Long time NASCAR fan here. I stumbled on Aussie Super V8 videos here on TH-cam a long time ago, and said, "What is this? This is f---ing great." Some of the best racing I'd ever seen. Had heard of the series before, of course, but had never seen it, and I went and watched all the videos I could find. I've always loved NASCAR on the road courses, but this was a whole series of such races with cars built specially for the circuits, so it was even better. So I've been a big fan ever since. Just don't know where to watch it in the US. Because of that, I strangely am more familiar with the Aussie drivers from the 90's and early 2000's than the current drivers because I've mostly seen the old races here on TH-cam.
Hi, Folks. I would likely have one of the SLOWEST EVER lap times with a road vehicle on Mount Panorama - - - - inna 3-cylinder, 2-stroke, 540CC Suzuki Jimmny 4WD with my then wife, 3 kids and a great dane dog PLUS a trailer with a load of camping gear - cain't remember the exact time but it was somewhere around 7 minutes, maybe more. I have been living and working in California for the last 2 1/2 years and I miss that Bathhurst race. It a real gem in motor racing. Thanks for the video and the memories. Just my 0.02. You all have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
Nothing quite like walking back to a campsite on a frosty morning, grass crunching under your thongs, fresh from a surprisingly hot shower in a portapotty, you can see the foggy outline of kangaroos in the next field but you're eager to reach the campfire and a jacket so you keep shuffling along then the sound of the first cars on track roars by... Everyone who is up and about stops what they're doing for a moment to watch.
It is hard to appreciate how steep this track actually is until you see it in person. 570 feet (174m) elevation difference between the lowest and highest point. Trying to walk up the dipper and esses is hard work. What he says at the end is exactly what I thought the first time I went there. It really is unbelievable and a shame a track like this would never be built in this day and age. Oh, and except for a couple of weekends a year, this is a public road. A house came up for sale on Conrod Straight a few months ago
I imagine it's still the same, in the off season careful driving around it, they wait and will give you a ticket for speeding down Conrod straight. On the plus side, you could frame it.
@@Jester123ish Yeah someone got done for 119kmh on Conrod not long ago (60kmh speed limit). To stay on the speed limit out of the elbow onto conrod, you're riding the brakes most of the way down the hill
@@markhowells13 Don't look at me mate, I have my Ute and will never get rid of it. And I prefer Holden Utes over Fords anyway. I would only take your off you hands if you gave it to me, or I could flip it for a profit real quick. Don't want Ford rubbish in my driveway...lol...I will give you $5K for it, and not a cent more.
1:06 that’s a Holden VE Commodore that was in production from 2007-2013 here in Australia (that was off the top of my head I might’ve gotten that wrong) but thank you for respecting the cars we have here that’s what we love to see
The Bathurst track is actually a road course, outside of racing it is a normal road with a 60kph/35mph speed limit. The cars at this time (Holden Commodore/Ford Falcon) were based on normal road cars but with a space frame tube chassis, control motors at 600+hp, brakes and control full slick or full wet tyres. Bathurst has been used for racing and as a scenic drive since the mid 1930's and for the endurance event (originally the Armstrong 500 (500 mile) race) since 1963. In 1973 with the introduction of the metric system, the race was changed to the 1000 kilometer format they use now. They have also held the annual 12 hour race here since 2007.
I was there for that race meet. Most of the week was typical for Bathurst in October, 4 seasons in one day. (rained for most of the week, only Sunday it was Sunny) Got to hang out with the Team BOC guys for most of the weekend (good friends with team owner Brad Jones and his drivers) and we were pissing ourselves laughing when Darryl jumped out of the car, his eyes were as wide as dinner plates and he was practically screaming. And if you're wondering why Brighty has "JR" on his helmet, it's in reference to another Brad Jones Racing driver, Jason Richards who at that time had terminal stage adrenal gland and stomach cancer. (he died just before Christmas that year) we setup a charity to try and provide funds for his treatments and secure the financial future for his wife and daughters. (I myself got a V8 Supercars polo shirt, got Jase, all the drivers and most of the Aussie commentary team alongside V8 Supercars then CEO to sign it. Before I got to sell it, Jase died so gave it to his family through Brad)
Falcon (Ford) and Commodore (Holden (GM)), are now gone from Australia, thanks to high labour costs, import tariff removals, and other factors. The replacements are the US Mustang and Corvette. I suggest looking for the older Bathurst footage, much better mate
Mustang & Camaro (GEN3) for 2023 🤔 Still going to be GM vs FORD but not the same as the days we’re used to. Sadly as times change, so does everything else have to follow suit 😔 Here’s to the new generation of V8 Aussie racing motorsports! 🍻🍻🍻🇦🇺💙❤️
I drove this track in 2018 in my car and its just amazing like ive raced it in many games and watched it on tv every year since i was a little boy but to drive around it even in a road car following the road rules it leaves me breathless i couldn't imagine doing a race lap or a race around it. On tv and in games dont show you how amazing it is
Ian, you need to watch Dick Johnson's lap from the Bathurst Hardies Heros (Saturday Top Ten Shootout) from 1983. They were pretty much road cars back then and they sound awesome!
'The' best sounding, ever, in my own, very humble opinion, was the Black BMW 635 JPS car - so loud and sweet at the same time... I've not yet heard another ('touring/road' based) race car sound as good - ever. The Nascars sound awesome though - rumble rumble through the ground.
I remember seeing this for the first time when DW came to Oz. He was just hil-arious, and still the funniest thing ever to come out of Bathurst. It must have been scary as an American driver to be sitting on the 'drivers side' (US) doing 300kph with no steering wheel and no brake pedal! hahaha. I bet his foot was mashing the floor a few times. Great memory. Thanks cobber. ❤ MozzfromOz.
That video was great, thanks Ian! Funny as! The Aussie V8 muscle utes have gone now, and they were bloody awesome. I have one of the last V8 Holden's built in Australia and have run it around Mt Panorama (speed limit) and even at low speed (of course one does his best to break the speed limit) your stomach drops going down the Mountain through the " S " bends, it is just fantastic.
Those Holden commodore are amazing we get them in saudiarabia as the chevy lumina also we got the holden caprice as a chevy caprice because when chevy discontinued them sales went down so they had to do bring it back and we also got a ss trims which they basically made it into a corvette sedan
@@markhowells13 I own both a XR8 Sprint and a VF2 Motorsport and I've been a Ford fan all my life and it's a fact that Holden always had the better interior. Ford had the better drive line and engine and exhaust note while Holden has the better steering and handling in the SS compared to the XR8
Hey mate that is a Holden VE Commodore. I heard they were sold in the states as a Pontiac G8. Cheers from down under. 🇦🇺 Edit: This would've been very different if brocky was driving. RIP Peter Brock
Ian, love ur clips on V8's at Bathurst. Saw your clip of Peter Brock, who is known in Australia as the King of the Mountain, due to his 9 Bathurst 500 (500 miles)/ 1000 ( 1000klm) wins. Trophy for the great race is now in his name, Peter Brock Trophy. The races over usually 5 -6 hrs are now close races, winning margins are now counted in seconds. In 1979 Brock drove a GMH A9X TORANA and won by an incredible 6 laps, recording the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. He'd often drive down Conrod Straight with his elbow out on side door, like on a Sunday drive thru the woods. Well worth a watch, as well as other races thru the decades. In 72 Ford Aus. built, at the time, the fastest 4 door production car in the world, the GTHO PHASE3 Falcon, specifically built for the Bathurst race. Back then 500 production cars had to be sold to the public, before they could be raced. Recommended watching.
Jason Bright was the driver. He had a short lived career in CART and/or Indy Lights in the late 90s/early 00s, including a start at the Gold Coast Honda Indy 300 here in Australia
Mate, we race EVERYTHING, here in Australia. The utes used are either a Holden Commodore (Ute version of the Chevy SS) or a Ford Falcon (which we continued to build here, until 2016). All of them are V8s and are “dumbed down” versions of the V8 Supercars, only reason for dumbing down being money, but still insanely fast. We still run the Ute races as it is one of the only throwbacks to the old Holden Vs Ford races we used to have at Bathurst when we manufactured both cars here in Australia. Now Holden is dead and no Fords are built here (sad). Also we love to see cars race that we can also drive on the street (like early NASCAR races, win on Sunday, sell on Monday) and many of us have owned or driven Holden and Ford utes. It’s special to Australians, we hope that everyone can enjoy it while drinking a ton of beers.
