DJR Team Penske, Ford Tickford Racing and 23Red Racing will race the Falcon for the last time at Bathurst as they fight for a final victory for one of the most successful nameplates of any make to race at Bathurst.
“Falcon’s legacy at Bathurst is remarkable, and we know fans around the country, regardless of their allegiance, acknowledge this,” Supercars CEO, Sean Seamer, said.
“From the sheer emotion of the 2006 race, which became the first of the three Falcon wins in a row, to Dick Johnson’s Tru-Blu XD and the mighty XY Phase III GT-HO, the Falcon has left an indelible mark in the history of this Great Race.”
In tribute, a road-going version of the ’67 Bathurst-winning Ford XR GT from Ford Australia’s Heritage Collection will be part of a gathering of famous Falcons celebrating the nameplate’s success at both Bathurst and Australian touring car racing over five decades.
In stark-contrast to the simple black paintwork of Fred Gibson and Harry Firth’s winner, all 500 road-going iterations of the first ‘Bathurst’ Falcon were finished in ‘GT Gold’.
Pride of place in the display will be the 1968 London-to-Sydney Marathon XT Falcon GT, registration ‘KAG-002’, one of three Falcons that claimed the Teams Trophy in the legendary global race.
Driven by Ian Vaughan, Harry Firth and Jack Ellis, KAG-002 itself finished third outright in the Marathon.
Shipped from Ford to this year’s Great Race, the XT GT will celebrate 50 years since that famous event, which saw Falcon etch its name in global motor racing history in one of the most arduous, challenging sporting contests.
The Supercheap Auto 1000 will be held October 4-7 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst.
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