2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour: 4-7 February

[TCR]

IP and Radicals have been there a couple of years now, so I'd expect them to stay. In saying that though, IP and Combined Touring might be a bit too similar and potentially stealing entries from each other, even though the category regs are quite different.

Got this email from the organisers regarding campsites.

Dear Camper,

We are sorry about the dramas you have been having re-booking your campsites.
No sites are on sale yet but as you are an existing customer you will be given first round chance to repurchase your site.
The delay has been caused as all sales are going online this year.
The campgrounds are expected to go on sale by the end of the month and you will be notified by email when you can purchase your site/s.We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused but you have not missed out on your sites for the 2016 event.

Kind Regards,

[rich07]

Yeah I got the same letter TCR. Completely forgotten about it tbh. Apparently sites go on sale end of the month.

[jd yort]

Hmmm. Interesting I have not got that email yet. Hopefully I have not slipped through their system yet again. TCR / Rich can you post when you get the official request to rebook your sites please. Thanks

[TCR]

Will do.

[jd yort]

I emailed them and they had my address wrong again. Hopefully that explains the lack of an email. I will await the campsite renewal email with zero confidence. If I do not hear within 24hrs of you guys getting yours I will be a chasing...

[old fart]

I managed to watch much of the Nurburgring 24 hr race via Radio Lemans live streaming and what an exciting endurance duel it turned out to be.
It was great to see some of our Aussie drivers do so well-notably Mal Rose and Peter Leemhuis teaming with the retiring CEO of Aston Martin to win their class.
They had a great battle with a Lexus that really is a potential weapon and at the end of race managed to be a lap up-the Lexus was 30 seconds a lap faster than the obviously staid Aston but reliability can never be discounted in a long distance event.
Mal and Peter have come a long way from the early days when he took a team of locals over with his Mitsubishi Mirages and really did well. He became a favourite with not only the spectators but other drivers when he ran his ex V8 Supercar in numerous events. Everybody loved the sound of the GRM engined beast and it amazed many with its speed and handling.

Poor Rod Salmon had miserable luck with the outright class Audi 8 failing very early in the piece.

We often talk about the speed differences at Bathurst so it was most interesting watching the wide variety of cars in the 24hr. A few close calls, often caused by faster cars being too impatient and keen to force their way through rather than lifting a little but that seems to be the European way.

I have marked the diary for next year so I don't miss it-not much on the idiot lantern anyway.

[Reload]

Some correspondence with CJ and they are planning on having the new 991 GT3-R entered for next year.

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Reload

Some correspondence with CJ and they are planning on having the new 991 GT3-R entered for next year.

Good to hear

2nd gen Audi R8 LMS-Im certain we'll see this car in someones hands
Bentley returning?
Im sure we'll see a few 458s
Scud with his new Reiter Rexx
Erebus?
Would be nice to see an increased McLaren involvement like in the Gulf 12hrs

[Reload]

Originally Posted by rich07

Good to hear

2nd gen Audi R8 LMS-Im certain we'll see this car in someones hands
Bentley returning?
Im sure we'll see a few 458s
Scud with his new Reiter Rexx
Erebus?
Would be nice to see an increased McLaren involvement like in the Gulf 12hrs

Camaro's

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Reload

Camaro's

Ah yes how I could forget the McMillan cars. Hopefully they enter so I see and hear the Camaro in the flesh. Did someone say Tomas Enge?

[nafe!]

One of the areas that needs some serious improvement at the event is merchandise.

Now I'm not looking at the smaller independent teams when I say this as that kind of thing simply cant be expected of them but Nissan's support of the event showed last year.

They had by far the most amount of official merchandise and the fans lapped it up. I would say Nissan clothing/ umbrellas etc outnumbered every other brand in the crowd and they won fans out of it with a large portion of the crowd cheering when the Nissan gtr took the lead on the start finish straight.

The Liqui Moly official merchandise stand was a great addition out the back and I commend the organisers for this and hope they return again this year.

I would love to see erebus rock up with a decent amount of merchandise, even if its their v8supercar gear, AF Corse with official Ferrari gear, phoenix with audi gear etc.

Lets keep building on the momentum this event has right now!

[Reload]

Totally agree with you nafe and you would think that Erebus would have at least some sort of GT3 merch with their success.

