September and Supercars used to mean the Sandown 500. It was the curtain-raiser for the Bathurst 1000, giving drivers, teams and fans an understanding of what to expect in October.
But in recent years it became something else - it became the sport’s official ‘retro round’.
Since 2016 teams were required to ditch their usual liveries and pick a look from the past to celebrate the sport’s rich and colourful heritage. It became a fun event, elevating the already special Sandown meeting into something more.
Since the pandemic both the Sandown 500 and the retro round have been dropped, and the sport is lesser for it.
Of course, retro liveries were never a Sandown-exclusive though, with the 2012 Bathurst 1000 - the 50th anniversary of the race - serving as a nexus point for this latest trend.
With that in mind, we’ve gone back through the years and picked our favourite retro looks from the past decade.
10. Triple 8 ‘1988 Caltex’ - 2017 Sandown 500
During his final full-time seasons in Supercars Craig Lowndes was removed from the main Red Bull-back Triple Eight team and ran under separate Caltex sponsorship. For the 2017 Sandown 500 retro round Lowndes and teammate Steven Richards had their Holden Commodore in a look that threw back to Colin Bond’s deeply-underrated 1989 Caltex livery he ran on his Ford Sierra.
Ditching the then familiar white and green from his Caltex Vortex scheme he swapped to a bright red and white look with ‘80s-style star and sign writing. It really popped on track and was in the spirit of the event.
9. BJR/Team CoolDrive ‘B&H’ - 2018 Sandown 500
Tim Blanchard managed to both get in the spirit of retro round and honour his father’s racing career with this 2018 Sandown 500 look. Finished in the unique yellow hue of Benson & Hedges cigarettes that adorned the BMW M3s of the early 1990s, Blanchard’s ZB Commodore looked great.
The reason he chose the look is just as special as the livery itself - Tim’s dad John drove for BMW in 1993. It was Blanchard senior’s only full-time season in the Australian Touring Car Championship, running alongside Tony Longhurst in the ‘B&H’ cars, as well as the Diet Coke Bimmers of Paul Morris and Geoff Full.
8. Walkinshaw ‘Classic HRT’ - 2017 Sandown 500 & Bathurst 1000
Regular readers will know we are fans of the original HRT look - white front half, black or dark blue back and the iconic ‘lion and helmet’ logo. So Walkinshaw Racing’s decision to return to that classic look for the 2017 Sandown event naturally earned it a spot on this list.
It was chosen as a way to celebrate the partnership between the team and major Mobil 1, which began in ‘94 when the late, great Peter Brock joined the team and brought his long-time sponsor with him.
It’s only so low on our list because it wasn’t an exact return to the original look, but it had all the right colours and logos to create ‘90s nostalgia.
7. Triple 8 ‘HDT 50th anniversary’ - 2019 Bathurst 1000
In hindsight this ended up being the Holden Commodore’s last Bathurst race as a contemporary model because the ZB model was dropped by the brand in December 2020. But what a way to go out - the modern Commodore wearing the 1971 Holden Dealer Team livery.
The black, white and red look was a great throwback to the glory days of Brock and Bond, and it was made better by all the sponsors agreeing to match the colour palette, regardless of their own logos.
6. Erebus ‘Chickadee’ - 2018 Sandown 500
If there’s a modern equivalent to the carefree, wise-cracking nature of ‘80s legend, Allan Grice, it’s David Reynolds. Throughout his career he has endeared himself to many fans with his colourful nature, just like ‘Gricey’, so it was appropriate Erebus Racing chose the striking ‘Chickadee’ livery from Grice and Graeme Bailey’s 1986 Bathurst win for its 2018 Sandown retro look.
Kudos to sponsor Penrite for getting into the spirit but it did change the colours slightly but importantly, toning down the very ‘80s day-glo yellow for a more sedate shade. Aside from that, there’s not much to dislike on this great looking livery.
5. Tekno ‘Bob Morris’ - 2019 Sandown 500
We’ve given this one extra points creativity - but also because it revived one of the 1970s most memorable looks.
While most teams had some history to draw on, Tekno Autosports was a small, privateer squad with only recent history. So, the team looked at another small, privateer squad with a reputation for punching above its weight - Bob Morris and his Channel Seven Holden Torana.
The unmissable bright green paint really popped on the ZB Commodore shared by Jack Le Brocq and team owner, Jonathan Webb, and the livery stayed very true to the original despite the very different shaped Holdens.
