MOTORSPORT: Legends and heroes for Bathurst

"Legends and heroes" is the official theme of the 2017 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, which will mark a series of important anniversaries.

Past winners and legends of Bathurst are being invited to attend the October 5-8 ‘Great Race’ by Supercars to mark 20 years since the category name was coined as V8 Supercars, 40 years since the Moffat Ford Dealer Team 1-2 and 50 years since the Ford Falcon XE GT’s win.

“These, amongst other great memories, will be celebrated,” said a letter of invitation to a Bathurst 1000 winner signed by CEO James Warburton.

“Supercars are extremely proud of our past and keen to do more to embrace it,” the letter also stated.

“We will commemorate the history, heritage and key milestones of the Bathurst 1000 and would be honoured if you would join us in celebrating at Bathurst with the fans and the motorsport community.”

The Legends and Heroes theme will also be featured on a dedicated Fox Sport channel, that will run 24-hours per day during Bathurst week.

“Supercars is extremely proud of our Legends and their contribution to the sport. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to recognise and honour you in a public way,” the letter stated.

The Bathurst 1000’s heritage dates all the way back to a production car race that started at Phillip Island in 1960, but transferred to the Mount Panorama road course in 1963.

The greatest legend and hero of the race is the late Peter Brock, who won nine times and was killed racing in a Western Australian road rally in 2006.

Since then winners of the Bathurst 1000 have been awarded the Peter Brock Trophy.

Away from Bathurst, Supercars has paid attention to its past in recent years by hosting a 'retro round' at Sandown in 2016 and celebrating its heritage circuits.

In other Supercars news, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) is reporting that category part-owner, Archer Capital has withdrawn the sale of its share of the series.

“The private equity firm has formally shelved attempts to sell its controlling stake in the motorsport [category],” the AFR reported

“It is understood Archer told V8 team owners - who together own a minority 35 per cent share in the sport - of its decision last week, and ahead of next week's round in Darwin.

“The decision to put the auction on ice comes less than one month after Archer had investment bank UBS field indicative offers for V8 Supercars, which were said to come in below the $100 million mark,” the story stated.