Publisher’s Note WORKING TOGETHER TO A BETTER COMMON GOAL

Speedcafe and SupercarXtra join forces

elcome to SupercarXtra’s champion drivers’ edition. We hope you enjoy the features in the following pages, which are SupercarXtra’s stories on some of the best drivers ever to race in Supercars and the Australian Touring Car Championship.

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed the “Powered by Speedcafe” logo on the front cover of this issue. From this edition, SupercarXtra has joined forces with Speedcafe. com to create a new joint venture.

The new arrangement will allow readers to subscribe to their favourite quarterly magazine directly from the most widely read motorsport

Wwebsite in the nation.

The partnership will also mean that SupercarXtra will have access to a much larger pool of writers and photographers, meaning a better publication for its loyal readers.

It’s good news as well for our valued advertisers and commercial partners, who will now enjoy a larger reach.

There will also be a number of other new and exciting initiatives that will be unveiled in the near future.

Rest assured that your favourite magazine will continue to be full of entertaining articles and awesome photography from the past and the present. We also plan to continue our extremely popular Bathurst book series.

“I’m really quite excited by this joint venture,” said SupercarXtra publisher, Allan Edwards.

“This will give us the reach to grow the publication which in turn will avail us with the resources to take the magazine to the next level.

“I’d really like to thank the owners of Speedcafe.com – who clearly believe that print publications are still an important part of the overall media landscape – for their belief in, and support of, the SupercarXtra product.

“As we head towards our quarter of a century anniversary, our small but loyal SupercarXtra team can’t wait to start working with the crew at Speedcafe.com to make this publication even better than it has been over the past 23 years.”

INCORPORATING V8X MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER

Allan Edwards

Raamen Pty Ltd trading as V8X PO Box 225, Keilor, VIC 3036 publisher@supercarxtra.com.au

EDITOR

Adrian Musolino editor@supercarxtra.com.au

SUB EDITORS

Krystal Boots, Amanda Cobb

DESIGNER

Thao Trinh

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Peter Norton, Autopics.com.au, Glenis Lindley, James Baker, Ben Auld, Justin Deeley, Mark Horsburgh, P1 Images, Paul Nathan, Scott Wensley, Danny Bourke, Matthew Norton, Jack Martin

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Published by Raamen Pty Ltd trading as V8X.

Material in Supercar Xtra is protected by copyright laws and may not be reproduced in full or in part in any format. Supercar Xtra will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Supercar Xtra is factual, no responsibility will be taken for any material which is later found to be false or misleading. The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.

In total, 25 drivers have won the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars championship between 1960 and today. We put these drivers together on a grid to see how this dream ‘Race of Champions’ would look. With drivers with the most titles higher up the grid, we’ve also picked the most dominant championship-winning cars for the multi-time champions.

25 David Mckay

1960 • DAVID MCKAY • JAGUAR MARK 1 3.4

McKay won the first Australian Touring Car Championship in a Jaguar Mark 1 3.4 at Gnoo Blas near Orange, New South Wales, in 1960. The motoring journalist enjoyed a distinguished racing career, highlighted by the championship win.

24 Bill Pitt

1961 • MRS DI ANDERSON • JAGUAR MARK 1 3.4

Pitt became the second championship winner in a Jaguar Mark 1 3.4 at Lowood, Queensland, in 1961. Pitt had an extensive career racing Jaguars, finishing second in 1960 by six seconds before victory in 1961.

23 Robbie Francevic

1986 • VOLVO DEALER TEAM • VOLVO 240T

Francevic became the oldest winner of the Australian Touring Car Championship at 44 years of age when he won the title in the Volvo 240T in 1986. The New Zealander overcame internal team squabbles to give Volvo its maiden championship win.

22 James Courtney

2010 • DICK JOHNSON RACING • FORD FG FALCON

Courtney scored his first and so far only championship win following a sensational title race in 2010. In a Triple Eight-built Ford FG Falcon, Courtney overcame the ownership instability at Dick Johnson Racing to win the title in a dramatic finale in Sydney.

21 Rick Kelly

2006 • HSV DEALER TEAM • HOLDEN VZ COMMODORE

Kelly won the title following a controversial collision at the season finale at Phillip Island, but it was a consistent campaign for the HSV Dealer Team that put him in that winning position.

20 Russell Ingall

2005 • STONE BROTHERS RACING • FORD BA FALCON

After four runners-up finishes, Ingall won his only championship in 2005. ‘The Enforcer’ curtailed his aggressive driving style to collect points and win the championship through consistency.

19 Mark Winterbottom

2015 • PRODRIVE RACING AUSTRALIA • FORD FG X FALCON

Winterbottom claimed a long-awaited title for Prodrive Racing Australia with the new Ford FG X Falcon in 2015. With nine wins across the season, Winterbottom won the championship with a race to spare.

18 Garth Tander

2007 • HSV DEALER TEAM • HOLDEN VE COMMODORE

Tander was a contender throughout his career, though it all came together for his only championship win in 2007, winning 15 races throughout the season.

17 Colin Bond

1975 • HOLDEN DEALER TEAM • HOLDEN LH TORANA SLR5000 L34

The versatile Bond scored his only championship win for the Holden Dealer Team in 1975 (pictured carrying the #1 in the championship-winning car in 1976), winning three rounds for a comfortable points margin.