4. Erebus ‘JPS’ - 2019 Sandown 500
Having paid tribute to Allan Grice and Graeme Bailey in 2018, Erebus Racing decided that 2019 belonged to Jim Richards. Both of the team cars were finished in resplendent black and gold, throwing back to the John Player Special sponsored BMWs Richards raced through the mid-’80s.
It was in this look that Richards won the 1987 ATCC crown driving a BMW M3, so it has a successful past. What made it so special in 2019 was the attention to detail (such as the gold wheels and number on the rear door) and the way the Penrite logo was able to closely match the old ‘JPS’ look.
3. DJR ‘Greens Tuf’ - 2013 Bathurst 1000
Before the retro concept became popular, DJR was using one-off throwback paint schemes to celebrate its long history in the sport. This was the case at the 2013 Bathurst 1000, when Chaz Mostert and Dale Wood shared an FG Falcon in Greens Tuf colours to commemorate the team boss' 30th anniversary of memorable look.
More than just switching colours, DJR even added 'Greens Tuf' signage alongside its regular sponsors to really complete the look.
2. GRM ‘Volvo Dealer Team’ - 2016 Sandown 500 & Bathurst 1000
Volvo’s foray into Supercars was short but spectacular, providing a platform for Scott McLaughlin to make a name for himself and for Garry Rogers Motorsport to show what it could do with factory-support.
While competitive on the track, GRM had fun with its racing and really embraced the retro concept. In 2017 it produced a great tribute to Allan Moffat and John Harvey’s World Touring Car Championship win and in 2018 it threw back to the team owner’s days being the wheel with a bright orange and yellow Commodore that really wowed.
But none were better than its 2016 look that revived the classic white and blue colour scheme of the 1986 Volvo Dealer Team. This connected the modern Swedish Supercar to its glory days, when Kiwi Robbie Francivic won the ATCC title.
While initially rolled out for the Sandown 500, GRM decided to keep the look for Bathurst as well, cementing its place on this list.
1. Bottle-O ‘67 XR Falcon - 2012 Bathurst 1000
The 2012 Bathurst 1000 was the 50th anniversary of The Great Race so many teams got into the spirit and ran cars with a nod to the past. But none nailed the brief quite like the Ford Performance Racing Falcon driven by David Reynolds and Dean Canto.
In honour of Fred Gibson and Harry Firth becoming the first drivers to win the race in a V8-powered car, Reynolds and Canto raced in the same look as the 1967 XR Falcon GT. Not only that, but the livery was largely hand-painted, just like the old days, which is one of the reasons it earns top spot on our list.
The team looked at all the details, from the unique shade of green to the orange and chrome highlights and details and even swapping Reynolds’ usual racing number ‘55’ for '52D'.
The race seemingly shined on the pair for their excellent look and they raced to a well-deserved runner-up spot after 1000km.
Honourable mentions
There’s almost too many honourable mentions to mention! Since the 2012 Bathurst 1000 there have been so many memorable looks that celebrate the best and brightest from the sport’s past.
Bathurst in ‘12 gave us Triple Eight’s take on the HDT Marlboro livery of Craig Lowndes and Warren Luffs Holden, while the FPR entries were finished in the same look at the 1977 Ford Dealer Team Falcons.
As mentioned earlier, Garry Rogers Motorsport always fully embraced the spirit of ‘retro round’ and was unlucky to only get a single entry in our top 10 list. Its 2017 schemes included a take on the Rothmans VL Commodore that driver James Moffat’s father, Allan Moffat, raced to victory in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship opener at Monza. GRM’s 2018 schemes included an unmissable bright orange tribute to the team owner’s driving days in a Torana A9X back in ‘78.
Dick Johnson Racing is the sport’s longest running team, so naturally has a great heritage to draw on. In 2018 it showed up in Sandown running the same red look its Sierras ran during the Group A days. But even better came in 2016 when it was officially known as DJR-Team Penske and the team’s two cars celebrated both sides of the team, with one car in 2003-era Shell Helix colours and the second in the same blue and yellow look that Mark Donohue won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 for Team Penske.
Other memorable looks that almost made the cut included Brad Jones Racing’s 2019 throwback to its days sponsored by Ozemail and Kelly Racing’s 2016 Nissan Altima that had the same paint scheme as the all-conquering 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R.
What do you think of our list - did we get it right? Let us know on social media at Facebook and Instagram.
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