The 2000 FAI 1000 was a race for
V8 Supercars, held on 19 November 2000 at the
Mount Panorama Circuit just outside
Bathurst in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The race was the thirteenth and final round of the
2000 Shell Championship Series. It was the fourth running of the Australia 1000, first held after the organisational split over the
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...
that occurred in 1997. It was the 43rd race that traces its lineage back to the
1960 Armstrong 500
The 1960 Armstrong 500 was an endurance motor race for Australian made or assembled standard production sedans. The event was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia on 20 November 1960 over 167 ...
held at
Phillip Island
Phillip Island (Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The island is named after Arthur Phillip, Governor Arthur P ...
.
Pole position was claimed by
Craig Lowndes and
Mark Skaife driving a
Holden Commodore VT for the
Holden Racing Team, with the race victory going to
Garth Tander and
Jason Bargwanna also driving a Holden Commodore for
Garry Rogers Motorsport. It was held in mostly wet conditions which resulted in several safety car periods. As a result, the average race speed of the winning car was the slowest since the
1974 Bathurst 1000.
The event's naming rights sponsor was
FAI Insurance.
Entry list
Report
Pre-race
Central West NSW had suffered a deluge of rain in the week leading up to the 2000 Bathurst 1000. Both Thursday practice sessions were cancelled, with only pre-qualifying taking place. With a grid capacity of 55 and a field of 56, only one car was cut from the field –
Trevor Crittenden Motorsport's Kiwi pairing of
Chris Butler and
Miles Pope were the unlucky team having suffered electrical problems; their blue-and-white
Holden Commodore VS only completed 200m of its out lap, and despite a battery change did not set a time. Practice Three did take place, and proved eventful with crashes for both
Adam Wallis in
Ross Halliday's
Ford Falcon EL at the Chase, and
Dean Lindstrom in the second
Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore VS having aquaplaned on Mountain Straight.
The circuit dried enough for slicks by Friday Qualifying. Championship leader
Mark Skaife set the benchmark with a 2:11.8882, one-tenth of a second faster than
Paul Radisich from
Dick Johnson Racing. Privateer
Mick Donaher in the lead Clive Wiseman car had led early in the session with rain threatening, and ended the session a remarkable 14th. A number of high-profile drivers were affected by traffic in the session, with
Russell Ingall earning a
AU$10,000 fine and a verbal quarrel with privateer cult-hero
Richard Mork for his blunt summation of the situation.
The Top 10 Shootout was held on Saturday morning, the last morning Shootout before a switch to a Top 15 Shootout held in the afternoon from
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
.
1987 500cc motorcycle World Champion Wayne Gardner took pole in the second
Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon AU in an all-
Ford front row, as
Steven Johnson lined up alongside him despite setting a time over a second slower. Skaife in third was the only
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...
driver to set a representative time as
Todd Kelly, Russell Ingall and
Garth Tander all went off the circuit on their timed laps.
Race
;First half
Gardner led a 53-car grid off the start.
Alan Heath's
Power Racing Falcon failed to start the race having blown an engine in the warm-up, whereas the second
Paul Morris Motorsport Commodore of
Owen Kelly started from the pits with an unidentified problem in the rear end. Having completed a lap, Kelly returned to the garage to retire the car having discovered a broken axle. Radisich jumped a row on the start and finished the opening lap in the top three.
The wet conditions remained steady and, having toyed with a Safety Car start, the race began normally. After only a handful of laps were completed,
Steven Ellery slid off the track at the Chase and beached his Falcon on a kerb, resulting in the first Safety Car of the day. Upon race resumption,
Craig Lowndes passed both DJR cars to move into second.
Tony Longhurst had started the race in seventh but spun out of the penultimate corner, and having pitted to check for damage came out in 52nd. Newly-crowned
V8 Lites champion
Dean Canto was tackling his second Bathurst 1000 aboard a self-run ex-
Paul Weel Racing Falcon, but his campaign was curtailed early with power steering issues.
