Motorcycles will return to Mount Panorama for an Easter Monday demonstration ride day, laying the groundwork for a 2028 celebration marking 90 years since bikes first raced on the mountain
Motorcycles will return to Bathurst’s iconic Mount Panorama circuit for a controlled demonstration ride day on Easter Monday 2027, building towards a larger celebration in 2028 to mark 90 years since the first motorcycle race on the mountain.
This will not be a race, but a spirited ride day under controlled conditions, with the event recently signed off by the governing body, Motorcycling Australia, as a motorcycle demonstration. The ride day will take place on Easter Monday, the day after the annual Bathurst 6 Hour race event.
Testing the waters of a proposed celebration earlier this year at Easter as part of the Bathurst 6 Hour, a few extremely fortunate riders had the chance to complete demo laps of the track to weigh up the possibilities of some sort of return for bikes around Mount Panorama, albeit in controlled circumstances.
The reception to the return of bikes on track for the first time since 2000, and the overall interest it created, has ensured motorcycle presence will increase in 2027, providing a foundation to build on for 2028 to celebrate 90 years since the first motorcycle race on the mountain.
The 2027 demonstration will be run under very controlled conditions, with lead and tail marshals. Small groups of 10 riders will make up a total of 90 to 100 riders across the day. With so few spots available, a stringent selection process will be used.
Riders will have a strict speed limit imposed across the top of the mountain, while Conrod, Pit and Mountain Straights will be free to roam under open-speed conditions, although there will still be strict guidelines to follow.
A further stipulation is that riders cannot pass the lead marshal. Bathurst maestro and three-time ASBK champion Shaun Giles will be the lead marshal.
With small groups and the six-kilometre track length, there will be plenty of room for all riders.
Eligible bikes will be pre-2010 and will undergo strict scrutineering.
Over the years, there have been efforts to get bikes back to Bathurst over the Easter weekend, as it was the traditional time when enthusiasts descended on the mountain for a weekend of racing and high jinks.
It was never going to happen as a stand-alone event. Barry Rogers from Australian Racing Group, promoter of the Bathurst 6 Hour, stepped in to assist. When the concept was put to Barry and his team, there was no hesitation in working with the bike team to see what could be done.
It has been a couple of years of hard work to get to this stage, but now everything has been ticked off. It is an event that should grow over time and will be a fitting celebration in 2028 to mark the 90th anniversary of bike racing around the iconic venue.
Australian Motor Cycle News will release more information as it becomes available.
