AN injection of $10 million from the NSW government could spell a return to the heady days of motorcycle racing at Bathurst.
The funding is a pledge to the regional council’s VeloCity Park project, which aims to build a second, permanent circuit adjacent to the iconic Mount Panorama, and it is expected to eventually gain FIA and FIM approval.
Preliminary plans reveal a 4.58km circuit that can be used in up to nine configurations of differing sizes, plus two separate circuits that can be run concurrently.
The site earmarked for the new venue is on a pocket of land west of the McPhillamy Park and Reid Park precincts.
According to Mount Panorama Second Circuit Action Group convener Lachlan Sullivan, the next step is to select an accomplished, internationally recognised circuit designer from the three entities who submitted expressions of interest for the project last month.
“This is not a project for apprentices,” Sullivan said. “The successful group must have runs on the board.”
The recent pledge brings the total state funding tally to date to $15 million, and while it’s still well short of the $52.4 million funding target, it’s understood Bathurst Regional Council will look to the federal government for the financial support required to get the project underway.