The leaders began to lap the backmarkers and Radisich mistimed a move on
Shane Howison in the minnow
South Pacific Motor Racing Commodore, clipping the front-left and sustaining minor damage. Another privateer,
Rod Nash, brought out the second Safety Car inside 15 laps having stopped at the Cutting with a radiator full of mud – the Commodore driver had gone off in the Chase less than a lap prior.
Nash's team-mate
Cameron McConville almost made it double-trouble for the team after the restart, as he was tagged by Mick Donaher on the exit of the Chase and made a trip through the gravel trap.
Greg Ritter and
Peter Doulman were not so lucky a few laps later; Ritter had bombed down the inside of the
Colourscan Racing Falcon at the Chase and hit Doulman, resulting in both getting stuck in the mud and a third Safety Car. Both drivers returned to the circuit with assistance, but the Ritter and co-driver
Tim Leahey's day in the second
Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore was over having overheated. Both DJR Falcons took the opportunity for an early stop, with
Brad Jones Racing gambling on slick tyres for
Tomas Mezera
Tomas Mezera (born 5 November 1958 in Czechoslovakia) is a naturalised Australian racing driver. Mezera won the 1988 Bathurst 1000, and for many years was a member of the Holden Racing Team as both a driver and team manager. Mezera's sporting ...
.
The Jones' move looked to be the right one as the circuit dried out after the restart.
Cameron McLean was now aboard the #17 and nearly blotted his copybook by clouting the wall at Quarry Corner. Lowndes passed Gardner for the lead as the pit-stop cycle continued, with DJR making a second stop for slicks. The rear bumper on
Rod Salmon's Falcon flew off as he made his first stop.
As drivers adapted to slicks, a number of drivers went off. Both
Rodney Forbes and
Yvan Muller had excursions through the mud at the Chase, as did
Ryan McLeod in the
Chiko car at Hell Corner. McLeod rejoined around debutant
James Brock, who ran wide and perilously close to the wall at Griffins Bend seconds later.
After his co-drivers' incident in the Chase earlier in the week, Ross Halliday's weekend was finished off after Forbes turned him into the inside wall at Forrest's Elbow, bringing out another Safety Car. Perkins alleged that
Greg Murphy had passed him under yellow flags, but no penalty was forthcoming and the Kiwi was held up by
Steve Owen over Skyline on the restart.
Then all hell broke loose.
Neal Bates in the former race-leading Gardner car was punted off at McPhillamy Park by
Greg Crick, the Tasmanian having attempted a pass. Simultaneously,
Anthony Tratt ran up the back of McLeod under the bridge at pit entry and pushed the Commodore into the outside wall. Bates returned to the circuit for the restart, but pulled off at the paddock entry gate on Mountain Straight with clutch failure.
The rain returned around lap 50, but was restricted to a drizzle over the top of the mountain. Murphy brought his
Gibson Motorsport Commodore in with overheating issues – hoses and buckets of water were poured over the Holden V8 in an attempt to cool it down and returned to the circuit.
The battle for third between Perkins,
Alain Menu and
Neil Crompton closed up, with Ellery trying to unlap himself in the process. Having passed Menu, Ellery then spun into the tyres at Forrest's Elbow. Greg Crick dropped a wheel off the edge of the circuit at the exit of Hell Corner, pirouetting multiple times and getting bogged in the infield whilst trying to turn around. Veteran privateers
Steve Reed and
Trevor Ashby retired from the race with a hole in the radiator.
The
Lansvale Smash Repairs team then suffered another setback as
Phillip Scifleet in the second car spun through the run-off at the Chase, caking his Commodore in mud. Simultaneously, Doulman spun his Commodore on the entry to Sulman Park, but kept the car off the wall – and with the combination of those two plus Greg Crick, the Safety Car had to come out.
Larkham Motorsport foreshadowed the caution and brought Menu in for a brake change, the first of the race.
