BATHURST LEGENDS!

FORD CORTINA FANS GATHERED AT BATHURST, NSW, FOR AN EPIC EVENT, AND WE THOUGHT WE WOULD JOIN THE FUN

- WORDS GUY ALLEN & PHIL WALKER * PHOTOS MICHAEL CLISDELL & GUY ALLEN

It must have seemed like a fantastic idea: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the mighty Ford Cortina dominating the big annual 500-mile endurance race at Bathurst across 1963-64-65.

Cortinas of all eras were invited and the owners responded in a big way. There were 172 cars entered, with some 300-plus participants. And the fleet expanded to 239 for the Sunday morning show and shine in the centre of Bathurst city.

The weekend featured a host of events, including drives out to nearby towns such as Sofala, a cruise around the legendary Mount Panorama track. For many, the highlight was the Saturday evening dinner featuring Frank Lowndes, Ian Tate, Colin Bond and John Smailes. The latter pair were also launching Full Tilt, the Colin Bond biography.

An auction in aid of children's cancer research at Westmead Hospital raised several thousand dollars.

The event was put together by a crew from the British Ford Club (britishfordclub.com.au) consisting of Rod Higgins (president), David Clisdell, Phil Zammit and John Brindle. Kym Greenfield handled the Facebook publishing.

How long did it take to stitch together? “The best part of two years," says David Clisdell. “We had originally been challenged with the idea before COVID hit and it inevitably got put back. We felt if we went for 2025, we had the 60th anniversary of the third win, and we wanted it to be on the long weekend the race would have been on, back in the sixties.

“We went to the Bathurst council and they got on board straight away. They were awesome and offered us any support they could.

“Clancy Ford helped us out with a little money and gave us the use of the dealership to sign people in.”

The number of cars in attendance was staggering – who knew there were so many Cortinas still getting around?