Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 13th to the 15th of May 2022 was the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.
The Bathurst 12 hour is a time race independent of laps.
It is also a GT not a Supercars race, so the results don’t affect the Supercars series.
There were plenty of drivers from the Supercars paddock that competed, like; Lee Holdsworth, Broc Feeney, David Reynolds, Cameron Waters, Shane Van Gisbergen, Craig Lowndes, Alex Davison, Chaz Mostert, Will Brown and Jack Perkins.
Some of the more well-known internationals that competed included; Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon, Kelvin van der Linde, Marcus Winklehock and Prince Jefri Ibrahim.
I was keeping my eye on Chaz Mostert, Broc Feeney, Shane Van Gisbergen, Lee Holdsworth, Dean Fiore, Craig Lowndes, Cameron Waters and Grant Denyer.
Normally this event is run in February but due to Covid messing with things, it was re-scheduled for May.
Also, it usually starts between 6am and 6:15am (during daylight savings). Marketing determined it best to have the race finish during TV peak-time for better ratings. This meant an earlier start of 5:15am, so the first 90 minutes of the race were in the early morning dark.
Before the race started the fog had descended on Mount Panorama.
Chaz Mostert earned himself pole position. He was teamed with Liam Talbot and Fraser Ross in car 65, an Audi from Melbourne Performance Centre. I wasn’t surprised that Chaz Mostert started behind the wheel because of his experience at this venue in the Supercars Series.
South African, Kelvin van der Linde was alongside pole.
Broc Feeney, the Red Bull Ampol Racing rookie started the 888 Mercedes from 5th position. In his Bathurst 12 Hour debut this was a big assignment, but no doubt because the team have faith in him.
There were only 20 cars on the grid this year compared to the normal 30 or 40 cars. The reduction was of limited international competitors due to COVID.
A rolling start behind the safety car is the norm for the Bathurst 12 Hour, I guess to reduce the risks of a standing start in the dark. It was also a good choice considering this year’s foggy conditions.
When the safety car peeled off, the start of the race was absolutely spectacular. The drivers in the top 10 held their positions with Mostert and Linde being the pace setters.
The safety car came out more than once due to the foggy conditions. The visibility was so poor that even the drivers were making comments. Typical of Bathurst, the fog turned to rain, then fogged up again and then rained again.
Before the sun came up, Zane Morse in car 52 tagged the wall at the top of the hill forcing a safety car. The Wheels/FX Racing PNG Marc II V8 was the first car to leave the track.
Two hours into the race Dale Wood in car 50 was the next victim of The Mountain.
About halfway through car 95 was pulled from the race with engine problems.
Car 45 hit the wall exiting The Dipper and required immediate repairs. When it rejoined the race they suffered another hit taking it out of the race for good.
I am not superstitious but I note that the above cars mentioned all have the number 5 in their car numbers; 52, 50, 95 and 45. Coincidence?
Of all the things that happened to the cars in such a gruelling race, it was the pole sitter car 65 that had my eyes wide open in disbelief. The car had stopped on Mountain Straight. To rectify the issues, you wont believe this….. They literally pressed Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart and then … they were off and away! LOL!
The weather played havoc through the day. There were multiple occasions that the safety cars were deployed, and other cars were pulled from the track to sit out the rest of the race.
It was the team of Jules Gounon, Martin Konrad, Kenny Habul and Luca Stolz who crossed the line first with an 8.7 second lead. They were in car 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes AMG. (note another 5 in the car number).
The Craft Bamboo Mercedes, car 91 was the next across the line. Daniel Juncedella, Kevin Tse and Maro Engel put in an incredible challenge to the leader in the last 2 hours of the race. It really was an intense extended battle to the finish line.
The third car to come across the line was also a Mercedes AMG, giving Merc a 1,2 & 3 on the podium. This was the 888 car from my favoured team Triple Eight Race Engineering, driven by Supercars defending champ Shane Van Gisbergen, Broc Feeney and Prince Jefri Ibrahim.
It was an incredible race and im already looking forward to its return next year. Good thing is it is expected to run in its usual schedule of February, so I don’t have to wait a full year!!!!