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This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Jordan Greer (@Jordan) on December 30th, 2020 in the Car Culture category.
Great write up!! 👍
Bathurst really is a special place, I'd love to go over and participate in the 6 hour one day!!
Please don't hesitate to share more stories like this about these other tracks if/when you can over next year.As a motorsport enthusiast, I have been incredibly fortunate to visit many of the world’s great racing circuits. From Spa Francorchamps, to Laguna Seca, Silverstone, Circuit de la Sarthe, the Nurburgring, Circuit de Monaco, and Fuji Speedway, I always try to put racing landmarks on my itinerary when I travel.
Mount Panorama is a very nice track, but is really hard specially if you drive a fast car. The track has two long and fast straights but also a series of tight and dangerous curves easy to crash into. I would like Mount Panorama to be included in the F1 Championship.
I understand that completely. Australia was three flights and 24 total hours of travel time for me (that's not including the 6+ hours of additional flights to/from New Zealand in the middle of the trip). I've never been to Kuwait so I can't compare, but to me, the travel time to the land Down Under was worth it. If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it despite the travel time.That was a good read, thanks!
I’d love to experience the track, but did 20 hours on a plane years ago to Kuwait and it was not fun.
It's a normal road people use (and have to use) on a daily basis. In the case of several homes, the track is the only way to get to their property!Is this "public road" aka "race track" a road people use on daily basis to go to work for instance? Or is it a "scenery" public road that is only used for site-seeing and locals who live near/on this "race track"?
When were you at Spa and The 'Ring @Jordan?
Yes, it's a beautiful part of Australia.Some great photos and an enjoyable read @Jordan. One thing that struck me is that everything looked so clean and unspoilt.
Lucky you! Bathurst looked like a very nice place to live. Aside from the restaurant where I ate dinner (Pantano's Bar & Grill) and the staff at the museum, I didn't get a chance to speak with any locals. What's it like to live there? Does everything revolve around the track and race events?Being born and bred at Bathurst, and going to every Bathurst race since 2001 (With the exception of 2020). It is awesome to read into the outside perspective, of someone that's never gone around Mount Panorama in their lives. I was reading the article, with a big smile on my face. Because it always reminds me of how special Mount Panorama is, not just for me, but for all the motorsport fans!
No, nothing can compare to the Nurburgring, it truly is one-of-a-kind.I have driven Nurburgring twice before(A 1st gen Suzuki Swift Sport and 4th Gen Renault Clio RS200), and that is more of a challenge as you really cannot get into a rhythm as the laps are so long. 4 laps is not enough to work out how hard you can push at that place.
I can only think of Le Sarthe as another public road people can drive around.
I can only think of Le Sarthe as another public road people can drive around.
I can only think of Le Sarthe as another public road people can drive around.
Drove through all the time. When I lived in Melbourne, my apartment was a few blocks away from Albert Park(the old Red Bull garages c.2013).Albert Park?
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is definitely one that's a "normal" road every other day aside the GP weekend. It's one way traffic with a 30km/h limit and the roadway is a shared bikepath. There's stop signs here and there as some of the access roads during the race are actually used as paths to get to the office buildings (mostly governmental stuff) inside the circuit. I believe in recent years they even converted some parts of the runoff areas into parking lots for public transport. My friends and I used to drive around in the middle of the night back in the day... it's ironic to get a speeding ticket on a racetrack.
Thanks for all the kind words about the article, everyone. Happy new year.
I understand that completely. Australia was three flights and 24 total hours of travel time for me (that's not including the 6+ hours of additional flights to/from New Zealand in the middle of the trip). I've never been to Kuwait so I can't compare, but to me, the travel time to the land Down Under was worth it. If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it despite the travel time.
It's a normal road people use (and have to use) on a daily basis. In the case of several homes, the track is the only way to get to their property!
Yes, it's a beautiful part of Australia.
Lucky you! Bathurst looked like a very nice place to live. Aside from the restaurant where I ate dinner (Pantano's Bar & Grill) and the staff at the museum, I didn't get a chance to speak with any locals. What's it like to live there? Does everything revolve around the track and race events?
No, nothing can compare to the Nurburgring, it truly is one-of-a-kind.
However, the Nurburgring and Mount Panorama are similar in terms of just how "accessible" they are to the average person, which was my main takeaway from my visit and this article.
When you visit most race tracks (especially when there's no race going on), you're lucky to peek through some fences at your favorite corners. Mount Panorama's status as a fully public, unobstructed road is — as far as I'm aware — completely unique among top-tier international circuits, and that's what makes it such a great place for enthusiasts to visit. Yes, the Nurburgring comes out on top considering you can drive it "flat-out" in your own car for a few Euros, but you can't pull off to the side of the road for a few pictures (unless you have a death wish), and you can't drive the full length of the Dottinger Hohe or the GP track.