HE may have the top job in the state, but NSW Premier Mike Baird had a confession to make yesterday: he is just like any other dedicated fan when it comes to V8 Supercars.
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In fact, he once collected driver posters.
A dedicated Ford follower for many years, Mr Baird had early hopes that Mark Winterbottom would win the Great Race before Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris eventually came out on top in the Ford Pepsi Max Crew car.
“Frosty strikes me as an all-round good guy,” he said.
Mr Baird has strong memories of when Peter Brock ruled the famous Mountain.
“I remember very clearly when Brocky had damaged his car and he came back and won,” he said.
“I remember going around and collecting the posters.”
Things may have changed a lot since Mr Baird was last at a Bathurst 1000 event, but the “buzz” is still the same, he said.
“You never know what’s going to happen at Bathurst,” he said.
As tension mounted before the V8s hit the track yesterday, Mr Baird was like any other race fan when the RAAF FA-18 Hornet flew over Mount Panorama at an incredible speed.
“The highlight was being out on the grid and feeling the [RAAF] fly over,” he said.
An impressive 195,261 people flocked to the Mount during the four days of the Bathurst 1000, and Mr Baird said the event continues to provide a huge boost for the city and region.
“It’s a fantastic event and it’s great for Bathurst and the council has done a great job promoting not only the event but the [city’s] bicentenary,” he said.
Most importantly, Mr Baird said he is among the supporters of a second track for Mount Panorama.
The long-talked-about second circuit at Mount Panorama received a boost in June when the NSW Government committed $5 million in its 2014-15 budget.
“I think it’s great. It builds on what is known around the world as a great track and gives new opportunities for different events,” Mr Baird said.
“It’s an additional economic benefit for council and the region.”
Mr Baird said the second track will help make Mount Panorama more useable across the year, and ensure the track becomes better known across more sports.
“I think it makes the precinct even better.”