16 Bob Morris

1979 • RON HODGSON MOTORS • HOLDEN LX TORANA SS 5000 A9X

Morris produced a win for the underdogs in 1979, defeating the factory-backed Peter Brock to the title in the championship decider at Adelaide International Raceway. With four round wins to Brock’s three, Morris was a worthy champion.

15

John Bowe

1995 • DICK JOHNSON RACING • FORD EF FALCON

After playing second fiddle to teammate Dick Johnnson with the Sierras in the Group A years, Bowe emerged as Dick Johnson Racing’s lead driver into the V8 era and won his only title in 1995.

14 Norm Beechey

1970 • SHELL RACING TEAM • HOLDEN HT MONARO GTS350

Beechey became the first driver to win a championship for Ford and Holden in 1970. His championship win in the Holden HT Monaro GTS350 in 1970 marked the first title win for an Australian-made car, claiming three wins from seven rounds.

13 Marcos Ambrose

2004 • STONE BROTHERS RACING • FORD BA FALCON

Ambrose became a Ford hero when he ended the Holden Racing Team’s run of championships with a victory for Stone Brothers Racing in the new Ford BA Falcon in 2003. He defended the crown with an even more convincing result in 2004, winning 11 of 26 races.

12 Glenn Seton

1993 • GLENN SETON RACING • FORD EB FALCON

Seton won two championships for his own Ford team in 1993 and 1997. The 1993 season saw a dominant performance from the team, winning six of nine rounds with four of those for Seton.

11 Scott Mclaughlin

2019 • DJR TEAM PENSKE • FORD MUSTANG

McLaughlin just missed out on the championship win in 2017, making amends in 2018 to give the Ford Falcon its 17th and final championship win. He rewrote the record books on his way to his second title with the Ford Mustang in 2019, making it three in a row in 2020 before leaving for IndyCars.

10 Shane Van Gisbergen

2022 • TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING • HOLDEN ZB COMMODORE

Van Gisbergen confirmed his promise by winning the championship in his first season with Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2016. He rose back to the top in 2021, backing that up with a crushing run in 2022 that set a new benchmark in terms of dominant seasons.

9 Peter Brock

1978 • HOLDEN DEALER TEAM • HOLDEN LX TORANA A9X Brock won his three championships for the Holden Dealer Team in 1974, 1978 and 1980. While he dominated the 1974 championship using the Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 and LH Torana SL/R 5000, he won three from eight rounds to win the 1978 title with the LX Torana A9X.

8 Craig Lowndes

1996 • HOLDEN RACING TEAM • HOLDEN VR COMMODORE

Lowndes’ championship win in his rookie season remains one of the most impressive campaigns in the history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars, winning a then record 16 races from 30. The Holden Racing Team driver in the VR Commodore was unstoppable, ushering in a new era for the sport.

7 Bob Jane

1971 • BOB JANE RACING TEAM • CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL-1

Jane won two titles in Jaguars in single-race deciders in 1962 and 1963, though the car of his that really captured the public’s imagination was the Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 with which he won back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972. The 1971 version of the Camaro featured a seven-litre 427 V8 engine, before rule changes the following year forced a reduction to a 5.7-litre 350 V8 engine.

6 Jim Richards

1985 • JPS TEAM BMW • BMW 635 CSI

Richards was the master of Group A, winning four championships across a seven-year period for both BMW and Nissan. His most dominant win came in the BMW 635 CSi in 1985, winning seven of 10 rounds, including six in a row.

5 Allan Moffat

1977 • ALLAN MOFFAT RACING • FORD XB FALCON GT/XC GS500

Moffat became Ford’s leading entry in the formative years of Group C, winning three titles for the Blue Oval between 1973 and 1977.

He dominated the 1977 season along with teammate Colin Bond in the XB Falcon GT and then the slightly updated XC GS500. Moffat won seven of 11 rounds for an equal record 72.73 per cent winning season, finishing comfortably ahead of Bond.

4 Ian Geoghegan

1969 • TOTAL TEAM • FORD MUSTANG

Geoghegan won his first championship in a Ford Cortina in 1964, but he’s best remembered for his run of four consecutive titles with the Ford Mustang from 1966 to 1969. The Mustang evolved and improved across that period, with the win in 1969 the first under the multi-round format.

3 Dick Johnson

1981 • DICK JOHNSON RACING • FORD XD FALCON

Johnson won five championships for Ford, three in Falcons and two in Sierras. The most dominant and memorable of the lot was 1981 in the XD Falcon, in which Johnson won eight races for an equal record 72.73 per cent winning season and overcame the challenge of Holden rival Peter Brock.

2 Mark Skaife

2002 • HOLDEN RACING TEAM • HOLDEN VX COMMODORE

Skaife had already won two championships for Gibson Motorsport before the start of his dominant run with the Holden Racing Team, in which time he won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. The 2001 and 2002 seasons saw Skaife conquer all in his VX Commodore, winning 15 races in 2002 for a winning percentage of more than 50 per cent.

1 Jamie Whincup

2008 • TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING • FORD BF FALCON

Whincup became the undisputed best in Supercars with his run of seven championships between 2008 and 2017. The first championship win in 2008 was a clinic, winning 15 races for an equal second most in championship history. Despite missing an entire round in New Zealand following a qualifying crash, Whincup still won his first title by a big margin.