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Video: Let a 1970s Camaro explain why Bathurst is so special

13th June 2024
Russell Campbell

Europeans might think they have a monopoly on challenging circuits – be it the speed of Circuit de la Sarthe, the enduring danger of the Nordschleife, or the endearing blind and slippery summit of Spa-Francorchamps’ Eau Rouge, but the rest of the world has just as much to offer. Mount Panorama Circuit, home of the Bathurst 500, is one such example.

Passion is the driving force behind any motorsport, and the Bathurst 500 is not short of it. It is as famous for the fights that happen off-circuit between marauding Holden and Ford fans as it is for the battles that happen on track – organisers even enforce a (comically unconservative) 24-can daily limit on patrons. Why that much booze is needed is beyond us when there’s so much entertainment to be found on the Tarmac, which brings this rather long-legged intro to an end. 

Our latest video isn’t from Bathurst proper, but rather the Touring Car Masters, as we join Geoff Lane from the White Line Racing Team to demonstrate precisely what Bathurst is (or at least was) about behind the wheel of his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro.

This video’s got everything. Rock music intro? Check. Thunderous V8s? Check. Huge V8s on a tiny winding circuit? Nah yeah, mate. 

The race begins with a wall of noise as Lane’s Camaro gets bustled from every angle, as huge muscle cars jostle for position on what seems like a tiny ribbon of road. With time, our host falls behind the pack, giving us time to appreciate the effort needed to bully the Chevrolet around the track. Even listening from the relative safety of tiny laptop speakers, the Chevy’s attack on your senses can’t be underplayed as the big V8 shakes itself to pieces.

After watching this video, it’s hard not to feel like Mount Panorama is a bucket list circuit that every race fan should visit at least once.

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