A slew of international drivers have signaled their interest in racing at Mount Panorama's newest event.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was announced last week that the Australian Racing Group (ARG) was successful in its bid to host the fifth major motor sport event at the iconic circuit.
The inaugural event is set to be held in December, 2020 and ARG's executive director, Matt Braid, said planning was already under way.
The event will run for at least three days, but possibly four or more.
It will feature five different categories of racing, some of which have never been seen at Mount Panorama before.
It also signals the return of open-wheel racing to the Mountain with the inclusion of the S5000 series.
"They'll be very spectacular. It is the first time high-powered open-wheelers have been racing at Bathurst for many years," Mr Braid said.
While the categories are an exciting element, arguably the highlight of the event will be the international talent it brings to Bathurst.
Mr Braid said the vision was always to "create a grand finale international race event" at Bathurst and already overseas drivers have expressed interest to attend.
"Before putting in our proposal, we contacted a significant number of drivers in various categories internationally to see who would be interested," he said.
"We're now at the point where we've been awarded the event, we're shaping it and we're able to go forward with details to those interested parties. There's significant international interest already for this event."
ARG hopes to not only feature international drivers on the circuit, but have them be accessible to fans.
The promoter is also in discussions to broadcast the event for those who can't make it to the track.
"We're currently in discussions with a broadcast partner for next year for all our local series and that will include the Bathurst fifth event," he said.
"We expect to have significant free-to-air coverage, as well as live streaming in Australia and beyond."
In order to be selected for the event, ARG had to put in an expression of interest to Bathurst Regional Council earlier this year.
There were a total of six received. Council created a shortlist of three events and, after receiving additional information, picked ARG and Supercars as the finalists.
Mr Braid said it was a professional and efficient process, as had come to be expected of council.
"We felt that we were put in - and I'm sure the other candidates would say it too - the best position to present our ideal proposal for Bathurst," he said.
"There weren't too many restrictions on what we could put forward for the event."