Mount Panorama Circuit is a 6.213-kilometre motor racing track cut into a public road on the outskirts of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Opened on 17 March 1938 as a scenic tourist drive built partly as a Depression-era employment project, it doubles as an ordinary public road for most of the year, with a 60 km/h speed limit and normal traffic rules in effect whenever a race meeting isn’t underway.
The circuit climbs Mount Panorama itself, producing a 174-metre difference between its highest and lowest points, one of the steepest elevation changes of any circuit used in major international racing. Since 1963 it has been the home of the Bathurst 1000, the Supercars Championship’s most prestigious endurance race, and it has also hosted the Bathurst 12 Hour GT enduro and, in earlier decades, four editions of the Australian Grand Prix.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
- Opened: 17 March 1938
- Circuit length: 6.213 km (3.861 mi)
- Elevation change: 174 m (571 ft)
- Signature event: Bathurst 1000 (Supercars Championship, annual since 1963)
- 2025 Bathurst 1000 attendance: about 198,000 over four days
- FIA grade: Grade 3
- Track status: Public road outside race events
Racing ‘The Mountain’
Drivers know Mount Panorama simply as ‘The Mountain,’ and its blend of narrow, tree-lined public road and steep gradient makes it one of the most demanding circuits in world motorsport. The uphill run through The Cutting and the sweeping descent past Skyline and through the Esses at the top of the mountain give way to the flat-out plunge down Conrod Straight, where Supercars have been recorded well over 300 km/h. Grades on parts of the circuit reach as steep as 1-in-6.
That combination of technical corners, blind crests and severe elevation change has drawn comparisons to circuits like the Nürburgring Nordschleife and Laguna Seca. The current lap record for the full 6.213 km configuration, set by Christopher Mies in an unrestricted Audi R8 LMS GT3 during the 2018 Challenge Bathurst time-attack event, stands at 1:59.291.
A Public Road With Racing History
Outside of race weeks, Mount Panorama functions as an everyday public road managed by Bathurst Regional Council, complete with speed limits and access for local residents and tourists who drive the circuit at normal traffic pace. This dual identity, working road and world-class race track, is part of what makes the venue unique among circuits used at international level.
The Bathurst 1000, run every October, remains the circuit’s centerpiece, regularly drawing crowds in the hundreds of thousands across its four-day event window and standing as the biggest date on the Supercars Championship calendar.
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Mount Panorama Circuit FAQs
How long is Mount Panorama Circuit?
The current full circuit configuration, used since 1987, measures 6.213 km (3.861 mi) per lap.
Is Mount Panorama a normal road when there’s no race?
Yes. Outside scheduled events, it operates as a public road managed by Bathurst Regional Council, with a standard speed limit and open access to vehicles and visitors.
What is the biggest event held at Mount Panorama?
The Bathurst 1000, an endurance race for the Supercars Championship held annually since 1963, is the circuit’s marquee event and one of the largest motorsport crowds in Australia.
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Photo: Kytabu / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.