Bathurst 1000

Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama/Wahluu — Wahluu being the Wiradjuri name used in the official dual name, meaning "to watch over" — and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour held each February. The track is 6.213 km (3.861 mi) long and operates as a public road when not in use for racing, with a speed limit of 60 km/h strictly enforced by Bathurst Police. It features a vertical difference of 174 m (571 ft) between its highest and lowest points, with grades as steep as 1:6.13. The circuit is registered as a Grade 3 racing circuit by the FIA. The National Motor Racing Museum is located next to the circuit.

The Mount Panorama Circuit has a rich history, with the first Australian Grand Prix held at the track in 1938. The circuit has undergone several changes over the years, with the current full circuit layout introduced in 1987. The track has hosted various notable events, including the Bathurst 1000 and the Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Mount Panorama Circuit is known for its challenging layout, with several famous corners and sectors. The track features a mix of fast sweepers and slow hairpins, making it a demanding circuit for drivers. The circuit's layout has been praised for its complexity and variety, making it a favorite among racing drivers.

Prior to European settlement, the area was home to the Wiradjuri people, for whom Mount Panorama was an initiation site for young men. The area's racing history dates to the 1900s, with various circuits made up of public roads raced from 1906. Until 1913 races took place on the 33.0 km (20.5 mi) Peel-Limekilns circuit; from 1914 to 1925 the 24.9 km (15.5 mi) Yetholme circuit was used; the 100.6 km (62.5 mi) Sunny Corner circuit ran from 1926 to 1930; and the 11 km (7 mi) Vale Circuit from 1931 to 1937.

The Mount Panorama Circuit has a significant place in the world of motorsport, having hosted various championships and events over the years. The track has been a part of the Supercars Championship since 1963 and has also hosted the Bathurst 12 Hour event since 1991. The circuit has also been a part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge since 2007.

Construction of the Mount Panorama circuit commenced in mid-1936. The first race meeting, for motorcycles, was held on 16 April 1938, with the 1938 Junior Tourist Trophy won by 20-year-old Queenslander Les Sherrin riding a Norton. The first car race, the 1938 Australian Grand Prix, was held two days later and was won by Peter Whitehead driving an ERA.

In 2018, Christopher Mies set the track record with a time of 1:59.2910 in an Audi R8 LMS. This record has yet to be beaten, showcasing the circuit's challenging nature and the skill required to navigate its 23 turns.

The circuit was named after Martin Griffin, the Mayor of Bathurst whose vision it was to create it, whose name is commemorated at Griffins Bend. McPhillamy Park was named after Walter J. McPhillamy, a previous mayor of Bathurst City Council who donated the land to the people of Bathurst as a scenic picnic area.

From the start-finish line, the track is viewed in three sections: the short pit straight and a tight left turn into the long, steep Mountain Straight; the tight, narrow section across the top of the mountain; and the long downhill section of Conrod Straight, with the Chase and the turn back onto the pit straight.

Mountain Straight begins the climb toward Griffins Bend, where V8 Supercars reach speeds of up to 290 km/h (180 mph). A campaign begun in late 2022 seeks to rename it Moffat Mountain Straight in honour of Allan Moffat and his rivalry with Peter Brock.

Hell Corner, the first turn after the start-finish line, was named not after the accidents there but after a tree stump that once stood at the apex. Griffins Bend is a negatively cambered right-hander where drivers must avoid drifting wide on exit.

The Cutting is a pair of left-hand corners leading into a steep 1-in-6-grade exit. Quarry Corner, named after the quarry below its outside wall, immediately follows. One of the most famous incidents in Bathurst 1000 history occurred there in 1980 when Dick Johnson hit a rock pushed from the spectator area and crashed out of the lead.

Reid Park is named after Bathurst City engineer Hughie Reid, who redesigned sections of the track for motor racing. Sulman Park follows, marking the highest point of the circuit, and was the scene of a fatal crash in a V8 Supercar Development Series race in 2006 that claimed the life of Mark Porter.

McPhillamy Park is a fast, downhill blind left-hand turn guarded by a crest. Skyline, renamed Brock's Skyline in late 1997 to honour Peter Brock's nine wins at the circuit, is a sharply descending right-hand corner that begins the descent. A statue of Brock stands outside the motorsport museum near Murray's Corner. The Esses stretch from Skyline down toward Forrest's Elbow; the Dipper, the third corner in the sequence, is a sharp left-hand corner that has often been compared to the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. Chaz Mostert suffered a severe accident in the lower Esses during qualifying for the 2015 Great Race, sustaining season-ending leg and wrist injuries.

Forrest's Elbow is named after Australian motorcycle racer Arthur Ronald 'Jack' Forrest (19 February 1920 – 12 August 2002), who ground the end off his elbow in a crash there during the October 1947 Bathurst meeting. It is a severely downhill, adverse-camber left-hander leading onto Conrod Straight.

