2013 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour: 8-10 February

[KSM86]

Just got back from bathurst this morning. Wow what a great weekend of racing.
Does anyone know the crowd figures?? Hopefully next year we get a few more euro gt teams. sad to see the z4 go out but to be honest that car didnt look real good all weekend. my heart dropped when i seen scud's lambo in an accident with quinns aston. 1hour race needs to be dropped aswell.

Bring on next year!!

[bluesport]

Originally Posted by Downoz

article by Speed Cafe


http://www.speedcafe.com/2013/02/11/...bal-explosion/

Gotta agree with that article. I can only see this event getting bigger and bigger, hopefully with a full field of GT cars and another separate event for proddies.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by KSM86

Just got back from bathurst this morning. Wow what a great weekend of racing.
Does anyone know the crowd figures?? Hopefully next year we get a few more euro gt teams. sad to see the z4 go out but to be honest that car didnt look real good all weekend. my heart dropped when i seen scud's lambo in an accident with quinns aston. 1hour race needs to be dropped aswell.

Bring on next year!!

The RLM guys said there were ~22,000 people there... about 8,000 on the Sunday...

As a comparison, the live feed had a count of the number of people logged into their site... at its peak, it got over 9,000 active viewers!

[bluesport]

Two very important questions:

1. How was the chardonnay?
2. What colour was Betty's hair?

[Goat Boy]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

The RLM guys said there were ~22,000 people there... about 8,000 on the Sunday...

As a comparison, the live feed had a count of the number of people logged into their site... at its peak, it got over 9,000 active viewers!

Yeah not a huge crowd by the looks but if more international GT teams join we should get more people coming to see it. If it is like this year or better next year then I will seriously consider flying over for it. I watched it on the internet all day, there were a lot of problems for the first hour or so then it ran without a hitch. I imagine some people got put off by the early server crash so numbers could have been higher. Live streams are the way of the future for sure! Far fewer ads too.

I'd like to get rid of the snail classes, make the rule 110 or 115% of qualifying, 130% is way too slow, too much traffic causes safety cars, of which there were an excess and some would argue ruined the Clearwater team's race strategy. But their 3rd driver probably did even more damage to their chances, they might want to get someone like Jonny Reid next year, or Matt Halliday.

I think that the number of safety cars indicates that the circuit needs some more escape areas, and areas where they can park recovery vehicles to quickly enter and exit the circuit. If you have an off and your car is not driveable back to the pits then tough luck, you can sit it out off the circuit until the race finishes.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

I guess you had to be there Pecky to understand.

An amazing day's racing - cant wait for next year. Great buzz around the paddock for the full 3 days of the event.

I'm sure it was enjoyable, I watched 7 hours of it, so iits not i dont have an understanding.

But to say that race was better than last years Bathurst 1000 would be extremely naive.

The racing was nothing special, all real strategy was killed by the 3 hours plus of safety car. and for the last hour the question was , will it rain and if it does will the "gentleman" driver fall of the road so that the guy in 2nd and nearly two laps down can maybe catch up.

That said, i hope it keeps growing, its good for motorsport in Australia. But they need to get rid of the slower cars, there is too much gap between the fastest and the slowest and this is making the race average

[ff s conscience]

I believe the winner had not a scratch on his car, and the second place guy only hit another faster car...

I don't see traffic as a particular problem as such, just in attitudes towards it.

[davelise]

I enjoyed the race. We spend most of the day up at McPhillamy and it was nice to be on the other side of the fence for a change.

I notice SheepStations even got a ride. Good on the officials for letting substitutes run for injured drivers.

[davelise]

Originally Posted by ff s conscience

I believe the winner had not a scratch on his car, and the second place guy only hit another faster car...

I don't see traffic as a particular problem as such, just in attitudes towards it.

Spot on. I wouldn't base your opinion of Seat drivers on what John Bowe said. I saw the accident and it's safe to say if Allan was steering the Ferrari there would have been no incident at all. You need to pass the slower cars safely, give them room, if that means taking your car off line then deal with it.

I think Mr Bowes comments were very offensive and he should be fined for it.

[peckstar]

BATHURST 12 HOUR POISED FOR GLOBAL EXPLOSION

“You don’t need any more cars,” said Truswell. “If anything, you could have less cars and have it as a much more predominately GT race, which would greatly reduce the number of incidents.

I fail to see why anyone who is into GT3 cars wants cars 40 seconds a lap slower circulating at the same time

also from that article

Bathurst organisers will announce later today that their race will continue with its second Sunday in February date for 2014.

[fieldodreams79]

Very much enjoyed the race. Great circuit, great drivers and great cars. I'd watch push carts on the Mountain.

Originally Posted by rich07

Gutted for Scud and the team. What rotten luck for those guys. And for a second year in a row Peter Kox doesnt get to get in the car come race day Bairdo was awesome, ten seconds a lap faster then anyone at times. Brilliant.