You do wonder where the hamming it up stops and the genuine fear begins. The car is a VE Series Supercar. The "high pitched whine you hear is a Hollinger 6 speed gearbox, with straight cut gears. Every time they decelerate fast, they spit out fireballs from their exhausts. I first heard of Darryl Waltrip from his role in the Disney movie "Cars."
I'm Australian and I'm Loving the channel and all the AFL and V8 supercars we also have a V8 masters race series it's all the old Australian and American muscle cars.. keep up the good work 👍👍👍👍👍
Great reaction and great to see you have an appreciation of Aussie motor sport. Another fantastic video explaining the Mount Panorama track is "TENmotorsport There's nothing like it This is Mount Panorama This is Bathurst". Think you'd enjoy it, and it might give you some tips in case you go iracing again. Cheers, Glenn.
Great memories, and Jason wasn't even on the limit with this lap. I live not far from Mt Panorama and often just go for a drive around it as it's a public road when there is no racing , it's true that the tv doesn't do the track justice.
It is Jason Bright driving a V8 Holden Commodore. This was one of the last years running a modified street car. Obviously roll caged, dry sumped and mostly bolt on front panels, but for the most part, a direct descendant of a road going version of the same car. To give some perspective of the track. It's a street curcuit, so by day it's a public road. I've driven it many times and it's a 60km/ph marked road. That's 35 for you Americans. Now unless you have a pretty good car, it's scary as hell at 60 km/ph dropping off the top of that mountain through those bends. And these mad fools on race day are doing 160 through most of them. Conrod straight used to be the longest straight in Southern Hemisphere and didnt have the kink at the end, but cars were getting airborne and we lost a great driver there when his car went airborne and he hit the Dunlop bridge, so the chase was installed to slow the cars down.
Around about 4pm each afternoon where I work, I start hearing all the burnouts and squeals and smelling the acrid pong of burnt rubber as the young fellas from various industries finish their day and take off home in their hotted up V8 utes. We call it the Turkish Grand Prix.
There's the Grand Prix of Lebanon too. That's where they cross borders and see how many places they can go to and how many contacts they can make along the way without getting caught by the law. The whole time completely fucking up the nation. At least they get their drugs across I suppose.
I'm only 36 right and i don't mind watching a good burn out but my first though was smell all that money going up in smoke... tyres are expensive!! unless you buy cheap ones but why would you put cheap tyres on a good car... ??
Lol. I've driven the Bathurst circuit (it's public road during non race times) and yes that mountain is high and the circuit is very tight. Also done a bike tour of Tasmania and; ALL of Tasmania is like that!. WA's the opposite.. we don't have corners, only straights. Cheers from WA.
Peter brock (racing legend in Oz and mentioned in this vid) said a good race track has consequences for mistakes and Mt Panorama has consequences for mistakes in a big way
Having driven around there as a member of the public 60kmh speed limit (37mph) I can tell you going down through the esses and diupper you really can not see where you are going. It gives a whole new appreciation for what these drivers do and the speed they go through there at. Just amazing. Driver taking Darren around is called Jason Bright.
What you might not no is part's of the Road is public road that you can drive after the Race has finished and yes the Track is part of the New South Wales road system. Ian check TH-cam for Truck Racing in Thailand it big here as well.
theres nothing better than when bathurst turns on the weather , raining up the top and dry down the bottom ,creates a ton of excitement.worked with a guy who used to drive fast and love it ,anyway he did a hot lap with one of the top drivers and was shit scared and loved it
The utes series used to be amazing to watch but the whole series is ruined now after they were changed from that style of car on the video and into a “pick-up truck” style of Ute. The racing in them has been incredibly boring. There are plenty of videos on TH-cam though of the older utes. Some of the crashes are mad and hilarious
Utes at their peak were closer to Production Car racing then Supercars, which is why the utes were fun to watch - they didn't handle like race cars, or stop, instead, they moved around on the track, stepped out on the way in to corners, barely stopping from drifting on the way out. They were good value entertainment.
A Ute is a Utility Vehicle. As for the cars they use in V8 supercars, they are Holden Commodores, Ford Falcon or a Ford Mustang. They are tuned a little bit and can out run most common cars. If you want to see the best driver to ever race on Bathurst, then look at Peter Brock. He is the king of Bathurst, no matter the condition of the track, he always managed to know what he was doing.
A “Ute” in Australia (utility vehicle) is traditionally a standard passenger car with the tray integrated into the car body, making it a 2 door vehicle. They’ve been around for decades and are still relatively popular. What you call a pickup truck - the larger 4 door vehicle with the separate tray on the chassis - used to be called a “dual cab” here (Toyota Hilux being the most popular brand) but now most people call those a “Ute” too.
They used to have those, or something similar to those, in the US. Chevy had the El Camino and Ford had the Ranchero, back in the 60's & 70's. Used to see a lot of them. Ford also had a smaller model, based on the Falcon, back in the 60's. Don't remember what it was called. I knew someone who had one of those. These models all disappeared by the early 80's,
Jason Bright was driving Waltrip around in a Holden VE Commodore, a large sedan which was developed and manufactured in Australia. At the time, it was the biggest selling car in Australia.
So, I couldn't see anyone post it in the comment @IWrocker but the Holden Commodore seen in this hot lap was the "VE", the current (and last) generation of Commodore in Australia is the "VF" Also, as other's have pointed out, the V8 Utes were amazing to watch... It's basically the NASCAR Pick-Ups, but on a road course.
Daryl Waltrip is /was the absolute best race commentator of all time.. even if a race was a dull one.. Daryl would keep the viewers interest up because of his hyper enthusiasm.. and he can commentate from a real understanding perspective.. to have won 83 Nascar races.. and 3 championships in an era where the cars were absolutely brutal to drive.. and the drivers he raced 'against' were collectively the toughest.. and 'best' drivers in the history of Nascar .. I am amazed that Daryl is not the lead commentator on Nascar races these days, there is never a dull moment in commentary when DW has the microphone.
The car is a Holden Commodore 4 door, the 2 door is the Monaro. The corkscrew is the esses. The cars use racing slicks same as other race cars. Handling not so great as 1300 kilos, and the Aero package does not give a lot of downforce. They tend to slide through the corners. That is why most Aussies love V8 Supercars. exciting racing. Cheers from Australia.
To put it to you Ian, it’s the whole package. Everything from the Sound/Speed & the Camera visuals inside & outside the car you are immersed in the Race for 1000km the footage of these cars at full speeds is unbelievable. You do full laps between cars so you can get the Feel of what these guys are putting themselves thru as they weave in & out of corners / straight’s whilst overtaking when they see an Edge or Daylight from the car in front. Then there is pit lane where other than refill / tyres & driver changes they are in pit garages with details on breaking down crashes / repairs interviews & strategy on each Team to be the Winner of the day. Then it Rains & it becomes a whole New Race all over again from where it was before. lol👍🍺😂🇦🇺 If you watch it once you will be hooked these are production cars not whole 1 piece fibreglass body slapped onto a subframe
Possibly already been said, but the VE Holden Commodores racing in this video are the same car as what you know in the states as the Pontiac G8. Just a different bumper on front. This footage was probably from around 10 years ago, as the Commodores are now 2 models on, the VF (Badged Chevy SS in USA) and then latest and also last version of Commodore is the ZB, (Badged as Buicks in USA).. Next year the V8 Supercars will be running the Camaro as replacement for the Commodore. This will be competing against the Ford Mustang which replaced the Ford Falcon when that was stopped being produced a few years ago. The Falcon was very similar to the Taurus I think.
