2000 FAI 1000

Central West NSW had suffered a deluge of rain in the week leading up to the 2000 Bathurst 1000. Both Thursday practice sessions were cancelled, with only pre-qualifying taking place. With a grid capacity of 55 and a field of 56, only one car was cut from the field – Trevor Crittenden Motorsport's Kiwi pairing of Chris Butler and Miles Pope were the unlucky team having suffered electrical problems; their blue-and-white Holden Commodore VS only completed 200m of its out lap, and despite a battery change did not set a time. Practice Three did take place, and proved eventful with crashes for both Adam Wallis in Ross Halliday's Ford Falcon EL at the Chase, and Dean Lindstrom in the second Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore VS having aquaplaned on Mountain Straight.

The circuit dried enough for slicks by Friday Qualifying. Championship leader Mark Skaife set the benchmark with a 2:11.8882, one-tenth of a second faster than Paul Radisich from Dick Johnson Racing. Privateer Mick Donaher in the lead Clive Wiseman car had led early in the session with rain threatening, and ended the session a remarkable 14th. A number of high-profile drivers were affected by traffic in the session, with Russell Ingall earning a AU$10,000 fine and a verbal quarrel with privateer cult-hero Richard Mork for his blunt summation of the situation.

The Top 10 Shootout was held on Saturday morning, the last morning Shootout before a switch to a Top 15 Shootout held in the afternoon from 2001. 1987 500cc motorcycle World Champion Wayne Gardner took pole in the second Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon AU in an all-Ford front row, as Steven Johnson lined up alongside him despite setting a time over a second slower. Skaife in third was the only Holden driver to set a representative time as Todd Kelly, Russell Ingall and Garth Tander all went off the circuit on their timed laps.

First half

Gardner led a 53-car grid off the start. Alan Heath's Power Racing Falcon failed to start the race having blown an engine in the warm-up, whereas the second Paul Morris Motorsport Commodore of Owen Kelly started from the pits with an unidentified problem in the rear end. Having completed a lap, Kelly returned to the garage to retire the car having discovered a broken axle. Radisich jumped a row on the start and finished the opening lap in the top three.

The wet conditions remained steady and, having toyed with a Safety Car start, the race began normally. After only a handful of laps were completed, Steven Ellery slid off the track at the Chase and beached his Falcon on a kerb, resulting in the first Safety Car of the day. Upon race resumption, Craig Lowndes passed both DJR cars to move into second.

Tony Longhurst had started the race in seventh but spun out of the penultimate corner, and having pitted to check for damage came out in 52nd. Newly-crowned V8 Lites champion Dean Canto was tackling his second Bathurst 1000 aboard a self-run ex-Paul Weel Racing Falcon, but his campaign was curtailed early with power steering issues.

The leaders began to lap the backmarkers and Radisich mistimed a move on Shane Howison in the minnow South Pacific Motor Racing Commodore, clipping the front-left and sustaining minor damage. Another privateer, Rod Nash, brought out the second Safety Car inside 15 laps having stopped at the Cutting with a radiator full of mud – the Commodore driver had gone off in the Chase less than a lap prior.

Nash's team-mate Cameron McConville almost made it double-trouble for the team after the restart, as he was tagged by Mick Donaher on the exit of the Chase and made a trip through the gravel trap. Greg Ritter and Peter Doulman were not so lucky a few laps later; Ritter had bombed down the inside of the Colourscan Racing Falcon at the Chase and hit Doulman, resulting in both getting stuck in the mud and a third Safety Car. Both drivers returned to the circuit with assistance, but the Ritter and co-driver Tim Leahey's day in the second Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore was over having overheated. Both DJR Falcons took the opportunity for an early stop, with Brad Jones Racing gambling on slick tyres for Tomas Mezera.

The Jones' move looked to be the right one as the circuit dried out after the restart. Cameron McLean was now aboard the #17 and nearly blotted his copybook by clouting the wall at Quarry Corner. Lowndes passed Gardner for the lead as the pit-stop cycle continued, with DJR making a second stop for slicks. The rear bumper on Rod Salmon's Falcon flew off as he made his first stop.

As drivers adapted to slicks, a number of drivers went off. Both Rodney Forbes and Yvan Muller had excursions through the mud at the Chase, as did Ryan McLeod in the Chiko car at Hell Corner. McLeod rejoined around debutant James Brock, who ran wide and perilously close to the wall at Griffins Bend seconds later.

After his co-drivers' incident in the Chase earlier in the week, Ross Halliday's weekend was finished off after Forbes turned him into the inside wall at Forrest's Elbow, bringing out another Safety Car. Perkins alleged that Greg Murphy had passed him under yellow flags, but no penalty was forthcoming and the Kiwi was held up by Steve Owen over Skyline on the restart.

Then all hell broke loose. Neal Bates in the former race-leading Gardner car was punted off at McPhillamy Park by Greg Crick, the Tasmanian having attempted a pass. Simultaneously, Anthony Tratt ran up the back of McLeod under the bridge at pit entry and pushed the Commodore into the outside wall. Bates returned to the circuit for the restart, but pulled off at the paddock entry gate on Mountain Straight with clutch failure.

The rain returned around lap 50, but was restricted to a drizzle over the top of the mountain. Murphy brought his Gibson Motorsport Commodore in with overheating issues – hoses and buckets of water were poured over the Holden V8 in an attempt to cool it down and returned to the circuit.

The battle for third between Perkins, Alain Menu and Neil Crompton closed up, with Ellery trying to unlap himself in the process. Having passed Menu, Ellery then spun into the tyres at Forrest's Elbow. Greg Crick dropped a wheel off the edge of the circuit at the exit of Hell Corner, pirouetting multiple times and getting bogged in the infield whilst trying to turn around. Veteran privateers Steve Reed and Trevor Ashby retired from the race with a hole in the radiator.

The Lansvale Smash Repairs team then suffered another setback as Phillip Scifleet in the second car spun through the run-off at the Chase, caking his Commodore in mud. Simultaneously, Doulman spun his Commodore on the entry to Sulman Park, but kept the car off the wall – and with the combination of those two plus Greg Crick, the Safety Car had to come out. Larkham Motorsport foreshadowed the caution and brought Menu in for a brake change, the first of the race.

Out-of-contract Crompton seized the initiative on the restart, passing Perkins for third. The move proved well-timed as Jason Plato in the second Holden Racing Team Commodore became the latest victim of the mud at the Chase a lap later, necessitating another Safety Car. Following Menu's lead, both DJR cars and Paul Morris pitted for brakes.

Morris' strategy play was then bungled on the restart after the Sieders' father-and-son entry tangled with him on the run up Mountain Straight, the privateer Falcon spinning into the inside wall. Whilst the car was far enough off the circuit to keep the race green, the respite only lasted a lap before Queenslander Ian Moncrieff ended his and Dean Canto's already troubled day by hitting the wall on the outside of Hell Corner. Skaife and Tander took the opportunity to fit new brakes, elevating Crompton to the lead.

Ellery unlapped himself from second-placed Perkins when the race resumed. Despite his earlier incident with McLeod, Tratt had crept into the top 5 and then passed Menu at Murrays Corner for P4. Brett Peters in the Colourscan car then blew a tyre entering the Chase, and Rodney Crick hit the wall at Forrest's Elbow in the Imrie Motorsport Commodore having made side-to-side contact with Tander as the GRM driver lapped him.

Matthew White was the next driver to get bogged at the Chase, requiring another Safety Car. Crompton and Perkins made their second stops, but Ellery could not capitalise as he was forced to come in a number of laps earlier – ending his chances of returning to the lead lap. Menu and Mark Larkham's strong run ended prematurely with a power steering fluid leak.

Murphy now led the race from Nathan Pretty in the Holden Young Lions car, but the latter was immediately shuffled back by Radisich and stablemate Lowndes – the latter making a risky dive at Murrays Corner. Lowndes then pushes on and passes Radisich down Conrod Straight. Longhurst, fighting back from his earlier spin, lunged down the inside of Glenn Seton at Hell Corner but ran wide and lost a position to the second Lansvale car.

Rodney Forbes became another driver to spin under the bridge on pit entry, but continued on. Pretty continued to sink through the field, falling to ninth before making a stop. Larkham returned to the track, albeit 5 laps down.

