Bathurst thriller proves Toyota is right
As Chinese rivals aim to take down Australia’s favourite carmaker Toyota, this year’s thrilling Bathurst 1000 showed why racing could be the Japanse giant’s saving grace.
COMMENT: As Chaz Mostert parked with Bathurst 1000 engine failure and accepted a cold beer from trackside fans, the loudest cheers might have come from Toyota management.
Not because a Ford failed.
But because the unforgettable moments from this year’s race justify Toyota’s enormous investment in Supercars.
Sunday’s Bathurst 1000 thriller suggests Toyota’s decision to join the sport next year is spot-on.
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It’s exactly what Toyota needs to outrun emerging rivals.
The race was a spectacular contest with as many twists and turns as Mount Panorama itself.
A breakthrough victory for Grove Racing was magnificent. Its young driver, Matt Payne, shared his achievement in a Ford Mustang with one of the sport’s most highly regarded drivers in six-time Bathurst winner Garth Tander.
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You can read more about the race here.
Stepping away from the contest for a moment, Australians have more automotive options than ever, and more are on the way.
Car makers attempt to out-Australia each other with stunts designed to win the hearts, minds and wallets of potential customers.
Kia brought Aussie sports stars to “Tasman Town”, Great Wall conquered “Beer O’Clock Hill”, Deepal took over the Bondi Pavillion and BYD got Daryl Braithwaite to sing “The Horses” while standing in the back of Shark ute.
The new brands are jumping on the back of sporting clubs and organisations to build connection with buyers.
MG has the South Sydney Rabbitohs, BYD sponsors the Sydney Roosters and GWM recently signed up the Richmond Tigers AFL side as well as the Sydney Sixers and Thunder in Big Bash cricket.
They all want to beat Toyota in the great sales race.
Toyota already sponsors the AFL, and the NRL’s North Queensland Cowboys, among others.
But Supercars offers so much more.
The beauty of Bathurst is that cars are at the heart of the action.
A manufacturer is so much more than a logo on a shirt or a trackside banner – it is central to the story.
Bathurst had an enormous role in building the legacy of Ford and Holden in Australia, and Toyota will benefit from that too.
It’s sure to cement the brand’s place in the national psyche, helped by the fact that many Supercars fans will cheer on Dick John Racing Fords, then drive home in a HiLux.
I’ve been to the Bathurst 1000 more than two dozen times, and witnessed elation and frustration on a scale that matches the best that ball sports can offer.
Sunday’s race was right up there with the best of them, a nail-biting finish that engrossed thousands of fans trackside, and millions more watching from home.
OzTAM TV ratings published by Media Week suggest Sunday’s Seven Network feed reached 3.959 million people, making it the most-watched TV program of the weekend and one of the most watched of the year.
And that’s before you factor in additional viewers through Fox Sports and Kayo.
Official supercars numbers state there were 198,203 people in the crowd across the four-day event.
I was one of them, there with family who were treated to a brilliant weekend out.
Dozens of drivers signed autographs for my nephews and countless other kids who met their heroes on the sport’s biggest stage.
You won’t get that at the footy.
Motorsport also has a particularly cruel type of heartbreak you won’t find in football.
Late-race favourites Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda were devastated when their Mustang died on a drive to win a trophy brought to the circuit this year by Ford legend Glenn Seton, who experienced a similar fate 30 years ago.
Seton’s tears were burned into the memory of fans in the same way that images of Chaz Mostert cracking a beer at a trackside “Conrod Drive-Thru” went viral on Sunday.
Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood will get another chance at Bathurst next year, when the duo will be the core of a blockbuster Bathurst debut for Toyota and its Supra.
They’ll be ready to celebrate with fans next October - hopefully after completing the 1000 kilometre classic.
Originally published as Bathurst thriller proves Toyota is right
China’s cash troubles puts bullseye on Aus
