Motorcycle racing returning to Bathurst

The Bathurst Regional Council has awarded the contract for the design of a second, permanent circuit at Mt Panorama budgeted to cost at least $52 million.

British company Apex Circuit Design has been given 84 weeks to create a design that meets the approval of the world governing car and motorcycle racing bodies, the FIA and FIM.

Bathurst mayor Graeme Hanger says it will be at least three years — perhaps longer — before there is racing on the new circuit, to be known as Velocity Park.

“This is the start of bringing this vision — the vision to build on Bathurst’s reputation for staging world-class international motorsport events and take it to the next level – to reality,” Hanger said.

The proposed 4.58km circuit is south of the 6.213km Mount Panorama course on public roads used for the Bathurst 1000, 12-Hour and Six-Hour.

The new track will be to the west of McPhillamy Park and Reid Park in the existing circuit.

The NSW government has already committed $15 million to the project and the federal government $10 million towards the construction of the new track and lobbying will now intensify for bigger contributions, while the council undoubtedly will have to contribute itself.

Apex will be paid $3.7 million for the design of the venue, expected to have a capacity of 50,000 spectators.

It beat Gold Coast-based Integrated Event Delivery Management (iEDM) and Italian company Dromo in the tender.

Apex designed Dubai’s elaborate autodrome and more recently the Zhejiang circuit in China and a circuit for Keysbrook in WA, as well as upgrades to Sydney Motorsport Park and New Zealand’s Hampton Downs. It is also working on a new track in Thailand and an upgrade to Mexico City’s GP track.

“The company has designed and delivered some of the best motor sports tracks around the world,” Hanger said.

“Bringing Apex on board with this project allows us to get this design right, to make the second circuit a world-renowned facility, as iconic in the world of motorsports as the existing Mount Panorama circuit.”

While the progress is being closely followed by Australia’s car racing categories, especially Supercars, a spokesman for the Velocity Park project, Lachlan Sullivan, said it would also realise “a long-established goal to bring back motorcycle racing to Bathurst”.