Town to Track parade to return this Thursday

THE ANNUAL BATHURST ‘Town to Track’ parade will return to the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour this Thursday, May 12.

The entire field will travel under police escort from Mount Panorama to the centre of Bathurst on Thursday morning, with drivers to be on hand to meet and greet the fans in the centre of Bathurst throughout the early afternoon.

Cars will leave Mount Panorama at 10:55am on Thursday morning, departing the circuit via Panorama Avenue before turning left on to Brilliant Street and right onto George Street before parking in the middle of Bathurst on Russell Street, which will be closed to traffic.

Cars and drivers will be on hand from 11:30am to meet and greet the Bathurst public and sign autographs, before returning to the circuit under police escort at approximately 1pm.

Cars will return to the circuit by turning right out of Russell Street and driving directly to the circuit via William Street and Panorama Avenue, before entering pit lane via Hell Corner.

The annual Town to Track parade has become a unique tradition at the Bathurst 12 Hour event each year, attracting thousands of fans along the route and to the centre of town to meet the cars and stars of the race.

This year, event flags will be provided to the schools on the Town to Track route, allowing local students to participate in the unique event.

The parade sees the notable addition of more than 20 cars being added to the New South Wales vehicle database: each racing car participating in the parade to be provided with temporary registration for the duration of the event by the NSW Roads and Maritime Service – making them the only road-legal GT3 Racing Cars in the world at the time.

The event is held with the support of Destination NSW, NSW Police and the Bathurst Regional Council.

Later on Thursday, the 2020 race winners plaques will be presented by the Bathurst Regional Council to members of the most recent 12-Hour winning team on hand this year – to be represented by French GT star, Jules Gounon.

Though now driving a Mercedes-AMG for SunEnergy1 Racing, Gounon was one of the star drivers who helped deliver Bentley a long-anticipated victory in the epic 2020 race – one of the last international motorsport events held in Australia prior to the Pandemic.

Commencing this year, all Bathurst 12 Hour winners will be recognised in a new ‘Bathurst Enduro walk of fame’ installed outside the National Motor Racing Museum at Murray’s corner, next to the iconic Peter Brock statue.

The 2020 winners will be the first to be added to the new display, which will retrospectively see all previous Bathurst 12, 24 and 6-Hour winners added, while Bathurst 1000 winners continue to be recognised with plaques installed in the pavement outside the council offices in the city itself.

The 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will be held this weekend, May 13-15.

Tickets are available via Ticketek, while the race will also be broadcast live on Fox Sports, Kayo and the Seven Network on Saturday and Sunday. International live streaming will also be available for overseas audiences.