Bathurst’s importance to the V8 Supercar series is immeasurable. It is the categories’ showpiece event, its chance to reach viewers who ordinarily wouldn’t watch the regular V8 Supercar rounds. And as such, it ranks up there with the Melbourne Cup and the AFL Grand Final.
But where does it fit within Australia’s sporting landscape?
It has the name recognition like other events synonymous with others sports, such as the Melbourne Cup, the Indy 500 or the Le Mans 24 hours.
Bathurst is intrinsically linked with Australian touring cars and many drivers would rather win at Bathurst than win the overall drivers championship. This says a lot about the series and the importance the great race has in its makeup.
It can stand alone as a spectacle. Many fans only switch on for Bathurst while not necessarily switching on for the other rounds.
Bathurst may not stop the nation like the Melbourne Cup, or have the national pull of the AFL, NRL or soccer internationals, but it holds an important place in Australia’s sporting landscape despite the relative popularity of V8 Supercars, which is difficult to gauge.
There are quite a few fans that have been left cold by the current guise of V8 Supercars, missing the diversity of cars, drivers and rounds of the pre AVESCO led revolution in the mid-nineties.
The days of amateurism, privateer entries campaigning backyard creations at Australia’s greatest race, are gone.
But it was during this age that Bathurst cemented its legend.
The days of Moffat, Brock, Monaros and GTs, not to mention the age of Nissans, a rock on the track and Channel 7’s increased coverage of the race that took it to new levels.
It was as a result of this that V8 Supercars can make the claim to being one of Australia’s biggest growth sports today.
But the days of the Ford versus Holden platform are over.
It is failing to attract new fans and it is an antiquated, harking back to the days pre-internationalism of the car market.
It is important that the marketing of the great race moves away from this.
In terms of attendance, the series ranks amongst the big names of Australian sport, thanks to marque rounds such as the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and the Indy carnival at Surfers Paradise – popular city based events that combine racing with plenty of off-track entertainment.
It is hoped next year’s new events on the streets of Townsville and Homebush will also prove to be a success, while the latter will help crack the Sydney market.
But in terms of media attention, V8 Supercars still has a way to go, especially against its various football rivals.
V8s rarely command back page headlines or significant time in news bulletins.
Bathurst is V8 Supercars’ one chance every year to dominate the press, away from the AFL and NRL seasons, taking centre stage for one weekend at least.
It is this contradiction that stalks V8 Supercars.
On the one hand other championship rounds barely raise a blimp in awareness, while Bathurst ranks amongst Australia’s biggest sporting events.
Today’s race is crucial, therefore, as a link to the sports past, and a demonstration of its present.
David
Guest
So is golf a sport? It requires skill and discipline, but basically nothing in terms of speed, strength or stamina - unless you're talking club-head speed, mental toughness and the ability to walk around eighteen holes. There are sports and there are sports.
Philip Pouponneau
Guest
Well the Oxford dictionary describes the word sport as a game or competitive activity usually involving physical exertion. I think top level Motorsport at least meets that criteria ,hell i couldn't do 80 odd laps in one of those cars at break neck speed i would be buggered. Each to their own i suppose
Adrian Musolino
Expert
You could make the some arguement with motorsport. If you put Mark Webber in a Mitsubishi Colt and me in a Ferrari and see who could finish first at Bathurst he would still beat me because he has the skill to get the best out of his car around that track. I understand your point though and motorsport has not done enough to give people the sense that it is a competitve sport testing driver ability, especially in F1.
sledgeross
Guest
Yeah, ok Phil, Ill concede horse racing isnt a "sport" in the true sense either, but you are wrong about the other examples. You could put Lance Armstrong on a bmx and me on the most expensive kevlar carbon racing bike and he would still beat me. I think you are confusing the issue somewhat. Fitness and skill doesnt necessarily equate to being a sport. I certainly havent belittled the skill and abilty of any of the drivers, Im just asking the question how we individually classify sport.
Philip Pouponneau
Guest
If motor racing is not a sport then neither is horese racing, bobsled, cycling etc. Motor racing does require fitness these days at the highest level and plenty of skill. Some people are just to rude to give it credit. As for v8 supercars being a "BOGAN" sport well there is as much wrong with being a "BOGAN" than there is being a horse racing toff.
Adrian Musolino
Expert
Yes the result is to some extent dependent on what sort of car / engine you have, but the actual act of driving the cars requires fitness, strength and skill.
sledgeross
Guest
Yeah, thats a fair call Adrian, and despite my good natured ribbing, I respect the hell out of the skills and stress these blokes go through, especially in an endurance event like Bathurst. As for your definition of sport, I agree to an extent, but unfortunately motor racing doesnt specifically relate to skill or fitness. Its dependent on the quality of the engine. We have seen the likes of Mark Webber, who is alleged to be a skillful driver, never realise his potential. We have seen top F1 drivers such as Damon Hill and David Coulthard reach the pinnacle of F1 racing, only to fade into mediocrity when their engines were of lesser quality. Sure, all sports have that element of luck, but motor racing is more to do with something not related to the skill set specifically. Again, I dont want to come across as a motorsport "hater" I just think its an interesting debate. My mates that are revheads always crack the sh*ts when I bring it up ;)
Adrian Musolino
Expert
Interesting debate. While I was covering the race I did have one day to float around the track and soak in the atmosphere and the 'bogan' element is still strong despite big crackdowns on the shenanigans that go on at the top of the mountain - 600 police on duty that weekend. What is sad is how V8 Supercars Australia seems to have taken a step backwards in terms of making V8 racing a blokes thing - the Four X girls etc. It's no way to make the sport, or is that hobby, a family event. As for whether motorsport is a sport there is a competitive element and the drivers are athletes requiring a specific skill set so it's a sport in my opinion. Says a lot of motorsports popularity when you have people questioning whether it is a sport or not.