Really enjoyed ten tenths chat for the race, great fun as always

Great stuff as always with the 10ths chat room.

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

The RLM guys said there were ~22,000 people there... about 8,000 on the Sunday...

As a comparison, the live feed had a count of the number of people logged into their site... at its peak, it got over 9,000 active viewers!

Once the stream issue was resolved, it worked fantastically! Craillsy, Hindy and Trussers were fantastic in the booth.

Originally Posted by ff s conscience

I believe the winner had not a scratch on his car, and the second place guy only hit another faster car...

Yeah, and Roloff did the last stint without a radio, apparently. Bernd was epic as always-first time in a competition on the Mountain.

I don't see traffic as a particular problem as such, just in attitudes towards it.

Originally Posted by davelise

Spot on. I wouldn't base your opinion of Seat drivers on what John Bowe said. I saw the accident and it's safe to say if Allan was steering the Ferrari there would have been no incident at all. You need to pass the slower cars safely, give them room, if that means taking your car off line then deal with it.

Traffic is always a problem in any endurance race and any circuit such as Bathurst. And I agree with your comments.

[bluesport]

Originally Posted by peckstar

BATHURST 12 HOUR POISED FOR GLOBAL EXPLOSION



I fail to see why anyone who is into GT3 cars wants cars 40 seconds a lap slower circulating at the same time

also from that article

No one does, but the event is in it's infancy and needs cars on the grid. Things will most likely change sometime into the future.

I didn't see any mention of the event on Ch7/Sunrise sport report........poor form from them if that is the case.

[KSM86]

i reckon leave it as class A,B,C AND i3. there was always huge traffic problems up the top. it just depends do u sacrafice a 50 car field for maybe 30 odd gt3 gt4 cars?

[STEALTHY]

I reckon we should make it one class, and a limit of one car in that class. Otherwise there will be too many safety cars

[peckstar]

Good news everyone, Back from the mercedes dealer.

Got a price on an SLS AMG. figured win on Sunday, buy on Monday.

514k. (nearly 100k Luxury car tax). didnt have a big fancy wing on it though. Told the salesman that i saw it in the race yesterday, he said "oh was that on yesterday" It was a nice burgundy colour,

Went up the road to the pug dealer to look at an RCZ. much more affordable

I left in a new 308.

Went passed the commodore dealer on the way home, they had a 2012 plated SS commodore for just over 40k with a rear wing/spoiler

[AussieTimmeh]

Originally Posted by ff s conscience

I don't see traffic as a particular problem as such, just in attitudes towards it.

While I agree with this, it only works if everyone is at a high standard. Look what happened to scudd's Lambo and a few others. Must be heartbreaking to have your race ruined through no fault of your own because people don't give each other racing room.

You could see it all through the support races as well.

It would be hard to rebuild and come back for more of the same treatment.

[Belly13]

Tough luck to Scudd. Car looked good all weekend, was only car apart from Clearwater Ferrari that could've gone with the Merc's all day. Hope to see him back next year.
While I agree somewhat with comments of traffic, etc., my understanding was that when GT's were introduced in 2011, race organisers were on a 5 year plan to make the race a sole GT event anyway... A 3 hour proddie race on the Saturday afternoon sounds alright to me. I do think that 50 cars was a great sight, but where do you draw the line? 30/40/50/60???
All in all, great weekend. Best race I have ever seen at the mountain in all my years of going up there. Something like 16 lead changes among 5 cars during the day, great variety in the race, true endurance racing at its best. Race is getting better every year, will definitely be back in 2014.
By the way, are they releasing a highlights DVD of the race?

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by bluesport

No one does, but the event is in it's infancy and needs cars on the grid. Things will most likely change sometime into the future.

I didn't see any mention of the event on Ch7/Sunrise sport report........poor form from them if that is the case.

Do we need 50 cars on the grid, would 40 be just as good say twenty seconds behind (this would have excluded Class D & E.)

I think the Bathurst track in its current format, with a lack of significant run off areas over the top of the mountain and often a lack of genuine passing areas and reasonable narrow is not suitable to these gaps.

Consider, say Dubai, with massive run off areas, doesnt punish you if a slight mistiming happens. much more suitable for gaps. But bathurst does not have these big run off areas

Yes it has to be built up, but 3 hours of safety cars is not really good promotion for building it up.

Also i reckon it needs a top ten shoot out, just for promotional purposes. no traffic, turn off the minimum time limit for it and set the pole sitter that way.

