The race car in which Australia’s most recent Formula 1 world champion and Australian Hall of Famer Alan Jones made his 100th world championship start will be a star attraction at the 2026 Canberra Festival of Speed next weekend.
The 1985 Lola-Hart THL1 will be one of the major drawcards at this year’s event, alongside the Holden Commodore in which Larry Perkins won the 1997 Bathurst 1000.
The two iconic racers will be among more than 200 entries at this year’s Canberra Festival of Speed, now in its third year, which will take place at Thoroughbred Park on the weekend of January 31 and February 1.
“The 2025 event saw more than 16,000 attendees walk through the gates to see more than $100 million worth of some of the rarest and most exotic vehicles in the world,” said event director Peter Bakavgas in a statement.
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“Forty-nine per cent of our attendees were from outside of the ACT, meaning we are a significant tourism driver for the ACT.”
The Lola-Hart THL1 was driven by Mr Jones at the inaugural Adelaide Grand Prix in 1985, where he made his 100th world championship start, ceremoniously becoming the first F1 driver to lap the track.
Frustratingly, he remains Australia’s last F1 world champion, having taken the driver’s title in 1980 – and with Melbournian Oscar Piastri having his lead in the 2025 title chase whittled away by rivals.
Bathurst fans will be able to see the Holden Commodore VS in which Larry Perkins and co-driver Russell Ingall won the 1997 Bathurst 1000, marking the sixth win for Mr Perkins and the final win at The Mountain for both drivers.
The 1997 Bathurst 1000 drew huge publicity as the final race for the retiring Peter Brock, who started from pole position before his Commodore suffered engine failure with co-driver Mark Skaife at the wheel.
Mr Brock made a return to The Great Race in 2002 and 2004 before his death in 2006.
Mr Perkins, who won three Bathurst 1000s in a row driving with Mr Brock between 1982-1984, also took wins in the 1993 event with the late Gregg Hansford and in 1995 with Mr Ingall – all in Holden Commodores.
Having made the switch to V8 Supercars after F1, Alan Jones also raced at Mount Panorama in 1997, finishing 11th after co-driving a Ford Falcon EL with Jason Bright and former IndyCar driver Scott Pruett.
Among a crop of V8 Supercars at the festival will be two-times Bathurst winner John Bowe’s 2001 Ford Falcon AU, which he drove in the Canberra 400 race, complete in its Caterpillar colour scheme.
Mr Bowe – a two-times Australian Touring Car Championship winner – is also the Canberra Festival of Speed’s official ambassador.
The Caterpillar Ford will be joined by another AU Falcon, the OzEmail racer of Brad Jones Racing, which Mr Jones famously rolled at the Adelaide Supercars event in 2000.
The pair will feature among a raft of historic Australian touring cars – and a range of machinery from other corners of the motorsport world.
Tickets for the 2026 Canberra Festival of Speed can be purchased via the event website.
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