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Nearby
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| It is here, on Pit
Straight that The Great Race begins and ends. Named for the open pit bays
so necessary to this endurance race which tests man and motor, Pit Straight
provides a fast beginning to each lap, allowing drivers to reach speeds
over 200 km/h before braking hard into Hell Corner. That is, if they make
it that far. The starting line of this great race is also 273 metres ahead
of the finishing line, because 161 times 6.213 is 1000.273 km.
One of the biggest crashes in Bathurst 1000 history happened on Pit Straight at the start of the 1984 race, when Tom Walkinshaw failed to move his Jaguar from the fifth row of the grid. In an effort to avoid the motionless Walkinshaw, Steve Masterton ploughed into Allan Moffatt's RX7, triggering a domino effect which left Pit Straight looking more like a demolition derby. Once the competition was re-started, Peter Brock and Larry Perkins emerged victorious. But Pit Straight has also been the scene of some of motor racing's most memorable victories. In 1976, Bob Morris and John Fitzpatrick scored their first and only Bathurst win after limping to the chequered flag ahead of Colin Bond and Peter Brock. With just a few laps remaining the Morris/Fitzpatrick Torana L34 started leaking smoke, to all appearances denying the team any hope of victory. But as Morris watched helplessly from the pits, Fitzpatrick nursed the car to the finishing line 48.30 seconds ahead of Bond, bringing tears to the eyes of Morris and pit crew. Things to be seen on Pit Staright include the Timing tower. This displays not only Lap number and the top 10 places but also lap number car number and lap time which is used in the top ten shootout or to display the fastest competitor on the track during the race. |
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