2011 Bathurst 12 Hour

[racer69]

Originally Posted by peckstar

i reckon if you go back to every 12 hour thread on her there are prople complaining about the eligibility, based on what you are suggesting then the race should not be happening

None of the previous four 12hrs have had rules that said local competitors could only run old cars whilst overseas entries were allowed to run new cars (as has been suggested in recent posts).

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

The failure of a tv network and title sponsor to buy into the event it what brought it to its knees. As racer suggests the unstable regulations would have been a factor in this.

It was cyclical in my opinion. The sponsors wouldn't buy in because apart from the two Monaro's the pointy end of the field was quite slim, as none of the top teams seemed to be allowed the freedom's that Holden were with the Monaro, and because they didn't enter then therefore no sponsors were keen etc etc..... all this meant was RP was propping it up....

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by peckstar

The regulations may have been a factor, but they may not have also or may have been a really minor factor

Thanks for the spine tingling insight peck.

In regards to the unstable regs, the fact that competitors were suggesting they wouldnt return unless there were changes is probably an indicator of what was facing Palmer and the event.

[davo.]

Talking about regulations, I'm very confused by the eligibility, especially class C and I.

In class I you have the Shelby Mustang GT500 and Nissan 370Z, in class C you have the Ford Mustang FR 500c and the Nissan 350Z. What the heck!!!!!

Why not go back to the days of dividing cars by price as well as power to weight, not production car championship classes.

eg lets say

Class C - (anything above $150,000) that is competitive to Nissan GTR, say corvette. cars that could qualify between 2.20 - 2.25

class D (cars between say $60,000 - $150,000 anything below Nissan GTR)
include STI, Evo, HSV GTS, BMW 135i, FPV F6, Nissan 370Z, lotus exige cup 260, Audi TT RS, BMW M3. cars that could qualify between say 2.25 - 2.30/35, also allow group n Subaru sti's, ford focus RS

Class E - SS, xr6T, xr8, 130i and even overseas models such as mugen honda civic
2.35 - 2.42

Class F 2.42 - 2.49

What do you think?

Also allow proddies to run slicks to quicken times

[GTRMagic]

In AA today, there is a suggestion that Mr Bright & Mr Halliday are likely to team up in Mr Halliday's MRS Racing Porsche 911 for the B12 next year

Oddly enough, this discussion does not take account of the driver seeding challenge...

[David Towe]

Originally Posted by Belly13

It's shaping up as being a massive event. February 4-6 2011.
GT interest from at home and abroad, Production interest surprisingly up given the threatened boycott at this year's event.
Already Formula Vee and Improved Production are confirmed as support categories, with another 2/3 categories set to be announced in the coming months.

Group A/C is a definite maybe too.

[D.R.T.]

That would be an outstanding addition to the event.

[Sheep Stations]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

In AA today, there is a suggestion that Mr Bright & Mr Halliday are likely to team up in Mr Halliday's MRS Racing Porsche 911 for the B12 next year

Oddly enough, this discussion does not take account of the driver seeding challenge...

Any V8SC driver is seeded and even if Halliday's NZ, US or Porsche Supercup drives/results aren't on the seeding reg's as such, the ultimate decision on whether someone is a seeded driver lies with the organisers.

So don't expect this pairing to happen...shame

[B24]

Based on what is being written here, it is annoying to see the event being restricted from it full potential if these are the facts.
Im sure that Stephen Ratal's series runs with one pro driver and one gentleman driver.
Is the B12 following the same guidelines?

[cptkablamo]

Im sure that Stephen Ratal's series runs with one pro driver and one gentleman driver.
Is the B12 following the same guidelines?

Yes, for the GT cars, only 1 of the 3 drivers can be a pro/seeded.

See this article (ref: just under the 2nd pic)

[Alan52]

Sports Sedans look like being the 5th and final support category at the 12 Hour.The ad for the meeting in the Muscle Car Masters program listed them as one of the supports.I hope the GroupA/C fields more resemble those at the Masters rather than what turned up to Bathurst this Easter.

