MOUNT Panorama’s new debris fencing received a mixed reaction from race fans yesterday, one saying Bathurst Regional Council had gone “overboard”.
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More than $6 million has been spent on improving the track over the past 12 months, thanks to joint funding from council and the federal government.
Among the improvements were 1.75 kilometres of debris fencing and 2.9km of fauna fencing.
Local man Brad Wright, who has been attending the Bathurst 1000 for 20 years, said while “some” of the new fencing was necessary, he didn’t think it all was.
“They’ve done too much, they’ve gone a bit overboard ... it should only be on corners where crashes happen,” he said.
Mr Wright was seated, along with his friends Chris Jaques and Matthew Harper, on the top of a spectator mound behind the debris fencing at Murrays Corner for yesterday’s action.
While their view of the track was slightly affected by the fence, he said those seated lower on the mound were worse off.
“It’s good [the view] from up high, but I don’t know about down low,” he said.
The three men also blamed the fencing for a collision between a kangaroo and the BJR car driven by Luke Youlden during the race.
His car reportedly clipped the roo, but suffered minimal damage and was able to continue.
“It [the kangaroo] was caught between the two fences,” Mr Jaques said.
The men said they saw the kangaroo hopping along Pit Straight towards Murrays Corner then up towards The Chase, before it finally found a gap in the fence near Rydges.
Mr Jaques said the debris fencing was needed to help keep the track on par with overseas circuits.
“It’s important to keep the track up to an international standard,” he said.
“If we’re not going to keep up with safety standards, they’re not going to leave the race here.”
Mr Harper, meanwhile, said while the fence “makes it hard to take photos”, it “had to be done”.
Bathurst mayor Gary Rush said the debris fencing installation was vital in order to keep the track to international standards.
Cr Rush said the fencing was in line with guidelines from the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS).
