F1 Landed in Bathurst, Mount Panorama
If I were allowed one opportunity to drive race cars at any circuit of my choice, it would certainly be Mount Panorama. I’ve driven it thousand of miles in the simulator and never got bored. There is no single boring section. It is a fast flowing unforgiving track which I hated at first due to extreme concentration and courage needed to plant the throttle and to barely avoid scratching the wall to get a decent laptimes. The layout is fantastic and with out of the world elevation and road cambers, it is just unbeatable in terms of actions and adrenaline levels.
The G-forces going up the crest and suddenly braking downhill are tremendous. One mistake and you are out, and in the race this means taking out other cars too. Then the breathtaking scenery of the mountains. To be honest, every other track in the world has somewhat a duplicate copy, but Mount Panorama has none. The final nail on the coffin would be the significant nostalgic historical value of the place.
Few days ago, Jenson Button fulfilled his long childhood dream by driving a F1 car and a V8 Supercar in a demo run. By his account, it was a euphoric moment to be given the rare opportunity. A scene like above where one wheel is off the ground was quite common due to extreme superelevated section of the road. To leave you guys with how dangerous this course is, 15 competitors and 2 spectators perished since its inception.
Here is the video from the event. Click here
Editorial : Mu’az Zakaria
Photo : Team Vodafone V8 Supercar team
Incredible piece of track and scenery, there is not much knowledge among everyday people that this one track is such a legend!