Looking back at some retro Australian race transporters across four decades of the Great Race

The 2021 Repco Bathurst 1000 is cranking up, with the Supercars hitting the track this afternoon for a crucial qualifying session. Today, we’ll get a true indication of who’s struck a balanced setup for a flying lap around Mount Panorama Circuit. It’s a gripping race against the clock that’s made many a hero over the top of the mountain.

Tradition means a lot at the Bathurst 1000, with today’s talented steerers following in the footsteps of the Australasian motorsport legends of the past. A lot has changed since big fields of barely modified road cars competed for 500 miles in a race that meant everything to the brands that built them. It’s a different sport today, but Bathurst is still the biggest race in Australian motorsport by the length of Conrod Straight.

Off the track, the transporters have changed a fair bit, too. We covered the early days of purpose-built race transporters in a story for Classics Week back on October. But for this gallery, we’re going to start in the 1980s, with Group A racing at its peak and the professionalism of Australian motorsport growing by the year.

But before we launch into this gallery, we must say another big thank you to Mike Cornwall for giving us permission to share his photos. Mike’s race transporter photo collection is unmatched, and his Flickr page documents decades of Australasian motorsport transporters, as well as buses, trucks and ships of the past and present. Check out his full collection of race transporter photos here.

1987 – Peter Jackson Nissan Racing

We’re starting off in 1987, with the all-Nissan rig of Peter Jackson Nissan Racing. This Bathurst 1000 is remembered for some wild in-car footage of Glenn Seton sliding his Nissan Skyline across the top of the mountain, as well as the disqualification of the dominant Texaco-backed Ford Sierras.

This transporter carted the Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Skylines to Bathurst, which ran well all day, and placed 2nd and 3rd in the revised finishing order.

1990 – Alf Grant Racing

A seriously nostalgic sponsor appeared on the Alf Grant Racing Scania transporter for the Great Race in 1990. This one carted the Sizzler-backed Nissan Skyline of Alf and Tim Grant, which whetted plenty of appetites, but only completed 65 laps of Mount Panorama Circuit on an overcast Sunday on the New South Wales Central Tablelands.

1991 – Dick Johnson Racing

Dick Johnson’s squad represented the Mack Trucks brand in the early 1990s. Here’s the team’s classic R-Model Mack in the paddock for the 1991 Tooheys 1000, pulling Johnson’s aging race trailer that he’d replace a few years later.

It was an unsuccessful outing for the popular Queensland squad, with both Shell Ford Sierras failing to see the finish.

1995 – Larkham Motor Sport

Mark Larkham went all guns blazing into his debut season in the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1995, building some new innovations into his EF Falcon. However, Larkham’s machine didn’t deliver on its potential, with mechanical issues plaguing his Mitre 10-backed entry. At that year’s Tooheys 1000, the car only completed 22 laps before retiring with an engine issue.

This is the all-Ford arrangement that got Larkham’s equipment to Bathurst, with a Ford Aeromax doing the hard work up front.

2001 – Garry Rogers Motorsport

Here’s the Garry Rogers Motorsport Freightliner rig during the 2001 Bathurst 1000 transporter parade. Once this transporter delivered the Valvoline-backed VX Commodores to their destination, Garth Tander and Jason Bargwanna finished in a strong 6th place, while a steering failure ruled out the #35 entry of Leanne Ferrier (now Tander) and Paul Dumbrell.

2003 – Perkins Engineering

We couldn’t hit publish on a Bathurst 1000 gallery without featuring a Perkins Engineering rig. This one got the Castrol Commodores to Bathurst in 2003, and Mike Cornwall managed to snap the Mack Vision-led B-Double rounding a corner during the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 transporter parade.

The Castrol cars were still very competitive in the early 2000s. Larry Perkins and Steven Richards placed 4th after 161 laps, while Paul Dumbrell and Tomas Mezera were scored in 14th place at the chequered flag.

2004 – K-Mart Racing Team

The K-Mart Racing V8 Commodores were a force to be reckoned with in the early 2000s. Greg Murphy punched in his ‘laps of the gods’ at Bathurst in 2003 and then won the race with Rick Kelly the following day. The pairing then backed up to win it again in 2004. The K-Mart team had one of the biggest transporters in pit lane at the time; a Freightliner Argosy pulling a B-Double race trailer set for the rapid #51 and #15 Holden Commodores.

2005 – Triple Eight Race Engineering

Triple Eight Race Engineering found its feet in the mid-2000s, and Scania power pulled the Queensland-based Betta Electrical Ford Falcons around Australia in 2005. The #88 Ford Falcon in the back of this transporter ended up on the podium that year, while Craig Lowndes and Yvan Muller were classified in 14th place after qualifying on pole.

2006 – Toll HSV Dealer Team

The Toll HSV Dealer Team depended on a Kenworth prime mover back in 2006. Mike Cornwall captured the spectacular orange B-Double configuration parked up in the Bathurst paddock, having delivered the #15 and #16 VZ Commodores to the 6.2-kilometre circuit.

The #15 car went oh so close to claiming the victory in the wake of Peter Brock’s passing, chasing the #888 car of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup all the way home. The #16 entry didn’t fare as well, with Anthony Tratt crashing out on lap 93.

2007 – Holden Racing Team

A Freightliner Argosy carted the equipment for the front-running Holden Racing Team back in 2007. This rig was hard to miss on the road, and the equipment inside represented the biggest hope for Holden fans at Bathurst that year.

However, in a wild finish, Mark Skaife clouted the wall at the top of the mountain, leaving the #22 Commodore of Glenn Seton and Nathan Pretty to fly the HRT flag just outside the top-10 at the completion of the race.

2008 – Paul Morris Motorsport

Paul Morris entered two cars in the 2008 Bathurst 1000, and depended on Kenworth power to pull them there in his Sirromet and Supercheap Auto-branded B-Double. Inside the B-trailer was the #39 Holden VE Commodore of Russell Ingall and Paul Morris, and the #67 entry of international pairing, Matt Neal and Boris Said.

Morris’ team had a tough race, and the transporter headed for home with two cars in need of a tune-up for the following round on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

2011 – Ford Performance Racing

Ford Performance Racing was two years away from a Bathurst 1000 breakthrough back in 2011. Their Western Star-led race transporter rolled into Bathurst that year with the #5 and #6 FG Falcons on board. Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards finished just shy of a podium at the conclusion of 1000 kilometres, while Will Davison and Luke Youlden placed 18th in the sister entry.

If you prefer the rigs rolling between racing circuits in the present day, make sure you check out our Tuesday Bathurst gallery from the lens of Ross Gibb Photography.

We’ve got plenty more Bathurst 1000 transporter coverage to come this weekend. Don’t miss a diesel monster on our Australian Facebook and Instagram accounts.