Philip Pouponneau
Guest
I've been to the AFL grand final, Melbourne cup and F1 GP and none of these come close to the Bathurst 1000. The track has to be one of the best in the world with spectacular views and unobstructed viewing, It is a must see for any sports fan. I only planned to go there once but am now hooked and plan to go there ever year as long as i can. I think some people need to pull their heads out of their bums and give it a chance
sledgeross
Guest
TT, I didnt say it was the pinnacle, but it is entrenched in our culture. I dont like motor-hobbies ;) at all, but I will still look with interest to see whats doing on the Mountain.
Michael C
Guest
TT - I just reckon some of these events work on several different levels and that may be there beauty (so to speak). And when an event effectively 'owns' it's calendar date in the annual sporting almanac, then it's a bit like a structural load bearer of Australian sports - - and that means it's part of our 'culture', just like (superficially) the Easter break, and Queens Birthday long weekend..... re the guys on the mountain - - well, theirs is in many cases an annual pilgrimage - similar to the bikes going down to Phillip Island. The reality is that the first generation of mountain campers has grown a little older and perhaps are bringing their kids with now. That's a level of difference, the Melb Cup is over 150 years old, - Bathurst really established itself through the 70s by virtue of it's national importance via the medium of television. but then, can I say I've ever watched the full coverage from start to finish.........nah!!! I've always had to get outside for a period and then would return for updates and then settle in for the home stretch.
True Tah
Guest
Michael, there's nothing cultural about yobbos trying to hit on sheilas at the track either, I would be ashamed if someone regarded that as the pinnacle of Australian culture. Having read my post again, maybe there is some sort of culture in that the guys on the mountain were trying to live like our prehistoric ancestors did, such as torching various items to keep warm. Im a bit younger than most on this blog, so maybe I dont appreciate the value of Bathurst 1000 and Peter Brock, my impression is that its just an excuse for a bunch of bogans to get on the piss and run riot...well it was like that when I was growing up, its a bit differant now.
Michael C
Guest
TT - a lot of the culture is of the week or two after VFL/AFL and NSWRL/NRL Grand Finals - that we are yearning for tv sports and along comes Bathurst - - it was the TV era that created the Bathurst monster and created the legends of Brock and Moffatt - - it was the growing up of Aust TV coverage, via the 'innovations' of Ch.7 and the images in a predominantly localised market craving for images - - that created a cultural icon............of it's time. Is it strong enough a product now to continue? Seemingly so. btw - what's so cultural about a bunch of drunken yobbos trying to pick up a bunch of drunken shiela's while horses are galloing around a track? Just like the Melb Cup - - there's the 'cultural facade' and the 'cultural symbolism' and there's the live on course reality which may be poles apart.
True Tah
Guest
sledge whats so cultural about a bunch of bogans sitting on top of a mountain drinking copious amounts of beer while cars are driving around the mountain?
Millster
Guest
I'm with sledge. Apart from allowing all of us once a year to celebrate our inner bogan, it is not really anything special.
sledgeross
Guest
"sporting event" hahahahaha Its an iconic cultural event, but to call motor racing a sport by itself is incorrect. So the rev-haeds can enjoy their hobby on this special day in the Australian calender, but its no "sport". Yes, I am a qualified sh*t-stirrer!
True Tah
Guest
I always thought Bathurst was renowned for what happened off the track moreso than what happened on it. Ive never been camping up the mountain, but from what Ive been told it was quite an experience. Like when that woman from Victoria had her car flipped over and burnt by a bunch of yobbos on the mountain. My best memory is when the kangaroo leapt onto the track a few years ago.
Jason Cave
Guest
What makes this race even more special, is the fact it's totally unpredictable. You can never predict who's going to win at Mount Panorama. Even your favourite driver or team could hit a major problem while racing on the Mountain. It's not like Formula 1, where you could tell who's going to win even before the race finishes. In fact, the Bathurst 1000 is my favourite motor race-100 times better than the F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Michael C
Guest
Personally I found the racing dull this year, saved only by the last 10 laps - - perhaps for those of us whose first memories of Bathurst are Moffatt-Bond 1-2, the big Falcons and nimble Torries, and Peter Williamson and his celica and the axe.......... actually, for me, Bathurst started losing me with the ruddy Ford Sierra's..............I don't think I ever saw one of those on the road. so - - - perhaps I just have to warm a little more to the rising 'legend' of Craig Lowndes? I'm not sure. However, the magic to me I'm pretty sure is the "mountain", I've only ever driven it (in a family station wagon and caught behind a tour bus!!). I do harbour a desire to attend the race weekend and will ensure that that happens within the next couple of years. Maybe then, I'll rediscover a love affair with the racing itself.