When the Bathurst 12 Hour left Mount Panorama there was a 13 year gap between events until it was reborn in 2007, but during the Ross Palmer’s PROCAR Australia organisation promoted two 24 Hour events.
Set to be dominated by the Garry Rogers Motorsport-built Holden Monaro 427s, the Bathurst 24 Hours are still talked about to this day among motorsport enthusiasts as some of the world’s most exotic models took on the challenge of the Mountain.
Whereas the Bathurst 12 Hour hosted a wide array of production-based entries, regulations were expanded for the 24 Hours to include some of the fastest GT models led by the exotic Mosler MT900R.
The leading GTs were joined by a variety of production cars, Super and Future Tourers, as even Mitsubishi Mirages made the cut.
Outside of Martin Short’s Rollcentre Racing Mosler, the main rivals to GRM’s sole-Monaro piloted by Garth Tander, Steven Richards, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty included a Prancing Horse Racing Ferrari 360 N-GT fielding an equally powerful line-up. John Bowe was joined by Brad Jones, Paul Morris and John Teulan, but the Ferrari was an early retirement.
In the end, not even an off during the night was able to deny GRM the first Bathurst 24 Hour as the Mosler was second and in a giant killing performance Duller Motorsport’s VLN specification BMW M3 completed the podium.
Just as the 12 Hour did nearly a decade prior, this event did likewise as international interest was sparked for 2003.
The second edition welcomed an increased amount of competition from both Australia and abroad.
GRM entered a second Holden Monaro 427C, Prancing Horse Racing purchased a BMW M3 GTR from the US as Short returned in his Mosler, Team Lamborghini entered its Diablo GTR driven by Paul Stokell, David Brabham spearheaded a European-entered Ferrari and a smattering of Porsches bolstered a competitive field.
Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche had battled with the GRM Monaro during the local Nations Cup title, but these sprint races didn’t provide a true form guide ahead of the Bathurst 24 Hour.
As it turned out, GRM’s two Monaros dominated the second Bathurst 24 Hour race to finish 1-2 as challenges early on came from the Rollcentre Mosler, Prancing Horse BMW, Team Lamborghini Australia Diablo and BE Racing Ferrari.
Peter Brock secured his 10th endurance win at Bathurst as he was joined by Greg Murphy, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly.
The 2003 event marked the Ford (FPV) GT’s return to the Mountain and welcomed the addition of Morgan as discussions for 2004 promised even more international involvement as GRM was planning to enter a new contender believed to be an Elfin Streamliner.
However, Palmer’s investment topped leading to the ceasing of PROCAR Australia’s operations and the end of the short Bathurst 24 Hour dalliance.
Another controversial aspect of the race proved the Holden Monaro 427C’s eligibility as no road-going model was built despite plans for HSV to build a limited run of 50.
Of course, the Bathurst 12 Hour returned as a production car event in 2007 and opened up the eligibility list to GT3s in 2011 growing to become one of the world’s leading GT events, which Repco will back in 2024.