Morgan Haber in the MARC Cars Australia BMW M6 GT3 ran quickest in last weekend’s Challenge Bathurst sprint event ahead of the upcoming Bathurst 12 Hour next February. Hater’s best time was a 2:04.291 as part of the two-day ‘Lightning’ Super Sprint event.
Haber’s flyer was over eight tenths faster than the other 106 cars entered into the ‘Lightning’ Sprint, with Russell Ingall in the Castrol BMW Team SRM M6 GT3. Ingall’s time was a 2:05.171. Also driving alongside Ingall was Mark Skaife, Tony Longhurst and Kumo Wittmann who used the event to complete his first laps on the mountain.
The BMW entries from Challenge Bathurst will continue testing today in a private test.
Rounding out the top three was a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 driven by Yasser Shahin, a 2:05.410 the best time from the South African.
Amongst others, MARC Cars Australia had their fleet of Mazda 3 and Ford Focus enduro racers on hand, several of their regular drivers and international import Tom Onslow-Cole all getting plenty of track time. Steven Grove ran competitively in his Porsche GT3 Cup Car.
The inaugural Challenge Bathurst event this year saw over 300 race and production cars hit Mount Panorama for timed trials. Many teams using it as a chance to utilise the circuit ahead of the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour.
Meanwhile, the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit played host to the annual Island Magic event, one that saw high drama in the final one-hour CUE Sports Car enduro for Bathurst 12 Hour stalwart Steve McLaughlan.
After his co-driver Garth Tander won the preliminary co-driver race, JAMEC-PEM Racing’s McLaughlan was running in a strong position in the early stages of the Victorian Tourist Trophy Sports Car event – batting Kane Rose’s Porsche for the lead own Lap 7.
The pair ran side-by-side out of the turn four harpin they made contact, sending McLaughlin’s Audi R8 into the tyres on the inside of Siberia. The shunt brought out red-flags while Mclaughlan was extracted from the car and sent to a local hospital.
He later posted on his Facebook page that a preliminary diagnosis has seen him suffer a fracture in his neck, with additional details to come.
With his current-specification Audi R8 still on the way back from New Zealand’s Australian GT decider, McLaughlan was driving his previous-specification Audi at the Island.
