ONE of the highlights of the many off-track activities at the Bathurst 1000 will be a car display worth a cool $10 million to celebrate Bathurst’s bicentenary.
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And the star attraction of the display will be the amazing Holden Monaro 427 – the inaugural winner of the Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2002.
The car was the first of two seven-litre, 427 cubic-inch, V8-powered Monaro racecars built by Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM) for Holden and was driven to victory in 2002 by a team of four drivers: Garth Tander, Steven Richards, Nathan Pretty and Cameron McConville.
The Monaro completed 532 laps of Mount Panorama over the 24 hours, 21 laps more than the second-placed Mosler.
After the 24 Hour, Garry Rogers Motorsport raced the Monaro in the Nations Cup series.
Peter Brock then raced the yellow Monaro, renumbered as 05, in the four Nations Cup races held at the Australian Grand Prix meeting at Albert Park in 2003, winning all four races.
Nathan Pretty later raced the Monaro in the 2003 Nations Cup series, taking round victories at both Symmons Plains and Winton, finishing third in the championship.
The car again competed in the Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2003 using the same driver line-up.
It finished second in 2003 to its sister car (a red #05 version driven by Peter Brock, Greg Murphy, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly) in a Holden Motorsport 1-2.
Garry Rogers Motorsport retains ownership of the car.
The Monaro will be part of a varied display of cars in Harris Park at Mount Panorama next week to celebrate the bicentenary.
A range of cars from the 75-plus year history of racing at Bathurst will also be part of the display.