Out-of-contract Crompton seized the initiative on the restart, passing Perkins for third. The move proved well-timed as
Jason Plato
Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British auto racing, racing driver who last competed in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. He has twice been List of BTCC champions, BTCC Champion, in 2001 British Touring ...
in the second
Holden Racing Team Commodore became the latest victim of the mud at the Chase a lap later, necessitating another Safety Car. Following Menu's lead, both DJR cars and
Paul Morris pitted for brakes.
Morris' strategy play was then bungled on the restart after the Sieders' father-and-son entry tangled with him on the run up Mountain Straight, the privateer Falcon spinning into the inside wall. Whilst the car was far enough off the circuit to keep the race green, the respite only lasted a lap before Queenslander
Ian Moncrieff ended his and Dean Canto's already troubled day by hitting the wall on the outside of Hell Corner. Skaife and Tander took the opportunity to fit new brakes, elevating Crompton to the lead.
Ellery unlapped himself from second-placed Perkins when the race resumed. Despite his earlier incident with McLeod, Tratt had crept into the top 5 and then passed Menu at Murrays Corner for P4.
Brett Peters in the Colourscan car then blew a tyre entering the Chase, and
Rodney Crick hit the wall at Forrest's Elbow in the
Imrie Motorsport Commodore having made side-to-side contact with Tander as the GRM driver lapped him.
Matthew White was the next driver to get bogged at the Chase, requiring another Safety Car. Crompton and Perkins made their second stops, but Ellery could not capitalise as he was forced to come in a number of laps earlier – ending his chances of returning to the lead lap. Menu and
Mark Larkham's strong run ended prematurely with a power steering fluid leak.
Murphy now led the race from
Nathan Pretty in the
Holden Young Lions car, but the latter was immediately shuffled back by Radisich and stablemate Lowndes – the latter making a risky dive at Murrays Corner. Lowndes then pushes on and passes Radisich down Conrod Straight. Longhurst, fighting back from his earlier spin, lunged down the inside of
Glenn Seton at Hell Corner but ran wide and lost a position to the second Lansvale car.
Rodney Forbes became another driver to spin under the bridge on pit entry, but continued on. Pretty continued to sink through the field, falling to ninth before making a stop. Larkham returned to the track, albeit 5 laps down.
;Second half
Steve Johnson passed
Brad Jones for fourth at halfway. A slew of mechanical issues then followed – Ingall brought his traditionally-bulletproof
Perkins Engineering Commodore into the pits with engine issues, as did
Paul Stokell
Paul Francis Stokell (born 8 March 1968 in Tasmania) is an Australian racing driver. Highly decorated in every category he has competed, Stokell has been a race and multiple championship winning driver in open wheel, sportscar racing and tarmac ...
in Ellery's Ford. The second Lansvale car also pitted with coolant thundering out.
Lowndes stormed past Murphy for the lead on lap 87, with Murphy making a stop on the same lap and handing over to
Steven Richards. The defending winners received no respite from their overheating issues; the
Kmart
Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
Commodore was allegedly running at 120°C and their dumping of water into the engine bay was attracting the ire of race control for potentially creating a safety hazard. Whilst the pit-lane was drenched, the circuit was the driest it had been all week as the rain had finally stopped.
Jason Bargwanna made a daring move on Brad Jones for fifth at Sulman Park after the OzEmail Falcon lost traction in a puddle. Jones made a scheduled stop at the end of the lap, handing back over to Mezera. The stop proved another well-timed one as Doulman's second spin at Sulman Park wasn't as fortunate as the last, heavily clouting the concrete causing the races' 10th Safety Car. Johnson,
Andrew Miedecke and
Jim Richards all made pit-stops and driver changes under the caution.
