2012 Bathurst 12 Hour - 24-26 February

[Shane001]

Yeah I was planning on heading out from Syd on Sat for a look so I could catch the GT's, Sports Sedans and IPRA, then probably stay overnight, watch the first couple of hours from the top then head home. Spewing qualifying is 8:15! Gonna have to get out of bed real real early lol

[nafe!]

Originally Posted by Shane001

Yeah I was planning on heading out from Syd on Sat for a look so I could catch the GT's, Sports Sedans and IPRA, then probably stay overnight, watch the first couple of hours from the top then head home. Spewing qualifying is 8:15! Gonna have to get out of bed real real early lol

The outright cars which are capable of breaking the lap record arent allowed to go past 2.08 in qualifying so unless you really want to see who gets ahead in the other classes i wouldnt bother rushing.

[Shane001]

haha, yeah sadly good point

What a ****ing stupid rule...

[inpitlane]

Originally Posted by KSM86

At the end of Last years race i emailed James Obrien and said Advertising wasnt great. When passing through bathurst you wouldnt of even known there was a race on. I suggest a billboard over the M4 motorway here in sydney. I also suggested to bring the radio Le mans boys down as they were the Murrary walkers of Gt racing. I havnt even seen an ad on the speed tv channel.
At the end of this years race i will email him again and even put in the thread link to this site so he can have a read.

Old saying about Horses and drinking water spring instantly to mind.

[inpitlane]

Originally Posted by Shane001

Yeah I was planning on heading out from Syd on Sat for a look so I could catch the GT's, Sports Sedans and IPRA, then probably stay overnight, watch the first couple of hours from the top then head home. Spewing qualifying is 8:15! Gonna have to get out of bed real real early lol

If you could camp on the top of the mountain, we'd have been far more likely to go.
The cost of accommodation was way too high and camping at the bottom of the hill just doesn't appeal to me.
Imagine waking up Sunday morning, a hearty cooked breakfast, a bottle of champagne and the race begins.
Having said that I still think that not running it from 10am - 10pm Saturday is an act of sheer lunacy.

[Shane001]

Originally Posted by inpitlane

Having said that I still think that not running it from 10am - 10pm Saturday is an act of sheer lunacy.

Why would you run the main event of a weekend of motorsport on the Saturday? So what are they going to qualify on Sunday

Yeah I know, 2:08, qualifying is a pointless exercise anyway lol

[porsche91722]

Originally Posted by TCR

Heading off very early Thursday morning, just gotta get through 3 days of work first. Can't wait

Same here, we are off to Bathurst early Thursday. Looking forward to what should be a brilliant race, only I don't think the Audi's are going to have it all their own way this year.
Gotta agree with previous calls about Radio Le Mans. Not having Hindy and Co on board is a massive failure, especially since they were so keen on being here. Lets hope that the stream is a good one for those here and overseas who will be watching the race via the web. There are no real excuses these days not to get it right. They could certainly follow the lead of the Dubai 24 Hr organizers, who had a faultless stream for the whole race.

[mtpanorama]

Originally Posted by alfacors

There was a guy who was at McPhillamy that did a fantastic egg and bacon roll last year

That may have been my mate Beau, with a white trailer???
I will ask him if he is going up this year.

[KSM86]

We should do a Bathurst 12 hour Ten-tenths meeting. Ive been to one which was at the 2009 Le mans. Great to meet all the forum members.

[nafe!]

Originally Posted by inpitlane

If you could camp on the top of the mountain, we'd have been far more likely to go.
The cost of accommodation was way too high and camping at the bottom of the hill just doesn't appeal to me.
Imagine waking up Sunday morning, a hearty cooked breakfast, a bottle of champagne and the race begins.
Having said that I still think that not running it from 10am - 10pm Saturday is an act of sheer lunacy.

Ive never actually been able to find anything that says camping isnt allowed. Myself and a mate camped up there sat night in 2010 and the gates were open all evening. Woke up early sat morning, packed up the tent and drove down to the ticket booth to buy our tickets for sunday. A few other people did the same.

Though when you see the amount of radio towers and power cables there are and can hear them humming all night in the rain it kind of puts you off camping anywhere near the hill lol.

I completely agree re the 10-10 race on a saturday, attendances would probably be far higher. Im not looking forward to the drive home on sunday evening and then work the next day.

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by KSM86

We should do a Bathurst 12 hour Ten-tenths meeting. Ive been to one which was at the 2009 Le mans. Great to meet all the forum members.

we're up for that...

[mtpanorama]

I can't wait. Car has been rebuilt after sitting idle for 10 years. Ran out of time to track test it, so it's first run will be Friday mornings practice session.
All things going well look for me from mid pack backwards, there are some mighty fast IP cars entered for the weekend

[TCR]

Well it should be easy enough to see on track

Good luck.

