 62 and the first two at Bathurst in 1963 and 64. The only other driver to come close to four in a row was the man the Bathurst trophy is named after - Peter Brock. Brock teamed with Jim Richards to win in 1978, 79 and 80 before finishing 21st in 1981 after an axle broke. He co-drove with Larry Perkins to win in 1982, 83 (with help from John Harvey) and 84, but failed to finish in 1985 (with Kiwi David Oxton) after the engine let go with three laps left while in second.

2 Going the distance

Toll Holden Racing Team drivers, Will Davison and Garth Tander, are trying to become just the fifth pairing in the last 25 years to win the two endurance races in a single season - the L&H 500 at Phillip Island and the Bathurst 1000. The last team to do it was Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup in 2007, while others to have achieved the feat are Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy in 1996, Dick Johnson and John Bowe, 1994, Peter Brock and Larry Perkins, 1984.

3 Fatal races

In 46 years of racing on the mountain, despite some pretty horrifying crashes, only three drivers have died while competing in the Bathurst 1000. The first death in the race's history happened in 1986 when Mike Burgmann's Holden hit the tyre wall at the base of the Bridgestone Bridge at more than 260km/h. The following year a chicane - The Chase - was added towards the end of Conrod Straight and a plaque erected in Burgmann's honour. New Zealand's only Formula One champion, Denny Hulme, had a heart attack in 1992 while piloting a BMW M3 down Conrod Straight. After clipping the wall on the left, he managed to bring the car to a stop in an orderly fashion on the other side of the track. However, by the time the marshals made it to the car, Hulme was dead. It would be only two years before the circuit claimed another life, that of Don Wilson, who died during practice when his Holden speared into a barrier on Conrod Straight. While not strictly part of the race itself, in 2006 Kiwi driver Mark Porter died in a crash in a Fujitsu V8 Supercar series support race on the Friday.

4 Memorable moments

There are four notable anniversaries at Bathurst this year. It's the 40th anniversary of the first Holden factory racing team, with the debut of the Holden Dealer Team, and it also the anniversary of the debut of the GT-HO Falcon and Hall of Fame members Peter Brock (left) and Allan Moffat. It's the 30th anniversary of the biggest-ever winning margin, of six laps by Brock and Jim Richards in their A9X Torana, 1979, in a race they never looked like losing. Finally, it's the 25th anniversary of the HDT one-two finish with Brock and Larry Perkins leading home John Harvey and David Parsons.

5 Degrees of dexterity

The track has been used for five different events in its history. Originally constructed in 1938 as a scenic tourist drive just outside the New South Wales town of Bathurst, the Mt Panorama circuit has hosted all types of motorsport including the world famous Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, the annual 12-hour production car race, 24-hour endurance races and the Easter weekend motorcycle meetings and has also hosted the Australian Grand Prix. When the roar of highly tuned motor racing vehicles, both two and four-wheeled, aren't carving up the tarmac, the track reverts to a public road.

6 Dodgy circuit

Although a few may disagree, there are probably six really dodgy parts of the circuit where the smallest mistake, or inattention, will see the car into the wall, or the tyre barriers on the straights. Bathurst is an unforgiving place where cars travel at extraordinary speeds for all intents and purposes in a concrete shoot. The first left-hander off the grid, Hell Corner, has claimed a few dreams at the start and after safety car involvement. Reid Park, after Griffin's Bend, is a tricky little number that'll catch a few out if they haven't short-shifted and put them into a spin. After Sulman Park and McPhillamy, drivers won't be able to see where the track goes after Skyline where it drops away on the entrance to the Dipper - a place to gain on the rest if you have a big enough heart. Finally there's Conrod Straight where drivers definitely do not want either a mechanical malfunction, or barrelling into The Chase too hot - it won't be a pleasant experience.

7 More pit stops on ethanol

The change to CSR E85 ethanol-blended fuel, and the increased consumption, for the Australian V8 Supercar series will mean more pit stops than ever before during the Great Race. With the fuel range of each tank expected to be reduced by seven to nine laps, the car that crosses the line first will probably complete six or seven fuel stops on its way to victory in a dry race, rather than the four or five that had become the norm in recent years. Teams will only have been able to get an idea of how far the cars can go on a tank of gas after practice yesterday, and whoever wins come Sunday will be the first one to do it on an ethanol-blended fuel.

8 Numbers game

Eight points of interest about the Great Race: This year's race at Bathurst is the first time in 20 years that there has not been a No1 car in the field. TeamVodafone have elected to rest the No1 car of champion Jamie Whincup, meaning it's the first time since 1989 that No 2 has been the first number on the entry list. In 2008 the crowd over four days reached 187,157. Not a lot above the 160,000 fans that turned up at the Hamilton 400. The circuit is 6.213km and runs in an anti-clockwise direction and Greg Murphy, in a Holden Commodore VY, holds the lap record at 2m06.8594s, set in 2003. Average lap speed is 178km/h with the cars reaching up to 300km/h down Conrod Straight, which is also the fastest part of the circuit. The cars are at their slowest going through Forrest's Elbow.

9 Most likely

The most experienced pairing are Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife who between them have nine Bathurst titles. The Sprint Gas team in the No 51 car have, on paper, the best chance of winning with 38 starts between them. Murphy, 16 starts, and Skaife, 22, are the combination with the most, followed by WOW Racing's Brad and Andrew Jones with 30, the former having the most starts of any driver in the field at 23. Their teammates in the Team BOC Commodore, Jason Richards and Cameron McConville, total 27, while Sprint Gas's other car, of Jason Bargwanna and Mark Noske, have 25 between them.

10 Stacked with winners

There are more than 10 drivers in the field who are former Bathurst winners. The 11 former Bathurst victors in the 2009 Bathurst 1000 race have between them a combined total of 26 wins. The list is pretty impressive starting with Garth Tander, Toll HRT, Greg Murphy, Mark Skaife and Jason Bargwanna, all Sprint Gas Racing, Steve Richards, Ford Performance Racing, Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing, Jason Bright, Fujitsu Racing, Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup, TeamVodafone.