MOTORSPORT: Audi on pole at Bathurst 12 Hour
Last year's winners will still be the team to beatThe crack Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS driven by 2011 Bathurst 12 Hour winners Christopher Mies, Daryl O’Young and new driver Christer Jens will start from pole position when the 2012 12 Hour kicks off at Mount Panorama at 6:15am on Sunday.
After two qualifying sessions in which the times of three drivers from each car (some entrants have four drivers) are aggregated, the Phoenix Audi was quickest with a total time of 6:28.65sec, just shading the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia of Alan Simonsen, John Bowe, Dominik Farnbacher and Peter Edwards (6:29.61) and the Ferrari 458 Italia of Asian GT champions, Clearwater Racing – newcomers to Bathurst – which is being raced by Craig Baird, Mok Weng Sun and Matt Griffin (6:29.63).
But Baird fell foul of the qualifying rule (the event is run to the European Blancpain Endurance Series regulations) when he went under the benchmark 2:08sec lap in the first qualifying session and was hit with a 50kg ballast penalty for the race. The quickest cars at Mount Panorama can easily beat the 2:08 mark (Simonsen has done an unofficial 2:04) and the 2:08 mark does not apply during the race; whether team’s strategies and fuel consumption targets will allow that is another matter.
The second Phoenix Racing Audi R8, driven by Craig Lowndes, Mark Eddy and Warren Luff will start fifth (6:32.25) behind the JBS Lamborghini LP 600 GT3 of Roger Lago, David Russell and Wayne Park (6:29.73). The front-running Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560 which was to be raced by Cameron McConville, Peter Kox, Luke Searle and car owner Ted Huglin was withdrawn after Huglin had a huge crash at turn one during the first qualifying session. On-board footage showed the septuagenarian being thrown around the Gallardo’s cabin after the 10G impact. He was able to walk away from the crash.
The Erebus Racing/Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Peter Hackett, Time Slade, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Bret Curtis will start sixth (6:39.68) and the sister car of Sean Patrick and Sean Paul Breslin, Rob Wilson and Vimal Mehta was ninth quickest (7:01.05).
Quickest in Class B was the Hunter Sports Group Porsche 997 GT3 driven by Steven Johnson, Steven Richards and Nathan Tinkler; Class C was led by the Adam Gowans/ Chris Lillington-Price/Mark O’Connor/Richard Meins Lotus Exige; leading Class D was the BMW 335i driven by Peter O’Donnell, Garth Duffy and Christian D’Agostin; the Holden HSV VXR of Scott Pye, Elliot Barbour, Ryan McLeod and Chris Pither topped Class E and the Invitational Class was led by the Duvashen Padayachee/James Parrish/Phil Alexander/Andrew Bollom Mini Cooper S JCW.
The Audis and Ferraris are expected to run away and hide when the lights go green while the bulletproof Mercedes are expected to be there to pick the pieces. Rain is predicted but Bathurst locals reckon it will stay dry. There are many Bathurst rookies and ‘gentleman drivers’ praying the latter is correct.
Images: Dirk Klynsmith - graphicdakphotos.com
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