Erebus Motorsport's Bathurst 1000 Pursuit

For as long as I can remember, I've watched the Bathurst 1000 from the couch, and as a motorsport photographer, of all the races in the country, the 'Great Race' was at the top of my bucket list to photograph.  It's a must watch race every year, because anything can happen.  Careers and legends are created here, and this year would be no different.

The week would begin with ​what is becoming a common occurrence during Supercar's weekends, the 'Track to Town' allowing fans to get up close and personal with the machines and meet those who will attempt to tame them on track.

It would be thanks to Erebus Motorsport that I'd get the opportunity to be trackside for this year's Bathurst 1000 installment.  Not only would they have their four drivers in the Great Race, but also be supporting Ollie Wickham in the Toyota GR Cup, and Max Geoghan competing in Super2.

In addition to the team's main game drivers of Jack Le Brocq and Cooper Murray, the rising talent of Jarrod Hughes and Jobe Stewart would join as their co-drivers for the 2025 Enduro Cup.

Like many of the co-drivers competing at Mt Panorama, both Jarrod and Jobe would be pulling double duty, racing in both Supercars and Super2.  There seemed to be a black cat wandering around Jarrod's Super2 car with the amount of bad luck he was handed, as Jobe Stewart had a moment at Forrest Elbow during his shootout lap, smacking the wall and giving me and plenty of others a mild heart attack.

In addition to the demands that come from being on track and preparing for the 1000km race, as always there are the PR demands too for the drivers including multiple signing sessions.  Chiko would again jump on board to sponsor the #99 car for the Bathurst 1000 and would have their own little pop-up near merchandise alley, serving Chiko rolls whilst also having a claw machine where you could win a sticker or some socks.

As reigning champions, Erebus would get to display the coveted Peter Brock trophy until the race on Sunday, and it's so cool that instead of it being in a glass case in a museum, it gets moved around, with fans getting to hold it on the podium, sat on a cheap metal chair in the garage among Chiko rolls, and even brought to the top of the mountain to be shared with the unique individuals who camp there every year. For a bit of fun, Betty Klimenko zip tied the trophy to her wrist on Sunday to show that Erebus were certainly going to put up a fight to retain the moniker of 'Kings and Queens of the Mountain'. 

Practice 1 would look gloomy, but the rain would stay away for the moment, as all drivers aimed to get comfortable in their cars, at one of the toughest racetracks on earth.  Cooper Murray set the sixth fastest time with a 2:06.068 lap, after a large lockup into the Chase, as the #9 Tyrepower pair of Jack and Jarrod set their fastest time of a 2:06.317, putting them tenth.

The rain would make its return for Practice 2, a co-driver only session.  One thing you don't want to do is crash your car on the first day, but with rain predicted for Sunday, it was critical for the co-drivers to get used to the conditions and gather some data.  Jarrod (2:09.313) and Jobe (2:10.194) finish the session in 14th and 19th, with experience rather than speed being the aim.

The sun was shining on Friday, and all four Erebus drivers would get on track, with Cooper and Jobe in sixth (2:05.121) and Jack and Jarrod in fourteenth (2:05.546).  The pace was consistent, even though they fell down the order in the fourth session, as Cooper (2.05.191) placed 17th with the #9 pair (2.05.402) in 20th.

Friday was all about finding the pace for qualifying at the end of the day, with everyone eyeing the top ten to make the iconic shootout come Saturday.  And it would be unbelievable close, with the top six within less than a tenth of a second of each other.  Cooper Murray could well have been on provisional pole, minus a hairy moment at the final corner, as unfortunately Jack Le Brocq would qualify back in seventeenth.

To end a what was a busy Friday, the #99 entry had their scheduled pit stop practice, to make driver swaps, brake changes, possible double stacking and everything in between become second nature for the drivers and mechanics.

The final co-driver only session took place on Saturday morning, with Jarrod and Jobe keeping it clean as a couple of other drivers became acquainted with the Turn 1 gravel trap.  Jarrod placed in ninth with a 2:06.339 with Jobe in 24th, after setting a lap time of 2.07.158.

Final practice would give teams another chance for pitstop practice and would also be most drivers final opportunity to push their cars to the limit before the 1000km battle.  Cooper Murray's second last lap (2:05.367) of the session was his fastest, placing him fourth as the Tyrepower duo sat 25th at the end.

