2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour: 6-8 February

[rich07]

Fantastic analysis Efioz

Here are my thoughts

HTP-if they switch to a Bentley then I think adjusting to a new car won't help them but if they stick with the SLS and have one of the Max onboard they'll be tough to beat.

Erebus-Lots of local knowledge, fast cars and some good drivers have to put them in very good stead alongside HTP. I guess Richard Muscat will be in one car, be interesting to see who the other drivers are with Will Davison not able to drive. Maybe we might see factory drivers from AMG if HTP turn up with a Bentley?

AF Corse-Super professional team with fast cars and good drivers. They're on a roll with their recent win in the Gulf 12hr so they'll want to keep that momentum up. They'll look at what they've done previously here and try and learn from that.

Maranello-last years winners. No Lowndes and JB but all three drivers have Bathurst experience. I don't think they'll be the fastest trio but speed ain't everything in this race. I'm not sure this trio can fight for the win but a podium for sure.

I too would put Scud over M Motorsport. MM will be quick with Bairdo now with them but they tend to shoot themselves in the foot one way or another so I can't see them as a potential winners unlike Team Scud who as Efioz rightly pointed out have more long distance experience and this counts for a lot in a race of this length.

Whoever wins will need not just speed and the ability to stay out of trouble but a dash of luck also.

[GroupCAction]

I think its too hard to tell the favorite until the all the Class A teams announce their drivers.

Out of the teams who have announced their drivers the favorite for me would have to be Phoenix Racing. The combo with Rast, Winkelhock & Mapelli is seriously strong. They have plenty of experience with long distance races, Bathurst experience & Rast & Winkelhock were in supreme form in 2014. Vanthoor (who for me is the best GT3 driver in the world atm), has maybe pulled a shortly smaller straw with Haase & Baumgartner. I think he'll carry that car over the weekend, it'll be up to the other two to get used to our Nurburgring.

Maranello's lineup is not to be sneezed at. Ben Collins would have to be "atm" the strongest unseeded driver & Salo/D'Alberto will do a seriously good job! Podium for me is very likely... Win certainly not out of the question

The Lambo's... Both Lago & M Motorsport... Have the most Bathurst experienced pilots aboard... Fingers crossed both have some more luck over 12hrs. I think both could very well be at the top of the time sheets come practice & quali. Hopefully a clean race for them both with a bit of luck rolling their way over the 12hrs. Podiums for either are seriously possible.

The Flying B Bentley, it will be interesting to see how it fairs through practice. Haven't heard anymore whether M Sport has sent out their team to survey the Bathurst track before the event, but if they have i'd expect Flying B will be tapping into that knowledge that M Sport will bring with the car...
Flying B may be the quickest Bentley come race weekend.

Another car that is a red hot prospect for me is the Jamec Pem Racing Audi. Luff & Winslow are world class every time they hop into the Audi. Its all gonna come down to McLaughlan. If Luffy & Winslow and coach him through the weekend & extract the most out of him they have a chance for me at the top step.

The Competition Motorsport Porsche. I think this car will fly under the radar all weekend. Long needs no introduction, Pither this year in the Dunlop series has been strong & i think he'll adapt to the car pretty quick. Calvert-Jones is another strong unseeded driver. If luck rolls their way a Top 5 is very very possible.

TFM Ferrari is alittle unknown... McIntyre & Lester will be quick i think, but inexperience for the team at the Mountain could prove their biggest hurdle. A top 5 would be a win for them i think

[KSM86]

I'll pick team phoenix for the win.much better bop for the audi this year then last. Dark horse will be the Porsche of long.

[EfiOz]

Originally Posted by rich07

Fantastic analysis Efioz

Here are my thoughts

HTP-if they switch to a Bentley then I think adjusting to a new car won't help them but if they stick with the SLS and have one of the Max onboard they'll be tough to beat.

Erebus-Lots of local knowledge, fast cars and some good drivers have to put them in very good stead alongside HTP. I guess Richard Muscat will be in one car, be interesting to see who the other drivers are with Will Davison not able to drive. Maybe we might see factory drivers from AMG if HTP turn up with a Bentley?

AF Corse-Super professional team with fast cars and good drivers. They're on a roll with their recent win in the Gulf 12hr so they'll want to keep that momentum up. They'll look at what they've done previously here and try and learn from that.

Maranello-last years winners. No Lowndes and JB but all three drivers have Bathurst experience. I don't think they'll be the fastest trio but speed ain't everything in this race. I'm not sure this trio can fight for the win but a podium for sure.

I too would put Scud over M Motorsport. MM will be quick with Bairdo now with them but they tend to shoot themselves in the foot one way or another so I can't see them as a potential winners unlike Team Scud who as Efioz rightly pointed out have more long distance experience and this counts for a lot in a race of this length.

Whoever wins will need not just speed and the ability to stay out of trouble but a dash of luck also.

Yeah, if HTP stick with ze Benz then they'll be tough to beat. So will AF Corse.
I think Maranello's driver line up will be faster by aggregate than the 2014 drivers. Don't forget, Salo was the fastest of the lot by far and Tony D was no slouch in Townsville.
Scud's Lambo is that favourite of the raging bulls, for sure. But you have to be on that lead lap in th last hour for any of this to matter.

[Reload]

No surprise that Matt Griffin tweeted overnight that he will be driving at the 12hr. AF Corse most likely unless there has been a change of plan at Clearwater ?

[6.213km]

Originally Posted by KSM86

I'll pick team phoenix for the win.much better bop for the audi this year then last. Dark horse will be the Porsche of long.

I absolutely agree - if they have a typical audi reliable run they will go very close to winning it - will they be the fastest car - probably not - but i cant help but think they will be there or thereabouts come the chequered flag.

Erebus were the team to beat until the brake drama last year - they will probably edge the audi for speed.

I love the Ferraris - and I hope the italians will in - but its very hard to look past Germany. Phoenix and Erebus - equal favourites for my mind.

[jd yort]

My head says Team Phoenix but but my heart is with team Scud.

I really hope they improve the merchandising for 2015. It has been nothing short of dismal in years gone by. They have one mediocre event T-Shirt and Garry Rogers Motorsport flogging off old V8 Supercar crap. Hell they even ran out of the programmes on Saturday in 2014.

I would of loved to of been able to buy a HTP shirt last year for example. Plenty of race fans there in 2015 so all teams should treat it as an opportunity to pay for some petrol and tyres.

[rich07]

I loved this years t shirt, the graphics were really well done IMHO. I'm just unhappy I only brought one. Watching the race review I noticed John Bowe was wearing one on the pit wall at race finish

[Reload]

Originally Posted by jd yort

My head says Team Phoenix but but my heart is with team Scud.

I really hope they improve the merchandising for 2015. It has been nothing short of dismal in years gone by. They have one mediocre event T-Shirt and Garry Rogers Motorsport flogging off old V8 Supercar crap. Hell they even ran out of the programmes on Saturday in 2014.

I would of loved to of been able to buy a HTP shirt last year for example. Plenty of race fans there in 2015 so all teams should treat it as an opportunity to pay for some petrol and tyres.

Agree with you JD as the merchandising is virtually non
existent and only marginally behind the food and drink vendors. If your a food or drink vendor and what to make a killing, then set yourself up on top of the mountain (depending on what fees they have to pay)
Considering their success in GT's it's very disappointing to see no GT merchandise from Erebus. Would have been nice to see some of the International teams bring over some merchandise, however looking at the team sites, many teams including HTP have no merchandise at all which is hard to understand considering their professionalism and success. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bentley have something on offer.
Would be nice to wear some of the local teams gear in support of them, but none there either. Scud's shirt looks like getting another outing

[Reload]

Originally Posted by jd yort

My head says Team Phoenix but but my heart is with team Scud.

I really hope they improve the merchandising for 2015. It has been nothing short of dismal in years gone by. They have one mediocre event T-Shirt and Garry Rogers Motorsport flogging off old V8 Supercar crap. Hell they even ran out of the programmes on Saturday in 2014.

I would of loved to of been able to buy a HTP shirt last year for example. Plenty of race fans there in 2015 so all teams should treat it as an opportunity to pay for some petrol and tyres.

