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Two months earlier Pretty had taken this XS1100
to victory in the Coca-Cola 800 at Oran Park.
Although it was Australia’s richest road race, it was
merely a sideshow to the main event at Bathurst.
Pretty started the weekend with determination
and skill. He won the 60km Unlimited GP by seven
seconds on the TZ750 and then the glamour Arai
500 Endurance race by a lap on the XS1100.
The Arai victory, over 81 laps, hadn’t been
easy. Pretty had had to nurse his worn rear tyre
over the final stages and was lucky that his main
challenger, Rob Phillis, had been delayed when a
rag got caught in his rear wheel during a fuel stop.
The 500GP race was the feature event of the
final day but its 120km race distance caused fuel
concerns for both Pretty and fellow TZ500 rider
Ron Boulden. Boulden dominated on his Warren
Willing-tuned TZ500, while Pretty was running a
strong second when the fuel ran out less than 5km
from home.
And so he sat on the sidelines, nursing his
beer and a few regrets. It’s a poignant moment,
made even more so by the fact that we know now