mount panorama history

Mount Panorama is Australia’s motorsport altar: a 6.213 km ribbon of public road in Bathurst that opened in 1938 as a scenic drive and swiftly became a racetrack whenever the town shut the gates. With about 170 m of elevation change, it’s equal parts postcard and punishment, starring Hell Corner, The Cutting, Skyline, The Esses, Forrest’s Elbow and that missile run down Conrod Straight.

Since 1963 it’s hosted the Bathurst 1000—“The Great Race”—plus the Bathurst 12 Hour for GT machinery, ensuring yearly heroics and heartbreak in equal measure. When events aren’t on, it’s a normal 60 km/h road, which is quaint until you realise you’re doing the shopping run through motorsport mythology. In short: a civic road, a global icon, and the scene of more tall tales than a country pub at closing.