The weather was absolutely dreadful. I went on the Saturday only. We left Sydney early Saturday morning and drove directly to the track we arrived around lunch time had a walk around the pit area and watched most of the afternoon racing from the rooftop viewing area above the pits.
With the weather being heavy rain crowds were at a minimum, there was plenty of room to get a good view, queues to bathrooms and food facilities were non-existent. You could have camped there if you wished as well.
http://bathurstmotorfestival.com.au/event-info/race-track-map
The main reason I wanted to go was because the Heritage touring car class of about 40 cars, was racing throughout the weekend as well as the Group N historic touring cars.
The Heritage Touring Cars did 3, 25-minute races across the Easter weekend and in particular for the Heritage touring cars there was a strong field of sierra cosworth's and the R30 / 31 and R32 skylines, including Jim Richards famous red R32.
Within the sierra field there was one of the Dick Johnson's famous Shell Ford Sierras that has had a recent restoration.
Victorian driver Chris Stillwell recently purchased the Ford Sierra RS500 its the first time in 2 decades that the car has raced.
It was the last of six Sierras built by Dick Johnson’s Queensland-based team, Stillwell’s car competed at Bathurst in the hands of Dick Johnson and co-driver John Bowe in 1990 and 1991.
Dick Johnson drove it in the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship before it also took part in the infamous wet 1992 Bathurst 1000 raced by Terry Shiel and Greg Crick and driven in practice by a
very young Cameron McConville.
The car was sold to Western Australia when Australian touring car racing went back to a Holden versus Ford V8 format for the 1993 season.
RS500 engine notice the unique fuel regulator and twin row of injectors that are only in the RS500's. It is also running adjustable cam wheels and brace which are not standard features.
This is the ex-Colin Bond RS500 Sierra Cosworth in Caltex livery, it is currently owned by Rod and Craig Markland.
And there was a recent segment that aired on 'CarTorque' which is an Australian TV show, where the take the car through its paces.
The racecar was built up by Colin Bond in 1992 for the Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst. Open-wheeler driver John Smith joined Bond as co-driver for Bathurst with the car adopting Bond’s familiar #8 The cosworth only lasted seven laps in the race when the oil pressure dropped and they had to head to the pits. It was pushed into the garage for repair and the Sierra was put to one side
The racecar was built up by Colin Bond in 1992 for the Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst. Open-wheeler driver John Smith joined Bond as co-driver for Bathurst with the car adopting Bond’s familiar #8 The cosworth only lasted seven laps in the race when the oil pressure dropped and they had to head to the pits. It was pushed into the garage for repair and the Sierra was put to one side
Holden sandman panel vans and a falcon panelvan as well.
XF Ford Falcon
This looked like a Holden Commodore VK possibly from the silhouette, with a massive rear under car diffuser
Alfa Romeo GTV
Mk1 Pre facelift ford capri with the ultimate in car transport, the car sat above and below. This was B-double sized trailer.
Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000 2 door
Perkins Holden Commodore
R30 and R31 Nissan Skylines
Rear of the Dick Johnson Ford Sierra Cosworth
Lineup of the earlier ford falcon AU's and Holdern Commodore class
Mazda rx7 in the Heritage class
Bond / Smith Sierra Cosworth RS500
Jim Richards BMW 320 touring car and mk1 ford escort heading into the pits
One of the other Sierra's and skylines in full flight over the starting line
The 240T was the first turbocharged car and the first-ever Swedish car to win the ATCC, if it was the same car as what Robbie Francevic drove it was also the first car that John Bowe made his championship debut in.
The 240T raced in New Zealand and Oz from 1985-86.
This is another video of the Colin Bond Sierra Cosworth from within the car on the day.
FJ20 Nissan Skyline
Crazy bunch of banana's race tuned length extractors on the twin cam turbo engine
Mach 1 fastback mustang and Ford Falcon XYGT
Mk1 Ford Cortina Lotus in full flight
For accomodation we stayed at Blayney just between Orange and Bathurst, and also spent the morning in historic town of Millthorpe
The accomodation was basic but very cheap and a pleasant drive just out of Bathurst.
http://blayneyleumeahmotel.com/
We had also previousl;y stayed at Millthorpe which is 3.5 hours from Sydney and Canberra, 30 minutes from Bathurst and 20 minutes from Orange which makes an ideal weekend getaway.
http://www.cheneyvale.com.au/
I spotted this immaculate BSA motorbike in Millthorpe because of its ideal roads and picturesque location its an ideal stop for riders and I saw a few groups during the day.
We stopped and had a look at Yuranighs Aboriginal Grave (Historic Site) on the way as well.
It had traditional carvings and a brief story on the history of the local.
From Orange we continued onto Mudgee and stoped for lunch at a craft beer pub and had a look through the township
For us this completed a loop from Sydney to Bathurst to Blayney to Millthorpe through Orange then Mudgee back to Sydney
The scenery on the way back was stunning as the sun set
Rolling hills on way from Orange to Mudgee
Overall the Bathurst Motor Festival was a great weekend dampened by the weather but definitely worth a look for the Historic and Heritage class cars series.
