MOTORSPORT: 10 GT3 marques for Bathurst 12-Hour

What an event the Bathurst 12-Hour has become. A week before the deadline there are 58 cars entered – 35 of them GT3s.

And among those GT3s in Class A are 10 marques – Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, Nissan and Porsche.

All told there are 15 brands on the entry list.
Traditionally a few entries are lost before race day – which next year is February 5 – but it’s sure to be a much bigger field than for this weekend’s 12-hour event at Sepang in Malaysia – the third and final round of the new Intercontinental Challenge that began at Mt Panorama in February.

There are 25 cars entered at Sepang – 13 of them GT3s. There are 13 manufacturers represented across the field there.

Australian-based New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen already has had a huge year – winning the Bathurst 12-Hour in a McLaren, the Blancpain GT Endurance Championship in Europe, also in a McLaren, the Supercars Championship in a Holden Commodore – and he’s a big chance for the first Intercontinental trophy after Sepang.

‘The Giz’ is sandwiched between Audi drivers in the tussle for that title, six points behind Belgian Laurens Vanthoor (last year’s winner at Sepang) and one ahead of German Rene Rast.

One of the Kiwi’s co-drivers in the factory-supported McLaren 650S this weekend, Portugal’s Alvaro Parente, set the pace in Thursday practice. The third driver in the car is Frenchman Come Ledogar.

McLaren and Audi are vying for the manufacturers’ title too, in the absence of series leader Bentley – which confirmed two factory entries this week for Bathurst.

Audi trails the British manufacturer by eight points ahead of Sepang, while McLaren has to make up 17 points.

“It has been an awesome year for McLaren in GT racing with the race and championship wins across the world,” van Gisbergen said.

“To be a Kiwi [representing a marque founded by the late New Zealander Bruce McLaren] and a part of it is very special.

“The Intercontinental GT Challenge trophy is up for grabs; hopefully we can have a good result and finish the year on a high.”

Among drivers in Porsches will be another well-performed Kiwi, Earl Bamber, and Brit Nick Tandy, who have been promoted into full-time level-one prototype seats with the manufacturer in next year’s World Endurance Championship, with Bamber being seen as having replaced retired Australian Mark Webber.

Meanwhile, there are eight cars on the Bathurst 12-Hour entry in the new GT4 category, the “baby brother” of GT3 for more production-based GT vehicles.

We’ll report on the Bathurst field again after entries close next Friday (December 16), but already the event will be debut for Ferrari’s 488 in Australian racing, the first Bathurst outing for the latest Porsche 911 GT3 R, as well as the McLaren 570S, the KTM X-Bow and Aston Martin Vantage GT8 in GT4.

Lotus and Porsche are the other brands represented on the GT4 entry, with an Exige from the British marque and two Cayman GT4 Clubmans and two PRO4s from the German company.

Many of the top Supercars drivers will be in the field next year, with Jamie Whincup as well as Craig Lownes, Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, as well as some veterans – Mark Skaife, Russell Ingall and Tony Longhurst in a BMW M6.

John Bowe will be in the sole Bentley Continental GT3 in Australia, which is to be rolled out by owner Peter Edwards after a year in “mothballs”.

See the full Bathurst 12-Hour entry list here.

Mercedes job description is Ricciardo to a tee
Plenty of waffle this week from the Mercedes Formula 1 team without any decision on a replacement for Nico Rosberg, the world champion who retired within a week of claiming the title.

Team chairman Niki Lauda clearly was miffed that Rosberg quit after having signed a new two-year contract – negotiated by Gerhard Berger – mid-season.

Team principal and Mercedes’ executive head of motorsport Toto Wolff said the team found itself in “a bit of a compromised situation, because if we had known three months ago there were more options available”.

“We need the quickest guy who makes the least mistakes and understands that this is a team game,” Wolff said.

Daniel Ricciardo would seem the perfect fit then, although Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has said that the Australian won’t be released from the remaining two years of his contract.

Discard MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi’s public offer that he would be happy to test for Mercedes.

Rossi tested for Ferrari years ago, primarily for publicity purposes, and admitted that doing the same for Merc would be “perhaps half a betrayal”. Besides, he’s 37.

Young Aussie champ makes final of US talent search
Australia’s Formula 4 and Toyota 86 champion Will Brown trialled for the US F2000 open-wheeler series in California this week.

Eighteen young drivers from around the world were at Laguna Seca competing in Mazda-powered machinery for a $US200,000 scholarship.

Brown, 18, from Toowoomba, made it to the final six, but the prize went to 19-year-old Oliver Askew from Florida.

Anthony Martin, from Kalgoorlie, is the reigning US F2000 champion, with word awaited on what he’ll be doing next season.

Privateer VW team for Ogier? And perhaps Mikkelsen?
Four-time world rally champion Sebastien Ogier may be driving a Volkswagen next year after all, despite the German group’s withdrawal from the WRC.