Agree with you JD as the merchandising is virtually non
existent and only marginally behind the food and drink vendors. If your a food or drink vendor and want to make a killing, then set yourself up on top of the mountain (depending on what fees they have to pay)
Considering their success in GT's it's very disappointing to see no GT merchandise from Erebus. Would have been nice to see some of the International teams bring over some merchandise, however looking at the team sites, many teams including HTP have no merchandise at all which is hard to understand considering their professionalism and success. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bentley have something on offer.
Would be nice to wear some of the local teams gear in support of them, but none there either. Scud's shirt looks like getting another outing

[porsche91722]

Originally Posted by Reload

Agree with you JD as the merchandising is virtually non
existent and only marginally behind the food and drink vendors. If your a food or drink vendor and want to make a killing, then set yourself up on top of the mountain (depending on what fees they have to pay)
Considering their success in GT's it's very disappointing to see no GT merchandise from Erebus. Would have been nice to see some of the International teams bring over some merchandise, however looking at the team sites, many teams including HTP have no merchandise at all which is hard to understand considering their professionalism and success. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bentley have something on offer.
Would be nice to wear some of the local teams gear in support of them, but none there either. Scud's shirt looks like getting another outing

The whole merchandising thing has me bewildered too! It's a great opportunity for the teams and the B12 admin team. Those blue Tshirts from this years race were atrocious, but as they were the only things on offer, they still sold them out, so that must say something.
With the B12H being a once a year event, they are missing out on the punters who "were there, saw the race, bought the Tshirt". Sportscar racing fans are generally a bit more conservative than the V8 bogans who like to wear the tacky rubbish that their teams are flogging, so they have to get right. Something in a plain black with a B12H logo would be good enough.
There you are Craillsy, I've done the work, make it happen!

[Matt]

The tacky stuff is the best stuff. It's fun.

[Hingo]

The best piece of kit was the nice white Bathurst 12 Hour cap that the marshals and volunteers had. Unfortunately they weren't being sold to the public I didn't buy anything. I did walk away with plenty of nice posters to hang in my garage though.

[velly4]

Nissan had merchandise there this year as I got one of the GTR GT3 shirts.

I never got event gear until I went to Le Mans fee years back and wanted one of the B12hr shirts but was too late.

[scudd]

Originally Posted by jd yort

My head says Team Phoenix but but my heart is with team Scud.

thanks jd for the support. seeing the car cross the finish line after 12 hours will be good enough for me.

[KSM86]

Originally Posted by scudd

thanks jd for the support. seeing the car cross the finish line after 12 hours will be good enough for me.

I think everyone on the forum is hoping the same thing scudd. Good luck....do you know if peter kox has a drive for this year with any team??

[scudd]

Originally Posted by KSM86

I think everyone on the forum is hoping the same thing scudd. Good luck....do you know if peter kox has a drive for this year with any team??

he asked me if I needed his help for February while we were texting each other last week and I said while it would of been good to have him on board, his business airfare was slightly more expensive than the 2 economy seats for dave and steve ex Brisbane.

I also said those lads only need a couple of cut sandwiches and they'll be sweet for the weekend.

for a Dutchman , koxy is a top bloke, loves to walk around in his underwear in the trailer and at the house we stay at. sometimes he's naked when talking to you.

we call him the nudist. very funny times.

if I do spa again one day, I might ask him if he'd be interested.

so no, I don't think he'll be at Bathurst.

[Alan52]

Originally Posted by porsche91722

The whole merchandising thing has me bewildered too! It's a great opportunity for the teams and the B12 admin team. Those blue Tshirts from this years race were atrocious, but as they were the only things on offer, they still sold them out, so that must say something.
With the B12H being a once a year event, they are missing out on the punters who "were there, saw the race, bought the Tshirt". Sportscar racing fans are generally a bit more conservative than the V8 bogans who like to wear the tacky rubbish that their teams are flogging, so they have to get right. Something in a plain black with a B12H logo would be good enough.
There you are Craillsy, I've done the work, make it happen!

The merchandising thing is not such a big thing in Europe.Went to the DTM race at the Norisring this year and there was no merchandising for any of the teams or the event which is the biggest on the DTM calendar.Was told by people there that this has always been the case.
At the Austrian F1 GP there was no event merchandise at all just the standard team stuff for the big 4 teams.

[racer69]

I think as the crowds rise over the years the merchandise side of things will pick up with it.

Originally Posted by Hingo

The best piece of kit was the nice white Bathurst 12 Hour cap that the marshals and volunteers had. Unfortunately they weren't being sold to the public

That is a good way of giving a little incentive for people to want to volunteer at the event.