The V8 Utes series was really cool. The cars are actually modified stock vehicles but they go a fair bit faster than you would expect from looking at them at a glance!
What you are looking at is a control chassis with a skin over the top to look like the road car it’s based on. When they bought the mustang in to replace the falcon they had to modify the body to meet the aero rules. It’s some of the best door to door racing out there amongst the top 10-12 cars. The series has taken a bit of a dive from an interest perspective for a lot of the other races in the series but Bathurst every year is the one race that most petrol heads will watch.
There are a few corners up that mountain that require a lot of skill and commitment to be fast that first straight you enter that corner and cant see the exit and late in the day if its a clear day they also get the sun directly in their eyes as they approach the next corner which is full commitment and totally blind at entry so when the lads are banging around flat out you need to appreciate just how fast and how committed these lads really are when they are pushing the envelope
Was lucky enough several years ago to get a view from the Chicane at the NRMA 500 at the Sydney Olympic Park. Front row view of probably the most exciting part of the track. The V8 Utes had a massive pile-up entering the chicane on lap 1 and it was absolutely phenomenal, I think three got knocked out in that single incident. The Dunlop Super2 Series is also interesting to watch, it's basically the next step down from V8 Supercars where they drive older models of the Supercars and have smaller teams with smaller budgets. And so because the drivers aren't quite as experienced, they make more mistakes and that leads to some really good racing. But yeah, seeing the V8 Supercars at the Olympic Park was amazing. Their racing lines were absolutely perfect, spot on every time - until they rain start dropping and you can see the braking affected straight away. Unfortunately the race got stopped early because it became torrential, but I'll never forget the experience. I would love to go to Bathurst one day. Like you I've raced on the track in games, and it definitely feels a lot more technical and challenging than a lot of the other circuits. I wouldn't consider myself a particularly good sim racer by any means but I probably can't even compete with easy AI on Mt Panorama.
Big reason I love the Chevy ss so much is because of v8 supercars, such a slept on and underrated car in the US, I remember growing up watching that series.
G,Day Ian. Just for a comparison, Check out. Bathurst 2004. A9X Torana (Brocky driving) V VYSS, V Supercar of the day driven by Skaife. Just a bit of fun and commentary by Brocky.
Car is series 2 Holden VE commodore built in Aus, it's also a Pontiac G8 in the states same car. VF Commodore is also a Chevy ss all built here in Aus. Your 2004 Pontiac GTO was also a Aussie built Holden Monaro.
One of the best weekends whether your there or at home watching on the tele first time watching your channel good stuff mate you got a like and a subscription 😁
It's BAFF EST, MOUNT PANNO RAH MAH mate! Trust me from personal experience, no in-car camera or video footage of motor racing, or video game simulation of that circuit comes close to describing the feeling of actually driving around it at high speed in real life. By the way, a top-shelf 2021 spec Australian Supercar, such as the Shell Racing Ford Mustang driven by Fabian Coulthard or the Red Bull Racing Holden Commodore driven by Shane vanGisbergen, is bouncing off the rev limiter in sixth gear going through that right hander into The Chase off Conrod Straight at not much more than 190 miles per hour - or a shade over 305 kilometres per hour - due to mechanical constraints such as final drive ratio and engine rev limiter. Lastly, not only is Mark Larkham a qualified mechanical engineer who drove open wheeler racing cars - he raced both a 'Formula Holden' Reynard chassis fitted with Buick 3.8L V6 engine and Hewland 5-speed manual gearbox, also a Formula Brabham - with great success, he also ran his own team of Ford Falcon cars in the Australian Touring Car Championship for ten years, set the pole lap at the Bathurst 1000 in 1997 in a Ford EL series Falcon and finished 3rd outright in the race that same year.
If you think the Supercars are great to watch around Mount Panorama, you should have seen it when they raced bikes there, ten abreast was nothing unusual, we’re talking road racing 1000cc bikes. Johnny Cecotto who was world 350cc gp champion at 19 raced there in the old group c car days and was quoted as saying it was crazy to even consider racing bikes there and would never consider racing a bike at Bathurst. I should have said the course has changed a lot since then, when the bikes raced there it still had wooden fences, none of the current safety barriers, the Caltex Chase never existed, Conrod Straight went all the way to Murray’s Corner, they basically went flat out to the braking zone, the chase was added to slow the cars down after the bikes were cancelled from racing there.
Poor old DW, took them weeks to get the mess out of his race suit. Bathurst race track is a public road that people live along, I've driven around it under the legal speed limit and still had tyre squeal all the way around, nothing but going there will make you appreciate what the drivers and vehicles achieve. There is a video out there of a V8 supercar racing an F1 car, it will surprise you
love mate from down under Syd Bathurst 1000 is a experience you have to endure once in your life its part of us road hoons ford vr's holden ever since I was a kid from the late 70s
They are V8 utes too lol. Pretty much standard off the showroom utes. With beefed up suspension and brakes I think. And they also have a super truck series that goes over some jumps n stuff.
that's a public road most days and our high school had a bus driver who took his bus full of kids down Conrod Straight at 100 MPH back in the 70's just the kind of things we do
I lived 30 mins from Bathurst - had business there every week. You pronounce Bathurst without any emphasis on the middle group of syllables ... try it this way to get it right ... say Ba with the short 'a' sound, as in Bat ... then add Thirst as you would say that word normally ... so Ba-Thirst run together quickly is right. P.S DW is a great guy ... he's a highly accomplished Driver and was clearly bunging it on a bit around the track for a bit of fun - no doubt he got a hell of a ride but he was kidding around too.
Not bad with the pronunciation mate😊 Driver was Jason Bright. Car was, at that stage, a production shell, but everything else purpose built. They have a tonne of grip with the 11 wide slicks And the fuel injected 5 litre Chev runs SB2.2 heads and good for almost 700hp and 540ftlbs. I've been for a ride around Mt Panorama in one, they handle like a go kart with some body roll, and will pin your ears back all the way past 150-160mph Great series all round, and great track
The utes were great to watch when they still raced them! Much more ruthless driving with some big accidents. I believe, unlike the main series, the utes were actually production versions set up for the racetrack.
Was up there three weeks ago and drove two laps of the track in a V8 supercar and then two laps as a passenger. Best fun you can have3 with your cloths on.
The latest and last production of Holden’s in Australia were the Commodore Series. Coming down the mountain the corners are blind. Bathurst is a street course.
Bathust used to be a stand-alone race on the racing calander, and open to 'Privateers' - people who would only enter a car a Bathurst, often sponsored by a local auto dealer and other local businesses (!). And it had different classes included the race, such as smaller 4 cylinder cars. It's hard to imagine now with the big budget teams and TV coverage involved.
A modern V8 Supercar depending on the team will generate between 650-670HP and 600foot pounds of torque. Running just a little under 375kg of downforce with around 225kg of that on the front. Tyres are 18x12 Dunlop slicks running around 17psi cold pressure. Mountain straight top speed is about 265kph and Conrod straight at the entry to the chase touches 300kph if their is a tail wind. The run up through griffins bend is a 1in 6 gradient. 0-100 or 62mph comes in 2.6 seconds, and a fast race lap is 2min 06. There are few tracks in the world as challenging as Bathurst. Perhaps Spa, Nordschleifer, or leguna Seca.
A number of years ago they put heart monitors on several of the top drivers during the hot lap shoot out. Some, if not most of them, had heart rates in excess of 200 BPM across the top of the mountain. That is some exercise sitting and driving a car.
The biggest difference between the Ozzie and NASCAR cars is that Ozzie cars gave a decent modern rear suspension while NASCAR is using a couple of pieces of railway line (which has been ridiculous since the 60's) How can anyone expect over 200 lb of solid unsprung weight to handle well? All you going to get, and you do get, is wheel-hop under braking and wheel-spin under acceleration.
This was awesome!! Bathurst 1000 was great. It was all about Holden vs Ford and had top notch drivers with years of experience who could throw a V8 supercar around like magic. Now the race has opened up to Nissan’s and Toyota’s etc and I think it was last year or the one before that the race didn’t go the 161 laps. Personally I’ve lost some interest in it now. But I love hearing and seeing people overseas reacting to everything Aussie and your reactions are bloody ripper mate lol
This is one of the greatest tracks in the world, and the drivers in this series are single handedly probably some of the best in the world with giant plums to drive at the speeds on this track
Ive walked that section of the track where the dipper is, TV does not present it anywhere near the extreme that it actually is. Nice content, thanks for the share.
WOW Been a long time since I’ve seen this Sunday drive for Darrel Waltip around Bathurst with Jason Bright that was from the 2011 race in the VE Commodore. Still really miss the Commodores and the Falcons racing as for the Utes sadly it’s something we’ll never see again with the demise of Holden and the loss of Aussie built Fords. Great video thanks for sharing and the great memories of a great Aussie institution. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I am a girl (well older now), but I used to have an LJ Torana XU-1 when I was 24 - 27. I loved dragging guys off at the lights. My car was so fast, and guys could not believe it when they saw a girl racing them. I must have had a bit extra testosterone or something. Took her on the Doncaster freeway late at night by myself to see how fast she’d go and had to stop at 200kmh as I scared myself. She could have gone faster. Should have kept her, they are worth a fortune now. Beautiful light metallic green. She was stolen after I sold her and burnt. I cried my eyes out when I found out.
This was very funny. I’ve never thought about the track how Waltrip describes it. My dad raced at Bathurst 50 + years ago. He was a mad Holden man and owned an A9X Torana, Brock Group 3 and a Walkinshaw. He would be sad to see how things are going now.
Loved watching an Americans point of view on this video. Around a road course it wouldn't be close the V8 wins easily because it's designed for that. I remember an interview with Ambrose for Australian tv back when he first went over there an him saying how surprised he was at the lack of technology in a NASCAR.
Ian, you’re awesome mate. If you make it over here to Adelaide in South Australia at any stage I have a factory stock, beautifully tuned R32 GT-R V-Spec that we could have some fun with, and I have an SG9 EJ255 Subaru Forester STi on the way from Japan as well. Happy to look after you. It would be fun. Cheers - Mike
It takes a supreme circuit to impress a multi NASCAR champion in such manner so completely. One aspect not so obvious in such a one or two lap trip is that the drivers must keep that pace and ultimate performance consistently hour after hour for 1000 km, and no tiny mistake or lack of attention allowed as that circuit will take out a vehicle in a fraction of a second at the tiniest mistake. Ok the distance is shared by two drivers, so approx 500 km and over 3 hours each. Sadly one driver typically carries a bit over 50% of the load. Additional is that you are running not as one car with a clear track but coping with several classes of different performance speed and handling. You need to pass and get around other cars, miscellaneous debris, avoid getting tied into crashes by less skilled drivers. Not to suggest any driver in that race can be other than highest performer. But year after year visiting top race drivers and local newbies show unforgiving lack of experience and staying power sorts out the best from the rest. Most quite successful racing drivers have no hope of surviving the Bathurst 1000. For the effective GODS of that race like the record number of wins holder Peter Brock, and other top performers Alan Moffat, Mark Skaife, Dick Johnson and numerous others there can be nothing but admiration. Sadly Peter Brock was taken out by a tree in a car rally event, a freak accident potentially a vehicle fault, as his skill should not have caused a crash there. A tragic loss to Australian racing. By the way our team at work, designed the ignition system used by Peter Brock racing vehicles for many years, and often had him in our office in discussion of new wishes. Also I made the calibrated airflow sensor for several Nissan Bluebird racing vehicles for years. We thus often interacted with some of these Gods of racing. A real priviledge few people get. While not able to accept rides and access to races (much) by company policy, we did get such offers and did participate at events on occasion anyway. I was injection system application /development engineer, and provided injector, air volume/mass, temp and crank sensor, fuel pump support. The supporr activity was one part of peak enjoyment of my job, the other being travel to many places around the world for car projects, driving a wide variety of vehicles in extremes of climate, very cold to very hot. Sadly while driving Lamborginies, Porshes some of these only in very controlled circumstance not on main roads, but many high power turbo cars and exclusive models on road conditions. Ferrari was restricted to be driven only by people that completed 6 month, Ferrari driver training not part of my job, though we had one in the local test facility I managed, for nearly two years
For something different have a look at the Finke Desert Race which is run each year from Alice Springs to Finke and back over 2 days, and attracts competitors from all over the world on bikes, quads and buggies
Darryl is so right, you can’t possibly fully appreciate this place on television until you’ve driven around it. I worked around that area from time to time in my 20s as a company rep and if I was passing through or staying there I’d try and make the time to drive the course.......At the posted speed limit.....well mostly. 😜
And the best thing is that it is a public road and you can drive around it. I live 700km away and both of my kids drove the track when they were learning to drive. How Aussie, we even hit a kangaroo (at low speed so no damage done).
Long time NASCAR fan here. I stumbled on Aussie Super V8 videos here on TH-cam a long time ago, and said, "What is this? This is f---ing great." Some of the best racing I'd ever seen. Had heard of the series before, of course, but had never seen it, and I went and watched all the videos I could find. I've always loved NASCAR on the road courses, but this was a whole series of such races with cars built specially for the circuits, so it was even better. So I've been a big fan ever since. Just don't know where to watch it in the US. Because of that, I strangely am more familiar with the Aussie drivers from the 90's and early 2000's than the current drivers because I've mostly seen the old races here on TH-cam.
Get your butt over here, you know you want to!
Long Live "V8 Supercars".
It always warms my heart to see Americans and Aussies enjoying each others company and having fun together.
Us Aussies just love torturing our American cousins
The guy was like "no way that's not possible!" as the car tuned right.
Yeah because they turn left
@@domabbott0234 only on nascar oval tracks, they don't have corners anywhere else in the country
😂😂😂😂
Yeah because the 1st corner is actually a left oops. Which at the start they take 3 cars wide.
He was just so surprised at how that big ole V8 stayed planted to the road while going so fast around that corner 😂😂
Hi, Folks.
I would likely have one of the SLOWEST EVER lap times with a road vehicle on Mount Panorama - - - - inna 3-cylinder, 2-stroke, 540CC Suzuki Jimmny 4WD with my then wife, 3 kids and a great dane dog PLUS a trailer with a load of camping gear - cain't remember the exact time but it was somewhere around 7 minutes, maybe more.
I have been living and working in California for the last 2 1/2 years and I miss that Bathhurst race. It a real gem in motor racing. Thanks for the video and the memories.
Just my 0.02.
You all have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
Nothing quite like walking back to a campsite on a frosty morning, grass crunching under your thongs, fresh from a surprisingly hot shower in a portapotty, you can see the foggy outline of kangaroos in the next field but you're eager to reach the campfire and a jacket so you keep shuffling along then the sound of the first cars on track roars by... Everyone who is up and about stops what they're doing for a moment to watch.
That is an awesome experience, I've been 5 times, the last time 2001, in a couple of years time maybe I'll go again and take the kids with me
Yes, indeed. It's another world of experience.
This man is not hungover enough :)
@@markhowells13 still drunk.
That's awesome mate. Last time I was there was 2002, that was the last time the king raced in the V8 supercars. RIP Peter Brock
It is hard to appreciate how steep this track actually is until you see it in person. 570 feet (174m) elevation difference between the lowest and highest point. Trying to walk up the dipper and esses is hard work. What he says at the end is exactly what I thought the first time I went there. It really is unbelievable and a shame a track like this would never be built in this day and age. Oh, and except for a couple of weekends a year, this is a public road. A house came up for sale on Conrod Straight a few months ago
It's amazing just to walk up it, it is sooooooooo steep. TV will never do it justice.
I imagine it's still the same, in the off season careful driving around it, they wait and will give you a ticket for speeding down Conrod straight.
On the plus side, you could frame it.
@@Jester123ish Yeah someone got done for 119kmh on Conrod not long ago (60kmh speed limit). To stay on the speed limit out of the elbow onto conrod, you're riding the brakes most of the way down the hill
Those old utes no longer exist because of GM and Ford killing their Australian Operations. The pick up trucks are just not the same.
And they sucked
But I have my VU SS Ute and I will be keeping it.
@@joshcallaghan9432 Sucked? the Old Utes or the New ones?
@@BatMan-xr8gg Looking for a buyer for my immaculate GS FPV ute lol
@@markhowells13 Don't look at me mate, I have my Ute and will never get rid of it. And I prefer Holden Utes over Fords anyway. I would only take your off you hands if you gave it to me, or I could flip it for a profit real quick. Don't want Ford rubbish in my driveway...lol...I will give you $5K for it, and not a cent more.
Did Will Ferrell base his Ricky Bobby character of this guy because damn this is just Taladaga Nights through and through with his commentary.
With the helmet on, I thought it was Ricky Bobby
Close your eyes. Ricky Bobby
Sponsored by NASCAR Tampons
Yeah, he did actually.
1:06 that’s a Holden VE Commodore that was in production from 2007-2013 here in Australia (that was off the top of my head I might’ve gotten that wrong) but thank you for respecting the cars we have here that’s what we love to see
Known here in the states as the Pontiac G8 and later the Chevy Caprice/SS.
A shitty knock off of an even shittier GM company, chevy lol
The Bathurst track is actually a road course, outside of racing it is a normal road with a 60kph/35mph speed limit. The cars at this time (Holden Commodore/Ford Falcon) were based on normal road cars but with a space frame tube chassis, control motors at 600+hp, brakes and control full slick or full wet tyres. Bathurst has been used for racing and as a scenic drive since the mid 1930's and for the endurance event (originally the Armstrong 500 (500 mile) race) since 1963. In 1973 with the introduction of the metric system, the race was changed to the 1000 kilometer format they use now. They have also held the annual 12 hour race here since 2007.
I was there for that race meet. Most of the week was typical for Bathurst in October, 4 seasons in one day. (rained for most of the week, only Sunday it was Sunny) Got to hang out with the Team BOC guys for most of the weekend (good friends with team owner Brad Jones and his drivers) and we were pissing ourselves laughing when Darryl jumped out of the car, his eyes were as wide as dinner plates and he was practically screaming. And if you're wondering why Brighty has "JR" on his helmet, it's in reference to another Brad Jones Racing driver, Jason Richards who at that time had terminal stage adrenal gland and stomach cancer. (he died just before Christmas that year) we setup a charity to try and provide funds for his treatments and secure the financial future for his wife and daughters. (I myself got a V8 Supercars polo shirt, got Jase, all the drivers and most of the Aussie commentary team alongside V8 Supercars then CEO to sign it. Before I got to sell it, Jase died so gave it to his family through Brad)
Falcon (Ford) and Commodore (Holden (GM)), are now gone from Australia, thanks to high labour costs, import tariff removals, and other factors. The replacements are the US Mustang and Corvette. I suggest looking for the older Bathurst footage, much better mate
Mustang & Camaro (GEN3) for 2023 🤔
Still going to be GM vs FORD but not the same as the days we’re used to.
Sadly as times change, so does everything else have to follow suit 😔
Here’s to the new generation of V8 Aussie racing motorsports!
🍻🍻🍻🇦🇺💙❤️
I drove this track in 2018 in my car and its just amazing like ive raced it in many games and watched it on tv every year since i was a little boy but to drive around it even in a road car following the road rules it leaves me breathless i couldn't imagine doing a race lap or a race around it. On tv and in games dont show you how amazing it is
Me too and was lucky to go 60kms
Ian, you need to watch Dick Johnson's lap from the Bathurst Hardies Heros (Saturday Top Ten Shootout) from 1983. They were pretty much road cars back then and they sound awesome!
'The' best sounding, ever, in my own, very humble opinion, was the Black BMW 635 JPS car - so loud and sweet at the same time... I've not yet heard another ('touring/road' based) race car sound as good - ever. The Nascars sound awesome though - rumble rumble through the ground.
@@paulp1450 And possibly the most beautiful.
@@giacatollo Agree...
Still in love.
Post him a link to Dick and that damn armco on the exit of Forrest Elbow.
@@paulp1450 BMWs are junk, always over priced shit for what they asked for them.
Great video thank you - Australia 🇦🇺
I remember seeing this for the first time when DW came to Oz. He was just hil-arious, and still the funniest thing ever to come out of Bathurst. It must have been scary as an American driver to be sitting on the 'drivers side' (US) doing 300kph with no steering wheel and no brake pedal! hahaha. I bet his foot was mashing the floor a few times. Great memory. Thanks cobber. ❤ MozzfromOz.
Watch brock do a lap back in his day. A true king of the mountain.
and casually chatting to the tv commentators on in car cam at race pace.
@@the_real_bin_chicken With one hand resting out the open window
That video was great, thanks Ian! Funny as!
The Aussie V8 muscle utes have gone now, and they were bloody awesome. I have one of the last V8 Holden's built in Australia and have run it around Mt Panorama (speed limit) and even at low speed (of course one does his best to break the speed limit) your stomach drops going down the Mountain through the " S " bends, it is just fantastic.
Those Holden commodore are amazing we get them in saudiarabia as the chevy lumina also we got the holden caprice as a chevy caprice because when chevy discontinued them sales went down so they had to do bring it back and we also got a ss trims which they basically made it into a corvette sedan
That’s awesome! Saudi Arabia always has great vehicles to drive. Oh and more Saudi videos coming 🇺🇸🇸🇦😎
@@IWrocker Looking forward to it 👍
And the ford falcon was better. In interior class, NVH... drivability. Sadly they didnt have the export legs that GM global gave the commodore
@@markhowells13 I own both a XR8 Sprint and a VF2 Motorsport and I've been a Ford fan all my life and it's a fact that Holden always had the better interior. Ford had the better drive line and engine and exhaust note while Holden has the better steering and handling in the SS compared to the XR8
@@NoOne56488 Thays pretty much not a fact at all. And most motoring magazines disagree
Greg Murphy's lap of the gods! 10/10 recommend
I've watched that clip a few times, a truly stunning performance. Every single team came out to applaud him when he came back into the pits.
Yes it was epic
Scotty’s lap was better fastest ever
@@shaneobrien148 Different time and cars, no debate that Scotty's lap was great, but cant really compare
@@FarmerDane FORD FALCON 👈
Hey mate that is a Holden VE Commodore. I heard they were sold in the states as a Pontiac G8. Cheers from down under. 🇦🇺
Edit: This would've been very different if brocky was driving. RIP Peter Brock
Ian, love ur clips on V8's at Bathurst. Saw your clip of Peter Brock, who is known in Australia as the King of the Mountain, due to his 9 Bathurst 500 (500 miles)/ 1000 ( 1000klm) wins. Trophy for the great race is now in his name, Peter Brock Trophy. The races over usually 5 -6 hrs are now close races, winning margins are now counted in seconds. In 1979 Brock drove a GMH A9X TORANA and won by an incredible 6 laps, recording the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. He'd often drive down Conrod Straight with his elbow out on side door, like on a Sunday drive thru the woods. Well worth a watch, as well as other races thru the decades. In 72 Ford Aus. built, at the time, the fastest 4 door production car in the world, the GTHO PHASE3 Falcon, specifically built for the Bathurst race. Back then 500 production cars had to be sold to the public, before they could be raced. Recommended watching.
Jason Bright was the driver. He had a short lived career in CART and/or Indy Lights in the late 90s/early 00s, including a start at the Gold Coast Honda Indy 300 here in Australia
Mate, we race EVERYTHING, here in Australia. The utes used are either a Holden Commodore (Ute version of the Chevy SS) or a Ford Falcon (which we continued to build here, until 2016). All of them are V8s and are “dumbed down” versions of the V8 Supercars, only reason for dumbing down being money, but still insanely fast. We still run the Ute races as it is one of the only throwbacks to the old Holden Vs Ford races we used to have at Bathurst when we manufactured both cars here in Australia. Now Holden is dead and no Fords are built here (sad). Also we love to see cars race that we can also drive on the street (like early NASCAR races, win on Sunday, sell on Monday) and many of us have owned or driven Holden and Ford utes. It’s special to Australians, we hope that everyone can enjoy it while drinking a ton of beers.
You do wonder where the hamming it up stops and the genuine fear begins. The car is a VE Series Supercar. The "high pitched whine you hear is a Hollinger 6 speed gearbox, with straight cut gears. Every time they decelerate fast, they spit out fireballs from their exhausts. I first heard of Darryl Waltrip from his role in the Disney movie "Cars."
The ute is exactly the same as the V8 supercar and they used to race on every track before the main race absolutely fantastic to watch 9:12
you're a good commentator bud, keep the videos coming : ) you're enthusiastic and take a real interest in what's going on.
I'm Australian and I'm Loving the channel and all the AFL and V8 supercars we also have a V8 masters race series it's all the old Australian and American muscle cars.. keep up the good work 👍👍👍👍👍
I love americans, so gracious and complimentary when considering the offerings of other nations.
Been to the U.S a few times and they are a lot more friendly and polite than what "popular" belief would have you think
Great reaction and great to see you have an appreciation of Aussie motor sport. Another fantastic video explaining the Mount Panorama track is "TENmotorsport There's nothing like it This is Mount Panorama This is Bathurst". Think you'd enjoy it, and it might give you some tips in case you go iracing again. Cheers, Glenn.
Thank you so much and yes I’ll check it out
@@IWrocker th-cam.com/video/CcaHIJChelM/w-d-xo.html best of both F1 sound and Bathurst
Great memories, and Jason wasn't even on the limit with this lap.
I live not far from Mt Panorama and often just go for a drive around it as it's a public road when there is no racing , it's true that the tv doesn't do the track justice.
Me too
Do you still have your licence ? hahaha
It is Jason Bright driving a V8 Holden Commodore. This was one of the last years running a modified street car. Obviously roll caged, dry sumped and mostly bolt on front panels, but for the most part, a direct descendant of a road going version of the same car. To give some perspective of the track. It's a street curcuit, so by day it's a public road. I've driven it many times and it's a 60km/ph marked road. That's 35 for you Americans. Now unless you have a pretty good car, it's scary as hell at 60 km/ph dropping off the top of that mountain through those bends. And these mad fools on race day are doing 160 through most of them.
Conrod straight used to be the longest straight in Southern Hemisphere and didnt have the kink at the end, but cars were getting airborne and we lost a great driver there when his car went airborne and he hit the Dunlop bridge, so the chase was installed to slow the cars down.
Around about 4pm each afternoon where I work, I start hearing all the burnouts and squeals and smelling the acrid pong of burnt rubber as the young fellas from various industries finish their day and take off home in their hotted up V8 utes. We call it the Turkish Grand Prix.
Me - **Triggered by you insulting the glorious smell of burnt rubber**
There's the Grand Prix of Lebanon too. That's where they cross borders and see how many places they can go to and how many contacts they can make along the way without getting caught by the law. The whole time completely fucking up the nation. At least they get their drugs across I suppose.
I'm only 36 right and i don't mind watching a good burn out but my first though was smell all that money going up in smoke... tyres are expensive!!
unless you buy cheap ones but why would you put cheap tyres on a good car... ??
That was hilarious. I drive like that to get to work on time like most others down here. G'day from Tasmania.
Lol. I've driven the Bathurst circuit (it's public road during non race times) and yes that mountain is high and the circuit is very tight. Also done a bike tour of Tasmania and; ALL of Tasmania is like that!. WA's the opposite.. we don't have corners, only straights. Cheers from WA.
Peter brock (racing legend in Oz and mentioned in this vid) said a good race track has consequences for mistakes and Mt Panorama has consequences for mistakes in a big way
Having driven around there as a member of the public 60kmh speed limit (37mph) I can tell you going down through the esses and diupper you really can not see where you are going. It gives a whole new appreciation for what these drivers do and the speed they go through there at. Just amazing.
Driver taking Darren around is called Jason Bright.
I've done a flying lap in a VW Transporter and yes, the "dipper" is a hell of a section of racetrack.
Hahahah shut up
What you might not no is part's of the Road is public road that you can drive after the Race has finished and yes the Track is part of the New South Wales road system. Ian check TH-cam for Truck Racing in Thailand it big here as well.
Forgot about the V8 Utes. Seriously a must, Commodore Malloo's and Falcon XR8's demolition derby's around the Supercar race tracks.
theres nothing better than when bathurst turns on the weather , raining up the top and dry down the bottom ,creates a ton of excitement.worked with a guy who used to drive fast and love it ,anyway he did a hot lap with one of the top drivers and was shit scared and loved it
The utes series used to be amazing to watch but the whole series is ruined now after they were changed from that style of car on the video and into a “pick-up truck” style of Ute. The racing in them has been incredibly boring. There are plenty of videos on TH-cam though of the older utes. Some of the crashes are mad and hilarious
I drive a VU SS Ute, great car and so much better than the crap they call Utes now. Cheers
Thats why we have SST jumpy trucks lol.......i just wish we had them more often for entertainment value
Utes at their peak were closer to Production Car racing then Supercars, which is why the utes were fun to watch - they didn't handle like race cars, or stop, instead, they moved around on the track, stepped out on the way in to corners, barely stopping from drifting on the way out. They were good value entertainment.
@@PiDsPagePrototypes agree! I miss the glory days of this series :(
Completely agree mate, that big heavy American crap they call Ute's nowadays are just awful.
You need to react to Mark Larkos video called this is Bathurst . Larko explains the track in detail and the cars. Great vid worth the watch. Cheers
i know it was just a promo/tv intro to their coverage one year, but its hands down the best description of the track at bathurst
The utes are wicked to watch man.
I bet!! Gotta see some utes action
@@IWrocker Search "Stadium Super Trucks". That will sort you out in a hurry.
@@petert3355 yes way better than the v8 utes
Also search up super utes
@@redwakafan619 Pffft, Super Trucks are slow and do not come near a True Aussie V8 Ute.
A Ute is a Utility Vehicle. As for the cars they use in V8 supercars, they are Holden Commodores, Ford Falcon or a Ford Mustang. They are tuned a little bit and can out run most common cars. If you want to see the best driver to ever race on Bathurst, then look at Peter Brock. He is the king of Bathurst, no matter the condition of the track, he always managed to know what he was doing.
A “Ute” in Australia (utility vehicle) is traditionally a standard passenger car with the tray integrated into the car body, making it a 2 door vehicle. They’ve been around for decades and are still relatively popular. What you call a pickup truck - the larger 4 door vehicle with the separate tray on the chassis - used to be called a “dual cab” here (Toyota Hilux being the most popular brand) but now most people call those a “Ute” too.
Great explanation thank you
@@IWrocker If it's not built here in AU it's not a Ute Full Stop.
@danieldw78 that's right the Ute died the moment Holden & Ford shut the doors in AU.
They used to have those, or something similar to those, in the US. Chevy had the El Camino and Ford had the Ranchero, back in the 60's & 70's. Used to see a lot of them. Ford also had a smaller model, based on the Falcon, back in the 60's. Don't remember what it was called. I knew someone who had one of those. These models all disappeared by the early 80's,
If it's got a cab and a tray -it's a 'Ute'
Jason Bright was driving Waltrip around in a Holden VE Commodore, a large sedan which was developed and manufactured in Australia. At the time, it was the biggest selling car in Australia.
So, I couldn't see anyone post it in the comment @IWrocker but the Holden Commodore seen in this hot lap was the "VE", the current (and last) generation of Commodore in Australia is the "VF"
Also, as other's have pointed out, the V8 Utes were amazing to watch... It's basically the NASCAR Pick-Ups, but on a road course.
Daryl Waltrip is /was the absolute best race commentator of all time.. even if a race was a dull one.. Daryl would keep the viewers interest up because of his hyper enthusiasm.. and he can commentate from a real understanding perspective.. to have won 83 Nascar races.. and 3 championships in an era where the cars were absolutely brutal to drive.. and the drivers he raced 'against' were collectively the toughest.. and 'best' drivers in the history of Nascar ..
