For fans of Australian touring car racing from the 1970s to 1990s, the surname Raymond was never far from your television’s volume dial.
The late Mike Raymond was the voice of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the Bathurst 1000, and his commentary can be linked to most of the sport’s major moments.
Raymond was first heard on the broadcast in the mid-1970s and called his last Great Race in 1995.
His son Andy Raymond was also involved in the Seven Network’s coverage of Touring Car racing. Starting out as a ‘gaffer’ behind the scenes, Andy graduated to an on-screen role in the early-1990s, originally as a pitlane reporter before taking on a main commentary role in 1996 – the final year of Seven’s broadcasting before it switched to Network 10 in 1997.
As part of Repco’s celebrations of the 60th running of The Great Race at Bathurst, Raymond has jumped back behind the motorsport microphone to preview the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000.
In the loud and proud style of his father, Andy delivers the preview with plenty of puns and alliteration – exactly the same way Mike would greet our television screens every time the touring cars launched onto our tellys!
The 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000 kicks of later this week, with on-track action beginning on Thursday.