EVENT 11, , MOUNT PANORAMA

RACE 21 OF THE 2012 V8

Point of Interest: This year is the 50th year of the Bathurst endurance race at Mount Panorama. First held in 1963 after the event had originally been held at , the race has since become world-famous.

It’s important to note that this year is not the 50th anniversary or 50th running of the race. The 50th anniversary is next year and the 50th running actually occured in 2010 given there were two races held in 1997 and 1998. V8 Supercars have elected to celebrate this year’s event as the 50th year that drivers, teams and fans have gathered at the famous circuit for the race that captures ’s imagination.

Circuit Length: 6.213-kilometres Circuit Direction: Anti-Clockwise 2011 Crowd: 179,939 (4 days)

Circuit Description: Originally constructed in 1938 as a scenic tourist drive, Mount Panorama has hosted all types of motorsport including the world famous Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, the annual 12 Hour GT race, 24 Hour endurance races and the Easter motorcycle meetings. The circuit is public road on non-race weekends and has also hosted the in the past.

10 FAST FACTS

1. Beat TeamVodafone and the Racing Team and chances are you will win this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

The two Holden squads have dominated the Bathurst race since 2001, claiming nine of the last 11 wins in the October classic.

In that time the Holden Racing Team has claimed five wins, Triple Eight have claimed four and Kmart Racing (part of the HRT/HMS family in the mid 2000s) won twice.

Not counting the Kmart team (which was related to HRT at the time of its wins by sharing a common equipment supplier in Holden Motor Sport), the last Bathurst win to be claimed outside of Triple Eight and Walkinshaw Racing/HRT/HMS was 2000 by with and Jason Bargwanna behind the wheel of the #34 Valvoline Commodore.

Since 2005, HRT and Triple Eight have claimed more than 50 percent of the podium finishing positions at Bathurst (11 of 21) and between them they have led 43% of laps (762 of the 1771 laps competed).

Reigning Trophy winners Garth Tander and are the only combination in this year’s race featuring a pair of Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 winners. 2. There are a range of special elements of Bathurst history being celebrated at the 2012 race.

Various V8 Supercar teams will modify their existing liveries to pay homeage to some of the iconic drivers, teams and cars that have made up the race’s history.

While the 50th year of the race is being celebrated, there are a range of other milestones to highlight.

* This year is the 35th anniversary of the famous Ford 1-2 form finish byAllan Moffat and in the 1977 race, above. * This year is also the 45th anniversary of the first V8-powered car winning the Bathurst endurance race - and also of the first Falcon win - given it was in 1967 that and Fred Gibson won the-then 500-mile race in an XR GT Falcon V8. * This year is the 25th anniversary of Peter Brock’s ninth and final win in the race in 1987 as well as the introduction of the Chase to the circuit, which extended the lap length and reduced the race distance from 163 to 161 laps.

3. This year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 is the end of an era with the current five-litre V8 Supercar regulations.

With new ‘Car of the Future’ specification machinery to debut next season, 2012 is the 21st and final year of the current rulebook of winged, pushrod five-litre V8 Falcons and Commodores racing at Bathurst.

They have been competing in the Mountain classic each year since four 1993-spec cars appeared in their own class in the 1992 race.

The five-litre ‘V8 Supercar’ rule book remains the longest-serving technical regulations in Bathurst history, even outlasting the popular of the 1970s/1980s and international of the 1980s/1990s.

This year is the last (for the foreseeable future anyway) in a streak of 18 years that the annual Bathurst V8 Supercar classic has been the exclusive domain of Holden and Ford V8-powered cars. Next year, both and Mercedes AMGs will be on the grid to to compete against them.

4. In all, 13 of the 29 co-drivers in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 will be performing ‘double duty’ and competing in one of the support categories over the course of the race weekend.

The drivers who will be busy jumping backwards and forwards between cars over this year’s Bathurst weekend are:

Dunlop Series (7) Scott McLaughlin, Nick Percat, Dale Wood, , Andrew Jones, ,

Porsche Carrera Cup (5) , Steve Richards, , ,

V8 Utes (1) Cameron McConville 5. Tradingpost FPR’s and IRWIN Racing’s will both rack up a special milestone at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 when the two Ford drivers each make their 100th V8 Supercars Championship event start.

They become just the 34th and 35th drivers to have reached the 100 event milestone in the 50-plus year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars Championship.

Both made their championship debuts in 2004 - Davison at Winton and Holdsworth at Sandown - and both also made their first appearance in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in the same year.

