SEVENTY-two cars on the grid at Mount Panorama for an endurance race on the Easter weekend – it is something that Bathurst 6 Hour organisers are daring to dream about for 2017.
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And it is a dream that could very easily come true.
Eight days after the early entries for next year’s Bathurst 6 Hour opened, organisers had received 36 forms. That is half of the maximum Mount Panorama grid capacity of 72 cars.
“It would be pretty amazing to see 72 cars there, I know my history but I don’t know if there has been a full grid of 72 at the place before – maybe in a HQ race,” Bathurst 6 Hour media manager Richard Craill said.
“That would be really cool to see, it would be huge.
“The demand has been really high and from the event perspective, organisers want people to get in early and enter. There is still a lot of time too because entries are open until March.”
This year saw the inaugural edition of the Bathurst 6 Hour – a race open to production cars – staged at Mount Panorama.
Run as the feature of the Bathurst Motor Festival weekend, 50 cars started at the Mount with the BMW 335i of Nathan Morcom and Chaz Mostert claiming the chequered flag.
It was an event which proved popular with both the drivers and their crew as well as spectators.
“The reason the 6 Hour was introduced was because there was demand for it from the core group of production car guys,” Craill said.
“Since 2011 in the Bathurst 12 Hour when GT cars were introduced, there was a demand for the production car competitors to have their own event.
“Racing at Easter, it’s got that history. A lot of people were really desperate to get an Easter race back, because it has got that tradition, it’s iconic.
“There are no other races on the Easter weekend in Australia, it is a very, very quite weekend. That makes it great for the grass roots competitors … this year a lot of them came with their family and kids and made a real weekend out of it.
“I think it has got a great future.
“I think honestly the 12 Hour established that other endurance events than the Bathurst 1000 can be successful, can be viable and draw and crowd and a full grid. It gives the organisers of this event confidence.”
So far the entries which have been received for the event next year include both first-timers and returning competitors. They represent five states and all the major classes.
The response surprised event director James O’Brien.
“We knew there would be high demand and that we would likely see more than the 50 entries received in 2016, however the early reaction has been larger than expected,” O’Brien said.
“We are working towards the real possibility of a full grid in a major Bathurst endurance race for the first time in decades and there is a great deal of excitement around that.
“Whilst entries remain open until March, we would encourage those teams intending to enter to do so soon as the grid could be full before the closing date.”
The Bathurst 6 Hour event will run from April 14-16, with the feature race to double as a round of the Australian Production Car Series.