[Reload]

BENTLEY LOOKS set to repeat its trip to Bathurst with two entries for the 2016 Bathurst 12 Hour.
While no announcement is expected for some time, a recent envoy to Australia by key management had nothing but praise for the event and told Auto Action that the marque’s GT3 racing program, now in its second year, is seen as a vital part of its marketing campaign.
Bentley competed in the event for the first time in February, with two Continental GT3-Rs from the UK joining the locally entered Flying B Motorsport car of John Bowe, David Brabham and Peter Edwards. One of the Bentley Team M-Sport entries was right in the fight for the win, the Guy Smith/Steven Kane/Matt Bell car only being pushed back to fourth on the final corner of the 269th and last lap.
In spite of not winning, the team made a big impression, the effect of which was seen right around the world.
“There is more growth in Australia, Australasia and in Southeast Asia, in many ways, than there is anywhere else in the world,” said David Jackson, Bentley’s Regional Manager – South East Asia and Australasia.
“It is for our global customers, not just our Australian customers.”
The 12 Hour resonated highly on social media, not just in the region but across the world.
While Bathurst clearly presents a prime target for Bentley, the brand will also compete in selected rounds of the Asia GT in Malaysia and Thailand this season, partnering with China-based Absolute Racing. Included on Absolute’s driver roster are former F1 driver Alex Yoong and former F1 tester Ho-Pin Tung.

[RedZedMikey]

Originally Posted by rich07

Ah yes how I could forget the McMillan cars. Hopefully they enter so I see and hear the Camaro in the flesh. Did someone say Tomas Enge?

You're in Victoria, you can see and hear the Camaros in the flesh this Saturday 23rd May at the Phillip Island 101. Oh, and about 20 other current GT3s plus another 15 or so older ones .

[old fart]

What a race-full on from the start with a few interesting twists.
The depth of talent right through the field was amazing. More and more Supercar drivers cropping up as co-drivers so guess they are preparing themselves for a future after Supercars.
Tomorrow should be another great day-if only the commentary was a bit better but then the live streaming was excellent.

[Reload]

Bathurst 12H announces driver seeding and class changes

1 June 2015 - Aus GT / Bathurst 12 Hour NewsBathurst 12 Hour organisers have announced a revised driver seeding system and class structure ahead of next February's race Read More

[peckstar]

Good news on the 2.10 time for invitational

Not so sure about 4 drivers, wasn't a fan of that in the past. but maybe the new seeding rules will make this work better

Like that the class structure has changed to just the GT3 and GT4 and invitational classes. Guess the Easter meet helps this

[Hingo]

Seems good to me. Now if they can just sort out the safety car problems it will be perfect.

[scudd]

if I've read it right, it's a total fail.

you can't have a pro-am event when a silver driver is un-seeded.

Dave Russell is a silver, yet did a 3.1 in quali this year.

pro-am must have a bronze driver, it's basic stuff.

only chance a bronze driver can now win outright is to run 3 pros (plenty of pros who are silver) and himself.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by scudd

if I've read it right, it's a total fail.

you can't have a pro-am event when a silver driver is un-seeded.

Dave Russell is a silver, yet did a 3.1 in quali this year.

pro-am must have a bronze driver, it's basic stuff.

only chance a bronze driver can now win outright is to run 3 pros (plenty of pros who are silver) and himself.

trying to work out, do these new regulations tie up with the blancpain driver rules or are we on our own here?

[Reload]

A little more info.



Organizers of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour have announced rules changes for next year’s race, which includes a revised class structure, adoption of the FIA driver classification system, as well as the appointment of Claude Surmont as the event’s technical director.
The event, scheduled for Feb. 5-7, 2016, will see a reduction to four categories, including Class A (GT3, split into Pro-Am and Am), Class B (GT3 Cup Cars), Class C (GT4) and Class I (Invitational).
Cars previously entered in the production car classes will remain eligible to compete in the new combined Invitational category, with a benchmark lap time of 2 minutes and 10 seconds in place.
Additionally, vehicles homologated up to 2015, along with having competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series, will be eligible for next year’s race, ruling out any new GT3 cars that would be homologated for 2016.
The event will continue to use a two-tier driver classification model, although now embracing the FIA’s medallion-based driver rating system.
Platinum and Gold-rated drivers will be considered ‘Seeded’, while drivers of Silver and Bronze status will be ‘Unseeded’.
Entrants in GT3 (Pro-Am) will be allowed a maximum of two seeded, or professional drivers, with the Am subclass only allowing one seeded pilot.
There will be no restrictions on drivers in other classes, with up to four drivers now allowed in all classes.
Adjustments to the minimum and maximum driver times have also been made, with three-driver combinations allowed a maximum driving time of 280 minutes per driver, and four-driver squads 240 minutes per driver.
“Recent changes within the FIA have enabled us to get any driver categorized under the FIA system,” event director James O’Brien said.
“This change now puts the onus on the driver to get classified by the FIA and reduces the burden on the Organizing Committee. We hope this initiative will result in a more transparent, robust and fairer system all round.”
SRO’s Surmont, meanwhile, has been brought on to serve as technical director for the event, which will continue to utilize the Balance of Performance produced for the Blancpain Endurance Series.
“Continuing our collaboration with SRO Motorsports Group, we are pleased to appoint Claude as our technical director for 2016,” O’Brien added.
“His international experience with GT3 machinery should ensure our technical processes are run to the same high standard that all SRO series’ operate at.
“The event has secured its place on the international GT endurance calendar. However, we aim to continue the event’s growth such that it becomes a ‘blue riband race’ attracting the very best teams and drivers from around the world.”
Entries for the race, which will again be broadcast live on the Seven Network in Australia and streamed around the world online, opens on July 1.

