Spectator vantage points have also become less intimate to the track over recent years because of debris fencing and increased run-off dimensions installed to meet upgraded international FIA standards.

Owing to the magnitude of the Ford-versus-Holden rivalry, for the Bathurst 1000 races from 1995 to 2012 the rules of Group 3A and later V8 Supercars mandated that only Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores were allowed to compete.

In those days the Phillip Island track was surfaced with a "cold mix" bitumen which could not stand up to the pounding of dozens of race cars going flat out for 500 miles.

Third outright and first in Class C were Brian Foley and Peter Manton in a Morris Cooper S. The Geoghegan brothers, Ian and Leo, famously drove the race wearing business suits supplied by McDowells.

[7] During the race the Geoghegan car had entered the pit area through the rear access lane off Mountain Straight and erroneously accumulated an extra lap on the ARDC timing board.

Ford's Falcon GT and later GT-HO, Holden's Monaro and Torana, and Chrysler's Pacer and Charger models were the result of constant development of race-worthy cars that the general public could buy.

Brock and Bond were drivers for the semi-official Holden Dealer Team (HDT), which had been formed earlier in the year to counter the official Ford Special Vehicles division that was churning out ever-evolving GT-HO Falcons.

Brock, meanwhile, was able to hold off the Phase Three GT-HO of John French and the E49 Charger of Doug Chivas to win the 1972 race, thus temporarily refuting the "no substitute for cubic inches" adage.

Brock's win also signalled the first Bathurst victory for a six-cylinder engined car, an achievement that would not be repeated until 1991 when the Nissan Skyline GT-R "Godzilla" took the chequered flag.

Despite determined driving from Jim Richards and Wayne Negus, the Goss/Bartlett car was able to gain a slight lead as the Torana challenge faded amidst oil smoke and torrential rain.

Holden and Ford were the only manufacturers to win under these regulations, despite facing increased imported competition, notably from the Mazda RX-7 that was campaigned effectively by Moffat and Kevin Bartlett's 350 V8-powered Chevrolet Camaro.

Imported turbocharged cars, initially Ford Sierra RS Cosworths and then Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, achieved dominance during this period while Holden Commodores managed to claim three hard-fought wins.

Grice had honed his skills in Europe, competing alongside compatriot Commodore driver Peter Brock and his newly recruited HDT teammate, Allan Moffat.

The global organising body FISA, a subsidiary of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), allowed more liberal, negotiated interpretations "back home".

Their Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV was able to set a fast pace early in the race which the Sierras could match but not sustain due to reliability issues, mostly with tyre wear.

1996 saw Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy, in a VR Commodore, cross the finish line ahead of the EF Falcon of Dick Johnson and John Bowe.

The demise of Super Touring and the ARDC event allowed V8 Supercars and IMG to take over the promotion and organisation of the Bathurst 1000 brand from that year onwards.

Despite late cooling problems from plastic bags in the air intake, Skaife and HRT again won the Bathurst 1000 in 2002, this time teamed with Jim Richards.

Greg Murphy received the biggest time penalty (five minutes) in Bathurst history because of a pit-lane infringement; his car was released prematurely, rupturing a refuelling hose and spilling fuel in the pit box.

The 2013 season saw manufacturers other than Ford and Holden enter the Bathurst 1000 for the first time since 1998, under the New Generation V8 Supercar (originally known as Car of the Future) regulations that were introduced that year.

From 2013, the event became part of the newly formed Pirtek Enduro Cup within the Supercars season, along with the series' other two-driver races, the Sandown 500 and Gold Coast 600.

[13] In 2015, Chaz Mostert experienced a major reversal of fortunes, with a heavy qualifying crash leaving him with a fractured femur and wrist, and ruling his car out for the weekend.

[19] The 2017 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 saw another victory for an independent team with Erebus Motorsport prevailing in mostly wet conditions with David Reynolds and Luke Youlden behind the wheel.

[23] However, the race results remained provisional for a week until a hearing was held into DJR Team Penske's instructions to team-mate Fabian Coulthard during an earlier safety car.

The instructions over team radio resulted in Coulthard slowing the field after a safety car was called, which allowed McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup to pit without losing any positions.

[27] In what was the final event for a factory-backed Holden team before the brand's retirement, the race was won by Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander, the latter's fourth Bathurst 1000 win.

Dick Johnson first rose to fame during the 1980 race when his privately entered Ford Falcon hit a rock that had fallen (or been pushed; the topic is still debated) onto the track.

In 1992, 1967 Formula One World Champion Denny Hulme, after complaining of blurred vision, suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his BMW M3 Evolution whilst travelling along Conrod Straight.

Additionally, the 2006 event was marred by the death of New Zealand driver Mark Porter in a Development V8 Supercar Series support race on the Friday of the meeting.

The event has had several naming rights sponsors:[34] 1 Brodie Kostecki 9 Jack Le Brocq 2 Ryan Wood 25 Chaz Mostert 3 Aaron Love 7 James Courtney 4 Cameron Hill 10 Nick Percat 6 Cam Waters 55 Thomas Randle 8 Andre Heimgartner 14 Bryce Fullwood 12 Jaxon Evans 96 Macauley Jones 11 Anton de Pasquale 17 Will Davison 18 Mark Winterbottom 20 David Reynolds 19 Matthew Payne 26 Richie Stanaway 23 Tim Slade 31 James Golding 87 Will Brown 88 Broc Feeney