[RedZedMikey]

What sort of spectator numbers do we think will turn up? I bought my tickets yesterday - #2042 and 2043 ... was wondering if the first ticket sold was #1, and they rolled from there.

Gotta work Friday, so we leave Melbourne after work, stop half way there, and hit the track lunch time-ish. Looking forward to this, it'll be my first 12 hour, and first time at Bathurst since the 2 24hr races.

And I'm with Brett - 10am-10pm Sat has more appeal to me.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by KSM86

We should do a Bathurst 12 hour Ten-tenths meeting. Ive been to one which was at the 2009 Le mans. Great to meet all the forum members.

I'd be in that . But I think it will be a day trip for me, much as I would like to get there for some of the supports on Saturday .

[GTRMagic]

Armor All Pole Position Award

$5,000... for the team that can get the 3 pilots to an average time closest to 2.08

Any time quicker than this will see 50kg of lead added to the car overnight

Dont see why a team would even bother risking the weight penalty potential...

Be funny if one of the teams, perhaps a delayed one or similar, managed to pump out some laps quicker than this bogey time during the race

[mtpanorama]

Friday 24
th
February
08.00 Formula Ford Drivers Briefing
P1 08.15 – 08.50 35 min Armor All Bathurst 12hr Practice #1
08.30 Saloon Car Drivers Briefing
P2 09.00 – 09.20 20 min Formula Ford Practice
09.00 Sports Sedan Drivers Briefing
P3 09.30 – 09.50 20 min Saloon Car Practice
09.30 Improved Production Drivers Briefing
P4 10.00 – 10.20 20 min Sports Sedan Practice
P5 10.30 – 10.50 20 min Improved Production Practice
P6 11.00 – 11.35 35 min Armor All Bathurst 12hr Practice #2
Q1 11.45 – 12.05 20 min Formula Ford Qualifying
12.15 Armor All Bathurst 12hr Fire Re-fuellers Training Session
12.25 – 13.05 40 min Resident Access
Q2 13.20 – 13.40 20 min Saloon Car Qualifying
Q3 13.50 – 14.10 20 min Sports Sedan Qualifying
Q4 14.20 – 14.40 20 min Improved Production Qualifying
P7 14.50 – 15.25 35 min Armor All Bathurst 12hr Practice #3
R1 15.35 – 15.55 7 laps Formula Ford Race #1
R2 16.10 – 16.30 7 laps Saloon Car Race #1
R3 16.45 – 17.05 20 min Sports Sedan Race #1
R4 17.20 – 17.40 7 laps Improved Production Race #1
Saturday 25
th
February
Q5 08.15 – 09.45 90 min Armor All Bathurst 12hr Qualifying #1
R5 09.55 – 10.15 7 laps Formula Ford Race #2
R6 10.30 – 10.50 7 laps Saloon Car Race #2
R7 11.05 – 11.25 20 min Sports Sedan Race #2
R8 11.40 – 12.00 7 laps Improved Production Race #2
12.25 – 13.05 40 min Resident Access
12.40 – 13.00 20 min Parade Lap
13.20 – 13.50 30 min Ride Session
R9 14.05 – 14.25 7 laps Formula Ford Race #3
R10 14.40 – 15.00 7 laps Saloon Car Race #3
R11 15.15 – 15.35 20 min Sports Sedan Race #3
R12 15.50 – 16.15 9 laps Improved Production Race #3
Q6 16.30 – 17.00 30 min Armor All Bathurst 12hr Qualifying #2
17.30 Armor All Bathurst 12hr Drivers Briefing
Sunday 26
th
February
R13 06.15 – 18.15 12hours Armor All Bathurst 12hr Race

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

$5,000... for the team that can get the 3 pilots to an average time closest to 2.08

Sad that the only real prize money for the category is to be contested by teams who cant put 100% effort.

[osrg]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Be funny if one of the teams, perhaps a delayed one or similar, managed to pump out some laps quicker than this bogey time during the race

I would be fairly confident that almost every one of the outright GT3 cars will go sub 2'.08 at some point during the race....

[nafe!]

I expect to see a lap record from either lowndes or simonsen, bowe and agree that both audi's, both mercs and maybe both lambo's will get well down into the 7's at some point assuming some clear laps come their way.

V8supercars has this article on their website headed by the pic of last years aussie audi.

10:00 PM Mon 20 February, 2012Source: BigPond Sport

THE V8 Supercars Championship may not start until next weekend at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, but a range of V8 Supercar drivers – and endurance co-drivers – can’t help themselves and will get behind the wheel this weekend at Bathurst.

Some of the top V8 Supercars stars - including Craig Lowndes, Steven Johnson and Tim Slade - will tackle the ARMOR ALL Bathurst 12 Hour GT race at Mount Panorama, giving them the perfect chance to get their eye in ahead of next weekend’s V8 Supercars opener.

