Bathurst 1000 - Famous Winners

Famous Winners

The most successful driver at Bathurst is Peter Brock, whose nine victories (1972, 1975, 1978–80, 1982–84 and 1987) earned him the nickname King of the Mountain.

Bob Jane won the race four times in succession from 1961 to 1964. Jane's racing exploits assisted in the creation of his automotive businesses, originally with automotive vehicle dealerships, then later more prominently with a national chain of tyre retailers.

Jim Richards won the race seven times (1978–80, 1991–92, 1998 and 2002) and also holds the record for the most starts (35) at this event. Larry Perkins is the third most successful driver at Bathurst, with six victories (1982–84, 1993, 1995 and 1997). Both Richards and Perkins shared some of their victories as co-drivers with Brock.

Mark Skaife has won six times, his first was in 1991, with a Nissan Skyline GT-R. He also won in 1992 in the same car, and in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2010 in a Holden Commodore.

Canadian-born Allan Moffat is Ford's most successful Bathurst driver, winning the race four times (1970, 1971, 1973 and 1977). The 1977 race saw Moffat and team-mate Colin Bond cross the finish line side by side after opening up an indomitable lead in the early laps.

New Zealand-born Greg Murphy has won the race four times (1996, 1999, 2003, 2004).

Dick Johnson first rose to fame during the 1980 race when his privately entered Ford Falcon hit a rock that had fallen (or been pushed; the subject is still debated to this day) onto the track. Thanks to public donations of over A$70,000 – and a matching donation from Ford Motor Company – Johnson was able to rebuild his car and win the Bathurst race the following year. He went on to win twice more, in 1989 and 1994.

In 2008 Craig Lowndes, who in many ways has become Australian touring car racing successor to Brock in terms of success and popularity, won the race for the fourth time, and with his co-driver Jamie Whincup joined Jane, Harry Firth, Brock, Richards and Perkins in an elite group of drivers to have won the race in three successive years. Only Jane went on to win a fourth. Lowndes won the race for the fifth time in 2010.