The 1995 Tooheys 1000 had everything. A six hour charge from last place; an unprecedented mechanical disaster from one of the leading teams right at the very start; and a controversial mid-race collision between the two race leaders.

A 21-year-old — Craig Lowndes — took pole position. At the green Lowndes was a little too heavy-footed and wheelspun his way off the front line, allowing an almost-disbelieving Gardner to steer around the outside to lead them into Hell Corner.

Three laps was all it took for Richards to overhaul Gardner. The recovered Lowndes was third. Lowndes set the fastest lap of the race (2m 14.32s) on lap eight but it was a short-lived effort. Just as he looked set to challenge Richards, the HRT Commodore’s oil light flashed red and before the engine went with it the kid parked it.

After 20 laps Jim Richards’ lead over Gardner had stretched to almost six seconds. Richards made 38 laps before pitting and handing Skaife a huge lead.

Cotter spun his Commodore into the wall at The Cutting. At the restart Skaife led from Johnson Snr.

Just as the second round of stops loomed, Skaife appeared on Conrod surrounded by smoke. The gearbox/tailshaft yoke was broken and its race was over. Ingall shot past, now back on the lead lap. Immediately he pitted for Perkins. Johnson, the new leader, pitted for Bowe but a sloppy stop meant that when Parsons came in one lap later, Seton came out right on Bowes’ tail.

On lap 93, Bowe slid wide exiting The Cutting and Seton dived for the gap. Bowe closed the door and they touched, the Shell/FAI car pirouetting into the concrete. Seton was lucky to escape damage and sneaked into the lead as Bowe headed for the pits.

Race leader Parsons started to drop his pace as dehydration began to affect him, allowing second-placed Percy to close in. In third, Allan Grice was still on the pace.

Then it happened. In his Bathurst debut, Victorian ex-truck racer David Parsons’ steering failed on Mountain Straight. The car ploughed into the wall. Olofsson and Crompton’s last stops could be done “under the yellow” and suddenly Perkins was within sight of the leader, Seton.

With 23 laps to go it was a whole new race, with five cars in a position to fight for the win. Leader Seton hammered away to an immediate gap, leaving Brad and Alan Jones to fight their own fight. Perkins took the left side of the straight from AJ and in a drag race beat him to Caltex Chase, taking third. After another lap Perkins sliced down the inside at Murray’s and was in second.

Seton was five seconds clear and Alan Jones was attacking Perkins from the rear, but AJ’s challenge was derailed by a brake problem.

Then, disaster struck for Seton. The Falcon dropped a valve and lost ground to Perkins. Within nine laps of his first Bathurst win, exactly 30 years after his father won, Seton coasted to a stop with a dead engine. Larry Perkins rushed past the stricken Ford and on to victory.