EYES are back on Mount Panorama ahead of Sunday’s second annual Bathurst 6 Hour race.
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If you ask event director James O’Brien, the race is a throwback to the “Bathurst of old” when the cars featured in races were attainable for fans of the sport.
“That’s one of the nice things about this event. Because the cars are all pretty much road-going cars with just some modifications for safety and they’re all under $150,000, then there is the link to the spectator, who can see ‘well, I can actually go out and buy that car’,” he said.
“It is like the Bathurst of old in the ‘60s and ‘70s … where you had a variety of cars across classes competing and really that is what this event is replicating.”
In one year, the grid has gone from 50 cars to 65, being driven by both amateur and professional drivers.
Mr O’Brien said the appeal of the 6 Hour to competitors is that it’s an affordable way to race in an endurance event at Mount Panorama, which the Bathurst 12 Hour and Bathurst 1000 just don’t offer.
With so many cars on the grid, there is also the potential, albeit small, for the 6 Hour to break the field record for an endurance event at Mount Panorama.
“At this stage, we’re hopeful, but it’s probably a little unlikely because we’ve got 65 cars now and there will be some incidents in practice and qualifying,” Mr O’Brien said.
“It’d be great to have all 65 take the start on Sunday, but that is probably a little bit hopeful, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Unsurprisingly, the 6 Hour was able to lure back its inaugural champions, friends Nathan Morcom and Chaz Mostert. Mostert, who is also a Bathurst 1000 victor, said it was “pretty fantastic” to be back at Mount Panorama to defend the title with his mate.
They claimed victory last year in a BMW, but will be racing a Ford Focus RS LZ this time around.
“We’d love to hang onto [the trophy] this year. We’ll see if we can do it in a brand new car; it will be pretty special to all the guys who have worked hard to get this car ready for this weekend,” Mostert said.
Before the duo can tackle Mount Panorama, though, the track has to host several support categories across the long weekend.
The 6 Hour will start at 11.30am on Sunday.