I am amazed that Daryl is not the lead commentator on Nascar races these days, there is never a dull moment in commentary when DW has the microphone.
The car is a Holden Commodore 4 door, the 2 door is the Monaro. The corkscrew is the esses. The cars use racing slicks same as other race cars. Handling not so great as 1300 kilos, and the Aero package does not give a lot of downforce. They tend to slide through the corners. That is why most Aussies love V8 Supercars. exciting racing. Cheers from Australia.
Don't know how to share the link but watch the gopro hot lap of Bathurst, it's with the drivers driving the racetrack and talking at the same time
To put it to you Ian, it’s the whole package. Everything from the Sound/Speed & the Camera visuals inside & outside the car you are immersed in the Race for 1000km the footage of these cars at full speeds is unbelievable. You do full laps between cars so you can get the Feel of what these guys are putting themselves thru as they weave in & out of corners / straight’s whilst overtaking when they see an Edge or Daylight from the car in front. Then there is pit lane where other than refill / tyres & driver changes they are in pit garages with details on breaking down crashes / repairs interviews & strategy on each Team to be the Winner of the day. Then it Rains & it becomes a whole New Race all over again from where it was before. lol👍🍺😂🇦🇺
If you watch it once you will be hooked these are production cars not whole 1 piece fibreglass body slapped onto a subframe
Possibly already been said, but the VE Holden Commodores racing in this video are the same car as what you know in the states as the Pontiac G8. Just a different bumper on front. This footage was probably from around 10 years ago, as the Commodores are now 2 models on, the VF (Badged Chevy SS in USA) and then latest and also last version of Commodore is the ZB, (Badged as Buicks in USA).. Next year the V8 Supercars will be running the Camaro as replacement for the Commodore. This will be competing against the Ford Mustang which replaced the Ford Falcon when that was stopped being produced a few years ago. The Falcon was very similar to the Taurus I think.
The V8 Utes series was really cool. The cars are actually modified stock vehicles but they go a fair bit faster than you would expect from looking at them at a glance!
What you are looking at is a control chassis with a skin over the top to look like the road car it’s based on. When they bought the mustang in to replace the falcon they had to modify the body to meet the aero rules. It’s some of the best door to door racing out there amongst the top 10-12 cars. The series has taken a bit of a dive from an interest perspective for a lot of the other races in the series but Bathurst every year is the one race that most petrol heads will watch.
There are a few corners up that mountain that require a lot of skill and commitment to be fast that first straight you enter that corner and cant see the exit and late in the day if its a clear day they also get the sun directly in their eyes as they approach the next corner which is full commitment and totally blind at entry so when the lads are banging around flat out you need to appreciate just how fast and how committed these lads really are when they are pushing the envelope
Was lucky enough several years ago to get a view from the Chicane at the NRMA 500 at the Sydney Olympic Park. Front row view of probably the most exciting part of the track. The V8 Utes had a massive pile-up entering the chicane on lap 1 and it was absolutely phenomenal, I think three got knocked out in that single incident.
The Dunlop Super2 Series is also interesting to watch, it's basically the next step down from V8 Supercars where they drive older models of the Supercars and have smaller teams with smaller budgets. And so because the drivers aren't quite as experienced, they make more mistakes and that leads to some really good racing.
But yeah, seeing the V8 Supercars at the Olympic Park was amazing. Their racing lines were absolutely perfect, spot on every time - until they rain start dropping and you can see the braking affected straight away. Unfortunately the race got stopped early because it became torrential, but I'll never forget the experience.
I would love to go to Bathurst one day. Like you I've raced on the track in games, and it definitely feels a lot more technical and challenging than a lot of the other circuits. I wouldn't consider myself a particularly good sim racer by any means but I probably can't even compete with easy AI on Mt Panorama.
You should be next to them, when they start these beast up, my God they are loud. Love em.
The last in the Holden production cars was the Commodore Series
Big reason I love the Chevy ss so much is because of v8 supercars, such a slept on and underrated car in the US, I remember growing up watching that series.
Bathurst. My Mecca. Walked it once. So steep it hurt my legs. Put my 71 Falcon through the Dipper on 2 wheels. Big fun.
G,Day Ian.
Just for a comparison, Check out.
Bathurst 2004. A9X Torana (Brocky driving) V VYSS, V Supercar of the day driven by Skaife.
Just a bit of fun and commentary by Brocky.
Car is series 2 Holden VE commodore built in Aus, it's also a Pontiac G8 in the states same car.
VF Commodore is also a Chevy ss all built here in Aus.
Your 2004 Pontiac GTO was also a Aussie built Holden Monaro.
One of the best weekends whether your there or at home watching on the tele first time watching your channel good stuff mate you got a like and a subscription 😁
It's BAFF EST, MOUNT PANNO RAH MAH mate! Trust me from personal experience, no in-car camera or video footage of motor racing, or video game simulation of that circuit comes close to describing the feeling of actually driving around it at high speed in real life. By the way, a top-shelf 2021 spec Australian Supercar, such as the Shell Racing Ford Mustang driven by Fabian Coulthard or the Red Bull Racing Holden Commodore driven by Shane vanGisbergen, is bouncing off the rev limiter in sixth gear going through that right hander into The Chase off Conrod Straight at not much more than 190 miles per hour - or a shade over 305 kilometres per hour - due to mechanical constraints such as final drive ratio and engine rev limiter. Lastly, not only is Mark Larkham a qualified mechanical engineer who drove open wheeler racing cars - he raced both a 'Formula Holden' Reynard chassis fitted with Buick 3.8L V6 engine and Hewland 5-speed manual gearbox, also a Formula Brabham - with great success, he also ran his own team of Ford Falcon cars in the Australian Touring Car Championship for ten years, set the pole lap at the Bathurst 1000 in 1997 in a Ford EL series Falcon and finished 3rd outright in the race that same year.
If you think the Supercars are great to watch around Mount Panorama, you should have seen it when they raced bikes there, ten abreast was nothing unusual, we’re talking road racing 1000cc bikes.
Johnny Cecotto who was world 350cc gp champion at 19 raced there in the old group c car days and was quoted as saying it was crazy to even consider racing bikes there and would never consider racing a bike at Bathurst.
I should have said the course has changed a lot since then, when the bikes raced there it still had wooden fences, none of the current safety barriers, the Caltex Chase never existed, Conrod Straight went all the way to Murray’s Corner, they basically went flat out to the braking zone, the chase was added to slow the cars down after the bikes were cancelled from racing there.
Poor old DW, took them weeks to get the mess out of his race suit.
Bathurst race track is a public road that people live along, I've driven around it under the legal speed limit and still had tyre squeal all the way around, nothing but going there will make you appreciate what the drivers and vehicles achieve.
There is a video out there of a V8 supercar racing an F1 car, it will surprise you
love mate from down under Syd Bathurst 1000 is a experience you have to endure once in your life its part of us road hoons ford vr's holden ever since I was a kid from the late 70s
Ian you were talking about Marcos Ambrose look at the clip when he and a Kiwi racer got together on the track at Bathurst its worth a look.Cheers
They are V8 utes too lol. Pretty much standard off the showroom utes. With beefed up suspension and brakes I think. And they also have a super truck series that goes over some jumps n stuff.
Scott McLachlan is now racing Indy car series. He won the championship out here the last few years.
that's a public road most days and our high school had a bus driver who took his bus full of kids down Conrod Straight at 100 MPH back in the 70's just the kind of things we do
I lived 30 mins from Bathurst - had business there every week. You pronounce Bathurst without any emphasis on the middle group of syllables ... try it this way to get it right ... say Ba with the short 'a' sound, as in Bat ... then add Thirst as you would say that word normally ... so Ba-Thirst run together quickly is right. P.S DW is a great guy ... he's a highly accomplished Driver and was clearly bunging it on a bit around the track for a bit of fun - no doubt he got a hell of a ride but he was kidding around too.
Not bad with the pronunciation mate😊
Driver was Jason Bright.
Car was, at that stage, a production shell, but everything else purpose built.
They have a tonne of grip with the 11 wide slicks
And the fuel injected 5 litre Chev runs SB2.2 heads and good for almost 700hp and 540ftlbs.
I've been for a ride around Mt Panorama in one, they handle like a go kart with some body roll, and will pin your ears back all the way past 150-160mph
Great series all round, and great track
The utes were great to watch when they still raced them! Much more ruthless driving with some big accidents. I believe, unlike the main series, the utes were actually production versions set up for the racetrack.
3 time NASCAR Champ passenger screaming "I'M DONE! WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" at Bathurst in a Holden. Priceless!
Was up there three weeks ago and drove two laps of the track in a V8 supercar and then two laps as a passenger.
Best fun you can have3 with your cloths on.
The latest and last production of Holden’s in Australia were the Commodore Series. Coming down the mountain the corners are blind. Bathurst is a street course.
Oh, Ute racing is more crazy than normal V8s because they have less weight holding them down in the back.
Bathust used to be a stand-alone race on the racing calander, and open to 'Privateers' - people who would only enter a car a Bathurst, often sponsored by a local auto dealer and other local businesses (!). And it had different classes included the race, such as smaller 4 cylinder cars. It's hard to imagine now with the big budget teams and TV coverage involved.
A modern V8 Supercar depending on the team will generate between 650-670HP and 600foot pounds of torque. Running just a little under 375kg of downforce with around 225kg of that on the front. Tyres are 18x12 Dunlop slicks running around 17psi cold pressure. Mountain straight top speed is about 265kph and Conrod straight at the entry to the chase touches 300kph if their is a tail wind. The run up through griffins bend is a 1in 6 gradient.
0-100 or 62mph comes in 2.6 seconds, and a fast race lap is 2min 06. There are few tracks in the world as challenging as Bathurst. Perhaps Spa, Nordschleifer, or leguna Seca.
A number of years ago they put heart monitors on several of the top drivers during the hot lap shoot out. Some, if not most of them, had heart rates in excess of 200 BPM across the top of the mountain. That is some exercise sitting and driving a car.
The biggest difference between the Ozzie and NASCAR cars is that Ozzie cars gave a decent modern rear suspension while NASCAR is using a couple of pieces of railway line (which has been ridiculous since the 60's)
How can anyone expect over 200 lb of solid unsprung weight to handle well?
All you going to get, and you do get, is wheel-hop under braking and wheel-spin under acceleration.
Loved watching the utes in Adelaide. They go hard !
This was awesome!! Bathurst 1000 was great. It was all about Holden vs Ford and had top notch drivers with years of experience who could throw a V8 supercar around like magic.
Now the race has opened up to Nissan’s and Toyota’s etc and I think it was last year or the one before that the race didn’t go the 161 laps. Personally I’ve lost some interest in it now.
But I love hearing and seeing people overseas reacting to everything Aussie and your reactions are bloody ripper mate lol
Awesome video mate, should come to Aus one time you'd love it.
This is one of the greatest tracks in the world, and the drivers in this series are single handedly probably some of the best in the world with giant plums to drive at the speeds on this track
Ive walked that section of the track where the dipper is, TV does not present it anywhere near the extreme that it actually is. Nice content, thanks for the share.
That was a Sunday afternoon cruise around the track ❤❤❤😂😂😂
WOW Been a long time since I’ve seen this Sunday drive for Darrel Waltip around Bathurst with Jason Bright that was from the 2011 race in the VE Commodore. Still really miss the Commodores and the Falcons racing as for the Utes sadly it’s something we’ll never see again with the demise of Holden and the loss of Aussie built Fords. Great video thanks for sharing and the great memories of a great Aussie institution. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I am a girl (well older now), but I used to have an LJ Torana XU-1 when I was 24 - 27. I loved dragging guys off at the lights. My car was so fast, and guys could not believe it when they saw a girl racing them. I must have had a bit extra testosterone or something. Took her on the Doncaster freeway late at night by myself to see how fast she’d go and had to stop at 200kmh as I scared myself. She could have gone faster. Should have kept her, they are worth a fortune now. Beautiful light metallic green. She was stolen after I sold her and burnt. I cried my eyes out when I found out.
This was very funny. I’ve never thought about the track how Waltrip describes it. My dad raced at Bathurst 50 + years ago. He was a mad Holden man and owned an A9X Torana, Brock Group 3 and a Walkinshaw. He would be sad to see how things are going now.
Loved watching an Americans point of view on this video. Around a road course it wouldn't be close the V8 wins easily because it's designed for that. I remember an interview with Ambrose for Australian tv back when he first went over there an him saying how surprised he was at the lack of technology in a NASCAR.
Love the vids man. Keep watching the v8 supercars. Might be abit biase but its the best racing anywhere in the world
Ian, you’re awesome mate. If you make it over here to Adelaide in South Australia at any stage I have a factory stock, beautifully tuned R32 GT-R V-Spec that we could have some fun with, and I have an SG9 EJ255 Subaru Forester STi on the way from Japan as well. Happy to look after you. It would be fun. Cheers - Mike
It takes a supreme circuit to impress a multi NASCAR champion in such manner so completely.
One aspect not so obvious in such a one or two lap trip is that the drivers must keep that pace and ultimate performance consistently hour after hour for 1000 km, and no tiny mistake or lack of attention allowed as that circuit will take out a vehicle in a fraction of a second at the tiniest mistake. Ok the distance is shared by two drivers, so approx 500 km and over 3 hours each. Sadly one driver typically carries a bit over 50% of the load. Additional is that you are running not as one car with a clear track but coping with several classes of different performance speed and handling. You need to pass and get around other cars, miscellaneous debris, avoid getting tied into crashes by less skilled drivers. Not to suggest any driver in that race can be other than highest performer. But year after year visiting top race drivers and local newbies show unforgiving lack of experience and staying power sorts out the best from the rest. Most quite successful racing drivers have no hope of surviving the Bathurst 1000.
For the effective GODS of that race like the record number of wins holder Peter Brock, and other top performers Alan Moffat, Mark Skaife, Dick Johnson and numerous others there can be nothing but admiration.
Sadly Peter Brock was taken out by a tree in a car rally event, a freak accident potentially a vehicle fault, as his skill should not have caused a crash there. A tragic loss to Australian racing.
By the way our team at work, designed the ignition system used by Peter Brock racing vehicles for many years, and often had him in our office in discussion of new wishes. Also I made the calibrated airflow sensor for several Nissan Bluebird racing vehicles for years. We thus often interacted with some of these Gods of racing. A real priviledge few people get. While not able to accept rides and access to races (much) by company policy, we did get such offers and did participate at events on occasion anyway. I was injection system application /development engineer, and provided injector, air volume/mass, temp and crank sensor, fuel pump support. The supporr activity was one part of peak enjoyment of my job, the other being travel to many places around the world for car projects, driving a wide variety of vehicles in extremes of climate, very cold to very hot. Sadly while driving Lamborginies, Porshes some of these only in very controlled circumstance not on main roads, but many high power turbo cars and exclusive models on road conditions. Ferrari was restricted to be driven only by people that completed 6 month, Ferrari driver training not part of my job, though we had one in the local test facility I managed, for nearly two years
Great to hear your commentary , we love our Bathurst
For something different have a look at the Finke Desert Race which is run each year from Alice Springs to Finke and back over 2 days, and attracts competitors from all over the world on bikes, quads and buggies
you had to do this one mate glad to see it buckle up and enjoy the ride
Darryl is so right, you can’t possibly fully appreciate this place on television until you’ve driven around it. I worked around that area from time to time in my 20s as a company rep and if I was passing through or staying there I’d try and make the time to drive the course.......At the posted speed limit.....well mostly. 😜
And the best thing is that it is a public road and you can drive around it. I live 700km away and both of my kids drove the track when they were learning to drive. How Aussie, we even hit a kangaroo (at low speed so no damage done).