THE prospect of bringing Supercars from Mount Panorama to the centre of Bathurst has been welcomed by two councillors.
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When the Bathurst 12 Hour was held four weeks ago, residents and visitors were treated to a parade and display in front of the court house that featured a selection of cars due to compete in the event.
Organisers branded it 'Track to Town' and it was considered a great success.
Recently, CEO Sean Seamer revealed that Supercars was considering holding a similar event when the championship stops in Bathurst.
“I think it's something that we'll continue to do [at the 12 Hour],” he told Supercars.com.
“We're going to look at doing it for the 1000 now as well, getting the cars down there.”
It's an idea that councillor Warren Aubin has welcomed.
"I'm all for anything that brings the Mount and the town together. I think it's a fantastic idea," he said.
There have long been calls for more events or activities to be added to the Bathurst 1000 program that capitalise on the additional people that visit the region.
The transporter parade, occurring on the Wednesday before the race, also came under fire a few year ago for no longer featuring drivers.
That has since changed, with drivers reintroduced in 2015, but the event organisers have continued brainstorming other ways to improve the event.
Cr Aubin said he would like to see the Bathurst 1000 version of Track to Town be held on a different day to the transporter parade as another way to lure spectators away from Mount Panorama.
He suggested to hold it on the Thursday, which ideally wouldn't clash with the Supercars Championship track schedule.
"Going back 15 to 20 years ago, they used to do the driver parade on the Saturday … I think this will go a small way to bringing that crowd back into town," Cr Aubin said.
When the 12 Hour Track to Town was held, there were 11 cars representing each marque driven down from Mount Panorama with a police escort.
The drivers of each car also travelled to the central business district to speak to the media and interact with fans.
Cr Aubin said he would like to see at least 20 cars, if not the entire field (24 cars), be part of Track to Town if it was incorporated into the Bathurst 1000 program.
Also on the bandwagon for the idea is deputy mayor Bobby Bourke, who has been trying for years to "liven up" the Bathurst 1000 activities.
"Anything that we can do better downtown to get the fans down from the Mount is good for the business houses," he said.
"We put [the race] on for the whole community, so there should be something more in town."
If Track to Town can be successfully added to the Bathurst 1000, both Cr Aubin and Cr Bourke agree there is potential to expand it to offer more than just a chance to see the cars up close.
"There is always room for improvement and we have a long way to go with that," Cr Bourke said.
Cr Aubin said Track to Town will likely be discussed when council meets with Supercars in a few months.
