Well, it's Bathurst 1000 week! I once lived for this race, it was THE ONLY time I would sit in front of the TV all day. Sadly, I get more enjoyment out of races from years gone by.
The telecast starts at 7am, the race at about 10.30am and finishes around 5pm. In 2014, the race ran for nearly 8 hours. That 2014 event was actually painful to watch, the race was actually halted mid-way to repair the track. But.......................it certainly pleased me that year as the lead Holden ran out of fuel, the race winning Ford was in the right place at the right time.
But my favorite would easily be the 2013 race, Mark Winterbottom finally breaking through for his first (and only) win with Steve Richards, both trying to win it together since 2007. It was also the first win for Ford Performance Racing (FPR), the factory Ford team, which had been contenders since their debut in 2003. As a Ford man, seeing Winterbottom break through after showing speed there for many years, I can't lie, it brought tears to my eyes and still does.
"........................that's the move, that's done it!...................."
Not from the same year, but Mark was VERY fast for many years at Bathurst.
This is my favorite of his, just listen to the Windsor V8 wail, especially as it winds out 5th and 6th gear towards 300 kph........................
I hope you can sense my passion for those cars, drivers and races. It makes me sad that I no longer have the same interest in the race or race series anymore. I don't know, perhaps its because the cars are no longer "our own", as in Commodore's and Falcon's. Back then, the rivalry was so intense that very few fans of the sport would swing both ways, you were either in the blue oval camp or the red lion camp. That's no longer the case, I think most follow the driver and not the car company they represent.