Lowndes pulled away from the field when racing resumed. Radisich in second was held up by his compatriots in the
Team Kiwi Racing Commodore, with Bargwanna and Seton closing up to him. Rain returned to the top of the mountain as the 100-lap mark approached, and a cautious
Yvan Muller was quickly monstered by McLean,
Dugal McDougall, Tratt,
John Bowe and Mezera. Radisich and Bargwanna then stopped, handing over to their respective co-drivers – but Tander in the
Valvoline
Valvoline Inc. ( ) is an American retail automotive services company based in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. It licenses the name for a number of Valvoline-labeled Motor oil, automotive oil, Oil additive, additives, and lubricants. It ...
Commodore was able to adapt to cold slicks on a damp track faster than
Jason Bright
Jason Paul Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford Falcon (FG X), Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a ...
, rounding up the
CART hopeful at Reid Park.
The rain increased, and Steven Richards passed Seton at the Chase for second – and was soon followed by McLean. McDougall, Bowe and Mezera engaged in an aggressive scrap for fifth; Bowe almost punting the
Pepsi
Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
Commodore off at the Chase before Mezera slipped past the pair of them at Murrays.
Lowndes completed his last stint as a HRT driver and handed over to Skaife on lap 103 – despite the increase in rain, the circuit was still dry enough for slicks. Muller in the other HRT car cut across the Chase again whilst the Sieders family destroyed a splitter on the exit of Hell Corner; having already broken one inside the first 20 laps and with none left they were forced to complete the race with what they already had. Problems for the privateers persisted as
Mal Rose came in with a puncture.
Jason Richards found the sandtrap at the Chase in the TKR car. A Safety Car was called and Seton pitted, handing over to Crompton and overcutting both Skaife and Tander. Steven Richards led but immediately came under attack from McLean; the DJR driver was blocked from making the move into Hell Corner but edged his way into the lead at Griffins Bend. Ingall, now three laps down, began assaulting the overheating Gibson car with Bowe in third closing up.
Crompton needed to make ground with Skaife pressuring him. The driver/commentator attempted to lap
Matt Neal
Matthew Stephen Phillip Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champio ...
in Paul Morris' Commodore at the Chase, but was blocked and lost ground – a lap later, he lunged past Neal at Murrays. The Briton, unimpressed by his treatment, then cut across the track and bombed down the inside of the Falcon at Hell Corner, causing Skaife to swerve out of the way and tag Crompton into a spin. The factory Ford lost its front bumper having run over the pit exit bollards, whilst Skaife drove away with a rubbing right-rear tyre. Tander, who had been following closely behind, had managed to just evade the mess and overtake both.
The rain was now starting to fall heavier.
John Faulkner ran wide briefly on the exit of Hell Corner. Crompton, having already lost significant time bringing his Falcon back to the pits, chose to fit wet tyres along with a new front bar. Bowe meanwhile lost his right-rear wheel altogether coming into McPhillamy Park, but managed to complete the lap and fit a replacement.
The aftermath of the Neal incident continued to unravel as Skaife's rubbing tyre shredded and took the sill panel with it. Having stopped to rectify the damage, the HRT Commodore was back in the lane two laps later for wet tyres as the circuit became soaked across the top – and shortly after he was followed by the leaders. The Safety Car then came out for the twelfth time as several cars fell foul of the conditions. Yvan Muller became bogged in the mud-pit at the Chase and was joined by the second
Sieders car of
Robert Russell and
Steve Coulter, whilst
Neil Schembri had aquaplaned off the top of the mountain into the sandtrap at the Esses. Despite all his earlier dramas, Longhurst was now sitting third – but a brief fuel fire when he made his stop for wets was yet another unneeded setback for the
Stone Brothers Racing crew.
The Safety Car stayed out for an extended period to clear the stuck cars. DJR brought both cars in to put their regular drivers back behind the wheel. When the race returned to green, Matt Neal was brought in to serve a 60-second stop-go penalty for causing the incident at Hell Corner. Tander now led the race with championship rival Skaife caught nearly a lap down – but the HRT drivers' task was made easier when Menu became yet another victim of the muddy quagmire at the Chase, causing the races' thirteenth Safety Car.
