BATHURST 12 HOUR FROM THE INSIDE: The Scorpion's bite

Alan Heaphy likes to work in the background -- has his entire career. His modesty means Heaphy’s name isn’t instantly recognisable to those outside motorsport, but ask the likes of Jim Richards, Craig Lowndes or Le Mans winner, Mark Blundell, about his engineering skills and you’d come away with some sense of his success in global motorsport.

Heaphy has stood toe to toe with Tom Walkinshaw in Europe, engineered pole-sitting Le Mans prototypes and dominated Australian Touring Cars in the days of ‘Godzilla’, the Nissan Skyline GT-R. But it’s perhaps his run of success in Australian Manufacturer’s Championship Racing -- where his Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Lancer Evolutions won four consecutive titles to 2012 (including the 2008 and 2009 Bathurst 12 Hour enduros) -- that had most appeal to Fiat Chrysler Australia when they went shopping for a local race preparation firm.

In short, Fiat had the cars — there’s currently three fully decked-out Fiat Abarth 695 Assetto Corse racers in Heaphy’s Performance Parts & Engineering (PPE) workshop, plus a spare — but needed specialised experience. Enter PPE.

“The cars came to us in the [left-hand drive] spec used for one make series racing in Europe. They are reasonably kitted out, with perspex windows, full rollcages, sequential gearboxes and coilover suspension,” explains Heaphy.

In order to fit into production car category F, PPE has worked closely with CAMS.

“The Abarths came from a controlled race series with sealed turbos and ECUs, and simple braking and suspension packages designed for sprint racing,” Heaphy continues.

“Most of our work has centred on preparing the cars for the rigours of endurance racing. We’ve done 1400km of testing, and expect each car to do between 1700-1800 kilometres over the course of the event with no major issues. As such, we’ve added items such as gearbox and oil coolers, along with an 80 litre fuel cell with dry-brake coupling for easy refuelling.”

A larger, more robust antilock braking system has been specified with Bosch Motorsport responsible for the calibration, as well as contributing its Collision Avoidance System which is set to revolutionise the way endurance drivers deal with heavy traffic.

The Italian pocket-rockets weigh in under 1000kg and, thanks to PPE tuning, put out 160 turbocharged kilowatts from 1.4 litres. A sequentially-shifted six-speed Sadev gearbox, two-plate limited-slip differential and Michelin slicks complete the spec — these little rockets can wear the legendary Abarth scorpion badge with pride.

To paint a picture of the preparation detail PPE goes into, in-cabin air flow was assessed and modified to ensure drivers receive adequate ventilation during a hot stint.

Uniquely for the Fiat Abarth team, the combination of professional and journalist drivers dictated extra testing, and in the case of a couple of steerers, the acquisition of a CAMS Race Licence.

“That’s been an interesting logistical challenge, ensuring everyone had the appropriate race experience level,” laughs Heaphy.

“Between testing we’ve been sending drivers and personnel out to production car events to gain enough signatures to allow them on the grid at Bathurst.”

Testing has been promising, allowing the pros Paul Stokell and Luke Youlden some seat time while coaching the journalists Josh Dowling, Paul Gover, Toby Hagon and motoring’s own, Mike Sinclair.

Once the team transporter has arrived at Bathurst this week, Friday’s practice plan is for the professionals to set the bar quickly to establish the team’s relative position; important when they have to be capable of lapping within 130 per cent of the fastest qualifier, regardless of class.

From that point, it will be about getting laps into the journos.

For Sinclair, it’s the culmination of a dream: “To race at Bathurst… it’s pure bucket list stuff. It’s as simple as that, really.”

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