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When class warfare encapsulated the Mountain

Bathurst’s hallowed mountain has been the domain of many makes and models for more than 60 years thanks to being a battle of classes for the first 40 years.

From the start

Moving from Phillip Island to Bathurst in 1963, the first editions of what is now known as the Great Race didn’t award a prize for the outright winner, but instead celebrated each class.

Classes in the first Armstrong 500 to be held at Bathurst were based on price. 

Class A was for models under £900 featuring the Volkswagen Beetle, Triumph Herald and Morris 850. 

Class B was between £901 and £1000 featuring the Ford Cortina, Morris Cooper and Renault R8.

Class C featured entries costing from £1001 and £1200 consisting of the race winning Ford Cortina GT and Holden’s homologation special EH S4 as two of the competing models.

Rounding out the field was Class D for models at a purchase price between £1201 and £2000, which was fought out by the pole-sitting Studebaker Lark, Vauxhall Velox, Peugeot 404 and Ford Zephyr.

This class structure lasted through the change to decimal currency and dollars in 1966 although with minor changes.

The first of the changes. The 1970s.

For the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500, the class structure changed to capacity starting with Class A at Under 3000 CP comprised of the Datsun 1200, Fiat 850 and Mazda 1300.

Class B was between 3001 to 9000 CP featuring the Datsun 1600, Fiat 124 Sport, Ford Escort and Mazda RX-2.

The race winning Holden Torana GTR XU-1 was part of Class C between 9001 to 18000 CP as well as the Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV and Chrysler Valiant E38 Charger.

Class D was the domain of the Ford Falcon GT-HO and Chrysler Valiant E49 Charger at over 18001 CP.

When Group C was introduced for the 1973 event, it changed to Cubic Centimetres meaning Class A was for 1300cc featuring Datsun 1200, Fiat 128, Honda Civic and Morris Cooper S.

Class B was for models at 1301cc to 2000cc including the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV, Datsun 180B, Mazda RX-3 and even a Subaru 1400 GSR.

The Holden Torana and Mazda RX-2 made Class C between 2001cc and 3000cc.

Rounding out the field was Class D for over 3000cc was led by the Ford Falcon, Holden Torana GTR XU-1 and Chrysler Valiant Charger.

For 1975, classes were changed to litres and changed between model eligibility were minimal, but was returned to the previous format the next year.

But for 1977, the structure was reduced to three classes for Under 2000cc, 2001cc-3000cc and 3001cc-6000cc.

Under 2000cc featured the Holden Gemini, Alfa Romeo Alfetta, BMW 2002, Ford Escort RS2000 and Toyota Celica.

The 2001cc-3000cc class featured just the Mazda RX-3, Ford Capri and BMW 3.0Si, while the Ford Falcon had just the Holden Torana to worry about in the 3001cc-6000cc battle.

Returning to four classes for the 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 500 continued a confusing and ever changing battle.

The Under 1600cc Class was dominated by the Holden Gemini ahead of the Ford Escort, Toyota Corolla and a Volkswagen Golf.

Toyota secured victory in the 1601cc-2000cc class with Peter Williamson and Mike Quinn in the Celica. Others in the class included Ford Escort RS2000s, Alfa Romeo Alfettas and Triumph Dolomites.

The Mazda RX-7 featured in the 2001cc-3000cc field alongside the RX-3, Ford Capri, BMW 3.0Si and the Volvo 242GT featured on the Repco Garage last week.

Holden Toranas and Ford Falcons had Chevrolet Camaros built to the incoming updated Group C regulations for 1980 as competition in the 3001cc-6000cc class.

Entering the new era Group C regulations, the class structure was unchanged until 1981 when it went back to cylinders.

Four cylinder was the baby class featuring also five cylinder and turbocharged models. Alfa Romeo’s Alfasud and Alfetta was up against the Ford Escort, Mitsubishi Lancer and Colt, Toyota Celica and Corolla, Nissan’s new Bluebird Turbo and the Volkswagen Golf.

The six cylinder class had Ford Capris up against the BMW 635csi and the rotary Mazda RX-7s.

Of course the eight cylinder class had Holden Commodores, Ford Falcons, Chevrolet Camaros and John Goss in the V12-powered Jaguar XJ-S.

The 1980s, consistent class changes

A further tweak in 1982 only had two classes for Over and Under 3000cc elevating the RX-7s and BMW 635csi to the outright class.

The Bluebirds remained in the Under 3000cc class alongside Toyota Celicas, Holden Geminis Alfa Romeo GTV6s and Ford Escorts.

For 1984, the only change was the addition of the Group A class ahead of its introduction the next year. A Rover Vitesse shared by Jeff Allam and Amin Hahne won the class.

Due to the international nature of the Group A regulations, the classes for the first two years were Under 2000cc, 2001cc-3000cc and Over 3001cc.

Toyota entered factory Corollas in the Under 2000cc Class, while the introduction of turbos to the mainstream incurred a multiplication factor of 1.3, which placed Mitsubishi Starions and Volvo 240 in the 2001cc to 3000cc field.

Of course, the Holden Commodore, Ford Mustang, Jaguar XJ-S, BMW 635 CSi and Rover Vitesse formed the Over 3000cc class.

When the World Touring Car Championship arrived the classes shifted again to Class 1 for capacity over 2500cc, Class 2 between 1601cc and 2500cc, with under 1600 completing the roster.

This structure lasted until the final Group A race in 1992 when Class 1 and 2 merged together to form the outright class, with Class 3 remaining. However, a third was added for the new Group 3A Class for 1993 for the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcons.

Reduced again to two classes in 1993 for Group 3A and International Class II 2.0-Litre, the next year was the last of capacity classes.

For 1995, it was a single class although the lead privateer was awarded up until the early 2000s when it became what we know it as today.