use of the circuit. The 1997 Primus 1000 Classic, as it was known, was held two weeks after the traditional race, while the 1998 FAI 1000 was held in mid-November. The 1997 race saw Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall repeat their 1995 triumph, ahead of the father and son combination of Jim and Steven Richards. In 1998, Steven Richards did one better, winning the race with Jason Bright for Stone Brothers Racing. Their Ford EL Falcon was badly damaged in a practice crash and required lengthy repairs before the race. Both the Super Touring and V8 Supercar races claimed to be the legitimate Bathurst 1000. The V8 Supercars' case was that they were the truly Australian class of racing and, through contractual binding, had the "star" Australian drivers. The Super Touring claim to legitimacy was based on it being held on the traditional date by the ARDC who had run the event every year since 1963. Each of the four races in 1997 and 1998 are considered as legitimate Bathurst 1000s in the record books. V8 Supercars era For 1999, the Super Touring event devolved into a 300-kilometre race for mixed V8s, which was won by Peter Brock's step-son James Brock, and a 500-kilometre race for Super Touring won by Paul Morris. This would be the last major Super Touring race at Bathurst, the last organised by the ARDC and the last held on the traditional Labour Day holiday weekend. The demise of Super Touring and the ARDC event allowed V8 Supercars and IMG to take over the promotion and organisation of the Bathurst 1000 brand from that year onwards. From 1999 onwards, the race also counted for championship points for the first time, taking a position as the final round on the calendar. Despite there no longer being an October Bathurst race in 2000, the race remained in November due to the Sydney Olympics blocking out sport in October. In 2001 when the long weekend became available again, the National Rugby League shifted their Grand Final to that Sunday, denying the Bathurst 1000 a return to its traditional weekend. The race instead moved to the weekend after the long weekend from 2001 onwards, and to an earlier spot in the championship calendar. The start of this new era was dominated by Holden, who won every Bathurst 1000 from 1999 to 2005. In 1999, Steven Richards repeated his 1998 triumph,