6. There are five drivers in this year’s field making their Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 debut.

From left to right they are: Scott McLaughlin (#19 ), Christian Klien (#66 Supercheap ), Alexandre Premat (#33 Fujitsu Racing/GRM), Scott Pye (#30 Team iSelect) and Jesse Dixon (#23 Shannons carsales.com.au Racing)

Klien is the first Austrian driver to compete in the race since the late Roland Ratzenberger and Mercedes Stermitz drove factory in 1987, while Premat is the first French driver sinceYvan Muller co-drove with in 2005.

On the flip side, there are a range of drivers missing from the grid for the first time in many years.

Now V8 Supercars Commission Chairman, will miss his first Bathurst in 25 years while 2000 winner Jason Bargwanna is absent from the entry list for the first time in 16 years.

7. Paul Morris and Steve Owen will be the most experienced combination in this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

The duo have 32 starts in the race between them with Morris to make his first-ever Bathurst start in a Ford this year.

The next most experienced combination in the race are Dick Smith winners Craig Lowndes and with 30 starts between them.

They are followed by / (29 starts), /Steve Richards (28 starts), Steven Johnson/Allan Simonsen (26 starts), /Cameron McConville (26 starts), Lee Holdsworth/Craig Baird (25 starts), /Andrew Jones (25 starts) and /Paul Dumbrell (23 starts). 8. made history last year as the youngest- ever driver in Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 history and this year he and his co-driver will make some more.

Waters (who is subbing for the injured ) and his partner - Shannons Supercar Showdown winner Jesse Dixon - will become the youngest-ever combination in the history of the race.

18-year-old Waters, 20-year-old Dixon (right) and their combined age of 38 will undercut the previous record of 39 held by Jack Perkins and Shane Price from 2006.

The Waters/Dixon car is the only wildcard entry in this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

9. The search for the perfect Bathurst combination is an ongoing process for V8 Supercar teams with just six combinations from 2011 remaining intact for the 2012 race.

Defending Peter Brock Trophy winners Garth Tander and Nick Percat are joined by Tony D’Alberto/Dale Wood, Mark Winterbottom/Steve Richards (left), Jason Bright/Andrew Jones, James Courtney/Cameron McConville and Steve Owen/Paul Morris as the only partnerships to stay together this year.

Interestingly, 45% of co-drivers in this year’s race (11 of 29) have more Bathurst 1000 starts than their car’s full-time ‘primary’ driver.

Three of the top five drivers in the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship pointscore - Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Shane Gisbergen - have co-drivers with more Bathurst starts than they do.

10. The fifth round of the Dunlop Series will be the primary support category at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with young gun Scott McLaughlin leading the way.

McLaughlin, who will make his debut in the main race at Bathurst alongside , holds an 88-point lead over Ford Performance Racing’s heading into the Bathurst round.

Mostert will not be driving in the main race at Bathurst, though six of the top eight drivers in the series points will be ‘doubling up’ as co- drivers in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

This year is the eighth time a points-paying round of the Dunlop Series has been a support event at Bathurst. From 2001 to 2004 there was a non-championship race held on the Saturday afternoon.

Dreamtime Racing’s David Russell (who will co-drive with for Jack Daniel’s Racing in the main race), won the round in 2010 and finished second last year to Andrew Thompson - though will not compete at the Mountain after his team withdrew from the round last week.

The five different drivers that have won the previous seven ‘DVS’ rounds at Bathurst - Andrew Thompson David Russell, Jonathon Webb, and Luke Youlden - will all be on the grid for the main race. 2012 SUMMARY AFTER RACE 20

RACE WINS ARMOR ALL POLE POSITIONS PODIUM FINISHES Will Davison 6 Craig Lowndes 5 Jamie Whincup 16 Jamie Whincup 6 Will Davison 4 Mark Winterbottom 15 Craig Lowndes 5 Jamie Whincup 4 Will Davison 12 Mark Winterbottom 3 Mark Winterbottom 3 Craig Lowndes 9 Warren Luff 1 Garth Tander 2 Garth Tander 4 David Reynolds 1 2 Shane van Gisbergen 1 1 Luke Youlden 1 Jason Bright 1 Warren Luff 1 Steve Richards 1 Paul Dumbrell 1