[GroupCAction]

So i've had a quick scan over the current FIA DRIVERS' CATEGORIZATION LIST. Below are just some names which people might have heard of or are familiar with here in Oz. Which means they'd be UNSEEDED at Bathurst if they stay the same into next year.

I agree with scudd ... Its an absolute fail... How can these guys below be unseeded !!

David Russell
Nathan Antunes
Nico Bastian
Martin Brundle
Oliver Bryant
Katsumasa Chiyo
Ben Collins
Daniel Gaunt
Peter Hackett
Claudia Hurtgen
Alessandro Latif
Jack Le Brocq
Jono Lester
Michael Lyons
Marco Mapelli
Barton Mawer
Richard Muscat
Darryl O'Young
Michael Patrizi
Harald Primat
Scott Pye
Wolfgang Reip
Marco Seefried
Florian Strauss
Sam Tordoff
Sean Walkinshaw
James Winslow
Luke Youlden

[Alan52]

The race may no longer be a Pro Am event at the front but if it is a blue riband international GT race it shouldn't be.There would be more trouble sustaining and growing an international event if the organisers were going to ignore international driver classification systems.

[scudd]

Originally Posted by GroupCAction

So i've had a quick scan over the current FIA DRIVERS' CATEGORIZATION LIST. Below are just some names which people might have heard of or are familiar with here in Oz. Which means they'd be UNSEEDED at Bathurst if they stay the same into next year.

I agree with scudd ... Its an absolute fail... How can these guys below be unseeded !!

David Russell
Nathan Antunes
Nico Bastian
Martin Brundle
Oliver Bryant
Katsumasa Chiyo
Ben Collins
Daniel Gaunt
Peter Hackett
Claudia Hurtgen
Alessandro Latif
Jack Le Brocq
Jono Lester
Michael Lyons
Marco Mapelli
Barton Mawer
Richard Muscat
Darryl O'Young
Michael Patrizi
Harald Primat
Scott Pye
Wolfgang Reip
Marco Seefried
Florian Strauss
Sam Tordoff
Sean Walkinshaw
James Winslow
Luke Youlden

nice work compiling that list!

without trying to look like I know all some of those shouldn't be silver like pete hackett who should be bronze, don't know some of the others, and if I read right scott pye is a gun so he should be gold. Le Brocq should be bronze, though he is fast enough for silver. I agreed with Betty's husband in Sepang that Le Brocq shouldn't of been seeded when I nearly ran him in Sepang 2013, when Dave Russell was nearly not allowed to run as others complained.
but all these drivers haven't achieved enough yet in the eyes of the FIA to be gold drivers, though many like Dave and the Nismo lads are sure quick enough to be gold.

[GroupCAction]

Originally Posted by scudd

nice work compiling that list!

without trying to look like I know all some of those shouldn't be silver like pete hackett who should be bronze, don't know some of the others, and if I read right scott pye is a gun so he should be gold. Le Brocq should be bronze, though he is fast enough for silver. I agreed with Betty's husband in Sepang that Le Brocq shouldn't of been seeded when I nearly ran him in Sepang 2013, when Dave Russell was nearly not allowed to run as others complained.
but all these drivers haven't achieved enough yet in the eyes of the FIA to be gold drivers, though many like Dave and the Nismo lads are sure quick enough to be gold.

So where would a Tony D'Alberto or a Jamie Whincup fall? TD a Silver, JDub would go straight to Gold??

This is me just being curious to how the system works as scudd you would have alot better idea compared to the rest of us. Does it come down to the amount of races you enter, size of the races & results you've got ??