Second half

Steve Johnson passed Brad Jones for fourth at halfway. A slew of mechanical issues then followed – Ingall brought his traditionally-bulletproof Perkins Engineering Commodore into the pits with engine issues, as did Paul Stokell in Ellery's Ford. The second Lansvale car also pitted with coolant thundering out.

Lowndes stormed past Murphy for the lead on lap 87, with Murphy making a stop on the same lap and handing over to Steven Richards. The defending winners received no respite from their overheating issues; the Kmart Commodore was allegedly running at 120°C and their dumping of water into the engine bay was attracting the ire of race control for potentially creating a safety hazard. Whilst the pit-lane was drenched, the circuit was the driest it had been all week as the rain had finally stopped.

Jason Bargwanna made a daring move on Brad Jones for fifth at Sulman Park after the OzEmail Falcon lost traction in a puddle. Jones made a scheduled stop at the end of the lap, handing back over to Mezera. The stop proved another well-timed one as Doulman's second spin at Sulman Park wasn't as fortunate as the last, heavily clouting the concrete causing the races' 10th Safety Car. Johnson, Andrew Miedecke and Jim Richards all made pit-stops and driver changes under the caution.

Lowndes pulled away from the field when racing resumed. Radisich in second was held up by his compatriots in the Team Kiwi Racing Commodore, with Bargwanna and Seton closing up to him. Rain returned to the top of the mountain as the 100-lap mark approached, and a cautious Yvan Muller was quickly monstered by McLean, Dugal McDougall, Tratt, John Bowe and Mezera. Radisich and Bargwanna then stopped, handing over to their respective co-drivers – but Tander in the Valvoline Commodore was able to adapt to cold slicks on a damp track faster than Jason Bright, rounding up the CART hopeful at Reid Park.

The rain increased, and Steven Richards passed Seton at the Chase for second – and was soon followed by McLean. McDougall, Bowe and Mezera engaged in an aggressive scrap for fifth; Bowe almost punting the Pepsi Commodore off at the Chase before Mezera slipped past the pair of them at Murrays.

Lowndes completed his last stint as a HRT driver and handed over to Skaife on lap 103 – despite the increase in rain, the circuit was still dry enough for slicks. Muller in the other HRT car cut across the Chase again whilst the Sieders family destroyed a splitter on the exit of Hell Corner; having already broken one inside the first 20 laps and with none left they were forced to complete the race with what they already had. Problems for the privateers persisted as Mal Rose came in with a puncture.

Jason Richards found the sandtrap at the Chase in the TKR car. A Safety Car was called and Seton pitted, handing over to Crompton and overcutting both Skaife and Tander. Steven Richards led but immediately came under attack from McLean; the DJR driver was blocked from making the move into Hell Corner but edged his way into the lead at Griffins Bend. Ingall, now three laps down, began assaulting the overheating Gibson car with Bowe in third closing up.

Crompton needed to make ground with Skaife pressuring him. The driver/commentator attempted to lap Matt Neal in Paul Morris' Commodore at the Chase, but was blocked and lost ground – a lap later, he lunged past Neal at Murrays. The Briton, unimpressed by his treatment, then cut across the track and bombed down the inside of the Falcon at Hell Corner, causing Skaife to swerve out of the way and tag Crompton into a spin. The factory Ford lost its front bumper having run over the pit exit bollards, whilst Skaife drove away with a rubbing right-rear tyre. Tander, who had been following closely behind, had managed to just evade the mess and overtake both.

The rain was now starting to fall heavier. John Faulkner ran wide briefly on the exit of Hell Corner. Crompton, having already lost significant time bringing his Falcon back to the pits, chose to fit wet tyres along with a new front bar. Bowe meanwhile lost his right-rear wheel altogether coming into McPhillamy Park, but managed to complete the lap and fit a replacement.

The aftermath of the Neal incident continued to unravel as Skaife's rubbing tyre shredded and took the sill panel with it. Having stopped to rectify the damage, the HRT Commodore was back in the lane two laps later for wet tyres as the circuit became soaked across the top – and shortly after he was followed by the leaders. The Safety Car then came out for the twelfth time as several cars fell foul of the conditions. Yvan Muller became bogged in the mud-pit at the Chase and was joined by the second Sieders car of Robert Russell and Steve Coulter, whilst Neil Schembri had aquaplaned off the top of the mountain into the sandtrap at the Esses. Despite all his earlier dramas, Longhurst was now sitting third – but a brief fuel fire when he made his stop for wets was yet another unneeded setback for the Stone Brothers Racing crew.

