√2022 Bathurst 1000 – everything you need to know

All the facts and figures you need to watch and enjoy the greatest race in Australian motorsport.

The greatest rivalry in Australian motorsport – Ford-versus-Holden at Mount Panorama – is about to end.

The red-against-blue battle began in the 1960s and ends on 9 October with the 2022 running of the Bathurst 1000, as Holden and Ford line-up against each other for the final time.

Although Holden ended local manufacturing in 2017 – and left Australia altogether at the end of 2020 – a racing version of the imported ‘Commodore’ (a rebadged sedan from General Motors’ former European division) remained eligible for the V8 Supercars category until the end of this season.

V8 Supercars racing changes forever in 2023 when an all-new Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro – built to new regulations for V8-powered coupes called ‘Gen3’ – begin a new era of touring car racing.

Amid the upcoming changes, the basics at Bathurst in 2022 remain the same – two drivers racing flat-out over 1000 kilometres, stopping to re-stock the car’s fuel and tyres, as well as changing brakes for safety – before a final sprint to the chequered flag.

Only two types of cars are racing – the V8-powered Holden Commodore ‘ZB’ sedan (the model code for the imported model to wear the Commodore badge) and Ford Mustang coupe – unlike previous years, when a range of diverse car brands filled the grid.

This year’s starting line-up includes 28 cars as the regular 25-car field for V8 Supercars championship sprint races is boosted by three ‘Wildcard’ entries including Commodores for legendary drivers and multiple Bathurst winners Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy.

The Ones to Watch:

Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander: The 2020 winners are short-odds favourites this year, as both are in cracking form and van Gisbergen has been near-unbeatable in sprint races on his way to back-to-back V8 Supercars titles. They are the only genuine A+ combination in the field and their Triple Eight team knows how to win at Mount Panorama.

Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard: Mostert is the defending Bathurst champion and, despite an up-and-down sprint season this year, he and his team could easily hit Mount Panorama with the same speed as 2021. He has the vastly experienced Coulthard as his co-driver in his first year as a part-timer, so both have a point to prove.

Will Davison/Alex Davison: Will Davison is the form driver for Ford this year, showing the trademark style and mechanical sympathy he has turned into two victories at the Bathurst 1000. He is always relaxed with his older brother Alex as co-driver, and badly wants to give him a Bathurst win. This pair might not be the pick in a door-to-door battle at the finish, but if they hit the front and manage to gap the field, they could easily stay there.

Craig Lowndes/Declan Fraser: Realistically, the ageing seven-time race winner and his rookie apprentice should have no chance of victory, but no-one bets against Lowndes at Bathurst and the pair have a crack Commodore from the Triple Eight team for their Wildcard start. This could be Lowndes’ last race in the Bathurst 1000 so keep an eye on him.

Fast facts:

Date – Sunday 9 October 2022
Start time – 11.15am
Race Distance – 161 laps
Track Distance – 6.213km
Pit stops – seven compulsory (can vary for tactics)
Race lap record – 2 minutes 04.7602 (Chaz Mostert, Ford Mustang, 2019)
Qualifying record – 2 minutes 03.5592 (Cam Waters, Ford Mustang, 2020)
Fastest lap – 2 minutes 03.4815 (Scott McLaughlin, Ford Mustang, practice 2019)
Longest race time – 7 hours 58 minutes 53.2052 seconds (2014)
Shortest race time – 6 hours 1 minute 44.8637 seconds (2021)
Tyre allocation – 60 Dunlop hard compound
Fuel – 800 litres
Crew – 15 total for 2 cars/9 designated pit crew

The field

Car Number	Drivers	Team	Car
2	Nick Percat/Warren Luff	Walkinshaw-Andretti-United	Holden Commodore
3	Tim Slade/Tim Blanchard	Cool Drive	Ford Mustang
4	Jack Smith/Jaxon Evans	Brad Jones Racing	Holden Commodore
5	James Courtney/Zane Goddard	Tickford Racing	Ford Mustang
6	Cam Waters/James Moffat	Tickford Racing	Ford Mustang
8	Andre Heimgartner/Dale Wood	Brad Jones Racing	Holden Commodore
9	Will Brown/Jack Perkins	Erebus Racing	Holden Commodore
10	Lee Holdsworth/Matt Payne	Grove Racing	Ford Mustang
11	Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford Mustang
14	Bryce Fullwood/Dean Fiore	Brad Jones Racing	Holden Commodore
17	Will Davison/Alex Davison	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford Mustang
18	Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso	Team 18	Holden Commodore
20	Scott Pye/Tyler Everingham	Team 18	Holden Commodore
22	Chris Pither/Cameron Hill	PremiAir Racing	Holden Commodore
25	Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard	Walkinshaw-Andretti-United	Holden Commodore
26	David Reynolds/Matt Campbell	Grove Racing	Ford Mustang
31	James Golding/Dylan O’Keefe	PremiAir Racing	Holden Commodore
34	Jack Le Brocq/Aaron Seton	Matt Stone Racing	Holden Commodore
35	Todd Hazelwood/Jayden Ojeda	Matt Stone Racing	Holden Commodore
51	Richie Stanaway/Greg Murphy (Wildcard)	Erebus Racing	Holden Commodore
55	Thomas Randle/Zak Best	Tickford Racing	Ford Mustang
56	Jake Kostecki/Kurt Kostecki	Tickford Racing	Ford Mustang
88	Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore
96	Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys	Brad Jones Racing	Holden Commodore
97	Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore
99	Brodie Kostecki/David Russell	Erebus Racing	Holden Commodore
118	Matt Chahda/Jaylyn Robotham (Wildcard)	Matt Chadha Motorsport	Ford Mustang
888	Craig Lowndes/Declan Fraser (Wildcard)	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore