Bathurst is the Big One

In 1971 the Bathurst 500 wasn’t yet 10 years old. It was already a big deal, a signi cant annual event, but it was still far from universally regarded as the most important motor race of the year. The Australian Grand Prix (then in its 42nd year) was the big one – to dare describe a race for standard showroom cars as more important than the AGP would have seemed like heresy to many fans in 1971.

Times were changing, though. In Australian Motoring News’ ’71 pre-Bathurst issue, Barry Cooke made a point of declaring that the Bathurst 500 had eclipsed the grand prix, and was now unquestionably the ‘most signi cant motor sporting event in Australia.’

“Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” Cooke wrote. “October 3 this year is THE most important day in Australia’s motoring year. It is the day on which the car-selling pace will be set for 1972.

“Success on the mountain for any one of the three [manufacturers] could mean success in the showrooms next year.

“Not only do the manufacturers have the race result to worry about, they also have an image to project via Channel 7’s huge coverage of the event.”

The Bathurst 500 was, Cooke wrote, “the annual showcase of the Australian motor industry – much moreso than the various annual motor shows which go off around the country.”

History shows that the Australian Motoring News’ editor was bang on the money in his assessment of this still-emerging event.

If only his pre-race predictions were as accurate. After assessing the race form of the Charger E38, GTHO Phase III and Torana XU-1, Cooke concluded that ‘there is not much between all three.’

“…it wouldn’t surprise us in the least if one of each crossed the line in a three-way deadheat! It will be THAT close.”