It was now time for the greatest qualifying session of the season, the iconic Bathurst top ten shootout. Cooper was fast climbing the mountain, yet lost some time as he danced across it, and closed the gap in the last sector.  With a time of 2:04.600, he and Jobe Stewart would start sixth for the great race.

An early morning on Bathurst day began with a quick warm up session, and the teams last chance to practice their pitstops and driver changes, as well as getting a few more laps under their belts.

Soon enough, the cars were lined up on the grid, with both main-game drivers starting the race, and as the pre-race festivities began, I walked to Turn 1.  Before heading to Bathurst, I watched previous year's race starts, particularly those from the 90's and early 2000's to get an idea of how I wanted to shoot the race start.  The common camera angle from television coverage showed the mountain of fans in the background, so I wanted to show that as well.  

I heard the marshals call out 'car stopped' for the stalled #14 car before I realised that the lights had gone out and the clutches had been dropped.  ​After a few laps, I walked to the top of the hill on the front straight to soak in the atmosphere and was happy to report it was standing room only. It was also great to hear the cheers and reactions from the crowd, as if you were in a stadium. The Bathurst 1000 really is a yearly pilgrimage for many.

Jack Le Brocq pitted very early putting him on a different strategy, but I made it back to the garage to catch the first pitstop for Cooper Murray, who had moved up to second as everyone kept a keen eye on the radar.  There was a large weather system south of Bathurst, and nobody knew when the predicted rain would actually hit.  A quick sandwich and edit of photos, then I headed back out.

I visited the final corner for some more track shots, when on lap 55, the first safety car came out.  That's when the wind changed, now coming from the south, and instead of heading back to the garage, I made the confusing walk to 'The Chase', predicting that rain would arrive soon.

I spent a long time at 'The Chase', waiting for the rain to move from the top of the mountain to the bottom, watching the stories of the race unfold, and it was here that I began to really get excited, as it dawned on me. Holy crap, I'm photographing the Bathurst 1000!

It was also around Lap 85 that both Erebus cars found themselves together in the Top 10.

Finally, I headed back to edit some more photos, making sure I was back in the garage for the final pit stops of the race.  The team's job was complete, now it was down to the drivers, and Cooper Murray and Jobe Stewart had put themselves in a position to win it all.

With 22 laps to go on the safety car restart, Cooper Murray moved into second place, and a lap later, took the lead of the race, and held the lead for a long time, but Matt Payne who is known to be fast in the wet was reeling him in.

I was now capturing the reactions of the team, who were unimaginably, more nervous than I was as Matt Payne went side by side with Cooper down the backstraight.  Suddenly, the garage erupted in cheers and excitement as the quickest driver in the wet out of the top three, fired off the road and fell back to third.

With five laps to go, it was now James Golding looking to get past the Chiko Camaro, and did so, but only by making contact into Griffin's Bend, with an extremely optimistic move.  Again, I didn't see it as it happened, and when I turned to look at the screen, time seemed to freeze as Cooper was parallel to the tyre barrier.  Up until that point, I had felt nerves like never before, and all I felt now was that gut-wrenching feeling of disappointment that Bathurst so often delivers.  And I was just a photographer, I can't imagine how the team felt.

Golding received a five second penalty for the move, but created a five second gap to Cooper, meaning after all that, Erebus didn't even get a podium.  I expected to feel something at the Bathurst 1000 that was going to be unlike anything else that I had experienced photographing motorsport, but I had no idea it would be anything like this.  I had never felt so nervous during a race, and it certainly took me a few days to process what happened with five laps to go.  If there was one thing to take from the experience though, it's that Erebus Motorsport are very often a chance at the Bathurst 1000, and that they should be extremely proud of their efforts.  Not only that, but they were one of a couple of teams to not have a single mechanical issue or crash all week.  In the end, Cooper Murray and Jobe Stewart finished fourth, as Jack Le Brocq and Jarrod Hughes finished fourteenth,

Finally, and once more, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone at Erebus Motorsport for making me feel welcome and part of the team, and for allowing me to realise a dream of photographing the Bathurst 1000.

​Bathurst 1000 Bonus Gallery