MOUNT Panorama and GT cars - it is a mix which excites many of the world's best drivers so when the Australian GT Championship management team was searching for a way to launch season 2020 it's little wonder their thoughts turned to Bathurst.
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Come next Easter the popular national category will return to the Mount as part of the Bathurst 6 Hour weekend.
Competitors will tackle two 60-minute sprint races at the iconic 6.213 kilometre circuit as the Australian GT Championship looks to kick off a bumper 2020 calendar.
"This is an exciting announcement that will pave the way for a new look championship next year, Australian GT is one of Australia's premier categories and as such, we want all our racing at the best and most exciting circuits in the country - Bathurst ticks all the boxes in spades," Australian GT category rights holder Jim Manolios said.
"Bathurst and GT cars are made for each other, there's no question about that, so from the outset we always felt the right way forward for Australian GT was to have more racing on the mountain.
"The round will swing nicely off the back of the inaugural Pirelli AGT SuperSprint set for Challenge Bathurst later this year.
"There's some big things on the horizon for our sport, and Bathurst is an important part of that."
Bathurst and Australian GT have a long history, however this will be the first time that the Mount has played host to series round since the start of the 2013 season. That year it was included as a leg of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
While next year's event will be included as a championship point scoring round for Australian GT, the grid capacity at Bathurst will also include an invitation to the NSW Production Sports category that have regularly contested the annual Easter event to compete alongside AGT.
"There's no denying there is a great affinity between Bathurst and sportscars," Yeehah Events James O'Brien said.
"The fans have fallen in love with the exotic machinery that circulates Mount Panorama every year during the 12 Hour, so to extend that opportunity to Easter with the return of Australian GT was a perfect fit."
