Eric Thompson: Bathurst never fails to deliver

Fans camp for days to get good vantage spots for the Bathurst 1000. Photo / Getty Images

What a great weekend just gone. I spent most the previous week getting more and more fired up for the Bathurst 1000 endurance race and what a race.

Right from the get-go it had me on the edge of my seat especially seeing poor old Fabian Coulthard's race end before he'd even completed a lap.

The Kiwi's car blew a rear tyre as he was edging close to 300km/h and once the sliding V8 hit the grass it was all over.

It launched itself into the air with bits flying off in all direction as it rolled six times before coming to rest on its chassis rails with only the safety cage intact.

Coulthard climbed out of what was left of his car and nonchalantly waved to the crowd as if he'd run out of fuel and had to park the car up. The man must have cojones made of steel.

Later Coulthard was heard to say, "I'm fine, I'm 100 per cent okay. It was better than any ride at Dreamworld. It was the fastest and biggest [crash I've ever had]. I didn't have to open the door to get out so I knew there were a few things missing.

He went on to say, "There was zero warning. I'd just arrived at The Chase and the car just swapped ends on me basically, and I've just gone barrel rolling.

"Just prior to coming down Conrod Straight, I talked to my engineer and said at the start there was contact with the car in front in the left rear, and the next thing I know I'm sideways, backwards and upside down."

The race settled down a bit after that and just when you started to think things were getting boring something else would happen.

I feel a bit sorry for Mark Winterbottom who had planted his car on pole and he and Luke Youlden were circulating quite well until the rear tyre delaminated causing the car to leap sideways and smack into the wall.

Youlden managed to haul it away from the wall but the damage was done.

Watching Winterbottom get back behind the wheel and mow his way through the field was quite something to behold.

By the time the damage had been repaired, and he'd rejoined the race, Winterbottom's Ford had plummeted to 23rd. When the chequered flag dropped at the end of 161 laps, Winterbottom crossed the line ninth.

As the race was heading into its final few laps, most of the cars were running on fumes and I half expected to see a number of them parked up half way up Mountain Straight.

However, Will Davison, who was in third, conveniently crashed into the wall over the top of the mountain and lurched to a halt bring out the safety car.

With six laps to go and after nearly six hours of racing, The Mountain yet again threw a spanner in the works and it was a sprint to the finish where Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife hung to win their respective fifth and sixth Bathurst titles.

I was in motor racing heaven Sunday afternoon, because just as Bathurst finished the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix was about to get going. Great, I thought, as I flicked over and settled down to watch.

Off they went. Before even half a lap was completed six cars had removed themselves from the race and on the restart it turned into a procession so I turned it off. After the excitement of Bathurst it was like watching paint dry on a Scalextric set.

Apparently Sebastien Vettel won followed by Mark Webber (wasn't that how they started?).

Webber mentioned in a sound bite that the track's crap and he knew it would be a procession.

On that note, bring on the next V8 Supercar endurance race - the Armor All Gold Coast 600.