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Bathurst 1000: Mount Panorama is calling for another great Sunday
Duncan Perkinson • October 8th, 2025 9:13 am
Photo: Clay Cross/Photosport
The Bathurst 1000 is the Melbourne Cup and the Super Bowl all rolled into one - it is the premier event on the Australian motor racing calendar and all the action revs up this Thursday.
Up the mountain, on the run past McPhillamy to Skyline, round Forrest’s Elbow, put the foot down to 300 kms/hour on Conrod straight, hit the brakes at Murrays Corner. It is the event that V8 fans mark on their calendar as soon as the date is announced.
There are practise sessions on Thursday as well as on Friday morning with the qualifying for the race on Friday afternoon. The top 10 drivers from Friday’s qualifying then all have one flying lap on Saturday afternoon in The Top 10 shootout.
The race itself starts at 1:45pm (NZ time) on Sunday.
Historically, it was a 500-mile event when the idea was first conceived, but in 1963, the race moved permanently to Mount Panorama, and in 1973 became the 1000 kms motor racing fans know and love today.
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Seasoned Bathurst fans will tell you that form leading into the race, only counts for so much as the Great Race can throw up the unexpected at any moment.
There are always crashes, safety cars and trouble in pit lane - but in recent years, there have been kangaroos on the track, a crumbling road surface, rain, thunder or just running out of fuel on the last lap when leading. At Bathurst, always expect the unexpected.
The race is 161 laps and last year’s race was the first time it has been completed in less than six hours.
Drivers are competing to win the Peter Brock Trophy, named in honour of one of Australia motor racing’s greatest ever drivers - Peter Brock, (or Peter Perfect as he was known) won Bathurst a record nine times.
Over the last few years, New Zealanders have performed strongly at Bathurst.
Scott McLaughlin won the race in 2019, driving the DJR Team Penske Falcon.
Shane van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway winning the 2023 Bathurst | Photo: EDGE Photographics
Shane van Gisbergen has won the Great Race three times (2020, 2022 and 2023) and his most recent win was with compatriot Richie Stanaway to become the Kiwi Kings of the Mountain.
Stanaway is one of six New Zealanders who will be competing in the 2025 race.
Bathurst is a co-driving race, and the right teammate is important to success. There has been a change to the regulations this year where the co-driver must complete 60 laps, up from 54 in previous years.
Stanaway’s co-driver is Nash Morris, whose father Paul Morris famously won Bathurst in 2014, having started the race at the back of the grid.
While Stanaway is a previous Bathurst winner, his form this season has been patchy and New Zealand’s leading contenders for this year’s race are Ryan Wood and Matt Payne who have both been competing at the pointy end of the field throughout the season.
Matt Payne is second in the championship and will co-drive with vastly experienced, five-time Bathurst champion, Garth Tander.
Ryan Wood is currently eighth in the championship and will drive with Jayden Ojeda, who has finished in the Top 10 at Bathurst over the past two years.
Andre Heimgartner and Jaxon Evans have battled through the season and neither driver have great records at Bathurst. Since 2014, Heimgartner has failed to finish six times.
Heimgartner partners with Declan Fraser while Jaxon Evans drives with Jack Smith.
Fabian Coulthard will be the co-driver for Chaz Mostert and the experienced pair are one of the favoured teams.
The race is now just a few days away and motorsport fans across New Zealand and Australia, like myself, have already blocked out their Sunday with excitement as the countdown continues.
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