Sun, 11th October, 2015 Mt Panorama Volunteers Campground, Bathurst (V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000)

Steve got up at 3.20am and it was a bit nippy!! I stayed in bed till 5 then got ready for our 6am start. Steve took some chairs to put on our spot on the hill as he headed to the Carpark. Still dark as we headed over to our gate as it is very cloudy. Might be more rain for the Great Race.

Very busy morning though everyone is in a friendly mood. The race doesn’t start till 11am this year so we should be able to see the start. A big Virgin airline jet came low over the track and then the FA-18 zoomed in and made us all jump – fantastic aerial display.

Our supervisor and Adam held the gates while we went up onto the Chase viewing mound to find a spot. Not much room up here. Apparently the 2^nd best crowd of 201,000 people over the 4 days.

The big TV is further around in front of the Hotel which some people complained about to me. We found some tropically dressed gentlemen who had their own TV so slipped in behind them to watch their screen.

The cars are ready to roll. I took a video of the start and the first lap off the TV screen.

All good for the first couple of laps so we headed back to the gate. Simmo had arranged for the next shift to start at 11.30 so we said goodbye. Got a photo of us in front of our Gate area.

Headed back over the Amourall Bridge into the campground which is packed and then looking over the support category garages to the pits.

Looking down to Murrays Corner.

Leanne was impressed with how they loaded the utes into the transporters.

Grabbed our lunches from the van then through the Pits – not too crowded here.

Amazing how many people are wandering around when the race is on.

Still busy up Merchandise Alley.

Found the boys at the seats opposite the Red Bull pits.  Steve had finished his shift at 10am. They were still there. Lou had left some the other afternoon and someone had stolen them – it wasn’t security as other chairs were still there – hence you only use the cheap ones from Super Cheap!! Great view of Pit Straight, Hell Corner and then up Mountain Straight. You can even see them going around the top.

All ready for a great day with jumpers, raincoats etc just in case!! It is quite hot at the moment.

Safety Car is out so the pits come alive. Craig comes in for a pit stop.

Zoomed in over the top of the Corporate rooms to the Chase Viewing Mound where we watched the start of the race from.

Greg Murphy (who we watched do the Lap of the Gods in Qualifying in 2003) is now one of the commentators.

Had our earphones in so we could hear the on track broadcast. I had put the TV on yesterday and today so we will have the TV broadcast to watch later. Certainly was some great racing and strategies. Then the rain came down just for a short while but that changed the game again. Sadly Pye/Ambrose crashed just before the end - they were doing very well. That brought out another Safety Car and Jamie who was behind Craig chose to stay out rather than double stack but he drove past the Safety Car (he says the green light was on for him to go by) so he got given a drive through penalty which took him out of contention. He did post the fastest lap though from 18^th position so he was trying hard to catch up. Happily that made way for Mark Winterbottom and Ford to get into 2^nd position and then Garth Tander into 3^rd. Great day and the fans all cheered when Craig headed past us for his last lap around the mountain today.

The Red Bull team were all on the fence as he came past to win. His co-driver Steven Richards (who won with Mark Winterbottom in a Ford in 2013) was out through the gap waving madly. I thought he was going to jump onto the track!!

As the cars passed then everyone poured onto the track to collect ‘souvenirs’ and to get down to the podium for the presentation. The race teams were moving quickly to get their garages closed before the crowds hit.

I zoomed in on the big screen – easier than getting squashed down there. We did it at Homebush and it was bedlam but fun!!

Some people go crazy to get a ‘souvenir’.

Final results.

It was also Holden’s 30^th win. Though that’s not quite fair as there are a lot more Holdens competing.

The crowd on TV and from where we were standing.

The Presentation.

We could just see them drinking the champagne on the podium and the camera crew.

The boys headed back before the presentation to pack up the motorhome. Leanne, Rick and I slowly made our way back through the thousands of people.

Boys nearly ready to go as the dark clouds move in again.

Said our farewells – we will have to fly back if we want to come again next year!! Maybe they might want a trip to Adelaide or Perth next year!!

Steve and I headed back through the Paddock Campground with everyone busily packing up. This is a good fire – it is an old pier pylon with the ring around it to hold it together.

Went over to join the others for the Volunteer’s BBQ but there weren’t enough seats so we grabbed our dinner and a drink and headed back to the van just as the heavens opened.

Passed over quickly then we chatted with everyone and watched the packing up antics. Will be lovely to sleep in tomorrow morning!!