2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour (Jan 31 - Feb 2)

[Ferrari333SP]

What engine is the Aston Martin using? AMG sourced?

[Armco Bender]

More cars getting destroyed here than in a Fast & Furious movie.

[Ferrari333SP]

That McLaren is fast

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Ferrari333SP

What engine is the Aston Martin using? AMG sourced?

Yes.

Great shootout and some impressive driving....

[johnh875]

Originally Posted by Ferrari333SP

Do we know if there is another live timing source?

Not live timing but the results are at:

http://racing.natsoft.com.au/results/

Click on Circuit Racing at the top of the page then select the meeting from the list and all sessions are available.

I saw the Aston go into the wall this afternoon, glad it wasn't me!

[Maggo]

Originally Posted by johnh875

Not live timing but the results are at:

http://racing.natsoft.com.au/results/

Click on Circuit Racing at the top of the page then select the meeting from the list and all sessions are available.

I saw the Aston go into the wall this afternoon, glad it wasn't me!

Thanks for the results.
For me that timing works: https://timing.71wytham.org.uk/

[E.B]

Seven different manufacturers in the qualifying top 10.... Porsche, McLaren, Mercedes, Nissan, Audi, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.

[Anyopenroad]

The Lambo crash is scarier than the Aston one. As long as a car is moving and shedding parts, it's dissipating energy and the driver should be ok (if bruised) even though the car is destroyed.

But that Lambo was one skip or bounce away from hitting the marshal post or flipping into the crowd. That could have been horrific.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

The Lambo crash is scarier than the Aston one. As long as a car is moving and shedding parts, it's dissipating energy and the driver should be ok (if bruised) even though the car is destroyed.

But that Lambo was one skip or bounce away from hitting the marshal post or flipping into the crowd. That could have been horrific.

Agree, and I guess the Lambo crash will raise questions. You could see the marshals running, but fortunately the car stopped short of their post. It was a bit of a freak accident though, the car (going backwards) bouncing in the gravel/sand, which was sufficient to launch it high enough to climb the tyre wall...... Scary for all concerned.

[MaskedRacer]

What is causing these wrecks? Is it the track itself that lends to it? Van der Zande called out the drivers for it. https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/no...o-drivers-aid/

Stuff like this is what hurts the reputation of this race. Too many safety car to get any rhythm going. The big reason why I always thought the Bathurst 12 hours was an overrated race. Hope I'm wrong, but I can't forsee the race being any better. Somebody is about to lose a whole lot of money in a few hours. And it could make it less appealing for entries in 2021. Wondering if the Bend might be a better location for the ICGT.

[justracing]

Just caught up with the top 10 shoot out, great to see such mix of car/engine combos. Both those accidents looked very frightening and expensive!

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by MaskedRacer

What is causing these wrecks? Is it the track itself that lends to it? Van der Zande called out the drivers for it. https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/no...o-drivers-aid/

Stuff like this is what hurts the reputation of this race. Too many safety car to get any rhythm going. The big reason why I always thought the Bathurst 12 hours was an overrated race. Hope I'm wrong, but I can't forsee the race being any better. Somebody is about to lose a whole lot of money in a few hours. And it could make it less appealing for entries in 2021. Wondering if the Bend might be a better location for the ICGT.

If you move the race to The Bland, you might just as well kill it off completely.

The problem is not the track (or the cars, for that matter), but rather the teams' and drivers' mentality of always going at it 110% - which is pretty much what you have to do to have a shot in such a large and competitive GT3 field. It is, however, also to the detriment of the race itself as it leads to reduced car counts before the race even starts, high attrition during the race and not very much in the way of sustained green flag running.

Personally, I'd limit each manufacturer to one GT3 entry (+maybe a handfull of wildcards for the winners of the other IGTC races and the series championship) and fill up the rest of the field with cars from slower classes such as Porsche Cup and GT4. That way, teams and drivers would be forced to race more conservatively and the race would return to being a true multiclass endurance race.

[Maggo]

If you are used to race on a big parking lot like Paul Ricard you loose the respect for tracks like this (or the Nordschleife) where the walls are close.



