This weekend is the Bathurst 1000. That means that the TV will be monopolized by the man of the house, and every time the ads start playing there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. If you are Australian I have no need to elaborate. I could just say ‘Bathurst’ and you would likely know what I mean.
To those of you unfamiliar with it, Bathurst is the site of a mythical place where Ford and Holden fans come together in brotherhood to denigrate the others choice of car, watch those cars race, and drink copious amounts of alcohol. Ford versus Holden. An Australian tradition.
The Argus 24 Nov 1937 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11126773
The race is over 1000km on the Mount Panorama track in Bathurst, New South Wales. The track is just over 6km long and, as it is a public road, it is open to the public on non-race days, although there is a strict speed limit. There are many other races held there over the course of the year, for many other types of vehicle (the 12 hour race probably being the other most well-known race), but this weekend it will just be the V8 supercars. The prize money will be far more than that awarded in 1938 when they first started racing there though!
This weekend, especially on Sunday, car lovers will gather in sheds and lounge-rooms across the country, huddling around their televisions, within reach of a cold one. Many people watch for the love of racing, many watch for the Ford/Holden rivalry. Lots of us however, (me included) watch in the hopes that it rains and there will be lots of crashes.
If you want to see Fabian Coulthard totally destroy his car on the first lap last year, then stroll off waving have a look at;
GO FORD!!