Talk gathered pace this week of Ogier driving for a privateer team with Middle East backing using the Polo R that had been developed for next year’s new regulations until VW’s shock announcement a month ago of its pull-out.

Ogier recently tested the Yaris with which Toyota will return to the WRC for the first time this century as well as M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta.

The chances of the French ace going “home” to Citroen have faded.

The French manufacturer has not made a car available for him to drive, and he has said he will only sign to drive a car he’s tested.

One of Ogier’s VW teammates, Finn Jari-Matti Latvala, is reported to be joining the Toyota factory team being run by his multiple world champion countryman Tommi Makinen.

“I have been negotiating a lot with Tommi with my manager Timo Jouhki, but I cannot tell you I have signed,” Latvala said.

He denied having tested the Yaris.

“The manufacturers really want Sebastien, so they were willing to let him test the car, but not for me,” Latvala said.

“I can understand this – but don’t forget Citroen would not let Seb test the car.”

Toyota already has its Finnish test driver Joho Hanninen signed for the full-season, while WRC2 champion Esapekka Lappi has been expected to drive a third Yaris later in the season.

The man who could be most out in the cold is VW’s third driver, Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen, winner of last month’s Rally Australia, who had been thought to be close to landing a Toyota seat.

His hopes may rest on a slot in a second entry from the mooted privateer team running Polo Rs with Ogier.

Good Evans! MINI for dual ARC champ’s return
Two-time Australian Rally Champion Eli Evans is set to return to the ARC next year driving a MINI Cooper.

The championship’s new AP4 regulations have enticed back the man who won the title in 2013 in a Honda Jazz and in 2015 in a Citroen DS3.

The MINI is being built at Force Motorsport in New Zealand and should be in Australia early in the new year.

Evans Motorsport Team manager Jesse Robison said: “The team wanted a car that is light, fast and easy to work on and the MINI Cooper was at the top of the list.

“The styling also stood out as we loved the retro look. Our MINI Cooper will really stand out from the other competitors.”

While older brother and four-time national champion Simon Evans contested this year’s ARC in an ageing Subaru Impreza, finishing runner-up to Molly Taylor in a modern showroom class Subaru, Eli Evans competed in selected rounds of the Chinese Rally Championship.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge getting back in a 4WD rally car, but that’s what I’m looking forward to most of all,” he said.

“[Co-driver] Glen Weston and I had great success in the 2WD formula with a record of 12 straight wins in 2012 and 2013, and at one point we had won 16 of 20 rallies that we had entered.

“Fingers crossed, the skill set I have learnt in driving a front-wheel drive rally car to its limit will aid us in chasing the success that I want now that I’m in 4WD.

“I also plan to extract as much knowledge as I can from brother Simon. He knows a couple of things about driving a 4WD and is extremely good at getting the most out of a rally car.”

The 2017 ARC begins with the revived Victorian round, the Eureka Rally at Ballarat, on March 17-19.

Tailem Bend about to get official green light
South Australian premier Jay Weatherill is to make an announcement tomorrow (Saturday) regarding the proposed Motorsport Park at Tailem Bend, about 100km east of Adelaide.

South Australia’s Shahin family plans to develop the facility on the grounds of the former Mitsubishi test track, with the centrepiece to be an unusually long 7.77km circuit.

Premier Weatherill be joined by Peregrine Corporation executive director Sam Shahin to announce the construction contractor, expected to be Lucas Earthmovers.

Dodge closing on return to NASCAR
Dodge may going back to NASCAR racing against Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.

It has been out of American stock car racing since Roger Penske’s team won the championship in 2012 with driver Brad Keselowski.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief Sergio Marchionne has had talks with NASCAR’s controlling France family recently.

“I think, if possible, we’ll come back to NASCAR,” Marchionne said.

“We need to find the right way to come back in.

“I’m the one who pulled Dodge out.

“In 2009 we came out of bankruptcy, so to race in NASCAR when I was trying to pay bills and pay payroll would have been a bit of a stretch.

“I think we’re in a different place now.”

NASCAR’s new major sponsor will be the Monster energy drink after 13 years with telecommunications company Sprint-Nextel.

While the Frances hope Monster can help NASCAR lure a younger audience, US reports suggest the deal could be worth 2.5 times less than the Sprint sponsorship.

Dale Earnhardt Junior has been voted NASCAR’s most popular driver for the 14th straight year, despite missing the second half of the latest season after concussion.

While Jimmie Johnson has just won his seventh title in 11 years and is 41, Earnhardt is 42 and has never won the Cup.

His popularity emanates from being the son of ‘The Intimidator’, the late Dale Earnhardt who – like Johnson and ‘The King’ Richard Petty – also won the title seven times but died in a crash at the finish of the 2001 Daytona 500.