Most Bathurst starts for a car?

[DAVID PATERSON]

Plenty of drivers have taken part in more than 20 Bathurst 1000s, but what about the cars? Who wants to have a guess?

1. Which particular car has had the most starts, and how many?

2. It might be the same answer, but while we're at it, which model of car has had the most Bathurst starts?

I don't know the answer but i'm curious.

[emjaya]

Here is a start.

[pete60]

Originally Posted by DAVID PATERSON

Plenty of drivers have taken part in more than 20 Bathurst 1000s, but what about the cars? Who wants to have a guess?

1. Which particular car has had the most starts, and how many?

2. It might be the same answer, but while we're at it, which model of car has had the most Bathurst starts?

I don't know the answer but i'm curious.

Great question about the particular car! There would be many cars to have done 5 ( most XD Falcons form the Group C era for example).

Off the top of my head, I think the Commodore of Scotty Taylor would have to be right up there...it did 5 races as a Group C car and was then converted to Group A and did a couple more in that guise, before it was pensioned off for the Starion.

In more recent times. I think some of the ex HRT chassis run by PWR would have quite a few Bathursts on the clock, particularly chassis#42.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by emjaya

Here is a start.

Thanks mate, that's an awesome find.

[Group'C']

Originally Posted by pete60

Off the top of my head, I think the Commodore of Scotty Taylor would have to be right up there...it did 5 races as a Group C car and was then converted to Group A and did a couple more in that guise, before it was pensioned off for the Starion.

got to remember that Scotty's Commodore's first Bathurst was as a 173 powered machine in Re-Car colours , I think would have been 1980 ?

[Alan 52]

Another contender would be the BMW 635 that first appeared for the JPS team in 1985 and was sold to the Gulson's who last ran it at Bathurst in 1993 although it didn't run in at least one of those years(1987?) and failed to meet the qualification cut off in one other (1988).

[db120176]

I think quite a few XA Falcons in the 70s were upgraded through to XCs at the end of their lives (a lot also donated their running gear to XD Falcons after that). Would these count?

[racer69]

A few of the Toyota Sprinter's (like Bob Holden's) would give this record a nudge, running from 1984/85 through to 1993.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by racer69

A few of the Toyota Sprinter's (like Bob Holden's) would give this record a nudge, running from 1984/85 through to 1993.

According to the logbook, my ex-Bob Holden Sprinter did 7 Bathursts from 1986-1993, but i believe the sister car may have run every year from 1984-1994, that would make 11 starts!

[mountainstar]

I bet there were a number of 1993-94 Falcon chassis suitably upgraded from EB to EF to EL spec that finished racing Bathurst in the early part of the decade.

[Gaz170]

Gossy's Jag XJS would have to be high on the list as well.

IIRC, the car did 1980-4 and 1986. although whether it is classified as a starter for 1984 is open to interpretation.

[Wrighty05]

Don't think it was there in 1983 either.

Janson's commy would have done 5.

How about some of the MHDT hand me downs from 1980?

[6.213km]

Another one to think about would be the Gulson BMW 635i would have had a fair few starts as well. It was running around in at least 1993.... did it start life in Group C or Group A?

[db120176]

Originally Posted by 6.213km

Another one to think about would be the Gulson BMW 635i would have had a fair few starts as well. It was running around in at least 1993.... did it start life in Group C or Group A?

I think the Jim Richards 62 was a fresh car for Group A in 1985. If memory serves, the 62 that the Bavarian prince pranged at Bathurst became Neville Crichton's 31 car for that season

[pete60]

So far, I'd say it's a tie between the Gulson 635 and the Taylor Commodore with 7 each.

Gulson BMW...built new for JPS in 1986. Did '86, '87, missed '88, then '89 to'93

Taylor Commodore..... started as a 6 cylinder in 1980, ran as proper Group C for '81 to '84, then was converted to Group A and ran '85 and '86.

Next, with 6 starts, would the chassis last run by PWR at Bathurst in 2006 for Cam McConville/Greg Murphy, HRT#42. It started life in 1999 as a VT for the HRT.

If you count the aborted 1984 race ( which you really can't), the Goss Jag did 6. Really, it started 5.

There would be heaps of cars with5 starts...the ex Moffat XD run by John English, the famous rock car of Johnson rebuilt by John Donnelly and the XD of Bob Morris/Bil O'Brien would be a few. The 1980 vintage HDT Commodores would in this category too.

