Authorities are worried about the safety of racegoers ahead of this weekend's Bathurst 1000 event amid heavy rain across New South Wales.
More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the supercar event across the weekend, many of them camping across the Central West.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is predicting Bathurst will receive more than 115 millimetres of rain between Wednesday and Sunday, with 30mm expected on Sunday when the main race takes place.
State Emergency Service spokesman David Rankine says the "significant amount of rain" expected would likely close campgrounds.
"A lot of people will come to town without accommodation booked and will hope to free-camp by parks," he said.
"There are going to be some usual campgrounds, where people might throw up a swag or tent, that are going to be inundated with water."
The Police Paddock campground, which houses more than 1,000 people, has already been moved to higher ground in town in preparation for moderate flooding.
Mr Rankine said the campsite was flooded in heavy rain two weeks ago.
"There is a distinct potential for it to be inundated with floodwater," he said.
Many visitors usually stay in surrounding towns such as Orange, Lithgow, and Blayney when local hotels and campsites book out, meaning they have to drive in and out of town.
Mr Rankine said racegoers must be careful travelling to and from the race.
"People will camp anywhere in those areas and drive out to the race, so we are asking people to be very, very sensible about road conditions," he said.
Concerns for local economy
With more than 200,000 spectators expected to attend the race, it is one of the largest events in Australia.
Prior to the pandemic, it generated $25 million for the local economy annually.
Bathurst Mayor Robert Taylor said he was "concerned" the rain would negatively impact crowd figures.
"It was going to be a major crowd, now because the weather is coming some of those may pull out," he said.
Bathurst MP and Deputy Premier Paul Toole said after two years of disruptions and reduced crowds due to the pandemic, it was vital for the local economy that fans turned out.
"It has been several years since we have had a full bumper crowd back," he said.
"That excitement is already building, we have had campers who have been here for the past week, and we have families that are here because it is school holidays."