Lowndes, who finished second in the event last year, will pair with his TeamVodafone endurance partner Warren Luff and reigning Australian GT Champion Mark Eddy in an Audi R8 for the 10th running of the Bathurst enduro.

The trio finished second last year and will again drive a works supported car, though this time for Phoenix Racing, as part of a two-car team.

Tim Slade will also drive a German car, but the Lucky 7 pilot will be in one of the impressive, gullwing-doored Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 AMGs for the Black Falcon team.

The team won the recent Dubai 24 Hour race in January and seems to be the biggest threat to the previously dominant Audis.

“I can’t see why we won’t be going for a win,” Slade said.

“I’ve watched (co-driver Jeroen) Bleekemolen for years in (Porsche) Supercup and A1GP, and Pete (Hackett) has been going really well in the GT Championship so it is a strong combination.

“It’s also a bit of an advantage for me to help my main job – any laps at Bathurst are great, especially in a car that runs at a similar pace to the V8. But I’m excited to be running and working with the Erebus guys and from AMG.”

The two Stevens - Jim Beam Racing’s Steven Johnson and Orrcon Steel Ford Performance Racing enduro pilot Steve Richards - will team with Nathan Tinkler in a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car.

Holden Racing Team enduro ace Cameron McConville will be in a Lamborghini LP560 with factory driver Peter Kox from Austria while Dunlop Series regular David Russell will drive a recently imported Lamborghini LP600.

V8 Supercars Hall of Famer – and reigning Touring Car Masters Champion – John Bowe will share a Ferrari 430 with a driving line-up including 2011 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 podium finisher Allan Simonsen.

Regular V8 enduro ace – and three-time Porsche Carrera Cup champ – Craig Baird will also drive a Ferrari, though for a Malaysian team, while ex-Formula 1 pilot Christian Klien – who drove for The Bottle-O team in the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600 last year – will make his Bathurst debut in a Lotus.

The race will be held at Bathurst this Sunday, beginning at 6.15am local time.

All of the V8 Supercars Championship stars will return to their ‘regular’ roles next weekend for the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 1-4.

Could just be general chat about supercar drivers, or could also be a subtle hint to audi that they would enjoy to have them in their playground from next year on.

[ff s conscience]

Originally Posted by nafe!

I expect to see a lap record from either lowndes or simonsen, bowe and agree that both audi's, both mercs and maybe both lambo's will get well down into the 7's at some point assuming some clear laps come their way.

V8supercars has this article on their website headed by the pic of last years aussie audi.


Could just be general chat about supercar drivers, or could also be a subtle hint to audi that they would enjoy to have them in their playground from next year on.

The slower Lambo 560 already dipped well into the 6s at sprint Bathurst without doing a qualy run.

Scudds faster 600 would surely have too if its test hadn't been interrupted.

[Oldtony]

Originally Posted by KSM86

We should do a Bathurst 12 hour Ten-tenths meeting. Ive been to one which was at the 2009 Le mans. Great to meet all the forum members.

Where abouts and what time.
Leaving here Wed picking up a mate that evening and should be setting up camp Thurs evening.
Us old blokes go a bit slow!

[peckstar]

So does anyone have any diea of the final field, there was discusion that soem cars wont make it, but we have heard nothing sence?

I also noticed a nice trick/accident in the official entry page, show one of the classes twice but in different spots.

means that some media reports are saying there are 33 cars when in fact there are 30 on the entry list

[TCR]

Originally Posted by nafe!

Ive never actually been able to find anything that says camping isnt allowed.

Unfortunately you can't camp on top of the mountain Nafe, says so in their FAQ:

http://www.bathurst12hour.com.au/wp-...ground_faq.pdf

Also no glass bottles which means I'll have to find another way to store my Wild Turkey or just buy another carton of cans

[pplater]

News from the Ferrari camp:

Originally Posted by Maranello PR

With just days until the 2012 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour, the Maranello Motorsport crew have been applying the final touches of livery to their striking Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 GT3 before heading to the mountain where they have already staked a claim with German endurance superstar Simonsen’s record time when their 12 Hour entry was debuted late last year...

This year, the proudly Australian based team brings the all-star line-up of European endurance professionals, Simonsen and Farnbacher, along with Australian racing legend, John Bowe and businessman come race driver, Peter Edwards. The German pilots, sharing vast experience with the 458 machines, are keen to hit one of the world’s most challenging circuits here in Australia, while local driver, Bowe is ready for the year’s first challenge, explaining...

I give it an F.
It doesn't help that photo provided with the press release rightly displays the Danish flag alongside Simonsen's name on the Ferrari's roof. I would have expected Dominik and Allan's first names to a mention (particularly as Peter and John were there), but they're tricky to spell so maybe those were left out.
I should add that cum isn't a dirty word when used in combination, for example bedroom-cum-study.