And I am sure Janson ran in a brand new Commodore in 1984.

[pete60]

Sorry David, just read your post. Add the Bob Holden Sprinter to the 7 list.

And who can help with the claim about 11 starts? That seems extraordinary!

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by pete60

So far, I'd say it's a tie between the Gulson 635 and the Taylor Commodore with 7 each.

Taylor Commodore..... started as a 6 cylinder in 1980, ran as proper Group C for '81 to '84, then was converted to Group A and ran '85 and '86.

There is no way a VB could be converted to the VK's "6 window" design for Group A. More likely the running gear got moved into a new shell... so the 2x Group A starts perhaps dont count?

[pete60]

Sorry for 3 posts in a row! A bit more info..

According to my Great Race books..

There were no Holden Corolla Sprinters in the 1994 race.

The 1993 race had one, and the commentary makes note of the fact that this car was starting its 10th Bathurst!! It was driven by Dennis Rogers and Peter Hopwood. Sounds like the sister car to yours.

BUT..the 1987, 1990 and 1991 books shows only one Holden Sprinter entered (or in the case of 1991 actually starting). The 1987 Sprinter was the car which started in 1984, with the other car as a T car. So, David, did your car actually do the 1987, 1990 and 1991 races? If so, the other car can't have done 10.

[Group'C']

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

There is no way a VB could be converted to the VK's "6 window" design for Group A. More likely the running gear got moved into a new shell... so the 2x Group A starts perhaps dont count?

You are wrong here GTR Magic a VB is quite easily converted to to VK, as easy as fitting 2 new rear quarters !! easier than building new shells.
I personally know that this job was done on the Scotty Taylor VB.

Some even put VL rear quarters on as well (with the little rear tail upturn)

I think you will find a few shells had this conversion done

No different from a VN/P to VS conversion plus with this job you had to do the dash mounting brackets as well not like the Gardner crew who just added the VS dash on to the VN/P mounts and got a very high dash witch Wayne had a bit of trouble looking over - took a little while to work out why he couldn't see the front of the car

[pete60]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

There is no way a VB could be converted to the VK's "6 window" design for Group A. More likely the running gear got moved into a new shell... so the 2x Group A starts perhaps dont count?

There was a way! The Barry Naismith "Bathurst 1985" reports the conversion being done by John Bourke in Gosford.

It was done for a number of other cars in 1985.. the Ray Ellis ex Keogh ex HDT car, the Kavich ex Roadways car and the Cullen/Roadways T car, crashed by Grice, which was the 1984 Cullen Group C car.

[racer69]

Where do the Cotter/Doulman M3s fit into this?

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by pete60

Sorry for 3 posts in a row! A bit more info..

According to my Great Race books..

There were no Holden Corolla Sprinters in the 1994 race.

The 1993 race had one, and the commentary makes note of the fact that this car was starting its 10th Bathurst!! It was driven by Dennis Rogers and Peter Hopwood. Sounds like the sister car to yours.

BUT..the 1987, 1990 and 1991 books shows only one Holden Sprinter entered (or in the case of 1991 actually starting). The 1987 Sprinter was the car which started in 1984, with the other car as a T car. So, David, did your car actually do the 1987, 1990 and 1991 races? If so, the other car can't have done 10.

Hi Pete, my car didn't go to Bathurst in 1990 and wasn't logbooked until 1986, so therefore it must have been the T-car in 1987, which means it passed scrutineering and practiced, but did not take part in the race. Also, my car was run by Adrian Brooke in 1991 & 1992 and Mal Rea in 1993.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by racer69

Where do the Cotter/Doulman M3s fit into this?

Good question. Where they the 1987 JPS cars or the new B&H & Diet Coke ones built in the early '90s?

[Wrighty05]

Originally Posted by DAVID PATERSON

Good question. Where they the 1987 JPS cars or the new B&H & Diet Coke ones built in the early '90s?

I reckon they bought them off the Brock operation. Brock used ex JPS ones didn't he?

[racer69]

He did, but weren't the first two he ran in 1988 for him & Richards unraced, the third car used later in the year by Neil Crompton being one of the 'raced' JPS cars from the year before?

Either way Cotter & Doulman started running them in 1989, and presumebly kept the same cars until the end of 1994 (by then converted to 2L specs), though usually only the one of them ran at Bathurst.