BoP and Tyre Pressure adjustments
After locking out the front row in qualifying yesterday, Mercedes AMG have been given a BoP adjustment, increasing the ballast by 10kg. The Mercedes AMG was the car of choice in Qualifying and the Shootout, with six of the nine drivers who set 2:01 lap times in Qualifying doing so at the seat of the Silver Arrows.
Porsche have also been hit with a 5kg weight increase for the two 911’s in the field, while the Audi R8 LMS Evo II and the BMW M4 GT3 have been given a 10kg weight reduction.
There has also been a reduction to the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of 10kg.
In addition, there has been a change to the regulations regarding the tyre pressures of the weekend, with the SRO removing the minimum starting pressure requirement of 1.4 bar when leaving the pits. Instead, the tyres are subject to a ‘minimum hot pressure’ of 1.85 bar, where the ‘hot pressure’ is taken after 8 consecutive green-flag laps of running.
A late exclusion from the Shootout for #32 WRT an #74 AudiSport cars
Infringements in the Shootout relegating them to the back of the top 10.
On the official results of the shootout, it was noted that the #32 WRT BMW and the #74 Audisport Team MPC Audi were excluded from the session, and relegated to 9th and 10th positions respectively.
At this stage, there has been no official word as to the reason for their exclusion. However, the word in the paddock is that the #32 BMW had a minimum tyre pressure infringement, while the #74 Audi was found to have breached parc ferme procedure.
In the history of the Bathurst 12 hour, no team has won from either 9th or 10th position on the grid. However, the 2020 event was won by the Bentley Team M-Sport Continental, which started from 11th. In any case, it will be a challenge for the #32 and #74 to make it through the field today.
Driver time regulations
In the Bathurst 12 Hour this year, no driver can drive longer than 340 minutes of the race, while no driver can run a continuous stint longer than 150 minutes.
Bronze rated drivers are further limited, with a maximum stint length for Bronzes set at 80 minutes. An additional note is that for the Pro-Am and Silver classes, the Bronze drivers must complete one hour of running after the halfway point of the race, ensuring that they play a role in the outcome of the race.
Important to note however, this does not apply to the Pro category, therefore Kenny Habul can meet his minimum driver time early in the race, and leave the heavy lifting in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes to co-drivers Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz.
Finally, each driver is subject to a mandatory rest period of 60 minutes after completing a stint.
Last year, both AudiSport cars lost a chance at victory by falling afoul of the maximum Bronze stint length, with the corresponding time penalties forcing them off the lead lap. Keeping track of driver times will be a key factor, especially in Pro-Am, in the fight for race honours.
