Mount Panorama

Bathurst – the stories behind the legend

By John Smailes

Mount Panorama is Australia’s greatest motor racing circuit. These are the stories behind the legend.

There’s no other motor-racing circuit in Australia that holds the same magic as Bathurst’s Mount Panorama. It’s been home to the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix and TT, the Bathurst 1000 and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. To win on the Mountain is still the pinnacle of Australian motorsport achievement.

As a motor-racing journalist for more than 45 years, John Smailes has had extraordinary access to the Mountain and to the leading names who competed there. When Jack Brabham celebrated his three world championships, when the Bathurst 1000 was born, when motorcycle greats Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Gregg Hansford tested themselves, John was there. He has reported on every victory by Peter Brock, Allan Moffat and Dick Johnson and he’s covered the careers of contemporary stars Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup, Mark Skaife and the incredible father-and-son duo Jim and Steven Richards.

In Mount Panorama, John Smailes gives us the definitive account of the Mountain, taking us into the pits, the workshops and the boardrooms to reveal the stories behind the circuit’s conception and the champions, and legendary races that have made it so famous. It’s the Mountain brought to life.