Dick Johnson was 18 when he watched the inaugural Bathurst 1000 in 1963 and made his debut at the track a decade later."Every time you drive over the Blue Mountains and you see Mount Panorama it brings back a lot of memories because it is such an iconic place," Johnson said.
"As a driver you never know how long you are going to have the opportunity, so to be here for a 30th time is pretty special," he said. "We are a mad sporting nation and there are a few events that really capture the imagination of the population, like the Melbourne Cup, AFL Grand Final, Boxing Day Test, State of Origin, and Bathurst," he said.In 1972, a 27-year old Peter Brock took to Mount Panorama in his Holden Torana, where he would become the "King of the Mountain".
"It was meant to be a mobile endurance performance test of the cars that we drive on the road — that was the sole reason for the thing happening in the first place," Normoyle said.