[KSM86]

Originally Posted by scudd

he asked me if I needed his help for February while we were texting each other last week and I said while it would of been good to have him on board, his business airfare was slightly more expensive than the 2 economy seats for dave and steve ex Brisbane.

I also said those lads only need a couple of cut sandwiches and they'll be sweet for the weekend.

for a Dutchman , koxy is a top bloke, loves to walk around in his underwear in the trailer and at the house we stay at. sometimes he's naked when talking to you.

we call him the nudist. very funny times.

if I do spa again one day, I might ask him if he'd be interested.

so no, I don't think he'll be at Bathurst.

sounds like a top bloke, ashame he wont be down, thought he might try and see if he could unbreak the bathurst curse

[jd yort]

Originally Posted by porsche91722

Something in a plain black with a B12H logo would be good enough.

Like.... like.... like....

The blue shirt didn't do it for me, I found it naf. When you go to Le Mans (#humblebrag) people wear their old LeMans shirts with pride, this tradition is something that the organisers should be trying to instil here (as opposed to signing a patch on a dirty trench coat...). I cringe when I get to that page in AMC magazine which has all the bogan Ford / Holden designs but I do understand there is a market for them.

The Nissan merchandise from what I can recall was either the Kelly V8 supercar gear or generic Nissan motorsport gear which was all available online and cheaper. A mate is a Nissan fanboi and I questioned him at the time why he was not interested in buying anything and that was his response.

[Reload]

Originally Posted by jd yort

Like.... like.... like....

The blue shirt didn't do it for me, I found it naf. When you go to Le Mans (#humblebrag) people wear their old LeMans shirts with pride, this tradition is something that the organisers should be trying to instil here (as opposed to signing a patch on a dirty trench coat...). I cringe when I get to that page in AMC magazine which has all the bogan Ford / Holden designs but I do understand there is a market for them.

The Nissan merchandise from what I can recall was either the Kelly V8 supercar gear or generic Nissan motorsport gear which was all available online and cheaper. A mate is a Nissan fanboi and I questioned him at the time why he was not interested in buying anything and that was his response.

Agree totally on your first paragraph JD. Probably not much point us putting in our wish list on B12hr merchandise at this point as I'm sure that this years is already a done deal, so fingers crossed.

[Reload]

Harold Primat tweeting that he's got the simulator ready to go in order for the 12hr which is a positive sign that HTP will be there.

[Reload]

Originally Posted by Razor

I have said yes. Currently working on a sponsor deal.

Any more news mate ?

[Reload]

Story from Sportscar 365 with Australia mentioned as a possible option ?










With the success of its championship domestically, Pirelli World Challenge is poised for further international growth, with plans in the works to hold an invitational-only GT3 round overseas in 2016.
PWC President and CEO Scott Bove confirmed to Sportscar365 plans for an end-of-year event, either in Australia, Europe or the Middle East, which would see the top-20 drivers and teams from the GT class be invited to compete.
“Our name for 25 years has been World Challenge. If we are truly going to be a ‘World Challenge’ we want to challenge the world,” Bove told Sportscar365.
“We are in discussions looking at several different options for our teams to participate in an overseas event, which we would sponsor. We want to find the right event and venue, whether that’d be in Australia, Europe or the Middle East.”
The proposed event would be reserved for full-season PWC entrants only and likely be run to the same sprint race format that’s seen in North America.
Such an event would come as part of the series’ long-term plan of international expansion.
As revealed by Sportscar365, the top-three drivers and teams from the 2015 GT championship will be invited to next year’s Blancpain Sprint Series season-ending Baku World Challenge in Azerbaijan.
Bove sees the Baku cooperation as a first step towards a potentially larger relationship with Stephane Ratel’s SRO Motorsports Group, which organizes the popular European-based Blancpain GT Series.
“We don’t have plans to go endurance racing, but there are some of our teams that would like to. So there might be some ways for us to engineer that,” he said.
“I believe Stephane respects Pirelli World Challenge and its accomplishments in the U.S. and I respect what Stephane has done with the Blancpain GT Series.
“Since the cars are identical platforms and [PWC] teams do want to travel in Europe, we have teams wanting to be involved in both series. It’s natural for us to start some discussions.”