On the other hand the BoP makes the cars so even that every 1/100 counts.

But for sure not in free practice

[one five five]

An Aussie does a sensational job to get pole in “Australia’s international endurance race”, and three quarters of Australia can’t watch because this year for the first time the 12hr shootout was hidden away on Pay TV

Hardly progress is it

[fieldodreams79]

Its exceptionally hot and dry on the mountain. These are probably the fastest raceable vehicles there. There's gonna be incidents and accidents and we all know when they happen, they're gonna be big.

Not sure how you're not supposed to push during qualifying. That's what racing is all about.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by one five five

An Aussie does a sensational job to get pole in “Australia’s international endurance race”, and three quarters of Australia can’t watch because this year for the first time the 12hr shootout was hidden away on Pay TV



Hardly progress is it

This kind of stuff is driving me mad. In the states last week, international viewers had better coverage of the Rolex 24 than we did. Madness!!!

[Anyopenroad]

Nurburgring has a bespoke BOP for GT3s to slow them down. Bathurst could do the same. All it takes is a HP reduction. Much preferable to questioning whether GT3s belong there or moving away from such an iconic circuit.

[tux]

Weather forecast looks like it will be cooler for race day by a few degrees so that should help but there’s an 80% chance of rain. Seems if it will rain it will be later in the afternoon

[S griffin]

Judging by the amount of incidents, it seems drivers need to be reminded this is a circuit that needs to be treated rather than some of the modern circuits where you can get away with more

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Nurburgring has a bespoke BOP for GT3s to slow them down. Bathurst could do the same. All it takes is a HP reduction. Much preferable to questioning whether GT3s belong there or moving away from such an iconic circuit.

And instead it looks like the Evo cars for 2020 got more power but also more weight. That doesn't seem like the right direction for this track. That homologation is for GT3 not the track itself like VLN did for their runners.

And Renger had a decent point earlier, is that extra tenth or hundredth worth it with risking the car that much more? If you wreck, you aren't racing here. It's that simple, incidents aren't small slap on new boots and go. They destroy the car. Also, I didn't know he's an insurance guy off track, definitely gives you an idea he'd be more cautious. But then he has won a few endurance races so maybe he knows a bit.

[Maggo]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

And instead it looks like the Evo cars for 2020 got more power but also more weight. That doesn't seem like the right direction for this track. That homologation is for GT3 not the track itself like VLN did for their runners.

And Renger had a decent point earlier, is that extra tenth or hundredth worth it with risking the car that much more? If you wreck, you aren't racing here. It's that simple, incidents aren't small slap on new boots and go. They destroy the car. Also, I didn't know he's an insurance guy off track, definitely gives you an idea he'd be more cautious. But then he has won a few endurance races so maybe he knows a bit.

Yes, but VLN has 10 Races a year and every race are minor tweaks on the BoP. Bathurst is one time a year. That makes it very hard to create a good and fair BoP

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Judging by the amount of incidents, it seems drivers need to be reminded this is a circuit that needs to be treated rather than some of the modern circuits where you can get away with more

Yes, I think they were pushing too hard for the conditions, but on the flip side, Canto has raced in 21 Bathurst 1000s.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by one five five

An Aussie does a sensational job to get pole in “Australia’s international endurance race”, and three quarters of Australia can’t watch because this year for the first time the 12hr shootout was hidden away on Pay TV

Hardly progress is it

Yeah not the shootout but at least the full race will be shown on FTA from start to finish, starting at 5:45am AEDT through to 18.00 on FTA Channel 7 Mate
It is also available to Aussies by live stream through 7Plus Streaming Service

https://7plus.com.au/bathurst-12-hour

[E.B]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

Yes, I think they were pushing too hard for the conditions, but on the flip side, Canto has raced in 21 Bathurst 1000s.

I think the heat would have had something to do with it and the incidents in general.... over 38C ambient and well over 50C track temps yesterday, well above any previous Bathurst weekend I can recall.

[broadrun96]

Just found Bathurst is on the MotorTrend app this afternoon and the wife has cooking classes all day as well. Now if it was just above 45 here and could sit outside with a cigar as well.