I've always been fascinated by the influence that motor sport has on people's automotive passions and purchasing decisions. One car I owned many years ago was purchased as a direct result of motor racing. I was a big fan of John Goss in the 1970s and one of my favourite Goss cars was the XA GT Hardtop that he and Kev Bartlett raced at Bathurst in 1973 and 1974. Gossy put it on pole in 1973 and led most of the race until he got tangled up in someone's else's accident. Then he and KB came back the following year and won the race. I really loved the look of that car in 1973 in bright Shell yellow and promised I'd get something like that myself one day. I couldn't afford a genuine GT at the time so I bought a big thumping 351cid XA GT replica instead. Really looked the goods and ran pretty hard. I also liked the fact it wasn't a GT because I was able to compete in lap sprints without worrying too much if I crashed it. Never got around to painting the bonnet and bumper matt black like Gossy's but it didn't matter. I just loved the look of it and really enjoyed owning it.