Qualifying Format
The format for tomorrow’s LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour qualifying will see a significant change, with aggregate lap times returning for the first time in a decade. The qualifying sessions tomorrow will feature an Am-driver only session followed by a free driver session, with the best time from each session combined to determine who gets into the Top 10 Shootout, and who misses out, adding an extra responsibility to the Am drivers across the field.
The Top 10 Shootout and the Allan Simonsen Pole Award will then be the traditional one-lap dash around the mountain, with the cars released one by one in reverse order of the top 10.
While qualifying at the top end is important, it is not a pre-requisite to a race win; the 2020 winners, Bentley Team M-Sport, won from 11th place, after missing out on the top 10 in the dying stages.
Troubles for Mercedes
Two Mercedes AMG GT3’s were affected by issues in today’s early running.
The #19 Nineteen Corp Mercedes didn’t turn a lap in the second session today, after finishing FP1 in 14th place with both Jack Perkins and Will Brown getting a run out on track.
An as-of-yet undiagnosed Gearbox issue has been the culprit, with the team forced to remove the gearbox for AMG technicians to inspect it.
“I started, Will finished. And then the guys just notice the gearbox oil leak,” said Perkins post session. “They’ve got to pull the gear box out and then the AMG technicians pull the gearbox apart, identify the problem and then try and fix it.”
When asked whether the car will be good to go for practice 3 at 3:15pm, Perkins’ response was “I don’t know.”
Despite the frustration, Will Brown was excited with his first laps in the GT3 machine
“I only did two or three laps, and it feels good,” said Brown.
“A cool car to drive, that’s for sure. I love the sound of it! Hopefully we get back out there today, but if not tomorrow we’ll do a few more laps.”
The car managed to make the track for FP3 with Griffith placing 14th with a 2:12.2620. Talking to the team post session, it appears the issue was a non-issue, with the same gearbox used without trouble.
They weren’t the only Mercedes team in the wars; the #45 RAM Motorsport AMG only turning 3 laps in the second session after a puncture early in the first session affected their running.
“This car is new to us three days ago,” said Team Manager Michael Henry. “We’ve been building it till I think we finished about 20 minutes before the session started today. And you have all those Gremlins that you always get.”
“It was handling a bit differently than we expected, it was quite pointy. We’ll do a bit of tuning and we work it out. It’s always part of the fun!”
That car ran without issue during FP3.
Audi’s on the pace
The pair of Audisport Team Valvoline cars have had the pace so far today, with the #777 topping FP1 at the hands of Ricardo Feller, and FP2 headed by Brad Schumacher in the #74.
“It feels good, first time for me at the track and I really enjoyed it,” said Feller post session. “We still have some things to improve [but] I think we are quite well placed.”
“The grip level was quite good, even though the track was quite wet in the beginning of the session.”
It’s Feller’s first outing in a Pro-Am car as a Gold rated driver, after winning the GTWC Europe Silver Cup last season.
“Now I need to I need to deliver! Before, if I delivered was good for myself, and then the team obviously. But now I have to. But in the end, the job stays the same… And now we have an amateur, a really quick amateur on the car, which is also something new for me. I need to take care of the car for that setup, but we can’t go too aggressive, so you cal also lap fast with it, and feel confident.
“I’m quite happy with the situation.”
The #74 Audisport Team Valvoline features Nathaniel Berthon in his first outing to the Bathurst 12 Hour, in one of his first races in the GT3 Audi R8.
“The car and the track are amazing,” Berthon said. “The grip is there and the car is well balanced.
“It’s even better [than I expected]! It’s a good surprise.
“Brad [Schumacher] is super quick… it’s always good to have a very fast amateur. For us, I think everything is green right now. Expect a really good race for both cars.”
Triple Eight’s FP3 Absence
Prince Jefri Ibrahim brought the #888 Mercedes AMG back into the pits on his out lap at the beginning of FP3, and wasn’t seen again for the rest of the session. When DSC dropped down to the team in between FP3 and FP4, there was a flurry of activity around the front of the car.
“[Prince Ibrahim] had a little bit of a moment going up the hill where it’s got away from him on cold tyres” team manager Andrew Simpson said. “Nothing that can’t be fixed but not for that session.
“It wasn’t ideal, but not everyone got their regular running in either. It’s one of those things – we’ve got the data, we’ve got the guys, we know how it works so we should be right.”
That car was back out on track just after the start of FP4, with a brand new, unwrapped front splitter.
Big shunt for #47 Audi
The mountain may have claimed it’s first victim of the weekend, with the #47 Supabarn Audi coming to grief on the exit of Reid Park. A phone-camera live stream set up by the host broadcaster caught the incident, showing driver Theo Koundouris having a moment of oversteer on the exit of the right hander, snapping the car off the circuit and making hard contact with the concrete.
DSC caught up with Theo’s brother James, also driving the #47 car, for an update, just before the start of FP4
“They’re just assessing everything now and we’ll know within the next couple of hours if we can get the car back on the track. I don’t know Audi have a spare that they’ll give to us, but they’re having a think about that now.”
Now confirmed is that MPC have already despatched a spare car from Melbourne – the car will need significant work on arrival including the conversion from Evo I to Evo II spec.
Regardless of the status of the car, Theo has been ruled out of the rest of the weekend after suffering a concussion as a result of the crash. We wish Theo all the best with his recovery!
