MOTORSPORT: Bathurst 12 Hour will be a torture test

Drivers in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour race could endure cabin temperatures exceeding 60 degrees on Sunday, posing one of the most physical weekends on the international racing calendar.

According to the weather bureau, the mercury is tipped to reach 39 degrees in Bathurst on Friday and Saturday, before dipping to a top of 37 degrees on Sunday.

The conditions will bring a huge physical and mental hurdle for drivers, whose cockpits are traditionally 20 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature outside.

Throw in the chance of a thunderstorm on Sunday, and the star-studded 12 Hour cast will clearly have some challenges to contend with.

Among this year field’s is Australian Josh Burdon, who will team with Katsumasa Chiyo and Tsugio Matsuda in the KCMG Nissan GTR NISMO GT3.

“The big problem with all GT3 cars is the heat inside the cabins. There’s not a lot of air flow because of the aerodynamics and cool suits add extra weight, so we don’t necessarily want cool suits,” Burdon told carsales.com.au during the team’s final shakedown at Wakefield Park on Tuesday.

“We’re currently experimenting with different ways to keep the car cooler inside. It gets very hot towards the end of the stint and it gets very difficult to finish.

“The heat complicates things a lot. I saw the forecast for this weekend and you just try to block it out. It’s very difficult.

“This championship is already full of competitive cars, but at Bathurst you have all the walls around you and not a lot of air flow going around.

“In the middle of 25 competitive cars pushing 100 per cent every lap, it’s very difficult physically. It demands a lot from you.”

Burdon said the KCMG team had set its sights on a podium finish in this year’s Bathurst race, having shown promise with the new GTR GT3 at the 2019 12 Hour event.

As a kid growing up in Hobart watching the Supercars at Bathurst, Burdon described competing in the 12 Hour as a dream come true.

“We want to be on the podium this weekend and there’s no reason why we can’t be,” he said.

“We were leading at one stage in last year’s race and on strategy we were in the top five for the whole race when an electrical issue brought us down. After a year of more development, I see no reason why we shouldn’t be fighting for a podium.”

Fox Sports’ Bathurst 12 Hour coverage starts from 12:30pm AEDT on Saturday, in time for Qualifying 1 from 12:40, while Seven’s broadcast commences on Sunday morning at 05:30am.