Bathurst 1000: Crowd, ticket numbers set to soar despite Covid border closures
Race organisers have promised the ‘biggest Bathurst yet’, and despite recent border closures are confident of monster crowds flooding through the gates this week.
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A combined crowd of up to 140,000 is expected to be at Mount Panorama this week to cheer on Jamie Whincup as the V8 immortal attempts to finish his full-time career with a Bathurst 1000 fairytale.
In what will be the biggest sporting crowd since the second wave of Covid shut down Australia, at least 20,000 fans are expected to be at Mount Panorama for each day of the event which began with support categories on Tuesday.
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With the sport set to farewell the greatest championship driver in V8 history, race cars already on track, and the all new Mustang and Camaro set to be unveiled on Friday, Supercars CEO Sean Seamer predicted this year’s Bathurst 1000 would be the best yet.
“I think it is the biggest Bathurst we have ever had,” Seamer said.
“We have six days of on track racing, a Gen 3 launch and the GOAT (Jamie Whincup) racing as a fulltime driver for the last time. It is going to be a huge week at Mount Panorama. This is the Bathurst you want to be at.”
While closed borders have hurt the event, Supercars are forecasting a combined six day crowd of 140,000.
“We are expecting a great crowd considering the circumstances,” Seamer said.
“Bathurst is a national event so having borders closed has stopped some from coming but we are still expecting a big crowd. We are tracking for about 65 percent of what the crowd would have been with-out the closures and that is great considering about 40 percent of our normal crowd usually come from interstate”
While Bathurst hotels are completely booked out, Seamer said fans could still book a last-minute camp-site.
“The fact the Queensland fans have not been able to come down and stay in their usual sites mean we have some sites available that normally would not be,” Seamer said.
Covid protocols will be in place at Mount Panorama t and fans will need to adhere to NSW Health regulations.
“It is the same process as going to a bar or a restaurant,” Seamer said.
“We are pretty used to the process now.”
WHY RED-HOT FAVOURITES AREN’T FEELING PRESSURE
By Rebecca Williams
Four-time winner Garth Tander has warned Shane van Gisbergen’s 2021 championship victory has put the pair’s Bathurst 1000 defence in an even stronger position as they prepare to go all out for Mount Panorama glory.
As Tander aims to join an elite club as a five-time winner of the Bathurst 1000, the Triple Eight co-driver said van Gisbergen’s championship win had helped to ease the pressure on the red-hot race favourites this weekend.
Van Gisbergen clinched the 2021 Supercars championship after the last washed-out race at Sydney Motorsport Park after finishing the round with an unassailable lead over teammate Jamie Whincup.
Declaring there was “no pressure” on the defending champions, Tander said having the championship already decided would allow the pair to focus solely on their strategy for the 1000km classic without any title implications.
“It’s actually easier now that he’s won the championship because we don’t have to worry about the championship over the course of the Bathurst weekend,” Tander said.
“Now it’s just come to Bathurst, race 1000km as fast as we can and put our best foot forward and if we have a good day and do everything well we should been among it.
“You will need some self-preservation because it’s still a long race and it’s a long week so it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and it’s easy to get caught up in the hype about Bathurst and the fact that it’s just a heads up race now, there is no championship implications involved.
“But you still need to have a straight going into qualifying, you need to qualify well and you need to execute 1000km better than anyone else.”
Sealing his second Supercars championship win after he dominated to win 14 races this year, van Gisbergen said having the Supercars title in the bag would allow him to go “all out” for another Mount Panorama crown and seal the championship-Bathurst double.
“If the championship was still up for grabs we would have had to be quite calculated with what we did,” van Gisbergen said. “But now we can just go all out for the race.”
A four-time Bathurst 1000 alongside Whincup, Allan Moffat and Greg Murphy, Tander can join Steven Richards as a five-time victor if he and van Gisbergen can salute this weekend.
Peter Brock (nine), Jim Richards and Craig Lowndes (seven), Mark Skaife and Larry Perkins (six) sit on the list ahead of them for most Bathurst 1000 wins. Despite the pair’s favouritism, Tander was not taking the rest of the field for granted.
“Even though we are reigning champions and Shane has just wrapped up the championship, I think there is plenty of other cars that are more than capable of winning this race,” Tander said. “I know there has been a lot of commentary around the fact that the (No.) 97 car is one of the favourites.
“But how could you go past Jamie in his last race sharing the car with Craig? Cam Waters and James Moffat in the Monster Energy Mustang were really fast in the 1000 last year and Cam was fast here at the start of the year as well for the start of the championship.
“And (Chaz) Mostert and (Lee) Holdsworth, they are a good combination and (Anton) De Pasquale and (Tony) D’Alberto, the Davison brothers, I can name 10 cars that could win the race. So it will be wide open.”
The team driving Supercars renewables revolution
— James Phelps
Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) has gone green with the championship winning outfit planting 17,000 trees to become Australia’s first and only carbon neutral race team.
As part of a comprehensive environmental program that has until now been kept secret, DJR have completely offset the 15.5 tonnes of CO2 they output a year by recycling, planting trees and using renewable energy.
Having been awarded a three-star environmental accreditation that has been applauded by FIA president Jean Todt, DJR founder Dick Johnson hailed going green as one of his team’s great achievements.
“This is one of the most exciting announcements we’ve made in the team’s history,” Johnson said. “I may have been around motorsport for well over 50 years now but I’m still very passionate about our team and our sport, the positive impact it can have on society and the generations to come.
“As a bloke with two grandkids, I couldn’t be prouder of the work Ryan and the team have done to make DJR Australia’s first carbon neutral race team.”
The landmark program to go green was spearheaded by DJR co-owner Ryan Story.
“Innovation, professionalism, efficiency and technology are at the heart of what we do and drive success for Dick Johnson Racing on the racetrack,” Story said.
“With an incredible 1.25 million supporters of DJR in Australia, I’ve long maintained that we have a social, moral and ethical responsibility to use this platform wisely including for the benefit of future generations of motorsport supporters”.
“Becoming Australia’s first carbon neutral motor racing team and the first touring car team to achieve the FIA Three Star Environmental Accreditation is an exciting moment for our whole organisation and a great milestone in the more than 40-year history of DJR.
“We believe in it for our team and business and others might choose to follow suit in their own way.”
Jean Todt, President, FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), congratulated DJR and its co-owners Dick Johnson and Ryan Story on their achievement.
DJR planted 5000 trees in Australia and another 12,000 in India and Nepal.
“I am very pleased to see them become the first motorsport team outside of Europe, to achieve the FIA’s Three Star Environmental Accreditation rating.” Todt said.
“A key element of the FIA Action for the Environment initiative is our Accreditation program and it is very encouraging to see Dick Johnson Racing setting an example to other Touring Car teams to lead the way in demonstrating the FIA’s responsible and proactive approach to the environment and sustainability. My congratulations go to Ryan Story, Dick Johnson and the team, for their achievement and example.”
Originally published as Bathurst 1000: Crowd, ticket numbers set to soar despite Covid border closures
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