OPINION: The Bathurst 1000 is one of the most iconic yearly motorsport events in the world.
Some of the world’s best have been conquered by the daunting Mount Panorama circuit that was originally built as a tourist scenic drive attraction in 1938.
But 1960 saw a turning point in Australasia motorsport, when the first 'Great Race' was held on the now 6.21km track.
The Armstrong 500 was won by John Roxburgh and Frank Coad in a Vauxhall Cresta in a little more than eight hours.
Since then, thousands have arrived at Bathurst with visions of motorsport glory, including Formula One greats, Indycar veterans and European touring car champions.
Names like Kiwi legend Denny Hulme, three-time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, Le Mans winners Earl Bamber, Tom Walkinshaw and Emanuelle Pirro, and ex-Formula One drivers Christian Klien and Alexander Rossi among the many humbled by the Mountain.
But there are a select few who have tamed Bathurst - at least temporarily - etching their names in motorsport folklore.
Here’s the Bathurst 100 Hall of Fame:
1. Peter Brock
The GOAT. 'Peter Perfect' is the idol of many drivers who steer the Supercars of the modern era.
Brock tragically lost his life in a 2006 rally accident, but continues to live on, thanks to the Peter Brock Trophy - awarded to winners of the Bathurst race.
Brock won nine times in total and six in seven years from 1978-84. His last win came in 1987, but he continued to be competitive through the 1990s, almost cracking double-figures on a couple of occasions, until his last race in 2004.
Truly the 'King of the Mountain'.
2. Craig Lowndes
Lowndes was given his first Bathurst drive by close friend and mentor Brock. That 1994 drive set the tone for what was to come, with the likable Aussie going razor close to beating the pairing of Dick Johnson and John Bowe.
He would win the race for the first time two years later, teamed with Kiwi Greg Murphy, as they became the youngest winning pair in Bathurst history - a record that still stands today.
More than 25 years later, Lowndes is still going strong and can move within one of Brock, if he and Jamie Whincup can pilot car 88 to victory on Sunday.
Lowndes won four 1000s in five years from 2006-10, and then twice with Steven Richards in 2015 and 2018.
With another couple of co-drives likely in the next few years, Lowndes could go close to the perfect 10.
3. Jim Richards
'Gentleman Jim' played the role of co-driver to Brock in the late 1970s, winning three straight 1000s with the ‘King’.
Strangely, the Kiwi flew under the radar in New Zealand during a stellar career that spanned three decades and seven victories at the Mount.
Richards was the key figure in the two-year dominance of the Nissan GTR in the early 1990s and then teamed up with great mate Mark Skaife to win his final 1000 in 2002.
4. Allan Moffat
The Canadian native won his first Bathurst title in 1970 in a Ford Falcon and then claimed the very first 1000km edition of the race in 1973.
Had a decade-long rivalry with Brock that Moffat dominated in the early stages, before Holden found reliability in the mid-1970s.
His last win in 1977 produced an iconic Bathurst moment and arguably the greatest moment for Ford in Australian motorsport history, orchestrating a team 1-2, when he was partnered by the great Jacky Ickx.
5. Mark Skaife
Skaife was part of two of the most dominant eras in Australian motorsport history - 1990-92 with Nissan, and as lead driver and part-owner of the Holden Racing Team (later HSV) from 2000-09.
In all Skaife won two 1000s in the GTR and four with Holden - his last alongside Lowndes with Triple Eight in 2009 in his second-to-last Bathurst. He finished second a year later.
Skaife was also somewhat of a pole master - second all-time behind, you guessed it, Brock.
Honorable mentions:
Six wins - Larry Perkins
Five wins - Steven Richards
Four wins - Jamie Whincup, Greg Murphy, Harry Firth, Bob Jane
Three wins - Dick Johnson
Brad Lewis is a Newshub online producer
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