Conrod Straight, formerly known as Main Straight, was renamed after a con-rod failure ended Frank Kleinig's 1939 Easter race. At 1.916 km (1.191 mi), it is the fastest section of Mount Panorama, with V8 Supercars nearly reaching 300 km/h (190 mph). Shane van Gisbergen reached 300.5 km/h (186.7 mph) during a pre-race session for the 2023 Bathurst 1000. The fastest speed ever recorded by a touring car on the old straight was 290 km/h (180 mph) by Tom Walkinshaw in a V12 Jaguar XJS during qualifying for the 1984 James Hardie 1000.

The Chase — a three-turn sequence added in 1987 to comply with an FIA requirement that a straight could not exceed 1,200 m — interrupts Conrod Straight. It includes a fast right-hand bend known as "The Kink" before a sharp 120 km/h (75 mph) left-hand bend and a right-hander back onto the straight. The section was dedicated to Mike Burgmann, who died in an accident at the chicane's location in 1986. Peter Brock's only rollover in his motor racing career occurred there when he rolled his Vauxhall Vectra during practice for the 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000.

Murray's Corner, the final corner before Pit Straight, is named after Bill Murray who crashed his Hudson racing car there in 1946. It was previously called Pit Corner.

Nürburgring 24 Hours winner Kévin Estre described Mount Panorama as "half of the track is the Nordschleife, half of the track is Macau." Alexandre Prémat described it as "a mix of the Nordschleife, Petit Le Mans and Laguna Seca."

The Chase was introduced in 1987 ahead of the World Touring Car Championship round at the circuit, both to comply with FIA straight-length rules and to reduce speeds on Conrod Straight. Prior to its introduction, faster cars were becoming airborne over the second crest. Before the 1985 James Hardie 1000, the banking at McPhillamy Park was removed and pushed back approximately 30 m (33 yd) to create a sand trap and concrete retaining wall, improving runoff after the crash that stopped the 1981 James Hardie 1000 on lap 120.

The inaugural race at the circuit was the 1938 Junior Tourist Trophy for motorcycles. Mount Panorama hosted the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix nine times before the event became part of the world championship. The Australian Grand Prix was held at the circuit in 1938, 1947, 1952, and 1958.

The Bathurst 1000 has been held at the circuit since 1963, continuing an event that began in 1960 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. The race was 500 miles from its start at Phillip Island, and from 1963 to 1972 at Bathurst, before moving to its current 1000 km format in 1973. Since 1999, the Bathurst 1000 has been a round of the V8 Supercars (formerly Australian Touring Car Championship) calendar.

The circuit has also hosted seven sprint rounds of the ATCC: in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1995, 1996, and 2021. The 1972 round is considered one of the greatest in championship history, featuring a close battle between Ian Geoghegan's Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III and Allan Moffat's Ford Boss 302 Mustang.

The Bathurst 12 Hour has been held at the circuit in 1991–94, 2007–2020, and 2022 onwards. Since 2011, it has been a FIA GT3 race, and became part of the inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge in 2016. The Bathurst 24 Hour was held in 2003–04. In 2023, the circuit's infield and pit parking served as the venue for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.

As of April 2026, the official lap record is held by Christopher Mies, who set a time of 1:59.2910 at the 2018 Challenge Bathurst event driving an unrestricted Audi R8 LMS. The fastest race lap is held by James Golding, who set a time of 1:59.8375 during the 2021 Bathurst 1000 on 2 December 2021, driving a Rogers AF01/V8. The fastest lap on the original circuit layout was a 2:09.7 set by Formula 5000 driver Niel Allen in 1970, driving a McLaren M10B-Chevrolet.

Kevin Bartlett set the first 100 mph (160 km/h) lap of the circuit at the Easter meeting in 1967, driving a Coventry Climax-powered Repco Brabham BT11A, recording a 2:17.7 lap. For this he was awarded 25 bottles of champagne. Allan Grice set the first 160 km/h (100 mph) lap for a touring car under Group C regulations during qualifying for the 1982 James Hardie 1000 driving a V8-powered Holden VH Commodore SS, and at the 1986 James Hardie 1000 Grice also set the first 100 mph lap in a Group A touring car, recording a 2:16.16.

Unofficial faster laps include Jenson Button's 1:48.88 in a McLaren MP4-23 Formula One car during a publicity event for the 2011 Australian Grand Prix; Luke Youlden's 1:58.694 in a Brabham BT62 during a demonstration at the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour; Jules Gounon's 1:56.6054 in an unrestricted Mercedes-AMG GT3 before the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour; and Romain Dumas's 1:56.3247 in the electric Ford SuperVan 4.2 set on 25 February 2024.

Sixteen competitors have died during racing associated with Mount Panorama. Six of the seven car racing deaths on the circuit occurred on Conrod Straight, including Denny Hulme, the 1967 Formula One World Champion, who died of a heart attack at the wheel of his BMW M3 Evolution during the 1992 Tooheys 1000. Two spectators were also killed in 1955 after being struck by a crashing car.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.