RECORDS were smashed right across the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour, cementing the event’s place on the international motor sport calendar.
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One of the first records to be broken for the event was the size of the grid, which featured a long list of international teams, drivers and Supercars winners.
“The event continues to grow year on year, with the 2017 running featuring the largest grid ever assembled for the race,” Bathurst 12 Hour event director John Casey said.
Attendance for the 12 Hour was the biggest in the history of the event, with the three-day crowd figure sitting at 40,364.
This is up 8.8 per cent from the 2016 crowd of 37,079.
Mayor Gary Rush said the strong ticket sales went hand-in-hand with the growing stature of the event around the world.
“I think we're rapidly approaching a time where this event and this location will appear on bucket lists of motor racing enthusiasts throughout the world, as it now does for the drivers who specifically want to drive this iconic circuit,” he said.
Naturally, an increase in patronage means a boost for the Bathurst economy.
I think we're rapidly approaching a time where this event and this location will appear on bucket lists of motor racing enthusiasts throughout the world.
- Mayor Gary Rush
“We do know statistically that international visitors spend twice as much as domestic visitors, but this event now makes a significant contribution to the visitor economy here in Bathurst and to the Central West of NSW,” Cr Rush said.
“We already are hearing similar stories to the Supercheap Auto 1000 whereby people are staying in surrounding towns … and over time that will continue.”
Back out on the race track, the team that secured pole position in the Top 10 Shootout was the first to cross the finish line on Sunday afternoon.
Jamie Whincup drove the Maranello Motorsport entry to victory in his 12 Hour debut and first ever GT race.
Maranello Motorsport was the first team to win two Bathurst 12 Hours since the introduction of GT cars in 2011.
Whincup claimed the win with fellow drivers Toni Vilander and Craig Lowndes.