|
 |
|
|
|
|
Who Will Claim Australian GT Points At Bathurst?
Whilst much of the focus this weekend will be on the outright race for victory in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour, the main focus for the Australian GT [AGT] competitors, will be on the clock Sunday morning for 7:50am - the 50-minute mark of the big race, and the very point where the winner of the opening round of the Australian GT Championship will be crowned.
|
|
|
It’s a new concept for AGT, with the series promoters looking at ways they can increase race lengths on what is an already tight national motorsport calendar - in keeping with the global GT tradition of endurance length races.
The 12-Hour opportunity came up during the second half of 2012, and allowed teams that were intent on doing the first major event for the year AND Australian GT, the chance to combine both.
So, after 50-minutes of the 12-Hour race on Sunday morning, don’t be surprised to see a handful of cars pull into the pits at the completion of the opening round of the AGT. Don’t expect the winner of the round though to slow down and gesture to the fans and the crew either, for sake of losing valuable track position over the next 11:10 hours, because in all likelihood, he’ll be pressing on..
But who will that winner be?
It could be one of the outright contenders for the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12-Hour crown, although strategy and outright 12-Hour victory could force a change in focus for some of those teams, and allow one of the 50-minute ‘sprinters’ to come to the fore..
Chances are that despite all the posturing about it being a 12-hour endurance event, that most of the series entrants for AGT will focus on the 50-minute mark and enter their fastest driver for the opening leg.
With that being the case, you’d have to look at experienced Bathurst ‘sprinters’ like Craig Lowndes, Shane Van Gisbergen, Greg Murphy, Allan Simonsen, Tim Slade, Steven Richards, David Russell and Craig Baird to push hard early, but don’t discount two-time reigning champions Chistopher Mies and Darryl O’Young either - they’ve won on the mountain, and won in similar cars to those they’ll be racing at Bathurst this year.
Then there’s a guy by the name of Bernd Schneider.. he turned up for the final round of the Australian GT Championship last year, and proceeded to show the field why he is regarded one of the best sports car drivers in the world by dominating both races at Homebush. He knows the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 possibly better than anyone in the world, and he’s turned laps in the mountain in the past during a drive day, but a bloke with five DTM Championships to his name isn’t likely to need more than a handful of laps to get up to speed. Throw in Peter Edwards new Maranello Motorsport recruit Mika Salo, and you have the recipe not just for an exciting 50-minutes, but also a riveting 12-Hours!
In reality, of the drivers entered into the 50-minute leg of the event, Tony Quinn and Matt Kingsley will be the surprise packages, although for Quinn, his new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 hasn’t turned too many miles yet, whilst Kingsley is likely to be out-gunned in his Type 996 Cup Car, but neither will be holding anything back at the start of the race, and both know how to battle with the leaders.
If you want a prediction, perhaps go back to 2012..
Allan Simonsen bolted away from the field off the start and smashed the lap record just 11 laps in. He was closely followed by 2011 race winner Christopher Mies in the Audi, with David Russell in Roger Lago’s Lamborghini and Warren Luff [Audi] not far behind.
Throw in a likely assault from Van Gisbergen in an upgraded Championship winning Porsche GT3-R, Bernd Schneider in the Mercedes, Tim Slade [Mercedes], Greg Murphy [Corvette] and Steven Richards [Lamborghini], and suddenly the first hour of the race takes on a whole new level of interest.
One thing is for sure, if you want to see some of the best drivers in the world go hard at it at one of the best venues in the world, make sure you’re up early on Sunday and connected to live-streaming, because you’re not going to want to miss that..!
Live streaming will be available by; www.bathurst12hour.com.au
Keep track of the AGT ‘race within a race’ via the AGT website - www.australiangt.com.au and via Facebook; AustralianGT
So who’s entered for the opening round?
TEAMS CONTESTING BOTH THE 12-HOUR AND AGT#1
5. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn/Shane Van Gisbergen (VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3-R)
6. Rod Salmon/Craig Lowndes/Warren Luff (Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS ultra)
9. Mark Eddy/Marc Cini/Dean Grant/Christopher Mies (Network Clothing/Hallmarc Audi R8 LMS ultra)
11. Roger Lago/David Russell/Peter Kox (JBS Swift Lmborghini Gallardo LP600)
29. Jim Manolios/Greg Murphy/Ivan Capelli (Chevrolet Corvette Z06.R GT3)
33. Mok Weng Sun/Craig Baird/Matt Griffin (Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
47. Bernd Schneider/Thomas Jager/Alex Roloff (Erebus Racing Mercedes Benz AMG SLS GT3)
48. Justin McMillan/Steven Richards/Ross Lilley (GB Galvanizing Lamborghini Gallardo LP600)
63. Tim Slade/Lee Holdsworth/Peter Hackett (Erebus Racing Mercedes Benz AMG SLS GT3)
71. Dean Koutsoumidis/Andrew McInnes/Simon Middleton/Darryl O’Young (Equity-One Audi R8 LMS)
88. Peter Edwards/John Bowe/Allan Simonsen/Mika Salo (Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
TEAMS CONTESTING ONLY AGT#1
15. Matt Kingsley (Action Motorsport Porsche Type 996 GT3 Cup)
38. Mark Griffith (Griffith Corporation Ginetta G50 GT4)
40. Ben Foessel (Motor School Porsche Type 996 GT3 Cup)
41. George Foessel (Motor School Porsche Type 996 GT3 Cup)
73. Michael Hovey (ESP Print Management Ginetta G50 GT4)
77. Tony Quinn (VIP Petfoods Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
The 2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli is proudly supported by Pirelli, Darrell Lea, JAS Forwarding Worldwide and Z Motorsport Memorabilia.
Opening practice for the 2013 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour begins on Friday, February 8 at 7:45am, with qualifying at 7:45am on Saturday (February 9), with the 12-Hour race underway at 7:00am on Sunday, February 10.
2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli - calendar
Rnd#1, 8-10 February - Bathurst 12-Hour, NSW
Rnd#2, 28 Feb - 3 March - Clipsal, Adelaide, SA
Rnd#3, 24-26 May - Phillip Island, Victoria
Rnd#4, 12-14 July - Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Rnd#5, 2-4 August - Queensland Raceway, Ipswich, QLD
Rnd#6, 8-10 November - Highland Motorsport Park, NZ
PaddockTalk Perspective
|
|
|
| |
|
