New book celebrates major Bathurst anniversary

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the ‘Great Race’ at Bathurst’s Mount Panorama and a new book, The Great Race – 60 Years of the Bathurst 1000 has today been released to mark the occasion.

Available now from the V8 Sleuth SuperStore, the 362-page paperback has been written by V8 Sleuth’s Aaron Noonan and published by HarperCollins Australia.

With a foreword by five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Garth Tander, the new book is a collection of insights and stories documenting six decades of Australia’s most famous race, its impact on the Australian motorsport and sporting landscape and celebrates the famous races, cars, drivers and traditions of the race.

From its beginnings in the 1960s as a 500-mile race for standard production cars, the Bathurst 1000 has evolved into an annual multi-million-dollar battle between purpose-built, millimetre-perfect V8-powered Supercars.

After six decades of this extraordinary battle on the mountain, ‘The Great Race’ looks back at the thrills, the spills, the legends and the losers of the race’s history, from the legendary Ford and Holden battles to how the Mountain made household names of Peter Brock, Allan Moffat, Dick Johnson, Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife and so many more, including the fearless women who have challenged the race.

It’s an eye-opening account of how the circuit has evolved from a scenic tourist drive into a world-famous Mecca of motorsport and includes special added insight into what became of the legendary cars that have conquered Mount Panorama after their days of glory.

“I’ve really enjoyed sitting down and putting this book together, drawing upon many years of studying this race and chatting with the people who have played pivotal roles in it,” says Noonan.

“I think there’s something for everyone in this book, from the hardcore motorsport fanatic to the casual sports fans and casual reader. It’s undoubtedly the perfect Father’s Day gift.”

It’s the second book that V8 Sleuth’s Noonan has written for HarperCollins after he worked with the ‘voice of Supercars’, Neil Crompton on the 2021 release, Best Seat In The House, telling the story of Crompton’s amazing motorsport career behind the wheel and behind the microphone.

Both are available to order now here from the V8 Sleuth SuperStore website.