Shrewd strategy from the #91 Craft Bamboo Mercedes team has seen them emerge as front runners as the Bathurst 12 Hour enters the second half of the race. Craft Bamboo took every opportunity to clear timed pit stops, completing the 9 120 second pit stops before the 4 hour mark, pitting on each safety car and each time the race went green. This has meant that all of their remaining pit stops can be as fast as the team are able, which the team has used to maintain track position, and keep their competitors off the lead lap.
Second place is the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes, with Jules Gounon behind the wheel. Gounon is hard at work reeling in Kevin Tse, with the gap currently 40 seconds. Yasser Shahin in the #777 Audisport Team Valvoline car rounds out the top 3, and is currently the last car on the lead lap.
Track conditions have drastically improved as the day as progressed. A pair of Safety Cars in hour 4 due to fog coming down the mountain interrupted the race for a combined 30 minutes, with the bottom half of the mountain blanketed in fog while to top of the mountain was crystal clear. The fog eventually cleared at the start of hour 5, and the race has run green since then.
The track slowly dried out after early rain, but seemed to light up once a dry line was established. Markus Winkelhock in the #777 Audisport Team Valvoline Audi and Luca Stoltz in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes trading fastest laps only moments after changing onto slicks, with Stolz holding the fastest lap, a 2:03.6681.
Tony Bates in the #24 C Tech Laser Audi sits in 4th, only just going a lap down, and the #888 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes rounds out the top 5. 6th placed Brad Schumacher in the #74 Audisport Team Valvoline is the last car within 2 laps of the lead, with plenty looking for a possible wave-around to get back into the mix. The longer the race runs green however, the more Craft Bamboo can leverage their faster pit-stops to stay ahead.
Early race leader and pole-sitter the #65 CoinSpot Audi has been the first of the high-profile entries to run into problems; an issue downshifting on braking saw the car shut off at Hell Corner with Liam Talbot at the wheel. Talbot pulled off up mountain straight, and refired the car, but the problem proved more intensive, with the #65 spending 18 minutes in the garage to replace a new compressor to assist in gear shifting, and dropping down 10 laps.
The Am Class is led by the #47 Supabarn Audi, despite a drive through penalty for ignoring the red light at pit exit. The #47 has run faultlessly today, while the other Am cars have run into issues. The #45 RAM Motorsport Mercedes had to repair damage after Mike Sheargold spun at the exit of the Dipper, and the #55 Valmont Mercedes are only just back on track, after spending three hours and 12 minutes in the garage to repair a broken radiator after Marcel Zalloua hit the wall. That car is 78 laps down, but importantly, still in the race.
I Class is being lead by Declan Fraser in the #95 MARC Cars Australia MARC II V8, running in 12th. In the wet conditions, that car ran as high as third overall, with Jake Camilleri passing a number of GT3 cars just before the track dried out. The #222 Scott Taylor Motosport Porsche heads up Class C, with problems striking the #11 Our Kloud UpTo11 Porsche, which spent over 2 and a half hours in the garage.
While it is currently dry, the winds have picked up and there is indications of weather on the way. After a wild opening, there is still plenty to play out in the second half of this event.
