Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page
Search the Web

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

Monaros on the Mountain - Bathurst 68 & 69

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Mount Panorama is a legend in it's own right, and has become the Mecca of motor sport in Australia.

Monaro positions in Hardie-Ferodo 500 (500 miles/130 Laps)

• 1968: 1st -B McPhee/B Mulholland, 2nd -J Palmer/P West 3rd -A Roberts/R Watson (all in Monaro GTS 327's).

• 1969: 1st -Colin Bond/A Roberts, 3rd P Brock/ (in Monaro GTS 350's).

• Mount Panorama, Bathurst

  • Mount Panorama, the focal point of Australian Motor Racing, was first used at Easter in 1938, with Easter Sunday motorcycle racing. However, World War II intervened, and racing didn't resume until 1947, with the Australian Grand Prix. Further Grand Prix meetings were held in 1952, and 1954 when the Australian Racing Drivers Club took over racing at Mount Panorama.
  • The feature event of the Mount Panorama circuit is the Bathurst 1000, held in October each year. The Bathurst 1000 comprises 161 laps of the six kilometre track, in all more than 6 hours of fast and furious motor racing. The Bathurst 1000 is one of Australia's most popular motor races, bringing tens-of-thousands of visitors to the city of Bathurst for the long-weekend in October. The Mount Panorama circuit is also used for a round Shell Australian Touring Car Championship.

Mount Panorama track statistics 6.212 kilometres in length.  874 metres above sea level.  The drop from the top to the bottom is 174 metres.  The steepest grade is 1 in 6.13.  The Bathurst 1000 is 161 laps of the circuit, making up the 1000 kilometres.  The fastest part of the track is Conrod Straight - with speeds of around 300 km/h. The slowest part of the track is the Cutting - with speeds of up to 100km through here. The track is a public road, open to all vehicles on non-event days. The legal speed limit on the road is 60 km/h.

1968 - Let the Rivalry Begin (Monaros 1-2-3)

The Holden Monaro GTS driven by veteran driver Bruce McPhee for all but one of the 130 laps won the 1968 Hardie Ferodo 500 mile race in a time of six hours 44 minutes and 7.9 seconds. He and his partner, Barry Mullholland, who drove the car while McPhee had a three minute rest were declared provisional winners in front of fellow Monaro drivers Jim Palmer and Phil West. To complete the famed 1-2-3 finish for the new Holden Monaro GTS Tony Roberts and Bob Watson finished third. The race was watched by a crowd of over 28,000 people and was one of the most exciting since the introduction of the "500" series. A Ford Falcon GT driven by Barry Seton and Fred Gibson was in the lead for 20 laps until they had to retire and for most of the race the lead had see-sawed between the Seton-Gibson Falcon and the West-Marks Monaro. Eight of the 60 car starting field failed to complete the race. This race successes fuelled the now-traditional Holden/Ford racetrack rivalry and earned Holden the Bathurst 'King of the Mountain' title it retains to this day.

1969 - Back to Back

Monaro again proved that is was truly the 'King of the Mountain', when in 1969, with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts claiming Monaros "Back to Back" victory and the young Peter Brock, also driving a Monaro HT350, finishing third. Bond had to to battle the entire race, ironically against McPhee in a Falcon GTHO, to claim the victory

Colin Bond

Peter Brock

Home