TIMING is everything, and organisers of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 must be cheering.
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This year’s race has fallen bang in the middle of the NSW school holidays and we’re already seeing the results.
Some of the biggest crowds in recent memory lined William Street on Wednesday for the annual Transporter and Driver Parade, and Russell Street was packed afterwards with autograph hunters keen to meet their heroes.
We’ve seen no official attendance numbers for Thursday and Friday’s sessions but the fact more than 30,000 people are camping on Mount Panorama for this year’s race is a great head start as we again look to break the 200,000 mark over the four days.
The weather has not been great so far but we’re expecting the clouds to clear over the weekend and Sunday should be a beauty.
The race has come a long way in the past decade, in particular, as a stronger police presence on the Mount and throughout Bathurst has dramatically reduced the incidents of anti-social behaviour and created a more family-friendly atmosphere.
Organisers realised that the key to ensuring the race’s future prosperity lay in broadening its appeal and they have done well to do just that.
The question must be asked, though: Should we be doing even more?
Saturday’s street fair will provide a family-friendly event to keep the kids entertained but there are still plenty of locals who would like to see a return to the days of a full street parade to celebrate the race.
On-track commitments mean such a parade would have to be held on the Wednesday and the existing Transporter Parade is a good starting point.
But surely we can find ways to get the Bathurst community involved, as well as providing a mid-week festival to welcome the thousands of tourists.
The Bathurst Winter Festival offers something of a blueprint – taking advantage of the beautiful Kings Parade and Machattie Park to put on rides, music and plenty of options for all the family.
Great Race organisers – including Bathurst Regional Council – do plenty of things right already but there is no time to rest on their laurels.
We must be constantly looking for ways to keep growing the race and to keep the crowds coming back. Bathurst already loves the Great Race, but there is always room to make it the Greater Race.