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The third edition of the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour has been run and won and Speedcafe.com wants to know what you think of the profile of the event.
Mount Panorama has a rich history of motor racing, the pinnacle of which is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, a race which always commands national media attention.
While Supercars dominates the motorsport landscape in Australia, the Bathurst 12 Hour has also broken into mainstream consciousness.
How much of this is down to the increasing participation of familiar names from Supercars as opposed to the presence of gun international drivers and a vast array of high-performance GT3 sportscars, however, is an open question.
The Bathurst 6 Hour, on the other hand, remains somewhat obscure at least among the general public, despite arguably happening on good fortune from a promotional perspective when Supercars star Chaz Mostert and Nathan Morcom won the inaugural running.
Since then, it has seen thrilling finishes last year and this year, but arguably remains a niche occasion despite landing a full, live telecast on Fox Sports for the first time in 2018.
It is true that the Bathurst 6 Hour puts on an entertaining show, and ‘Bathurst’ is synonymous with motorsport in Australia.
The Easter enduro also harks back to the very earliest days of long-distance racing at Mount Panorama, when cars were stock standard and some of the sport’s legends were created.
However, the race essentially fills the hole created when the Bathurst 12 Hour outgrew production car racing, and the once-around-the-clock event really only started to command attention when it was opened up to GT3 regulations, attracting bigger name teams and drivers in the process.
The Bathurst 6 Hour compared to a Supercars event or Bathurst 12 Hour is something like what the VFL is to the AFL, the Queensland Cup to the National Rugby League, or the Shute Shield to Super Rugby.
Those competitions largely fly below the radar and remain the domain of competitors, their acquaintances, and the most passionate of fans.
Is the Bathurst 6 Hour set to be the same? Do you think it deserves more recognition? Cast your vote in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
