How to race your car at Challenge Bathurst

Mount Panorama is the Everest of Australian motorsport. Once a year, enthusiasts get a chance to take on the track in their own road cars.

Professional racing drivers aren’t cowed by the fastest corner in Australia.

But I’m not a race driver and my weekend toy isn’t a race car, so the end of Conrod Straight looks intimidating on the far side of 200km/h.

Senses sharpen as you keep the throttle pinned and strain against G-forces in the flat-out kink, pick out a braking point and squeeze the middle pedal, catching a wiggling tail with one hand on the steering wheel as the other grabs third gear before you power out of the bend.

Welcome to Challenge Bathurst.

One of the special things about motorsport is that you can sample many of its greatest arenas for yourself.

Driving Bathurst is on the bucket list of any car nut.

There are precious few opportunities to sing on stage at the Sydney Opera House, run on hallowed turf at the MCG or take the crease at The Oval. But Mount Panorama is open to enthusiasts once a year for a weekend of speed on sacred ground.

While every state has a track worthy of Supercars competition, none match Mount Panorama’s changes in elevation, perilous concrete walls, seemingly endless straights and peerless cultural aura.

Weeks later, you can still see the skid marks and scars from October’s Bathurst 1000.

Challenge Bathurst gives drivers a chance to prove their stuff on the nation’s toughest track. The event is usually held in November, with tickets on sale in about July.

It’s not a cheap exercise by any stretch. Entry to the weekend “Regularity” competition costs $1690, and you need to bring a fireproof driving suit, helmet, extinguisher, car club membership and CAMS racing licence.

It isn’t a cheap day out.

You would be mad not to treat your car to a comprehensive service beforehand, including track-ready brake pads and racing brake fluid with far more capability at high temperatures. Competition-oriented tyres are also a good bet, as they’re less likely to wilt under the strain of successive hot laps.

And it’s best to spend a couple of days practising performance driving at your local track. Call it a $5000 investment if you’re not a track day regular.

But hundreds of enthusiasts have zero hesitation stumping up the cash for a run around Bathurst.

The track is as intimidating as it appears on TV.

Competitors get two hours of track time split across two days. You share the track with up to 55 cars, which is part of the fun — dicing with friends in similar machinery or blasting past a slower car is just as exciting as having your doors blown off by a $500,000 race car.

The competitive element is a regularity contest requiring drivers to nominate an intended lap time, with points awarded for consistency in achieving that target. Drivers can go as fast as they want on two days geared toward race cars, but are banned from going faster than a 2m36s lap during weekend runs for road-going machines. That’s plenty fast.

I pack my 2013 Renault Megane RS 265 Trophy with a boot full of tools and tyres each year. Robust, engaging and capable of completing many laps at speed, the track-prepared Renault is an ideal partner in crime.

Driving Challenge Bathurst is a great way to hone your track skills.

A turbocharged engine offers adequate punch on the long straights, while Brembo brakes, a limited-slip diff and Nurburgring-tuned suspension lend Porsche-hunting confidence in the corners.

With a good degree of experience both at Bathurst and at the wheel of my car, this year’s event returned a personal best lap of 2m43.2s — on par with race cars that contest the Bathurst 6 Hour each year.

But the satisfaction doesn’t come from outright speed. Like a game of golf or competitive running, it’s about improving your own performance — becoming faster, tidier and more consistent with each session.

Driving your car at speed at Bathurst is one of the most rewarding motoring experiences short of wheel-to-wheel racing.

As long as you’re up for the challenge.

Originally published as How to race your car at Challenge Bathurst