who won the first bathurst race Page 23

Short answer: Harry Firth and Bob Jane won the first Bathurst endurance race at Mount Panorama—the 1963 Armstrong 500—in a Ford Cortina GT.

Yes, the event began at Phillip Island (1960–62), but 1963 was Bathurst’s debut, and the pair finished first across the line.

It was a class-based race with no formal “outright” trophy then, yet history rightly treats Firth/Jane as the inaugural Bathurst victors.

Proof that light, tidy and well-driven can humble the big bruisers—until someone turns up with a V8 and a grudge.