How a Mayor Created One of the Greatest Race Tracks in the World

over 2 years ago

G'day tribe! Today I deliver something that is close to home to me, literally. The city of Bathurst is 200km north-west of Sydney, Australia. Back in the 1860s it became the location of the first gold discovery in Australia leading to the "Gold Rush". Today it's synonymous with Mount Panorama - one of the best racing tracks in the world - to the point that the track is simply known as Bathurst to many.

Bathurst is home to the iconic Bathurst 12 Hour and Bathurst 1000 races and the 6.213 km (3.861 mi) track is a street track by definition with publicly accessible roads. The roads have a strict 60kmh (37mph) speed limit and is actually the road access for some surrounding homes and farms. On race day however, the track is a fierce mix of endurance, danger and speed.

It usually takes a bright mind to come up with the idea for something like Bathurst. During the 1930s, Bathurst Mayor Martin Griffin was keen for a new racing course and came up with an ingenious way of getting federal funding during a time the state of New South Wales was hit heavily from the Great Depression, suffering an unemployment rate of 32% in the region.

2010-09-19_Bathurst,_New_South_Wales_-_02.jpg
Many people flocked to Bathurst to try and strike gold.
Source: Photo by Maksym Kozlenko shared under Creative Commons (CC) license.

Griffin proposed for federal monies to be used to create a scenic road for tourists in Bathurst which became the Mount Panorama Scenic Drive opening in March of 1938. Griffin had wisely told engineers to build each corner just a little wider than what the plans showed. The rest is history, as the Mount Panorama race track is now one of the world's greatest tracks.

The Bathurst 1000 is also known as the "Great Race" and has been held at Mount Panorama since 1963. The race is fierce along the narrow track and racing lines are literally inches away from concrete walls. Racers "climb the mountain" as the difference from the lowest to highest point is 174 m (571 ft).

None of the 20 corners at Mount Panorama are easy. After the first corner, named "Hell Corner", drivers hit speeds of up to 250kmh (155mph) in a 1.1km (0.68mi) straight. Drivers climb the mountain and after a few more corners reach the highest point of the track, 862m (2828ft) above sea level. Drivers are then met with Brock's Skyline (named after legendary driver Peter Brock) which offers breathtaking views of the Bathurst Region. As the mountain descent begins drivers meet "The Esses" which are "S" shaped bends where drivers rely on nothing more than instinct to get through it with the bare minimum lines of sight through the corners.

Bathurst is home to Australia's premier track race
Source: Photo by Benchill shared under Creative Commons (CC) license.

"The Dipper" then takes drivers through a hugely steep sharp left-hand turn into "Forrest's Elbow and into the famous "Conrod Straight". The section is the fastest part of the track and cars hit the magical 300kmh (186mph). "The Chase" is one of the fastest bends in the world and was added in 1987 as "Conrod Straight" exceeded the maximum length of continuous straight track allowed for the World Touring Car Championship. Cars would quite literally get airborne as they drove along the original setup.

After "The Chase" is the final corner, "Murray's Corner" before racers cross the finish line. Mount Panorama is truly a race track that presents a ginormous challenge for even the best racers in the world. What makes it even more incredible is the close nature of racing. Because racing incidents occur quite often, Yellow Flags occur often which means that the field compresses. It's led to some of the greatest finishes in racing after 1000km of driving.

One of the greatest circuits in world racing
Source: Photo by Nick carson shared under Creative Commons (CC) license.

...I will be back tomorrow with some of the greatest races to ever take place at Mount Panorama

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.