Bathurst track saga continues

The continuing saga of the second Mount Panorama circuit took another twist at the time of the annual Bathurst 1000 in October, with the announcement that the new circuit, to be known as Velocity Park Raceway, will be located at the top of Mount Panorama near the McPhillamy Park spectator area. All previous proposals for the new circuit have had it located in the bottom section, to make use of existing facilities. However these proposals have always had to work around the fact that the traditional 6.2 km circuit remains a public road. The new track is reported to be between 4 to 4.5km in length, and part of an automotive industry hub. Bathurst Regional Council has committed $10 million to the entire project, including the circuit, and is lobbying NSW and federal governments for $20 million each. Bathurst mayor Gary Rush says, “It (the new circuit) will be up to the standard required by MotoGP”, and according to reports in Fairfax Media, “has been designed as a candidate to ultimately stage the Australian rounds of the MotoGP and Superbike world championships, which both have existing long-term contracts with Phillip Island”. The target to have the circuit operational is said to be late 2018.