AFTER a bruising Bathurst 6 Hour, Mount Panorama safety remains in the spotlight, with the Bathurst City Council placing a $2.6 million estimate to install safety lights around the famed circuit.

Prior to the 6 Hour, new safety recommendations were adopted for racing, including the mirroring of flags across the top of The Mountain, and additional driver education.

Another area of potential improvement was noted as the widespread installation of light boards around the circuit, which would supplement the existing series of yellow warning lights at key locations on top of The Mountain.

Driver sight lines with flag points came under the spotlight again this last Sunday, when Grant Denyer’s Chevrolet Camaro connected with the Volkswagen Scirocco of Richard Barram as the pair passed the parked Mazda 3 of Matt Kiss, resulting in Denyer and Barram both requiring medical attention.

However, installing a lighting system around the 23-corner, 6.12-km-long track would require a significant investment, with the council having made earlier unsuccessful attempts to secure federal government funding for the project.

A level of CCTV and supplementary yellow warning lights is already installed around the circuit at key locations.

“The work requires the completion of the installation of a fibre optic loop to provide connectivity to all marshal points around the circuit, electronic flagging and CCTV system around the track,” said Darren Sturgiss, Bathurst City Council Director of Engineering Services to the Western Advocate.

“It also requires participants to have an in-car messaging system as well.

“The system remains on council’s list of upgrades that it will continue to pitch for funding from the state and federal governments.

“Council continues to meet with Supercars and documentation to support a funding pitch is in development.”

An in-car warning light system first appeared at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2019, with race control able to activate it via the Motec Balance of Performance system.

The next event at the circuit is the Repco Bathurst 1000, scheduled for October 8-11.