FIVE GREAT CARS THAT DIDN'T WIN BATHURST

HOLDEN'S DOMINATION of the 1968 Bathurst 500 affected Ford badly and prompted a steely determination at company HQ in Broadmeadows that such failure would not happen again.

- CLIFF CHAMBERS

XW FALCON GT-HO

Released in 1969, Ford's XW GT matched Holden's GTS350 Monaro in capacity and output, but Ford wanted an edge that would see it carry the day at Bathurst. The 'Handling Option' package installed initially on 201 XW GTs added heavier springs, a rear anti-roll bar, stronger tail shaft and an altered final-drive ratio.

Ford's claimed engine output stayed at 218kW but for 'improved durability' the HO used a different camshaft from the standard 351, an alloy inlet manifold and larger 650cfm carburettor. Below the bumper was a metal air-dam which was allegedly there to improve high-speed stability but did a great job of funnelling cool air into the engine bay.

At Bathurst in 1969, Ford fielded three factory GT-HO entries, all running on expensive Goodyear racing tyres. Circulating two seconds a lap faster than the Monaros, the HOs were expected to dominate the race - until tyres began to fail. This supposedly was due to the HO's excessive wheelspin, but splitting the Monaros that finished 1st and 3rd was 1968 winner Bruce McPhee who was running Michelin radial tyres on his GT-HO.

McPhee recalled many years after the race that he had lost two laps repairing damage from a first-lap multi-car crash, yet at the end of the race, on the same set of 'Michies' he had at the start, his GT-HO was just 44 seconds behind the winning Monaro.

BMW M3 E30

THE BATHURST enduro conducted in 1987 was a 1000 like no other. For the first time in its history, the James Hardie-backed event was part of the World Touring Car Championship and dominated by an influx of international teams.

Among them were around a dozen BMW M3s; the chunky two-door that changed everything for BMW in the arena of international motor sport.