Then get rid of Q2 and just have it as a warm up/practise session.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by Belly13

?
All in all, great weekend. Best race I have ever seen at the mountain in all my years of going up there. Something like 16 lead changes among 5 cars during the day, great variety in the race, true endurance racing at its best. Race is getting better every year, will definitely be back in 2014.
By the way, are they releasing a highlights DVD of the race?

you really should go to a v8 race then. At the 1000km last year 14 lead changes amongst 11 cars. 1 second seperating the top 2 at the end (not one lap)

That would blow your mind. Less time to buy merchadise though. as they didnt spend quarter of the day sitting behind a safety car

[Reload]

Just got back myself and way too much to tell in full.
Saturday's racing was the worst day of motor racing that i have ever witnessed and i would love to know what percentage of safety car laps were run on the day. At a guess, i would say at least 25-30 %. To give you some idea, the first HQ/Gemini race was set down for an hour and i believe that about 4 laps were not under SC.
Incredibly disappointing for Scud and i hope that this doesn't deter him from having another go as he has the car and the team to give the race a real shot with a little luck. Don't give in mate, don't let it beat you.
The "Mercs" were awesome it was a shame to see the Audi's fall away, the Z4 have a short day and loved the sound of the Daytona.
The highlight for me was the look on my young blokes face when Mika Salo sat at the table next to ours at a local restaurant...... priceless.
Special mention to Warren Luff who we chatted to for ages on Saturday. Not too many nicer guys in the paddock.
Bring on next year.

[Swedish Brick]

I thought it was an awesome race. Didn't get to watch as much as I wanted though.
To me slower traffic and classes has always been part of the racing. I love it.
Idon't think the classes are as much a problem as the part time drivers are. But without them your have much fewer cars.
Its all good saying make it gt only, but you need enough in the market to fill a field to have a viable event.
Reckon it could ever become part of a world champs? Wouldnt that be cool.

Peckstar, the biggest issue I have with the 1000 is its over to soon.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by Swedish Brick

I thought it was an awesome race. Didn't get to watch as much as I wanted though.
To me slower traffic and classes has always been part of the racing. I love it.
Idon't think the classes are as much a problem as the part time drivers are. But without them your have much fewer cars.
Its all good saying make it gt only, but you need enough in the market to fill a field to have a viable event.
Reckon it could ever become part of a world champs? Wouldnt that be cool.

Peckstar, the biggest issue I have with the 1000 is its over to soon.

I agree with the 1000, it is too short now. I am a fan of longer races. But the lbulk of the last 7 or 8 bathurst have been awesome races with fantastic finishes

And i also dont have issues with there being traffic. I just think that 40 second gaps and passing the same car every 3 to 4 laps is too much, especially at Bathurst with its lack of run off. A smaller field is not necessary a bad thing (i wish the 1000 was bigger, but it does have quality) yesterdays race would have ben improved by a smaller but higher average speed field (say 40 cars)

[bluesport]

Originally Posted by peckstar

Do we need 50 cars on the grid, would 40 be just as good say twenty seconds behind (this would have excluded Class D & E.)

I think the Bathurst track in its current format, with a lack of significant run off areas over the top of the mountain and often a lack of genuine passing areas and reasonable narrow is not suitable to these gaps.

Consider, say Dubai, with massive run off areas, doesnt punish you if a slight mistiming happens. much more suitable for gaps. But bathurst does not have these big run off areas

Yes it has to be built up, but 3 hours of safety cars is not really good promotion for building it up.

Also i reckon it needs a top ten shoot out, just for promotional purposes. no traffic, turn off the minimum time limit for it and set the pole sitter that way.

Then get rid of Q2 and just have it as a warm up/practise session.

3 hours of safety cars leaves 9 hours of racing.........the glass is 3/4 full, not 1/4 empty.

[bluesport]

Originally Posted by Reload

Just got back myself and way too much to tell in full.
Saturday's racing was the worst day of motor racing that i have ever witnessed and i would love to know what percentage of safety car laps were run on the day. At a guess, i would say at least 25-30 %. To give you some idea, the first HQ/Gemini race was set down for an hour and i believe that about 4 laps were not under SC.
Incredibly disappointing for Scud and i hope that this doesn't deter him from having another go as he has the car and the team to give the race a real shot with a little luck. Don't give in mate, don't let it beat you.
The "Mercs" were awesome it was a shame to see the Audi's fall away, the Z4 have a short day and loved the sound of the Daytona.
The highlight for me was the look on my young blokes face when Mika Salo sat at the table next to ours at a local restaurant...... priceless.
Special mention to Warren Luff who we chatted to for ages on Saturday. Not too many nicer guys in the paddock.
Bring on next year.

Hey there Reload.........glad you and your son enjoyed it.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by bluesport

3 hours of safety cars leaves 9 hours of racing.........the glass is 3/4 full, not 1/4 empty.

well if you consider the guy in the lead trundling around 5 seconds a lap slower than the guy in second because he is a lap ahead racing well then good luck to you

Seriusly Bluesport, Do you really want 3 hours of Safety car?

If you are any sort of racing fan then the answer is no. For the Race to go ahead we have to reduce the amount of time spent under safety car.

So start thinking of ways to make it happen and stop excusing what you dont accept in the v8 race