Sport
17 October, 2025
Oscar's Deep Dive: Bathurst 1000
The race, the crashes and the kings of the mountain.
Since the Bathurst 1000 was on last week, I thought I’d write about some of the biggest crashes, the past winners, and what makes this track so famous. So, strap your seatbelts in and start your engines, this week’s story is full of twists and turns! The Bathurst 1000 first started in 1960 and has always been held in Bathurst, at Mount Panorama.
Every year, thousands of fans pack the mountain to watch 161 laps, that’s 1000 kilometres of pure racing action!
Some of the biggest crashes in Australian motorsport history have happened at Bathurst.
The sharp corners, high speeds, and number of cars make it hard to overtake - and one mistake can take out half the field!
Here are a few of the most famous crashes:
• Ambrose and Murphy tangle (2005): a huge smash that fans still talk about today.
• Luff hits Lowndes (2014): a dramatic collision that changed the race in seconds.
• Mezera Rollover (1997): one of the wildest flips ever seen on the mountain.
• Dick Johnson (1980): rock on the track roll over.
Now for the champions. Many legends have raced here, but a few stand out:
• Peter Brock: the ‘King of the Mountain’, with an incredible nine Bathurst wins, most of them with the Holden Dealer Team.
• Jim Richards: a seven-time Bathurst winner who teamed up with Brock three times and dominated between 1987 and 2002.
The track itself is one of the hardest in the world. It’s full of steep climbs, fast straights, and sharp corners. The most dangerous part is ‘The Dipper’ a downhill twist with poor visibility that often catches drivers out. The fastest ever lap at Bathurst was set by Greg Murphy in 2003, taking just 2:06.8594, a run known as ‘The Lap of the Gods’. The average speed across the race is an incredible 161.5 km/h!
Bathurst isn’t just a race it’s a part of Aussie legend. Every October, Mount Panorama becomes the heart of motorsport, where heroes are made, cars are pushed to the limit, and fans cheer until the chequered flag waves.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch the full race this year as I had a blackout so we went to the Coonamble races, but the recaps I have seen online it was one of the great races.
Footnote: in a rarity, the car that crossed the finish line first in the 2025 Bathurst 1000 did not win the race.
The #31 Chevrolet vehicle piloted by James Golding finished in front, but Golding was handed a five-second penalty after a racing move at turn two with five laps remaining, when he made contact with the Cooper Murray-driven #99 Chevrolet. This five-second penalty meant Golding actually finished third.
Murray (and co-driver Jobe Stewart) eventually finished fourth, with Matthew Payne (#100 Ford) taking the win in six hours, 52 minutes and 14.938 seconds (6:52:14.938).
It was the sixth career Bathurst 1000 win for Payne’s co-driver Garth Tander, and Payne’s first.
David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth (#20, Chevrolet, 6:52:15.897) were second, with Golding and co-driver David Russell (6:52:18.977) rounding out the podium in third.
