Glenn Seton Slides Around Bathurst 1987
This is some classic race cam footage of Glenn Seton slithering around during a storm, on slicks, in his Peter Jackson Nissan Skyline at Bathurst in 1987.
There is something magical about Bathurst. Somehow the race always seems to produce some serious drama and excitement.
The 1987 James Hardie 1000 had everything. Euro teams, protests, rain, and Brock going for his ninth win.
The race was held for cars eligible for the international Group A touring car formula and was the eighth round of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. It was the first time a large number of very capable European teams were competing in the event.
The stage was set for quite a contest as no one knew how quick the Euros would be against the local teams. Come practice and qualifying we had the answer. The euros were bloody quick!
Especially the The Eggenberger Motorsport Team of Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz in their Ford Sierra RS500s. They blizted the the Hardies Heros top 10 shoot out with a time nearly 6 seconds faster than the best Australian RS500 of Andrew Miedecke.
Holden fans were even more downbeat with Alan Grice running another second slower than Miedecke in the locally built Holden Commodore VL SS Group A
By the time the race got underway there was much talk about the Eggenberger team running with illegally modified wheel arches that let them run a taller tyre.Maybe there was some hope for the locals?
161 laps later the race was “won” by the Eggenberger Sierras, with Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonné taking the chequered flag two laps ahead of team mates Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz. Third was the best of the locally based teams, the Holden Dealer Team Commodore driven by Peter McLeod , David Parsons and Peter Brock, who had jumped out of his regular 05 car and into the 10 car as was allowed under the rules. In fourth place was Glenn Seton and John Bowe in the NIssan RS DR30 in the video above.
However Post-race protests blighted the results, which were not finalised until well into 1988 as the Eggenberger team appealed their disqualification as far as the appeals process allowed.
Eventually the disqualification, for illegally modified front wheel arch guards, was upheld and McLeod, Brock and Parsons were declared race winners.
It was a record ninth Bathurst 1000 victory for Brock and his final victory in the race.
As for Seton, he was promoted to second place, but fans will always remember his heroics when the storm came and drove like a freaking lunatic to give the underpowered Nissan a great result.
Although he has never won the Bathurst 1000, like his father Bo Seton did in 1965, Glenn has started from pole position in 1994 and 1996 and finished second three times.
He came close to winning the race in 1995, but his engine failed 9 laps from the finish whilst leading.
He won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1993 and 1997 while driving for his own team.
Image via: Vern Norrgard nmd.com.au
