The Prebrief: Mount Panorama 500

Published: 26 February 2021
Bryce and Chaz are ready to start the season at Bathurst.
Bryce and Chaz are ready to start the season at Bathurst.

Pictured: Bryce and Chaz are ready to start the season at Bathurst.

It’s time to fire up for 2021 as we tackle the spiritual home of Supercars, Mount Panorama, for the first round of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship.

It’s been four long months since we finished the year here at Bathurst, but now after a big summer period, we are ready to kick off what it set to be one huge year.

The team has done the work, the drivers are ready, it’s time to go.

The Track

What more can you say about Bathurst? 6.2 kilometres of the most amazing piece of road in Australia (and the world if you ask us…)

From Conrod to McPhillamy, The Grate to Forrest Elbow, it’s a hold your breath operation for most of the lap, which is just over 2 minutes long.

Format

It’ll be a little different to the normal 1000km race we are accustomed to, with 2 x 250km races across the weekend, as a single driver race.

It all kicks off on Friday with two practice sessions, before the heat gets turned up across the weekend, qualifying and a Top-10 shootout on both days.

Each race is 40 laps, meaning it will be on from the moment the lights go out, a complete sprint for 250kms.

Tyres

We are on the hard tyre here as per usual, with eight sets allocated per car for the entire weekend.

Pitstops

There are two compulsory stops in each race, for tyres and fuel.

Double the strategy game, double the action.

Weather

It could be an interesting weekend on the weather front.

Friday and Sunday look dry and warm, but on Saturday, the wets might be required for the race, with the chance of an afternoon storm. That’ll be sure to keep things interesting, and the engineers watching the clouds.

How to Watch

If you can’t make it, get ready for a big weekend on the couch!

Fox Sports and Kayo have every session live, Friday to Sunday, and Channel 7’s all new coverage starts on Saturday at 12:00pm AEDT, on the main channel.

For the full TV guide, please CLICK HERE.

Chaz Mostert

“I’m pumped to back at a racetrack starting our year again, that’s for sure. It’s a little bit different this year, but what a place to start it at.

“Everyone at WAU has been working non-stop since the last time we were here, which has been awesome to witness, and I’m excited to see what we have got over the weekend.

“Two races changes things up to what we are used to later in the year, which I think will be really excited. It’ll be a 40-lap sprint both days, so there will be plenty of action, and we will need to be on our game from the word go.”

Bryce Fullwood

“I’m so excited to be back here at Bathurst… everything about this place is just so cool, and we get to come here twice this year which is even better.

“We’ve had our heads down over the break, we are understanding the changes we made more and more every time we roll out this year, so I’m pumped to see how we stack up.

“Our weekend at the 1000 didn’t end like I would have liked, so I’m out for redemption a little bit.

“It’s really cool to have a shootout each day as well, that’ll be awesome to watch for everyone, so we will be aiming to be in it that’s for sure.”