Bathurst Expands ‘Town to Track’ Parade

This year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour will feature an expanded full-field ‘Town to Track’ street parade through the Bathurst city center.

Event organizers introduced the concept at last year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season-opener following the success of a similar pre-event parade at the Total 24 Hours of Spa.

Last year’s parade saw only one car from each manufacturer take to the streets, however, the concept has been expanded for 2020 with the entire 40-car field set to tour the Bathurst streets on Thursday of the Jan. 31 – Feb. 2 event.

Once in Bathurst city center, the cars will be on show to fans for several hours, with a driver autograph session and Q&A also taking place to commence the event.

At 10:45 a.m. local time, the cars will be led by the Mercedes-AMG Safety Car under police escort out of pit lane to complete a lap of Mount Panorama before heading into town.

Defending Bathurst 12 Hour winners Earl Bamber Motorsport will lead the line of race cars behind the Safety Car with the No. 1 Porsche 911 GT3 R and then one marque from each full-season IGTC entry while the remainder of the field will then follow in pit lane order.

The approximately 2.1 miles (3.5-kilometer) drive will see the field eventually arrive on Russell Street where all 40 cars will be parked in two rows in the center of the street, with the festivities concluding at 1:30 p.m.

Each car will be temporarily registered with the New South Wales Roads and Maritime Service to be allowed to be driven on public roads from the circuit to the city, and back.

“Once parked, fans will have the opportunity to meet the star drivers, grab a poster, get some autographs and meet and greet with the people involved in the race,” said Event Director Kurt Sakzewski.

“We’re very appreciative of the New South Wales government, New South Wales Police and the Bathurst Regional Council for their efforts in making this hugely exciting part of the 12-Hour weekend happen – it’s going to be quite a show.”