Mount Panorama 500
{{distinguish|text=the Bathurst 1000, formerly known as the Bathurst 500, an endurance race held at the Mount Panorama Circuit since 1963}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{short description|Motor race in Australia}}
{{V8 supercar race
|flag = New South Wales
|title = Bathurst 500
|circuit = Mount Panorama Circuit
|track_map = Mount Panorama Circuit Map Overview.PNG
|times_held = 8
|first_held = 1966
|last_held = 2024
|race1_laps = 40
|race1_distance = 250
|race2_laps = 40
|race2_distance = 250
|last_year = 2024
|last_event_link = 2024 Bathurst 500
|overall_winner = {{flagicon|AUS}} Will Brown
|overall_team = Triple Eight Race Engineering
|race1_winner = {{flagicon|AUS}} Broc Feeney
|race1_team = Triple Eight Race Engineering
|race2_winner = {{flagicon|AUS}} Will Brown
|race2_team = Triple Eight Race Engineering
}}
The Bathurst 500 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Thrifty Bathurst 500) was a Supercars Championship motor racing event that has been on occasion, with the most recent iteration for the 2024 season at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
In recent years, the Bathurst sprint round has been used as a reserve round that can be implemented when necessary to replace cancelled rounds. This happened in 2021, when international travel restrictions forced Motorsport Australia to cancel the Bathurst 12 Hour, and in 2024, when Supercars' talks with Newcastle to renew their contract to run the Newcastle 500 collapsed.{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Simon |title=No plans for Mount Panorama 500 to return |url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2021/02/27/no-plans-for-mount-panorama-500-to-return/ |access-date=8 March 2021 |work=Speedcafe |date=27 February 2021}} A championship sprint event at the circuit was previously held six times between 1966 and 1996.{{cite news |last1=Pavey |first1=James |title=Mountain memories: Bathurst's sprint round history |url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/mountain-memories-bathursts-sprint-round-history/ |access-date=22 February 2021 |work=Supercars |date=22 February 2021 |language=en}}
History
The Mount Panorama Circuit is best known as host of the Bathurst 1000 endurance race for touring cars, an event which was first run in Bathurst as the Armstrong 500 in 1963. In addition to the endurance race, generally held in October, the circuit had traditions of hosting a major event over the Easter weekend, dating back to the circuit's first major event, the 1938 Australian Grand Prix.{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Will |title=Easter Flashback: Was this the ATCC's greatest race? |url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/easter-flashback-was-this-the-atccs-greatest-race/ |accessdate=26 October 2019 |work=Supercars |date=22 April 2019 |language=en}} The first four ATCC sprint rounds at the circuit were held as part of the annual Easter event, with the races held on Easter Monday.
The Australian Touring Car Championship, first run in 1960, was held as a single-race event until 1968, with Mount Panorama hosting the championship in 1966. At the event Ian Geoghegan won the second of his five championship titles, and he also went on to win two further sprint rounds at the circuit, including in 1969 when the championship expanded to a multi-round series.{{cite book | title=The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years | last1=Greenhalgh | first1=David | last2=Howard | first2=Graham | last3=Wilson | first3=Stewart | publisher=Chevron Publishing Group | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-9805912-2-4 | location=St Leonards, New South Wales}} The Easter 1972 round, Geoghegan's third win at the event, has been considered as one of the greatest races in championship history due to the close battle between Geoghegan's Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III and Allan Moffat's Ford Boss 302 Mustang.{{cite news |last1=Fogarty |first1=Mark |title=The best of the V8 Supercars 500 |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/the-best-of-the-v8-supercars-500-20160415-go7qvp.html |accessdate=30 June 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=15 April 2016 |language=en}} The battle between the distinctive Ford models, in which the lead changed hands multiple times, culminated in Moffat needing to loosen his seatbelts to see out the side window with his windscreen covered in oil. From 1974 onwards, the Easter event only featured motorcycles and continued until 1988.
After a championship absence of over two decades, a sprint event returned to Mount Panorama in 1995 and 1996. The event was not on the Easter weekend, however it was still the second major annual event (the maximum permitted at the circuit under the New South Wales legislation of the period) following the demise of the Bathurst 12 Hour after 1994. Both of the 1990s rounds were won by John Bowe, winning the 1995 round without winning either of the two races and then winning all three races in 1996, both of which in the 1994 Bathurst 1000-winning chassis.{{cite news |last1=Frood |first1=Andrew |title=RIP RACERS THE DJR 94 BATHURST WINNER |url=https://v8sleuth.com.au/news/2018/02/14/rip-racers-the-djr-94-bathurst-winner |accessdate=20 October 2019 |work=V8 Sleuth |date=14 February 2018}} In 1995, Bowe's team-mate Dick Johnson, who was the first to match Geoghegan as a five time series champion, won his final championship race before suffering a rear wing failure at approximately 280 kilometres per hour while talking to the Seven Network commentators on RaceCam in the second race.{{cite news |title=Saturday Sleuthing: The Shell Sandown 500 Winner |url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/saturday-sleuthing-the-shell-sandown-500-winner/ |accessdate=20 October 2019 |work=Supercars |date=6 September 2014 |language=en}}
