Shootout strategies
We saw different preparation strategies employed by different teams searching for outright pace in the final session of the day. Some cars, like the Triple Eight Racing Mercedes, opted to slowly bring its tyres into a window and hammer laps until the session ended. Others, like the two WRT BMWs instead opted to go for the traditional one-lap dash strategy.
While ultimately, the single-lap dash worked for BMW, the lap times were still improving for other drivers later on in the session. Matt Campbell for example set the lap good enough for fourth in his last go in the #912 Manthey EMA Porsche, while Engel and Feeney improved throughout the second shootout session, before passing peak grip after five or six laps in their Mercedes AMG’s.
Asked about their strategy post-session, Sheldon offered this insight.
“There’s such a big peak on this tyre that you can only do one lap,” Sheldon said. “Especially on the BMW, the rear traction drops quite a lot, so I didn’t feel like I could do another lap. And I went off on the second push, trying too hard.
“I don’t think I could have improved on that lap.”
Sheldon was still buzzing in the post-session press conference, regaling the media centre with the feeling of throwing a GT3 around Bathurst in the shootout.
“It’s crazy! My heart rate is still 200! When I got out of the car I was literally shaking for the next 20 minutes after that.
“If you compare it to Macau… It’s different in a way because you’re still close to the walls but you’re twice the speed. So if something goes wrong, you have the same amount of runoff – which is nothing – and you’re going twice the speed.
“There’s a huge consequence of making a mistake here – I almost made a big one on the second lap. It just shows that we’re working with fine margins here.
“It’s one of the best tracks in the world for me, one of the best of the events of the year.”
Outright pace not found
Comparing today’s Shootout with the corresponding session last year shows a full second difference in lap time. The cars are mostly the same (and in some cases, exactly the same) with the same tyre as well, so why the drop off in pace?
The answer seems to be in the track conditions this weekend. While last year was almost ideal in the lead-up with warm, overcast days and cool nights, this year, the track has been subjected to overnight storms, humidity, and sunshine all in equal measure. This has seen grip levels very low in the mornings before the UV takes hold later in the day.
Maro Engel was quick to quell any suggestions that this wasn’t expected.
“Coming here I got asked if a 1:59 was on the cards, which I never thought was going to be on the cards.
“I thought we saw a very quick first practice session, where everyone was a bit surprised at the pace of the session. With the track and the conditions warming up, it just slowed things down as it usually does.
“It’s not surprising… When Shane [van Gisbergen] set his lap record [in 2016, a 2:01.28], it was just after the track had been resurfaced. My personal opinion was that we’d never get close to that again.
“We’ve seen Pole Positions in the 2:03s here in the past, so it just depends on what track conditions you find.”
Localsearch T2 MARC Car looking to be repaired for the race
The first big hit of the weekend was the #20 Localsearch T2 MARC IRC GT, which hit the wall hard at The Grate before backing into the Vista rear first during Practice 6. Driver Adam Hargraves was able to walk from the wreckage, but the car was in dire shape.
When DSC headed to the garage after the session, the rear sub-frame had already been removed, with work already underway. Despite the damage, the team seemed in good spirits, working feverishly but with purpose under the rear of the car.
A team representative said that with the available spares, the team was looking to have the car prepped for the race tomorrow morning. While there is surely a significant repair ahead, the team was confident of making the grid.
However, popping back down at the end of the day painted a much better picture – the whole rear subframe was assembled and in position. A mechanic told DSC that all that needed to be done was the fuel cell, and the bodywork. The car will be on the grid tomorrow!
Another DNS for the KTM GT2
Unfortunately, the KTM X-Bow GT2 that brought Practice 6 to an early close is a more permanent victim of The Mountain. Trent Harrison hit both walls on the entry to Forrest Elbow, with the crash finishing in the tyre barrier on the outside of the Elbow.
News from the team is that Trent is okay after the incident, but the car less so.
“Trent is okay, that’s the main thing,” said driver Laura Kraihamer. “We were building to a good pace.”
“It’s a long way to come to have that happen.”
It is a real shame for David Crampton, Trent Harrison and the Vantage KTM team, who once again don’t reach the race start with the KTM X-Bow GT2. Last year, the car had an engine failure on Friday that necessitated a full car swap.
BoP adjusted
There was a BoP adjustment bulletin posted between Practice 6 and Qualifying, with some minor BoP changes handed to three cars. The BMWs were given a 10kg weight break, while the Porsche 992 was given 10kg more. As well, there was a minor change to the air restrictor for the Lamborghini, opening the airflow to give the new Huracan more power.
The Vortex down under!
Bringing the Vortex 1.0 down under for the first time, with drivers Lionel Amrouche, Phillippe Bonnel, and Julien Boilot. The car has been performing well so far, with no issues to speak of, with the team growing in confidence in their boutique sportscar.
DSC caught up with Julien Boilot to see how the team was going.
“Amazing, just amazing,” said Julien. “It’s such an iconic race, and we wanted to see that.”
“The car is good – the drivers still have to improve,” Julien said, tongue in cheek.
On the goals for this weekend, Julien states “first we want to finish the race, then as high as possible.”
The car has been a fan favourite, with the rumble of the V8 fitting in nicely with the rest of the field, and the Bathurst fans!
Bronze Pro-Drivers?
After Kenny Habul’s success last year, there have been an additional two entries in the Pro class with Bronze-rated drivers listed, namely the two Pro-class Audis; the #22 Wash-It of Liam Talbot with Kelvin van der Linde and Christopher Haase, and the #2 KFC Audi of Brad Schumacher with Ricardo Feller and Marcus Winkelhock.
