THANKS to a commitment to collaborate and some "frank, honest" discussions, Mount Panorama is set to host a bumper six-day motor sport event in December.
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It was announced on Wednesday that Supercars and the Australian Racing Group (ARG) will join forces with Bathurst Regional Council to stage a season-ending event featuring 10 categories of racing.
Mayor Ian North said council got the heads up a few weeks ago that the Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst International could combine, but the major discussions occurred over the last week.
"Towards the end of last week, [Supercars CEO] Sean Seamer and I commenced discussions between Supercars and us, the possibility of this happening, what we needed to do, the logistics of it all. We had a really good chat for nearly an hour, discussing why and what and what the Supercars family is doing and how important Bathurst is," he said.
"We said, 'Okay, let's work this out', and there was a series of phone calls and correspondence between us all, and about 5.30pm or 6pm [Tuesday] night I was asked 'Are you happy with this', so I said yes and let's go ahead with a press release.
"So, there was very good, frank, honest discussions between Supercars and council. I was really happy with how we worked together on it."
It is hoped that the event will be able to go ahead with spectators, giving the Bathurst economy a chance to bounce back from a year marred by lockdowns in both metro and regional NSW.
"It's like an early Christmas. It will actually give people a lot of hope coming in that at the end of November, beginning of December we are going to have this wonderful six-day event that we probably won't quite see in this format ever again," Cr North said.
Deputy mayor Monica Morse has also welcomed the major event, saying it will be good for the community.
"I think [the lockdown] has been very hard on Bathurst businesses and I'm sure that this event will bring people to town, they'll spend some money at the shops, at the food stores, the hotels, everywhere, and I think it's great for the city," she said.
She said council should be congratulated for its efforts to bring the event together.
"I think council should be congratulated for creating the arrangement between Supercars and ARG. That was really, really good because it avoided a potential clash in dates, it means organisations are working together; I think council has really got to be congratulated for making that happen and it's great, fabulous," she said.
The event is set to run from November 30 to December 5.
Spectators are expected to be able to attend and camp at the event, and Supercars and ARG will be working closely with NSW health authorities around COVID-safe measures and Public Health Order requirements.
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