A contingent of nine V8 Supercars drivers visited Mount Panorama this week, viewing recent upgrades to the venue ahead of next month’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

The Bathurst City Council hosted Mark Winterbottom, Chaz Mostert, Fabian Coulthard, James Moffat, Garth Tander, James Courtney, Scott McLaughlin, Will Davison and Tim Slade at the circuit for the promotional visit.

Work undertaken since last year’s race includes a complete track resurface and significant fencing upgrades, featuring new debris protection on both sides of the pit straight.

“We are committed to protecting and maintaining this asset so it continues to put Bathurst on the world stage during both the Bathurst 1000 and 12-Hour races,” said Bathurst Regional Council major Gary Rush.

“That is why the Australian Government is contributing almost $3 million and Bathurst Regional Council is contributing $3.1 million to maintaining this world class venue.

“It is also important to recognise that for most days of the year Mount Panorama is a public road that services the residents who live here.

“That is why we have also added internal access roads around the Light Car Club and near Forest’s Elbow as part of the upgrade.”

The main talking point for the drivers is the $2 million resurface, which saw GT lap records smashed at February’s 12 Hour.

The combination of the increased track grip and another year of development with the Next Generation cars promises to see increased speeds for the V8 Supercars.

“It’s going to be interesting; everyone is predicting there’s going to be some crazy lap times” Courtney told Speedcafe.com.

“I think we’ll roll out with a lot more comfortable package than we had last year.

“It was the first time we’d been to a circuit with all that undulation and I think where we moved the fuel tank to, it probably had a lot more influence on the car than what everyone was predicting and probably caught everyone out.”

Difficulty in matching the new cars to the circuit last year contributed to a bruising weekend that saw three cars heavily damaged in crashes during practice, before Greg Murphy found the wall in Courtney’s Holden during the race.

Further adding to the challenge for engineers and drivers, teams will this year need to comply with a minimum tyre pressure rule, introduced by V8 Supercars from Bathurst onwards.

After a spate of failures in recent years were blamed on teams taking risks with low pressures and extreme camber angles, the category’s technical department will undertake random tests to check that all are running at least 17psi.

The 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 will take place on October 9-12.