Both Talbot and Schumacher have had recent success in GTWC Australia; Talbot was the Pro-Am champion driver, while Schumacher drove himself to Am honours in the 2023 season.
There is a method to the decision; Bronze drivers in the Pro-Am class are required to drive 180 minutes, including one hour after the halfway point of the race, however, those requirements don’t exist for Bronze drivers in the Pro class.
“It’s a unique opportunity,” said Liam Talbot, driver of the #22 Wash-It Audi. “I dare to dream of an outright win, and for me, Pro-Am is not possible for an outright win anymore.
“If it happens, it’ll be super cool.”
While Talbot was optimistic, he was also conscious of the pace of the Pro category.
“The straight-line speed of the Mercs is insane… Realistically we could win one sector, but they could win two.”
His team-mate in the #22 Wash-It Audi, Kelvin van der Linde, was also cautiously optimistic about the chances for the team.
“Liam does a great job, he knows the track very well. He’s had a great run in Aussie GT of late. He’s a great bronze to have in the car – one of the best Bronzes we can have.
“The regulations really allow for this style of line-up, and I think with Christopher Haase as well, we have a great line-up to still attack for an overall result.”
On the other hand, Talbot’s main competitor for last season’s GTWC Australia title, Yasser Shahin, has stayed in the Pro-Am class with his #911 Shell V-Power/The Bend Porsche. He had a different take on the matter.
“It really makes no sense to me,” responded Shahin. “The fact is, we’re not Pros; we’re Ams.
“There’s a Pro-Am class for our drivers, and the Pro category, all it does is forces you to reduce the Am time to the absolute minimum.
“It’s not why we’re here.”
A MARC driver change switch up
Initially, on all the entry lists for the #702 TekworkX MARC IRC GT, Nash Morris was listed as a driver. However, when the car arrived at Track to Town on Thursday, Morris’s name was replaced with multiple Australian GT Champion Geoff Emery.
“Nash was committed to drive the car, but the deal fell through,” said Geoff. “Danny [Stutterd, IRC owner and driver of the #702] gave me a call last week and asked if I wanted to join these guys, and I was delighted!”
It is Emery’s first outing in a MARC car, and he was full of praise for the IRC GT machine.
“I rate it! It’s a really good car to drive. It clearly doesn’t have the aero that the GT cars have but they’re a pretty good car to drive.
“I’m really enjoying it!”
That car has had a few issues though, and has been in and out of the garages during sessions chasing a gearbox gremlin.
“We had some shifting issues in Practice 5, and we thought we solved the problem, but clearly not… We’re replacing the gearbox, and should be good to go again.”
The Invitational Index
On the note of the MARC cars, the Invitational class of which all 5 MARC cars are running is set to an index time of 2:06.000. This means that any lap time underneath this marker is ‘illegal’, with penalties imposed on times faster than the Index. For the race, a drive-through penalty is on the cards, but for Qualifying, not only is the lap time deleted, but the car is parked for the rest of the session.
One unfortunate driver to fall afoul of that regulation today was Rylan Gray in the #111 MRA Motorsport MARC II, who set a 2:05.9 on his second flying lap in qualifying 1. With that, he was forced back into the pits, and had the lap deleted.
“I felt pretty good out there, first time on a fresh set of tyres,” Gray said after the session. “Unfortunately we went over that time by a slim margin, and we got pinged for that.
“We were fortunate enough to do a time good enough for second still… We’ve got a long 12 Hours ahead.”
On the index rules for the class, Rylan was bemused.
“It’s the first time I’ve come across this rule, so it’s a little hard to adjust to, to make sure you don’t go below that time. It’s pretty hard to judge considering you’ve got a whole lap and it comes down to the start line where you’ve got to try to manage that.
“I’m not too fond of it – it’s a little bit of a pain sometimes when you just want to go as quick as you can, but you can’t.”
Despite the break, Rylan’s second-best lap – a 2:06.1 – was good enough to sit second in class, with the #111 on the grid in 21st place.
Circuit Safari
A very special opportunity opened up for selected media just ahead of Friday’s Practice 3, with this writer told to be at pit exit 20 minutes before the start of the session.
The opportunity, it turns out, was a ride in a van.
Just before the start of the session, the van was released onto the circuit, instructed to hold 80km/h, and to keep left for a full lap. A minute later, the Bathurst 12 Hour field was released onto their outlap.
“Circuit Safari” isn’t necessarily a new concept – it has been something particularly popular for Super GT and the WEC Fuji rounds – but to have a lap at a track as narrow, blind, and technical as Mount Panorama was particularly special.
What’s the BOP on this? 🤣🤣#B12Hr pic.twitter.com/XG19czjcGX
— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 16, 2024
While getting taken for a lap of the mountain at any speed is exhilarating enough, having GT3 machines blast pass at a considerable speed gives a different kind of thrill. Bouncing off the kerb at McPhillamy Park while being rounded by Alessio Picariello was terrifying enough, but the run down the mountain through the Esses and the Dipper was a rollercoaster ride at the very limit!
Yesterday i was lucky enough to ride a bus
Here’s a very brief snippet of one of the wildest things this writer has ever experienced. Circuit Safari at Bathurst was a clear success!
#b12hr pic.twitter.com/HBozJ506iC
— Michael Z (@m_zala11) February 16, 2024
Special thanks to event director Shane Rudzis, media manager Richard Craill, our van driver, safety car driver, all of the teams and drivers, as well as the marshals on track, for facilitating this incredible experience!
Pick of the Supports
The Bathurst 12 Hour has been well supported by demonstrations, and support categories over the weekend, but the pick of these races was the first race of the Combined Sedans category this morning.
While the full race wasn’t broadcast, enjoy this clip of the last few laps, as the race drew to an epic conclusion!
