A full grid
The LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will see all entered cars lining up on the grid for only the second time in the GT3 era, with confirmation from Craft Bamboo, Supabarn, BRM and Our Kloud-UpTo11 Motorsport that all of their cars will take the start.
The last 12 Hour where every car survived to race start was 2011, with all 26 entered cars taking the green flag. The first retirement from that race was the #2 Procon Developments Mosler MT900 GT3.
The previous event in 2020 saw the most cars scratched pre-race, with 5 cars missing the start after accidents in Practice and Qualifying.
Repair stories
Craft Bamboo will be on track, with the #91 Mercedes AMG back at the circuit and ready for the start Pictured top). The team commented that the car returned to the track at 5pm yesterday, missing an opportunity given by the organisers to run a shakedown lap after the Qualifying sessions. The team are buoyant, telling DSC that the installed engine is showing no glitches.
The #17 Team BRM Audi will also be on the grid today, wearing some race tape and scuff marks after yesterday’s accident in Practice. The team only just missed getting the car out for qualifying, with team manager Mark Rundle explaining that the clutch actuator had been damaged in the crash, and wasn’t discovered until the car was on pit lane. With the repair completed, the #17 will start from the back of the field.
Another absence from qualifying yesterday was the #95 MARC Cars Australia MARC II V8. MARC Cars owner and driver this weekend Geoff Taunton saying the car was all ready to go for qually, but in a practice driver change ahead of the session, the lead that connects the steering wheel to the dash was yanked, damaging the electronics. Despite a mechanically sound car, the repairs took 2 hours to complete.
The #47 Supabarn Audi made it out to qualifying yesterday but will start from the rear of the grid today. The team explained that because the chassis is not the chassis they entered the weekend with, the car was relegated to the back of the grid. Drivers Stokell and Russell had pace in the qualifying sessions however, with Stokell setting a lap in the top half of the Am only Q1 and Russell setting a 2:04, which is encouraging for the team who called qualifying a ‘shakedown.’
The Weather
So far, the rain that has threatened running this weekend hasn’t materialised, with clear conditions both Friday and yesterday. The forecast for today shows an 80% chance of showers in the NSW Central Tablelands, most likely in the morning and afternoon.
When DSC arrived this morning, it was a clear morning. However, fog has started to roll in over the bottom half of the circuit, which may affect running in the early parts of the race.
