Qualifying day was an emotional one for many of those at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hours as the Allan Simonsen Trophy was presented to the pole position winner.
Launched in the morning by former teammate – Mika Salo, the perpetual trophy will go to the winner of pole position at the Bathurst 12 Hours.
For all of about two minutes of qualifying it appeared it was going to be a fairy tale qualifying for Maranello. Mika Salo set a lap record in the morning and by all accounts the afternoon track should have been slower.
But in the dying moments of qualifying Maro Engel ended that party. A groan went up in the Maranello pits as they realised that pole had been stolen by 0.08 of a second.
The Erebus pit though sat in near silence until the end of the session. Once the flag fell and the last car went through, cheers filled the air.
Team owner, Betty Klimenko was in tears as she hugged her team.
Engel was presented with the trophy and that was that – but again, Erebus thought otherwise.
Klimenko offered the trophy to the Maranello team, which saw both team owners get a little emotional.
“He [Engel] did the most amazing lap. Already in my mind, I was second,” Klimenko said to Dailysportscar. “They were very close, the whole Maranello team. I thought that no matter who wins it, it needs to go back to them for a couple hours just to get the right vibe.”
“I know it sounds a bit strange but we are all good friends outside the track and we do what we can for each other.”
Maranello Motorsports’ team owner, Mark Coffey was equally emotional, wanting to honour Allan’s memory and bring a just reward to his team.
“It is emotional. It was very important for me to bring the Allan Simonsen Trophy home but we have to consider tomorrow. It is a long day tomorrow and we are on the front row in P2, it would have been nice but it wasn’t to be. Betty Klimenko from Erebus Motorsport, she brought the trophy down and presented it to me saying ‘you mind this for a while.’ I don’t mind saying it brought me to tears for a while. It was very sporting, you don’t often see that in this sport,” Coffey said.
“I honestly thought that this morning, with the time we put in with Mika, we would hold the time. We know with Bathurst that as the day goes on and track and ambient temperatures are right up we didn’t think we would be matched. But they put the screws on and pipped us.”
“We share a great relationship. It is a rare thing in this industry – we race and are competitive on track – to make the gesture she has just done is terrific. I am just overwhelmed by it all.”
In a way, it was a pole that everyone wanted Maranello to win. Allan’s Australian team. In the car that he put in the mega quick laps in, in the past. But as Maro Engel suggested, his 2013 was difficult, losing two friends.
And it seemed justified that Engel would be the first to hold the Allan Simonsen Trophy.
“It is special, I think it is a good time to think back to last year where we lost a couple of guys – one of them was Allan. He was always very fast in a car but Sean Edwards who was a friend of mine. Actually the three of us lived together in Monaco – yeah – obviously I want to dedicate it to them. Unfortunately it is the way life goes but we need to remember these guys, they were special.”
Simonsen’s British counterpart was Hector Lester who has made the trip to Australia for the race – one he has competed in before, in a country he loves.
“I have a long history with Maranello from the Nations Cup back in the early 2000s. I have come and gone with Mark Coffey.”
‘I would like to think so, I went around here a few years ago and finished fifth overall. Since the works teams came over here it has become a lot more competitive but I hope to get back.
“I would sum Allan up as – his world was Bathurst, Nordschleife and Le Mans – places that you had to live on the edge to be quick, and he was quick. I think it is fantastic that not only did SRO honour him with an award but here at Bathurst as well. The guy was loved and respected in both Europe and the UK. It is quite poignant to come here, it was a bit sad yesterday coming to the track knowing Allan won’t be here but we have to do our best and carry on. Allan is a big part of Bathurst.”
