A Camry V6, driven by David Ratcliff and Ron Searle, beat home its locally manufactured large car competitors on the testing Mt Panorama circuit.

Ratcliff's 3.0 litre V6 Quad Camry won the class for production touring cars over 2500cc, consisting of competition which included AU Falcon XR8s, VT Commodore SS V8s, and V6 Magnas.

The Bathurst victory follows the Camry's class C title-winning effort in the eight-round 1998 Australian GT-P Championship.

Ratcliff said the Camry was a good all-round package at Bathurst, with excellent fuel economy and braking.

"We qualified on pole for the race and stopped just once, unlike our opposition who needed to stop twice," Ratcliff said.

"We replaced only two front tyres, and refuelled and changed drivers during our stop. All of the Commodores and Falcons had to change brake pads, but the Camry's brakes weren't a problem.

"In fact, the Camry's package was so strong late in the race that the car recorded a lap a second and a half quicker than its best qualifying time."

Ratcliff was lucky not to hit an errant kangaroo which dashed across the track.

"It was very close, and I thought he was going to jump into the side of the car," he said.

The results of the class C battle mirror Toyota's "drag strip" television advertising campaign.

During his successful Australian GT-P championship campaign Ratcliff posted class victories at Phillip Island, Winton, Mallala and at both Oran Park rounds.

The GT-P category is contested by "showroom" production cars with limited modifications for safety purposes.