In 1974, Australian importer Ron Angel entered a "Ducati 860 SS" in the Unlimited Production event at the Easter motorbike races at Bathurst, on the mountain. This was the biggest annual motorcycle event in Australia at the time. The bike was ridden by Kenny Blake, and defeated the then dominant Kawasaki Z1 900s on the day. It was sensational. The crowd loved it. Protests flew. Ron Angel immediately started advertising the bikes, saying a shipment was on the way. There was an investigation into the bona-fides of the bike by the governing body - the Auto Cycle Union of New South Wales. The bike was accepted when the Ducati factory sent a letter confirming that Ducati 860 SuperSports were being manufactured, and the ACU-NSW awarded the race to Blake and the 860 SuperSport. When the 900 SuperSport shipment finally did arrive, it was a different bike to the 860 SuperSport that had won Bathurst, but it was too late to matter. That special Bathurst bike had round cases, and looked identical to a green frame 750 SS, but with the 860 camshaft bearing mounts on the heads, and 860 SuperSport on the bike's side covers. Ron Angel later said that the bike had been built by Ducati at his request for the previous Bathurst, but was then ruled ineligible, so more work was done and the bike was sent by sea, arriving in time for the race the following year, where it was presented as a production bike. It had special parts, including the Imola cams and the limited availability close ratio gearbox. The 2 kg inboard flywheel had been removed, but the bike did not have the straight cut primary gears of the Imola bikes. The camshaft bearing mounts were the only externally obvious 860 part. (The "900" models remained 860 cc.)