[David Towe]

I must have missed something Alan52, we had 23 cars at the mountain at Easter time and apart from the lack of Fords there was a reasonable mix I thought? Sure it wasn't the 48 cars that we had at Muscle Car Masters but it wasn't that bad was it?

[RotorFan]

"In 2011 each driver entered in a competing vehicle will be required to set a lap time during qualifying.

These times will then be amalgamated to create the starting time for that vehicle, placing an emphasis on finding three evenly-matched drivers who can team up to create the lowest aggregate time for their car."

[Belly13]

Apparently the first entry for the race has been received. Anyone have any ideas on who it might be or heard any word?

[rich07]

Apparently a Malaysian Porsche GT3R has already been entered-could be one and the same, or could be different.

[davo.]

First entry goes to Paul Freestone in his Chev Corvette in class C. Co-drivers are rally ace Neal Bates and Paul's lead mechanic Hayden Pullen.

There is also talk that a contingent of drivers from the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge are working towards entries for the race. Matt Kingsley is among competitors looking to enter as well as Yuey Tan with another asian carrera cup competitor.

[rich07]

Nice car that Corvette, great to have Neal Bates driving too.

[davo.]

Dean Grant will be entering his Vodka O Mosler with Max Twigg and Geoff Emery as co-drivers.

Any word of other combinations

[David Towe]

I know of one top runner of recent years who is not entering as a protest to the GT cars being allowed. His rationale is why would we spend $100k to build a better car and $30k for the meeting to run mid field and get bugger all TV? I have to say I see his point.

[mtpanorama]

Originally Posted by David Towe

I know of one top runner of recent years who is not entering as a protest to the GT cars being allowed. His rationale is why would we spend $100k to build a better car and $30k for the meeting to run mid field and get bugger all TV? I have to say I see his point.

And from some of the chatter I heard over the weekend he is not the only one. Apparently the entries are a lot slower coming in than they have been in previous years.

[David Towe]

You can't blame these guys, they've supported the race for years and have had plans to better themselves only to have those plans torn apart by the entry of the GT cars. Does anybody really want them?

[Sheep Stations]

Its still class based racing guys...only difference is theres now something a little more exciting than an Evo fest...

The comments about bugger all tv from sooks who had the event to themselves in previous years is hilarious. Was there any whining from non-ouright production car entries about this?...no...and they still got plenty of coverage anyway.

Sepang, Dubai...all over the world they have enduros with a mix of GT and production classes. But over here we whine about it...gee we're special.

[applecart]

Originally Posted by Sheep Stations

Its still class based racing guys...only difference is theres now something a little more exciting than an Evo fest...

The comments about bugger all tv from sooks who had the event to themselves in previous years is hilarious. Was there any whining from non-ouright production car entries about this?...no...and they still got plenty of coverage anyway.

Sepang, Dubai...all over the world they have enduros with a mix of GT and production classes. But over here we whine about it...gee we're special.

which class are you running in at this event?

[cptkablamo]

It was hard to see the Bathurst 12 Hour event progressing with the cars they had. I can see how the top 5 cars could be annoyed...but that is only 5 cars - other than that, they were mid field or class wins anyway - so the term vocal minority comes to mind.

I don't think we can expect the world from the 2011 event to be honest. It will probably take a bit of time to gather itself. You only have to look at the Hungary 12 Hours on the weekend. They had 23 cars - a small field for a race like that, but it was good racing, but has room to grow.

I don't think it would be unfair to say that the TV audience was small and the crowd was small for 2010 and previous races. If the TV and live crowd grows, as hopefully it will, won't it be better value to those top production cars to be seen by more people, even if they do have a reduction in 'presence'?

[Sheep Stations]

Originally Posted by applecart

which class are you running in at this event?

Not my go personally. Would rather race a full season than blow the annual budget in one go. But I know what I'd rather watch...

Sepang 2007 from 92 entries, 2 Civics finished in top 5 from memory behind a winning 996 RSR.
Production car guys here need to have some imagination and a bit of daring rather than crying like little girls.

[Wood-duck]

[QUOTE=Sheep Stations;2774090]Its still class based racing guys...only difference is theres now something a little more exciting than an Evo fest...[QUOTE]

What car won the race last year ?