Mount Panorama

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 Australian Hill Climb Championship, the Bathurst 1000 and now a round of 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 40 years, John Smailes has had extraordinary access to the Mountain and to the leading motor-racing names who competed there, both past and present. When Jack Brabham celebrated his three world championships, when the Bathurst 1000 was born, when motorcycle greats Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Warren Willing and Gregg Hansford tested themselves, John was there. He has reported on every victory by Peter Brock, Allan Moffat, Larry Perkins 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.

About the Author

John Smailes has worked as a motor racing journalist and PR consultant for more than four decades. As a young reporter he covered the London-Sydney Marathon and has a substantial library of photographs as well as contemporary interviews and records. His most recent book is Race Across the World (A&U 2018).