Bathurst 1000 Trip 2015

[Sandgroper]

Hello all,

After watching Bathurst on TV for the past 40 plus years a couple of us guys have made the decision to head east to watch "The Great Race" and are looking for tips, hints, do's and donts before booking anything.

A number of years ago we looked to book a trip over but got turned off or turned away by the accommodation availability which seemed to be prebooked years in advance.

Do you people buy the 4 or 5 night packages which incorporate track tickets, hotels etc or is it best to book all these items separately instead of a package?

If we dont book a travel package, Is it best to book Raceday Sunday Grandstand seats (now) and the other qualifying days tour the track to look from all areas around the circuit?

Is the track open and available to walk around at any stage of the week - weekend ?

All in all the track tickets don't seem to be too much of an issue but moreso finding a suitable place each night to sleep for 4 or 5 nights.

If anyone could offer your previous experiences and or wise suggestions or recommendations for accommodation etc it would be greatly appreciated.

We are travelling from Perth to Sydney then possibly hire car drive to the circuit possibly viewing the blue mountains either on our way there or back.

Thanks for viewing and if this is not suitable for this thread, please delete mods.

[snappa]

Sandgroper the only limit to what you want to do is funds. If your willing to pay top dollar there is always an option for accommodation. The group of guys I go with are lucky enough to have a house that we have been renting for several years (if there is a large group of you going I think there is still a company organising house stays). I go with a few guys and we use the Hire car from Sydney route it is relatively cheap and gives you transport to get around when you are there. I can recommend if you want a great experience for the race to get corporate tickets into one of the syndicated clubs through the V8's. I generally go with the paddock club but there is a few cheaper options as well. You can also look at places like Auto racing tours as from memory they do a complete package with transport accommodation and their own Pit lane box. Another option is hiring a camper and staying in the Camper sites on the outside of the chase. So really there is a multitude of options it is just a matter of tailoring to your budget and needs. I hope this helps a little.

[Nicholosophy]

I haven't been to Bathurst yet. I was planing to go to the 12hr but funds didn't permit it for this year.

I was going by myself so had my eye on a few places on Air BnB that were in down and quite cheap. They aren't hotels but they can save you a bob or two. You can sometimes get larger spaces as well.

I've heard of people taking their cars or utes down and sleeping in the tray overnight in a swag if that's your kind of thing.

Something to consider is any medical conditions your mates may have. For example, I have sleep aponea so must sleep with a CPAP machine. For me to camp at Bathurst I would need to take a battery pack and charging setup of some sort. For a one off that wouldn't be worth the cost but some guys have these setups for regular camping trips.

[peckstar]

Tent city

Never used this, however cost is not too bad and is quite popular. Also provides lots of options

Most motels in Bathurst mean 4 nights booking and at a minimum of double there normal rate. However book soon.

Campervan, as mentioned above, is another option.

I get grand stand tickets, more expensive than general admission (about double) however gives you a base to start with and somewhere to sit (no need for chairs). Also awesome place to be during shoot out and the start and finish of the race

[Sandgroper]

Thanks for the feedback gents. I understand the budget determines what level of accommodation we purchase. We may have an option of free accom but that's yet to be confirmed so Im going to look at alternatives. Im guessing Saturday and Sunday Grandstand seats give you the option of a base as mentioned above.

I will look into what you have suggested so far and look forward to other suggestions you guys put forward

[Scrut]

In 2013 we stayed in a house in town. Cost $2000.00 for the week. Turned out to be $250.00 per head.
Unfortunately same house was not available last year.
Got pricing through the Bathurst home stay mob last year and was quoted
between $7200 and $5000 for the week.

Needless to say the tent worked well.

[Sandgroper]

Originally Posted by Scrut

In 2013 we stayed in a house in town. Cost $2000.00 for the week. Turned out to be $250.00 per head.
Unfortunately same house was not available last year.
Got pricing through the Bathurst home stay mob last year and was quoted
between $7200 and $5000 for the week.

Needless to say the tent worked well.

That's outta control with inflation huh !

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by Sandgroper

Thanks for the feedback gents. I understand the budget determines what level of accommodation we purchase. We may have an option of free accom but that's yet to be confirmed so Im going to look at alternatives. Im guessing Saturday and Sunday Grandstand seats give you the option of a base as mentioned above.

I will look into what you have suggested so far and look forward to other suggestions you guys put forward

Pretty confident you can only get 4 day grandstand tickets.

It is possible to go up the top of the mountain anytime, you can walk up but its a killer walk, however a bus leaves all the time from the bottom of the mountain.

You can really only walk the track in the evening or early mornings (however well recommended for first timers)

Its always good to spend some time up the top of mountain if you . great place to view

[redesp]

Good luck with accommodation. We have been camping in the paddock for the past 10 years.

If you can't (or won't) get corporate tix i'd recommend grandstand seating.
it is a 4 day seat but you don't have to sit there all the time.

We usually do a bit of a circuit of the track for various events.

Top of the mountain / forrest elbow for practice on Friday.
Chase or hell corner for practice on Saturday.

Murrays corner for top ten shootout.

Back to grandstand (if we get them) or the chase for the race.

[Sandgroper]

Looks like ALOT of the Pre packaged tours have the accommodation tied up and booked out. Tent land is pretty hard when we have to bring all our gear from Perth for bedding etc. The Melbourne F1 GP is looking better each day but no where near the experience of Bathurst, sigh !

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by Sandgroper

Looks like ALOT of the Pre packaged tours have the accommodation tied up and booked out. Tent land is pretty hard when we have to bring all our gear from Perth for bedding etc. The Melbourne F1 GP is looking better each day but no where near the experience of Bathurst, sigh !

tentland had a linen package for an extra cost

campervan is a good option also

[Sandgroper]

Originally Posted by peckstar

tentland had a linen package for an extra cost

Thanks Peckstar

[GTRMagic]

My Bathurst trip is usually an expensive one, but I justify it to myself that I am comfortable in my lodgings & watching the practice, qualifying & racing across the weekend...

When Marcus Marshall was running with Britek in 2008, No Limit had a corporate box at Bathurst they didnt need, and sold off tickets in an ad in AA, at much less than their cost.

I grabbed one, and was hooked ever since!

I have been staying in a serviced apartment in Bathurst for many years (4 day minimum stay, so Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun is the usual deal) and take a seat in a corporate lounge somewhere above the lane.

The cool piece is that i can still wander around and look at stuff, take photos, go up the top, do whatever I want to do... knowing there is a seat for me to relax, a fridge full of liquid to enjoy, food at scheduled times.. and more importantly, the bloody sun cannot render me a blisterised lobster!

[SWCRacing]

Did it this year after 25 years of watching the Great Race on TV in the UK.

Fly in on Wednesday, hire a camper van, loads of companies hire them and they aren't massively expensive compared with hotel costs. Book a Motorhome Campsite ticket and you get GA tickets as part of that deal (or you did this year), or buy Grandstand tickets and just pay for the campsite. Motorhome campsite has 240v hook-up. Drop Motorhome off on Monday, Fly home.

As said above, Grandstand for the race (the tickets also give paddock access so no need to spend the additional $40 for that). Thursday / Friday / Saturday watch from the Mountain, Chase / McPhillamy / Esses / Dipper etc

Absolutely worth whatever it costs, The best race on the best circuit in the world....

[Marcos WTF]

With 21 trips under my belt I reckon I'm qualified to comment.

If you're camping at the track, earplugs are a must if you're a light sleeper.There's always some ****wit who thinks you can never have enough AC/DC at 3 AM.

Bring boots,odds are it will rain at some point. If you're using the campground showers, bring thongs. The things some grubs do in the showers.............

We camp at Mcphillamy Pk, the campsites there sell pretty quickly and
last years campers have first dibs on their sites.

We prefer Mcphillamy as our campsite is close to the track for us. The big screen TV across the track keeps us up to date with whats happening
on the other sections of the track. Its any easy stagger down to Forrest's
Elbow too. Less easy comming back!

If you're spectating on top of the Mountain, you won't get close to the fence, unless someone lets you sit in their marked off area, and those areas start to be marked out the weekend before the race.

If we have spare space we're happy to let others join us.

[Sandgroper]

Thanks for the offer Marcos, much appreciated.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Happy to keep reading them, we may have the opportunity for some Free accommodation, from a friend of a friend of a friend. IM yet to book my flights until we get out bedding sorted out.

Thanks for everyones opinion so far.

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Scrut

In 2013 we stayed in a house in town. Cost $2000.00 for the week. Turned out to be $250.00 per head.
Unfortunately same house was not available last year.
Got pricing through the Bathurst home stay mob last year and was quoted
between $7200 and $5000 for the week.

Needless to say the tent worked well.

Wow those figures are higher then I thought, sure there's always higher rates come race time but that's pretty expensive. But hey if people continue to pay that then you can't blame someone for charging it.

[mtpanorama]

Originally Posted by Scrut

In 2013 we stayed in a house in town. Cost $2000.00 for the week. Turned out to be $250.00 per head.
Unfortunately same house was not available last year.
Got pricing through the Bathurst home stay mob last year and was quoted
between $7200 and $5000 for the week.

Needless to say the tent worked well.

The home stay mob is a rort, they add at a minimum 50% to what they pay the home owner.
We had rented our house out for 7 years (hello Jim Beam girls) and I organised it myself. I have also arranged for at least 6 other houses in town to be rented out and the costs are no where near that amount. If you can do a private rental you should be around the $2500 - $4500 for a week depending on numbers and the house.

[Sandgroper]

Is it correct in saying that, you can only buy Grandstand tickets for the 4 days in total and not individual days ?

[ForumNick]

Originally Posted by Sandgroper

Is it correct in saying that, you can only buy Grandstand tickets for the 4 days in total and not individual days ?

Correct: Link Here

Ticketek Link

[Sandgroper]

I have accommodation, Staying away from Bathurst and driving from Oberon each day. Hopefully that wont be an issue to get to the track from there with our Hire (race) Car

[redesp]

Originally Posted by Sandgroper

I have accommodation, Staying away from Bathurst and driving from Oberon each day. Hopefully that wont be an issue to get to the track from there with our Hire (race) Car

Well done!

Bathurst is something that everyone should experience.

[Sandgroper]

Originally Posted by redesp

Well done!

Bathurst is something that everyone should experience.

Ive been watching since I was knee high to a grasshopper and been a Brock, Holden fan for over 40 years, however Im just up for a "great race" these days. Knowing my luck it will bloody pour with rain for the 4 days

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by Sandgroper

Ive been watching since I was knee high to a grasshopper and been a Brock, Holden fan for over 40 years, however Im just up for a "great race" these days. Knowing my luck it will bloody pour with rain for the 4 days

in that case consider mountain straight grand stand, under cover

[Sandgroper]

Originally Posted by peckstar

in that case consider mountain straight grand stand, under cover

Or just take my BIG jacket and rain poncho LOL