A Moke car bought from the Manning River Times classified section around 15 years ago carried this year’s Bathurst 1000 winners during the drivers’ parade around Mount Panorama circuit.
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The owners of the Californian Moke are Meaghan and James Lucas of Manning Valley Animal Rescue on Old Bar Road.
Team Darrell Lea STIX drivers, Will Davison and Jonathon Web, rode in the back of the Moke before the big race.
Their selection for the car came at random, with names picked out of a helmet.
“I remember saying I don’t care who it is, along as it’s the winner,” Meaghan said.
When the win was achieved Meaghan was so shocked she had to sit down.
“They weren’t favourites to win at all,” Meaghan said.
“They were set to start in position 17, so they weren’t even in the top 10 starters.”
Meaghan’s emotional response to the win came from the special connection she has with the Moke.
The Moke had been originally purchased by Meaghan’s late father who, just like her, was a car racing enthusiast.
Being unregistered, the car had sat in a shed for years.
“Dad gave it a few moderations over the years, he fixed the breaks and engine – he was a really good engine builder,” Meaghan said.
Meaghan’s dad passed away in December of last year.
When she heard they were calling out for Mokes for the driver’s parade she knew what she had to do.
She and her husband James spent 10 months getting the car up to scratch.
Meaghan said there was ‘fate’ involved in the drivers winning the race.
“Angels were pushing that car,” she added.
Mini connection
It all started with a goat.
Her name is Alice and she lives at Burrell Creek, and because of her three racing enthusiasts and drivers with a special connection were brought together.
Racing great Bob Holden of Burrell Creek, Barry (also known as ‘Bo’) Seeton of Hallidays Point and Meagan Lucas of Old Bar are connected through Minis racing at Bathurst 50 years ago.
Bob drove the winning car with Rauno Aaltonen in the 1966 Bathurst 500.
Barry, came ninth in the same race, driving number 16, a black and white striped Mini.
Barry also won the Bathurst 500 the year later in 1965 driving a Ford Cortina GT500.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Bathurst 500 race won by Bob, the vehicles driven in the race were re-created for a display at this year’s Bathurst 1000.
Meaghan and James Lucas of Old Bar were given Barry Seeton’s car, number 16 to re-create.
They had no idea about the local connection to each other, until a car plate registrar let them know Barry had recently moved to the area around two months before.
Meaghan had tried to make contact with Barry but had no luck. She already knew Bob Holden and his wife Colleen Rutledge through their mutual interests. Bob and Colleen wanted a new goat and asked Meaghan, who works with animals, if she knew of anyone selling. When Meaghan found Alice the goat she called Colleen up to let her know. Colleen told her Barry was coming for lunch that week and invited her and James to come too. Meaghan brought up the re-created Mini to show Barry.
“He’s so much like my dad,” Meaghan said.
Barry didn’t attend Bathurst this year, but Bob, who still races, did. Bob said, ‘there was such a mob of people looking at the Minis’.
“They have a cult following with a lot of the clubs still going.”