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER RACE 20

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP 1. Jamie Whincup (TeamVodafone) 2472 pts 1. TeamVodafone 4850 pts 2. Mark Winterbottom (Orrcon Steel FPR) 2440 pts 2. Ford Performance Racing 4676 pts 3. Craig Lowndes (TeamVodafone) 2353 pts 3. Stone Brothers Racing 3331 pts 4. Will Davison (Tradingpost FPR) 2236 pts 4. Holden Racing Team 3124 pts 5. Shane van Gisbergen (SP Tools Racing) 1882 pts 5. 2826 pts 6. Garth Tander (Holden Racing Team) 1764 pts 6. Jack Daniel’s Racing 2417 pts 7. Tim Slade (Lucky 7 Racing) 1662 pts 7. Tekno Autosports 2172 pts 8. (Lockwood Racing) 1541 pts 8. Fujitsu Racing/GRM 2025 pts 9. Lee Holdsworth (IRWIN Racing) 1449 pts 9. Lucky 7 Racing (#47) 1662 pts 10. David Reynolds (The Bottle-O Racing) 1404 pts 10. The Bottle-O Race Team (#55) 1429 pts

LAP RECORDS

Bathurst V8 Supercar Practice Record: Craig Lowndes, Holden Commodore VE II, 2m06.8012s, 2010 (Dunlop Hard Tyre)

Bathurst V8 Supercar Qualifying Record: Greg Murphy, Holden Commodore VY, 2m06.8594s, 2003 (Dunlop Hard Tyre)

Bathurst V8 Supercar Race Lap Record: Jamie Whincup, Ford Falcon BF, 2m08.4651s, 2007 (Dunlop Hard Tyre) PREVIOUS SUPERCHEAP AUTO BATHURST 1000 WINNERS (and forerunners)

YEAR DRIVERS CAR 1963 Harry Firth/ Ford Cortina GT 1964 Bob Jane/George Reynolds Ford Cortina GT 1965 Barry Seton/Midge Bosworth Ford Cortina GT500 1966 /Bob Holden Morris Cooper S 1967 Harry Firth/Fred Gibson Ford Falcon XR GT 1968 Bruce McPhee/ GTS 327 1969 Colin Bond/Tony Roberts Holden Monaro GTS 350 1970 Ford Falcon XW GTHO 1971 Allan Moffat Ford Falcon XY GTHO 1972 Peter Brock LJ XU1 1973 Allan Moffat/Ian Geoghegan Ford Falcon XA GT 1974 John Goss/Kevin Bartlett Ford Falcon XA GT 1975 Peter Brock/Brian Sampson Holden Torana L34 1976 Bob Morris/John Fitzpatrick Holden Torana L34 1977 Allan Moffat/ Ford Falcon XC 1978 Peter Brock/Jim Richards Holden Torana A9X 1979 Peter Brock/Jim Richards Holden Torana A9X 1980 Peter Brock/Jim Richards Holden Commodore VC 1981 Dick Johnson/John French Ford Falcon XD 1982 Peter Brock/ Holden Commodore VH 1983 Peter Brock/Larry Perkins/John Harvey Holden Commodore VH 1984 Peter Brock/Larry Perkins Holden Commodore VK 1985 /John Goss Jaguar XJS 1986 Allan Grice/Graeme Bailey Holden Commodore VK 1987 Peter Brock/David Parsons/Peter McLeod Holden Commodore VL 1988 /Tomas Mezera Ford Sierra RS500 1989 Dick Johnson/John Bowe Ford Sierra RS500 1990 Allan Grice/ Holden Commodore VL TWR 1991 Jim Richards/Mark Skaife Nissan GT-R 1992 Jim Richards/Mark Skaife Nissan GT-R 1993 Larry Perkins/Gregg Hansford Holden Commodore VP 1994 Dick Johnson/John Bowe Ford Falcon EB 1995 Larry Perkins/Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VR 1996 Craig Lowndes/Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VR 1997 Geoff / BMW 320i 1997 Larry Perkins/Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VS 1998 /Jim Richards 1998 Jason Bright/ Ford Falcon EL 1999 Greg Murphy/Steven Richards Holden Commodore VT 2000 Garth Tander/Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VT 2001 Mark Skaife/Tony Longhurst Holden Commodore VX 2002 Mark Skaife/Jim Richards Holden Commodore VX 2003 Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VY 2004 Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VY 2005 Mark Skaife/ Holden Commodore VZ 2006 Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon BA 2007 Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon BF 2008 Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon BF 2009 Garth Tander/Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 2010 Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VE II 2011 Garth Tander/Nick Percat Holden Commodore VE II Race Wins by Driver 9 - Peter Brock 7 - Jim Richards 6 - Larry Perkins, Mark Skaife 5 - Craig Lowndes 4 - Allan Moffat, Greg Murphy 3 - Dick Johnson, Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander 2 - Harry Firth, Bob Jane, John Goss, Allan Grice, John Bowe, Russell Ingall, Tony Longhurst, Steven Richards, Rick Kelly 1 - George Reynolds, Rauno Aaltonen, Barry Seton, Bob Holden, Fred Gibson, Bruce McPhee, Colin Bond, Barry Mulholland, Tony Roberts, Ian Geoghegan, Kevin Bartlett, Brian Sampson, Bob Morris, John Fitzpatrick, Jacky Ickx, John Harvey, John French, Graeme Bailey, Armin Hahne, David Parsons, Peter McLeod, Tomas Mezera, Gregg Hansford, Jason Bargwanna, Win Percy, Midge Bosworth, , David Brabham, Rickard Rydell, Jason Bright, Todd Kelly, Will Davison, Nick Percat PREVIOUS SUPERCHEAP AUTO BATHURST 1000 POLE POSITIONS

