In 1974 during the Hardie Ferodo 1000, what was to be the wettest race on record until 1992, an unheralded car was battling against the might of the Mazda RX-3 entrants and making impressive headway. At the end of proceedings, the DRT Datsun 240K finished a remarkable 7th outright and second in class, only 55 seconds from winning Class C (a puncture in the last hour saw off any chance of a win).
Now, 50 years after that amazing result, the Ex DRT Datsun 240K Group C touring car returned to its spiritual home to take part in an exhibition at the National Motor Racing Museum celebrating touring car racing in Australia from 1973-1984. Whilst the museum was closed one Tuesday, the team from Heritage Datsun Racing Australia sprung the 240K from the display for a day.
This was the first time this car had circulated this hallowed, iconic track in 49 years…and it was 50 years since its ground breaking success. Chief Engineer DJ took his time to savour the moment, as this was open roads and not a race meeting, however that didn’t detract from the moment.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy a slow tour of Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSW and see how steep it is, how narrow it is, and how little margin for error this awesome track has.