The race restarted with 33 laps remaining. Tander led Longhurst,
Todd Kelly in the Young Lions entry, Murphy and
Christian Murchison running a remarkable fifth on debut in the second Perkins car. Kelly attacked Longhurst entering Hell Corner, but the
1988 winner took the hurry-along and passed a tentative Tander for the lead at Griffins Bend. Due to the earlier fire however, Longhurst would need to make another stop whereas the others were touch-and-go.
Murchison and co-driver
Luke Youlden's dream run came to an abrupt halt with a broken rocker arm, yet another mechanical failure for the perennially reliable Perkins team. Drama for the young guns continued as Kelly locked the rear brakes and spun his Commodore at Murrays Corner, allowing Murphy onto the podium. Muller's eventful day continued when he spun Faulkner at Hell Corner not long after.
The rain stopped and the track began to dry again. Brad Jones passed
Darren Hossack in the second Gibson Commodore for fifth before Radisich and Johnson blew by the pair of them having restarted eighth and ninth.
Alan Jones in the
Paul Little Racing Falcon started having throttle sensor issues in 14th and ultimately retired from the race not long after.
Rose stopped on the exit of the Cutting as a dry line emerged. DJR, gambling on a Safety Car, brought both cars in for slicks. Rose managed to get going again, but the already rapid pace of the
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
Falcons had improved with the change to slicks and the rest of the field took their lead – a get-out-of-jail-free scenario for Longhurst and rookie co-driver
David Besnard. Tander and Murphy attempted the overcut on the field by staying out a lap longer, but were unsuccessful – Murphy beating Tander out of the pits for second.
Lap times began to tumble as the slicks bedded in. Hossack and McDougall stayed out banking on track position and more rain, but their wet tyres couldn't handle the developing conditions and both made late stops – costing them significant time. Tander then passed Murphy for second with 17 laps to go; the Gibson car unable to put up a fight after its race-long overheating issues.
Craig Harris and
Stephen Voight retired with an engine failure just over 100km from the finish. Radisich was setting 2:16 lap times and was rapidly catching Murphy, but the Kiwi-Croat spun Jason Richards around at Forrest's Elbow. 'The Rat' escaped unscathed and thundered past Murphy not long after, whilst Richards was left to complete a risky three-point turn before continuing. Having earlier lost his right-rear wheel, Bowe then lost his left-rear wheel after the rear suspension in the
PAE Motorsport Falcon collapsed with just over 10 laps to go.
Disaster struck Longhurst with the finish in sight. Approaching Forrest's Elbow, he attempted to lap
Adam Macrow but clouted the
John Faulkner Racing Commodore, breaking the front-right suspension arms on impact and limping back to the pits where his race would end. Tander inherited the lead with 9 laps to go, but had Radisich five seconds behind and bearing down on him fast. Murphy was now back on the podium, but had Radisich's team-mate Johnson closing in at a rapid rate of knots. With just 2 laps to go, Brad Jones was forced to retire from eighth with suspension failure and a puncture.
Having stabilised the gap through traffic in the closing laps, Tander took victory by just over two seconds ahead of Radisich. It was the first Bathurst win for the West Australian, co-driver Bargwanna and team owner
Garry Rogers in his long history as both a team owner and a driver. Murphy managed to drag his beleaguered Commodore to third less than a second ahead of Johnson, with the Holden Young Lions the leading factory Holden. Having only needed to finish 17th or better, Skaife claimed his third Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar title in sixth-place with departing team-mate Lowndes.
Results
Pre-qualifying
Qualifying
Top ten shootout
Starting grid
Race
Statistics
* Provisional Pole Position - #1 Mark Skaife - 2:11.8882
* Pole Position - #6 Wayne Gardner - 2:28.3844
* Fastest Lap - #1 Craig Lowndes - 2:14.2602
* Average Speed - 135 km/h
References
External links
Official V8 Supercar website*
ttp://autopics.com.au/bathurst-2000/ Photos from Autopics.comNatsoft Race Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:2000 Fai 1000
FAI 1000
Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales