Event date: 6-9 October 2022
On 5 October we arrived at Mount Panorama ready for a long and very exciting four days of early morning wake ups and the constant roar of the engines. We decided to stay at a caravan park near the track which had loads of activities for my younger brother and sister. On our first day helping (Thursday) we arrived at the track at 5 in the morning ready for all the action. We found it easy to find a park, however mum was a bit worried due to the mud we had to park in. But it was right at the front gate, so I was pretty excited as less walking for me!! We said hi to many other volunteers that had already started, then climbed a few flights of stairs to be greeted by view of the beautiful mountain, camp grounds and the track. OMG the feeling was amazing, it was quiet still, the sun was trying to come up, street lights were still on but so many volunteers walking around saying hi and very happy.
Once we found our way to the volunteer shed after walking through the paddock with all the team trucks and supercars garages, we signed on grabbed out food for the day and headed to meet the paddock team. We were introduced and briefed on the day ahead of us, before we knew it the heritage revival cars were making there way to the dummy grid once we had lined them all up we had the chance to look at all cars, there was our very own BMW 635 and a bunch of other very nice looking cars. Now my excitement was building as you could hear all the other engines starting up in other garages and it honestly was a sound I could get use to every day.
Our next lot of cars to come out were the v8 Super utes, these Utes weren’t your average farm Ute these were upgraded to the max, nothing stock on them in fact stock isn’t even a word in their vocabulary. After the Utes it was the Toyota 86s turn these guys may have been in a tiny car but they are fast and fun to watch next was the porches these guys are awesome to watch as they fly down mountain and onto the chase. Our last lot of cars was the super2s then it was time for the supercars to have a go at the mountain.
The crowd grew as the day went on but the excitement was on another level. So many people which just wanted to chat like I had met them before, it was such a friendly atmosphere. The rain didn’t deter anyone, people put on gumboots, rain ponchos and umbrellas came out, and still you heard laughter amongst the sounds of engines.
The team I was put in became a second family to me, they made sure I was comfy and happy and helped me when I didn’t know what to do. I loved been in pre-grid as I had best view of the straight, a massive big screen plus was up close with all the cars except supercars.
As the day progressed and jokes kept happening amongst my fellow team, the excitement still kept building. Seeing Jo in the Brock memorabilia tent was definitely a picture moment. Graham was so busy but he always took time to check on me to see if I having fun. It honestly was amazing.
As day 1 came to a close and after seeing loads of races, drivers and eating so much. I actually was pretty excited to bring on day 2.
Day 2 the races ran in the same order, however the lunch pack was even yummier. The rain came and it made everything more muddier, today mum parked ages away…. I had to walk….. The accidents were pretty constant which had some excitement about it. All the smashed cars would come into the paddock I was in. It was pretty cool to see what scrutineers do to review the smashed cars.
On the Saturday we arrived at the same time we had been the past few days ready for another day in the wet. All the categories where going out like normal until around 3 when we got hit by the massive storm, but we were all still so happy. Normally people get sad with storms but the buzz was still around the track. Unfortunately shoot out was cancelled so the day was called to a close.
Sunday was a day like no other, with the crowds, the excitement and the noise. It is definitely something you need to be there to understand. I loved seeing the excitement of everyone even if most people were still wet from the Saturday. The planes came out, and they were LOUD LOUD and LOUD, the entertainment was going off. The cars came out, and one big accident came into my area. I loved the rest of the day hanging out with my other volunteer family members watching the race. Once race finished the next excitement was all the supercars were parked in pre-grid, I wanted to go high-five Broc Feeney, however your not allowed to go near them in pre-grid.
To finish off our weekend, my mum got to drive her car down grid lane….. not sure who was more excited, me or her…. Of course we filmed every minute.
Bring on Bathurst 2023 as its definitely the best experience and a must to do!!!
Emma & Brock Migues | Member #932
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
