(By Eric Rood) – For racing fans, the year’s opening three months provide an embarrassment of endurance-racing riches. The Dubai 24 Hours opens the year, typically, and then sandwiched between the IMSA-headlining Rolex 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours is the biggest sports car race Down Under, the Bathurst 12 Hours. This weekend, just a few days after the grueling Rolex 24, GT racers will head to Mount Panorama for this year’s 12-hour race at Bathurst. Here’s what you need to know about it.
The Track: Short of the Isle of Man TT course and maybe the Nurburgring, the Mount Panorama circuit must be the most epic racetrack in the world. Made up of public roads closed the racing—some people’s driveways feed into the racing surface—the track actually scales 570 feet up the mountain to a breathtaking overlook before diving back down via the lengthy Conrod Straight and The Chase, a flat-footed bend taken well north of 170 mph in a GT3 car. Most of the course is narrow, particularly on the quick descent, leaving tight quarters for passing or dealing with lap traffic. The confines are daunting and this circuit, like many in Australia, occasionally sees the odd kangaroo bound across the track during races just to keep things interesting. Winning at Bathurst means basically committing no racing sins for 12 straight hours on a brutally unforgiving racetrack.
The Cars: More than half of the field are in the top class (aptly named “Class A”) for FIA GT3-spec cars. Essentially, these are modern racing versions of the poster cars you remember from your childhood: Ferrari 458, McLaren 650S, and Lamborghini Gallardo to name a few. How quick are they? In qualifying last year, Audi factory driver Laurens Vanthoor drove the quickest-ever lap for any car in Bathurst’s rich history. Three more classes will also compete: Class B for Porsche Cup cars, Class C for FIA GT4-spec cars (just two Porsche Cayman GT4s this year), and Class I for Invitational, most of which are tubeframe Ford Focuses and Mazda3s built by MARC Cars Australia.
The Drivers: Admittedly, Australia is a remote place and we’re not as well-acquainted with OZ motorsport as we should be, but dang near two-thirds of the V8 SuperCars field have found rides for the Bathurst 12 Hour, though Mount Panorama specialist Craig Lowndes will have to sit this one out after breaking his collarbone. In addition to the V8S drivers, a number of solid Australian sports car drivers show up and an array of international sports car talent assembles, as well.
The Race: With limited daylight to work with even during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, it’s tough to pack 12 hours of racing into the day. So tough, in fact, that this race starts before a little before dawn. Last year was the first year this was done and the dramatic sunrise over Brock’s Skyline somehow added an impossible level of depth to the race’s epic nature. Even with the early start, the race ends with the day’s shadows growing long and, knock on wood, the endings have been spectacular the last two years.
A couple things to watch for this weekend:
* Defending champions Nissan Motorsports return with their GT-R Nismo GT3 wearing the #1. Japanese superstar Katsumasa Chiyo’s 2015-winning stint to close the race was legendary and he returns with GT Academy winner Florian Strauss. Joining them will be Nissan V8 Supercars driver Rick Kelly.
* For American race fans, teenager Austin Cindric—whose dad works for some guy named Penske—will share the Erebus Motorsports Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 with endurance racing ubermensch Bernd Schneider and Maro Engel, who has raced two 24-hour races already in 2016. Cindric drove with Erebus at Bathurst last year and looked spectacular.
* Laurens Vanthoor’s pole lap of 2:02.5521 is the quickest-ever lap during competition at Bathurst, earning him the Allen Simonsen Pole Position Trophy, named after the late Danish racing driver who set the outright lap record at Bathurst several years ago. Vanthoor returns this year in a redesigned Audi R8 that should be quicker still. He’ll share the Phoenix Racing car with Audi ace Markus Winkelhock and Alex Davison of V8 Supercars. Phoenix was in the thick of the race for all 12 hours last year but came up a disappointing second.
* Bentley Team M Sport bring a pair of Bentley Continental GT3s with a phalanx of factory drivers. After leading at the final restart in 2015, a last-corner punt ultimately knocked them off the podium. They’ll want redemption this year.
* Local team Maranello Motorsports remain a sentimental favorite. The late Allen Simonsen perfected his craft with the Ferrari squad and they will have a strong effort that includes Simonsen’s brother Benny, former F1 driver Mika Salo, and Ferrari factory driver Toni Vilander.
*The GT3 field is really too deep to discuss in much more depth, but keep an eye on the Tekno Motorsports McLarens, whose driver lineup includes the always-exciting Shane van Gisbergen, a Kiwi V8 Supercars racer who spends his spare time drifting, racing time attack, racing sports cars, and generally being exciting any time he’s near a motorized vehicle.
* In the Invitational class, Australian kit-car company Daytona Sportscar will make their annual trot-out of their Shelby Daytona replica, which features the 6.0-liter GM LS1 from a Holden Monaro and many bits from the Holden Commodore.
* As far as I know, this is the first year that Bathurst legend—V8 Supercars, touring cars, sports cars, everything—John Bowe won’t be racing
OK, so what?
Look, if you like road racing, it just doesn’t get much more exciting than Bathurst. Just like Road America in Wisconsin, the place just somehow brings about the most incredible race performances and with the intense circuit and its atmosphere, it all somehow translates to a tremendous race broadcast. And if you can’t catch the whole 12 hours because you actually have a life, be sure to catch the closing minutes if you can because the last two years’ finishes are some of the best racing you’ll ever see:
2014 Ending
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ2nnEE11UI
2015 Ending
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54fS8XRUP2I
Free international livestream:
http://bathurst12hour.com.au/stream-int
Race schedule:
Australia (New South Wales) time: February 7, 5:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
U.S. Eastern Standard Time: February 6, 1:45 p.m. to February 7, 1:45 a.m.
Entry list:
