 The Beginning - a very brief history.....
Mount Panorama was first used as an official race track in 1938, holding the "Australian Tourist Trophy for Motorcycles" on Easter Saturday. On Easter Monday the ‘Australian Grand Prix' for Motor Cars was held. With the beginning of WW2, racing was stopped until 1947 when races recommenced. Further Grand Prix meetings were held in 1952 and 1958. However, "The Great Race" (as we know it) didn't actually originate in Bathurst. Sponsored by Armstrong Shock Absorbers and known as the "Armstrong 500", a car race was held at Phillip Island for the first time in 1960.
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 Mount Panorama holds a special place in the minds of motor racing fans and an incredible awareness in people with only a passing interest in the sport. To understand and appreciate this you need to know the history of this internationally acclaimed circuit.
In the 1930's a visionary local politician, the Mayor of Bathurst Alderman Martin Griffin, obtained funding from the State Government for a scenic road to be built on Bald Hill. He always knew that the road was going to be used for motor racing but Depression Era funds weren't easy to come by, so he had to create a ruse. At Easter 1938 the first races were held and except for the war years, have been held ever since.
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