TILLIGERRY has more than its fair share of mountain men who make the annual trek to Mt Panorama to watch the Bathurst 1000.

This year tested their resolve with the rivers west of the Great Divide awash with floodwaters but these hardy souls braved the elements and will be back next year.

Retired master mechanic and local car club registrar Geoff Camm gives us an insight into why he has returned for well over 40 years.

“Atmosphere is what it’s all about,” he said.

“You just can’t absorb the excitement of the real thing watching it on TV,” he stated.

“The sounds, smells and rivalry create a scene no different to a grand final football match.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he remarked.

Geoff said the race was also an opportunity to meet like minded car enthusiasts from around Australia.

“We camp out and visit one another, have a few drinks and thoroughly enjoy ourselves,” he said.

Another Tilligerry resident with strong links to Mt Panorama was the late John Snow who both raced there and was pivotal in developing the circuit both before and after WW2.

Little would be remembered of him had his life and times had not been recorded in an excellent motor racing book by John Medley.

‘John Snow Classic Motor Racer’ (2010) took some ten years to cobble together.

It charts the life of a rich playboy who is set abroad on buying trips by his father who owned ‘Snows’, a huge emporium in Sydney.

It was on the European circuit that the young John cut his teeth at motor racing and had him importing cars to Australia.

He was heavily involved in developing the Mt Panorama race track and also extended his business interests to the district.

After retiring from motor sports he and his wife Judy opened real estate offices in Lemon Tree Passage and Tanilba Bay.

Their waterfront home at Tanilba had its lower storey built taller than most to accommodate a grandfather clock which was a family heirloom.

Their final move was to Fullerton Cove where Judy indulged herself with horses.

By Geoff WALKER