YEAR DRIVER CAR TIME 1967 Ian Geoghegan Ford Falcon XR GT 3m02.00s 1968 Bruce McPhee Holden Monaro GTS 327 2m56.70s 1969 Ian Geoghegan Ford Falcon XW GT-HO 2m48.90s 1970 Allan Moffat Ford Falcon XW GT-HO 2m52.10s 1971 Allan Moffat Ford Falcon XY GT-HO 2m38.90s 1972 Allan Moffat Ford Falcon XY GT-HO 2m35.80s 1973 John Goss Ford Falcon XA GT 2m33.40s 1974 Peter Brock Holden Torana L34 2m30.80s 1975 Colin Bond Holden Torana L34 2m27.40s 1976 Allan Moffat Ford Falcon XB GT 2m25.00s 1977 Peter Brock Holden Torana A9X 2m24.90s 1978 Peter Brock Holden Torana A9X 2m20.00s 1979 Peter Brock Holden Torana A9X 2m20.97s 1980 Kevin Bartlett Camaro 2m20.97s 1981 Kevin Bartlett 2m36.40s (wet) 1982 Allan Grice Holden Commodore VH 2m17.50s 1983 Peter Brock Holden Commodore VH 2m16.20s 1984 Turbo 2m13.85s 1985 Jaguar XJS 2m18.82s 1986 Gary Scott Turbo 2m17.16s 1987 Ford Sierra RS500 2m16.96s 1988 Dick Johnson Ford Sierra RS500 2m16.46s 1989 Peter Brock Ford Sierra RS500 2m15.80s 1990 Ford Sierra RS500 2m13.94s 1991 Mark Skaife Nissan GT-R 2m12.62s 1992 Dick Johnson Ford Sierra RS500 2m12.893s 1993 Larry Perkins Holden Commodore VP 2m13.013s 1994 Ford Falcon EB 2m12.1464s 1995 Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore VR 2m11.5540s 1996 Glenn Seton Ford Falcon EF 2m11.0160s 1997 Paul Morris BMW 320i 2m16.5958s 1997 Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VS 2m10.0397s 1998 Rickard Rydell Volvo S40 2m14.9265s 1998 Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VT 2m09.8954s 1999 Mark Larkham Ford Falcon AU 2m09.5146s 2000 Ford Falcon AU 2m28.3844s (wet) 2001 Ford Falcon AU 2m09.7785s 2002 Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VX 2m08.8278s 2003 Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VY 2m06.8594s 2004 Steven Richards Holden Commodore VY 2m07.9611s 2005 Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon BA 2m08.5990s 2006 Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VZ 2m07.4221s 2007 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon BF 2m07.0908s 2008 Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 2m07.2963s 2009 Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 2m07.9463s 2010 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 2m07.5377s 2011 Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE II 2m08.8009s Notes: * Grid determined between 1963 and 1966 by classes with 1967 the first time it was decided by qualifying times. * Top 10 Shootout format introduced in 1978. This was expanded to a Top 15 for 2001 and 2002. * Top 10 Shootout did not count for pole position in 1988 given Bathurst was part of Asia Pacific Touring Car Championship.

Poles by Driver 6 - Peter Brock 5 - Mark Skaife 4 - Allan Moffat 2 - Ian Geoghegan, Kevin Bartlett, Dick Johnson, Glenn Seton, Craig Lowndes, Garth Tander, Mark Winterbottom, Greg Murphy 1 - Bruce McPhee, John Goss, Colin Bond, Allan Grice, George Fury, Tom Walkinshaw, Gary Scott, Klaus Ludwig, Klaus Niedzwiedz, Larry Perkins, Steven Richards, Paul Morris, Rickard Rydell, Mark Larkham, Wayne Gardner, Marcos Ambrose