Bathurst Kart Club president Mark Dunbar met with representatives from Karting Australia on Wednesday to review plans for the track and inspect the site at Mount Panorama.

“It has been nothing but positives,” he said.

“We feel as though we are moving forward in leaps and bounds.”

Karting Australia’s manager for safety, risk and compliance, Tony Manson, said it will take two to three months to finalise plans for the track, but it will likely be ready to race on by mid to late 2017.

“We’ve been up to the site on top of Mount Panorama and the Kart Club has come up with a fantastic layout,” he said, adding there would be some minor alterations. 

“We think it is a fantastic location and it is going to be a fantastic track.”

The track itself will be 1100 metres in length and feature straight sections, as well as some rises and falls to challenge drivers.

Mr Dunbar has said previously that he wanted to see parts of the track designed like Mount Panorama as well.

The track will be built to international standards, allowing it to host major events in the future.

“It really has the potential to be for karting what [Mount Panorama] is for car racing,” Mr Manson said.

Mr Dunbar agreed, saying the track will be a positive thing for people in the sport, people who want to try karting and for Bathurst itself.

“It will be like a mini [Bathurst 1000] again and more people in Bathurst and the outlying areas will be able to attend and get a feel for a very economical form of motorsport,” he said.

The Bathurst go-kart track project is a joint effort between the local club, Karting Australia and Bathurst Regional Council.

Tenders will be sought for its construction once the final design is confirmed.