Mount Panorama Circuit (Bathurst), Racing Circuit

Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst, around two and a half hours' drive west of Sydney in New South Wales, is one of the most revered and demanding tracks in world motorsport. Unusually, the entire course remains public roads, opened as the Mount Panorama Scenic Drive on 17 March 1938 under the vision of local mayor Martin Griffin and giving access to homes and farms that sit alongside it. Racing began that same Easter, and on non-race days drivers can still lap the mountain for free, subject to a strictly enforced 60 km/h speed limit. The 6.213-kilometre layout threads twenty-three corners around a genuine mountain, with a vertiginous 174-metre difference between its highest and lowest points. From Hell Corner the track climbs Mountain Straight to Griffins Bend and the narrow plunge of the Cutting, crests the hill through McPhillamy Park and Brock's Skyline, then drops through the Esses, the Dipper and Forrest's Elbow onto the long Conrod Straight. The high-speed Chase complex was added ahead of the 1988 season following a fatal accident, and the lap closes at Murray's Corner. The circuit's flagship event is the Bathurst 1000 touring car endurance race, run each October and a fixture of Australian sporting history since the enduro moved to the mountain in 1963. Each February it also hosts the Bathurst 12 Hour for international GT cars as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, alongside the 6 Hour production enduro and other events. The combination of speed, danger and endurance has made Bathurst a pilgrimage for motorsport fans the world over.

Operated by: Bathurst Regional Council