Records are black, round, and made of a form of plastic. Or they’re what is created when a previous level is exceeded. People such as basketballer Michael Jordan, Red Bull balloonist Felix Baumgartner, or movie franchise “The Avengers” have created records.
In Australia there are plenty of record makers. In motorsport, especially in our home grown Australian Touring car Championships/V8 Supercars/Supercars.
With the 2019 Bathurst 1000 run and done, we thought we’d have a look at a few of the record makers and holders for our top tier motorsport category.
The Most Wins at Bathurst
No surprises here and one that seems unlikely to be broken for some time. The number is nine, the name is Peter Geoffrey Brock. With a career that spanned five decades, “Peter Perfect” also holds the record for the most pole positions, at six. That’s one ahead of Mark Skaife and Alan Moffat. Both “The Moff” and Brock have the equal consecutive pole positions at Bathurst.
The Most Race Wins In A Season
The holder of this is the engaging Scott McLaughlin. Funny, quick witted, likeable and personable, the 26 year old New Zealander made his mark in the NZ Touring Car series, winning his first race in 2011 and becoming the youngest ever race winner. In 2013 he won his first V8 Supercar race with Garry Rogers Motorsport, making him the youngest ever to do so for the Australian category.
In 2019, McLaughlin has won 17 races. That’s one ahead of Craig Lowndes, who won his 16 back in 1996...
The Most Wins In The ATCC
At the last count, it was Jamie Whincup that holds the most wins in the ATCC title. He’s won Bathurst four times and the championship seven times. “J-Dub” currently lists 114 wins against his name in the ATCC. Craig Lowndes has 107.
The Most Race/Event Starts
Holder of these two is “The Kid”. Now known as Lowndesey or CL, Craig Lowndes has, according to the latest information at the time of writing, 652 race starts, and in events he has started 285 times. His nearest competitor in race starts is Garth Tander, and in event starts that’s also GT, with 619 and 273 respectively. By the way, CL is part of the Project-Monaro team we featured recently.
The Most Pole Positions
It’s the most coveted position in motorsport, and here in the land downunder the most pole positions is held by Whincup. He currently has 80, with McLaughlin a seemingly distant second with 61. Brock, by the way, had 57.
The Youngest Driver To Start An ATCC Race
We have to go back twenty years for this one. At the age of 16 years, 341 days, one Paul Dumbrell made his start at Tasmania’s beautiful Symmons Plains Circuit. Cameron Waters is the next youngest, at 17 years and 67 days. Where? Bathurst.
The Oldest Driver To Start An ATCC Race
One of the most respected names in Australian motorsport is Bob Holden. A wily campaigner, the immensely respected Holden made his start at Round 2, Oran Park, 1993, at the tender age of 60 years, 250 days. Allan Grice is next, and he was a week short of his 60th when he started at the 2002 Bathurst 1000.
What other record holders in the ATCC/Supercars can you think of? Let us know via our comments & feedback sections on our blog or fb pages.