A VERY proud Bobby Bourke was pleased to see the crowd of residents and race fans in the central business district on Thursday in what will be his first Bathurst 12 Hour as mayor.
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For the second year in a row, the Town to Track event was held in Russell Street, but it was the first time the entire field turned out for the event.
"To see them come down George Street and around that roundabout, all these cars worth millions of dollars, it was just a great sight," Cr Bourke said.
"The people are out here, the fans are out here and it's a great morning."
All 39 race cars, along with the safety car, were parked in Russell Street for a couple of hours on Thursday morning.
While drivers did have to do a few interviews for the media present, it was largely an opportunity for them to engage with the race fans and for the fans to get a close look at the cars.
"You don't have the opportunity day-to-day to see all these cars worth millions of dollars parked here in the middle Russell Street," Cr Bourke said.
"People need to take that opportunity to come out of their office buildings and get out here, even on the weekend, get up [to the Mount] and watch them race around."
The drivers also enjoyed the opportunity to see race fans.
Chaz Mostert, who will drive the Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3, said Town to Track was an "awesome" event and one he hopes to see continue.
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"This is a very Australian way of doing things. It works for Supercars and sometimes the GT categories around the world, they lack that little bit in-touch thing, so I think it's good," he said.
"It's good for all the drivers around the world that come here and it really showcases their personality and what they do around the world, and hopefully they pick up some Australian supporters along the way as well. It's awesome."
Seeing the event be another success, Cr Bourke said he was interested to see how an idea like the Town to Track could be incorporated into the city's biggest event, the Bathurst 1000.
"As mayor, I've been trying to liven up the parade," he said. "I'll be honest, they've been dull, and the more we can do, the more cars we can get here and the more fans out into the streets, it can only be better for the next event."