The sprint round did not remain on the calendar in 1997, with two Bathurst 1000s being held instead after a promotional split, while from 1999 the unified Bathurst 1000 itself became a championship round. In 2020, the return of the sprint round was announced to be held in February 2021 as the final round of the extended 2020 season, in a shuffled calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Simon |title=Supercars releases revised 13-round 2020/21 calendar |url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2020/05/17/supercars-releases-revised-13-round-2020-21-calendar/ |accessdate=17 May 2020 |work=Speedcafe |date=17 May 2020}} After further changes where the season was truncated to again finish within the 2020 calendar year,{{cite news |title=Sandown Takes Traditional Spot on Newly Revised Supercars Calendar |url=https://autoaction.com.au/2020/06/19/sandown-takes-traditional-spot-on-newly-revised-supercars-calendar |accessdate=19 June 2020 |work=Auto Action |date=18 June 2020 |language=en-AU}} Supercars decided the event would be held as the first round of the next season in 2021, replacing the Bathurst 12 Hour, which could not be conducted because of international travel restrictions. The event featured two single-driver 250 kilometre races, both of which were won by Shane van Gisbergen.{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Simon |title=Supercars reveals long awaited 2021 calendar |url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2020/12/03/supercars-reveals-long-awaited-2021-calendar/ |access-date=3 December 2020 |work=Speedcafe |date=2 December 2020}}{{cite news |last1=van Leeuwen |first1=Andrew |title=Bathurst Supercars: Van Gisbergen completes victory clean sweep at Mount Panorama 500 |url=https://www.autosport.com/supercars/news/bathurst-supercars-van-gisbergen-completes-victory-clean-sweep-at-mount-panorama-500-5529501/5529501/ |access-date=8 March 2021 |work=Autosport |date=28 February 2021 |language=en}}
With the cancellation of the Newcastle 500 round, the Bathurst 500 was announced as the replacement race to open the 2024 season, one week after the Bathurst 12 Hour.{{cite web |title=Bathurst SuperFest to feature Bathurst 12 Hour, Bathurst 500 in 2024 |url=https://www.supercars.com/news/bathurst-superfest-to-feature-bathurst-12-hour-bathurst-500-in-2024 |website=Supercars.com |access-date=2023-11-08 |ref=Superfest}}{{cite news |last1=Cole |first1=Hamish |title=Bathurst 500 returns to Mount Panorama-Wahluu as businesses celebrate racing festival success |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-24/bathurst-500-returns-mount-panorama-wahluu-businesses-celebrate/103499048 |access-date=24 February 2024 |work=ABC News |date=24 February 2024 |language=en-AU}} The events combined to form a ten-day Bathurst SuperFest, in order to comply with New South Wales' Motor Sports Events Act limit of five events a year.{{cite web |last1=Herrero |first1=Daniel |title=Plans for 10-day Bathurst ‘festival’ to open 2024 Supercars season |url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/14/plans-for-10-day-bathurst-festival-to-open-2024-supercars-season/ |website=Speedcafe |publisher=Speedcafe Pty Ltd |access-date=2023-11-08 |ref=Speedcafe2023}} As in 2021, Triple Eight Race Engineering won both races; this time shared between Will Brown, on debut for the team, and Broc Feeney.{{cite news |last1=Miles |first1=Thomas |title=Brown win completes Triple Eight’s perfect weekend |url=https://autoaction.com.au/2024/02/25/brown-win-completes-triple-eights-perfect-weekend |access-date=21 August 2024 |work=Auto Action |date=25 February 2025}} However, the event had lower crowds compared to the Bathurst 12 Hour the week prior and was replaced by the Sydney SuperNight as the opening round for the 2025 calendar.{{cite news |last1=Dane |first1=Roland |title=Roland’s View: Unpacking the Bathurst 500 |url=https://speedcafe.com/rolands-view-unpacking-the-bathurst-500/ |access-date=21 August 2024 |work=Speedcafe.com |date=28 February 2024 |language=en-AU}}{{cite news |last1=Leeuwen |first1=Andrew van |title=Expanded 2025 Supercars calendar revealed |url=https://speedcafe.com/expanded-2025-supercars-calendar-revealed/ |work=Speedcafe.com |date=4 October 2024 |language=en-AU}}
Winners
File:Van Gisbergen 2021 Mount Panorama 500 Practice 2.jpg won the 2021 event.]]
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Year ! Team ! Car ! Report |
| 1966
| {{flagicon|AUS}} Ian Geoghegan | Total Team | Report |
|---|
| style="background: #dddddd"
! 1967 | align="center" colspan="4" |not held |
| 1969
| {{flagicon|AUS}} Ian Geoghegan | Mustang Team | Ford Mustang Mk.1 | Report |
| 1970
| {{flagicon|AUS}} Norm Beechey | Norm Beechey Shell Racing Team | Report |
| style="background: #dddddd"
! 1971 | align="center" colspan="4" |not held |
| 1972
| {{flagicon|AUS}} Ian Geoghegan | Geoghegan's Sporty Cars | Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III | |
| style="background: #dddddd"
! 1973 | align="center" colspan="4" |not held |
| 1995
| {{flagicon|AUS}} John Bowe | Report |
| 1996
| {{flagicon|AUS}} John Bowe | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Falcon EF | |
| style="background: #dddddd"
! 1997 | align="center" colspan="4" |not held |
| 2021
| {{flagicon|NZL}} Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Report |
| style="background: #dddddd"
! 2022 | align="center" colspan="4" |not held |
| 2024
| {{flagicon|AUS}} Will Brown | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Report |
Multiple winners
=By driver=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |
| Wins
! Driver ! Years |
|---|
| 3
| {{flagicon|AUS}} Ian Geoghegan | 1966, 1969, 1972 |
| 2
| {{flagicon|AUS}} John Bowe | 1995, 1996 |
=By team=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Wins ! Team |
| 3
| Geoghegan's Sporty Cars{{efn|Previously entered under the names Total Team and Mustang Team.}} |
|---|
| rowspan=2| 2 |
| {{nowrap|Triple Eight Race Engineering}} |
=By manufacturer=
Event sponsors
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}