The Safety Car stayed out for an extended period to clear the stuck cars. DJR brought both cars in to put their regular drivers back behind the wheel. When the race returned to green, Matt Neal was brought in to serve a 60-second stop-go penalty for causing the incident at Hell Corner. Tander now led the race with championship rival Skaife caught nearly a lap down – but the HRT drivers' task was made easier when Menu became yet another victim of the muddy quagmire at the Chase, causing the races' thirteenth Safety Car.

The race restarted with 33 laps remaining. Tander led Longhurst, Todd Kelly in the Young Lions entry, Murphy and Christian Murchison running a remarkable fifth on debut in the second Perkins car. Kelly attacked Longhurst entering Hell Corner, but the 1988 winner took the hurry-along and passed a tentative Tander for the lead at Griffins Bend. Due to the earlier fire however, Longhurst would need to make another stop whereas the others were touch-and-go.

Murchison and co-driver Luke Youlden's dream run came to an abrupt halt with a broken rocker arm, yet another mechanical failure for the perennially reliable Perkins team. Drama for the young guns continued as Kelly locked the rear brakes and spun his Commodore at Murrays Corner, allowing Murphy onto the podium. Muller's eventful day continued when he spun Faulkner at Hell Corner not long after.

The rain stopped and the track began to dry again. Brad Jones passed Darren Hossack in the second Gibson Commodore for fifth before Radisich and Johnson blew by the pair of them having restarted eighth and ninth. Alan Jones in the Paul Little Racing Falcon started having throttle sensor issues in 14th and ultimately retired from the race not long after.

Rose stopped on the exit of the Cutting as a dry line emerged. DJR, gambling on a Safety Car, brought both cars in for slicks. Rose managed to get going again, but the already rapid pace of the Shell Falcons had improved with the change to slicks and the rest of the field took their lead – a get-out-of-jail-free scenario for Longhurst and rookie co-driver David Besnard. Tander and Murphy attempted the overcut on the field by staying out a lap longer, but were unsuccessful – Murphy beating Tander out of the pits for second.

Lap times began to tumble as the slicks bedded in. Hossack and McDougall stayed out banking on track position and more rain, but their wet tyres couldn't handle the developing conditions and both made late stops – costing them significant time. Tander then passed Murphy for second with 17 laps to go; the Gibson car unable to put up a fight after its race-long overheating issues.

Craig Harris and Stephen Voight retired with an engine failure just over 100km from the finish. Radisich was setting 2:16 lap times and was rapidly catching Murphy, but the Kiwi-Croat spun Jason Richards around at Forrest's Elbow. 'The Rat' escaped unscathed and thundered past Murphy not long after, whilst Richards was left to complete a risky three-point turn before continuing. Having earlier lost his right-rear wheel, Bowe then lost his left-rear wheel after the rear suspension in the PAE Motorsport Falcon collapsed with just over 10 laps to go.

Disaster struck Longhurst with the finish in sight. Approaching Forrest's Elbow, he attempted to lap Adam Macrow but clouted the John Faulkner Racing Commodore, breaking the front-right suspension arms on impact and limping back to the pits where his race would end. Tander inherited the lead with 9 laps to go, but had Radisich five seconds behind and bearing down on him fast. Murphy was now back on the podium, but had Radisich's team-mate Johnson closing in at a rapid rate of knots. With just 2 laps to go, Brad Jones was forced to retire from eighth with suspension failure and a puncture.

Having stabilised the gap through traffic in the closing laps, Tander took victory by just over two seconds ahead of Radisich. It was the first Bathurst win for the West Australian, co-driver Bargwanna and team owner Garry Rogers in his long history as both a team owner and a driver. Murphy managed to drag his beleaguered Commodore to third less than a second ahead of Johnson, with the Holden Young Lions the leading factory Holden. Having only needed to finish 17th or better, Skaife claimed his third Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar title in sixth-place with departing team-mate Lowndes.^[1]