The Australian GT season-opening Clipsal 500 event on the streets of Adelaide might still be three weeks away, but a large percentage of the 34-car field that’s entered for the first event of the year are at Mount Panorama this weekend for the annual Bathurst 12-Hour.
There are no less than 35 Australian GT regulars entered in the field, with those 35 drivers sharing driving duties in 17 of the cars that will be on the grid in Adelaide.. half the field!
Expected to lead the charge on the mountain were former champions Maranello Motorsport, with 2014 Townsville recruit Tony D’Alberto joining 2014 12-Hour winner Mike Salo and Ben ‘The Stig’ Collins, however heavy contact with a slower car coming down to Forrest’s Elbow in opening practice has eliminated the reigning title holders, leaving them negotiating for a replacement ride ahead of qualifying.
Despite their demise, 2013 race winners Erebus Motorsport have both their race winning Erebus Motorsport SLS AMG GT3s on the grid with a raft of young driving talent behind the wheel which includes reigning Australian GT champion Richard Muscat, and multiple series race winner Jack Le Brocq.
There are a number of AGT teams in contention for outright victory, including the ever-expanding Melbourne Performance Centre [MPC] Audi team. There are two 2014-spec Audi R8 ultras for JAMEC-PEM Racing although that team’s newest recruit – 2-time Bathurst 12-Hour winner – Christopher Mies will be in a different MPC Audi this weekend.
Mies was one of the stars of practice, topping the final session of the opening day with a best of 2:05.3280, but top honours went to AGT part-timers JBS Swift, with David Russell topping the timesheets in the Roger Lago Lamborghini he shares with Lago and Steve Owen in session #3 – 2:04.2332.
Whilst Mies is sharing with dual Australian GT champion Mark Eddy and team-mate Marc Cini at Bathurst, the German star will take the reigns of the #74 JAMEC-PEM Audi which this weekend will be driven by Warren Luff, Alessandro Latif and returning AGT regular, Greg Crick.
Team-boss Steve McLaughlan is leading a crew that includes former Trophy class rivals Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow, whilst the new Skwirk/Beechwood Audi R8 of 2-time 12-Hour winner Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes has 4-time Le Mans winner (and last year’s Bathurst 1000 runner-up) Oliver Gavin alongside for the weekend and they’ve been well inside the top ten throughout practice.
Peter Fitzgerald is back for a full program of AGT in 2015, with another MPC R8 that has been upgraded to 2014-spec. Fitzgerald is no stranger to Mount Panorama, and will be joined by Highlands partner Michael Almond, and New Zealander Matt Halliday for the event, before taking over the reigns himself for an assault on the GT Championship.
Throw in 2014 Bathurst 12-Hour front-runners Justin McMillan and Steve Richards (joined by former AGT race winner Craig Baird) in the Interlloy Lamborghini, and dual Australian GT champion Klark Quinn alongside Tony Quinn and McLaren factory driver Kevin Estre in the Darrell Lea MP4-12C, and the new Trass Family Motorsport Ferrari team from New Zealand, and you have any number of AGT regulars who could be on the top step of the podium this weekend.
Whilst the battle for outright contention at Bathurst will be the focal point for many, there will be no less focus from the contenders in the other classes. Much like the four classes that make up the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli, the 12-Hour features six classes, two of which are classified Class A – one for Pro-Am, and one for Am – which is where the outright podium place-getters will come from.
In Class B however, there are a number of AGT regulars in contention including 2014/15 Challenge class runner-up Matt Kingsley in the Wall Racing Porsche 997 Cup S he shares with Paul Tressider and Daniel Bilski, the Koundouris brothers (Theo and James), new AGT recruit Richard Gartner, and Porsche stalwart John Goodacre, whilst Championship class contender Ross Lilley will also share a Porsche Cup Car looking for Class B honours.
In Class C it’s great to see the return of the mighty Donut King Lotus Exige-R of Tony Alford, the car completely repaired after an unfortunate off at Sydney Motorsport Park last season whilst leading the GT Sports championship points. Alford will share driving duties with regular co-drivers Mark O’Connor and Peter Leemhuis, whilst Alford’s GT4 rivals last year, Tony Martin and Grant Bromley will share Martin’s mighty Ginetta GT4 with new Championship class contender Michael Hovey in Class D.
And whilst unable to make the grid in his gorgeous BMW-powered Ascari KZR1, Keith Kassulke will be on the grid in the MARC Focus V8 that he has been campaigning across the middle east and Europe over the last 12-months, as one of three cars in that team capable of taking the Class I win.
Keep in touch with the Australian GT social media this weekend as we update you on the progress of the various teams competing in the Bathurst 12-Hour, and switch on to Channel 7 on Sunday, for live coverage of the event on 7-mate and Channel 7, starting from 5:30am (Sydney and Melbourne).
www.twitter.com/AustralianGT [#AustralianGT]
www.facebook.com/AustralianGT
———————————————————————-
2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour
Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSW (6-8 February)
Schedule: [AEDST - GMT +11]
Friday, 6 February
8:15am – Practice #1 (60-minutes)
11:25am – Practice #2 (60-minutes)
1:35pm – Practice #3 (60-minutes)
4:15pm – Practice #4 (60-minutes)
Saturday, 7 February
7:45am – Practice #5 (60-minutes)
12:55pm – Qualifying #1 (60-minutes)
2:05pm – Qualifying #2 (20-minutes)
Sunday, 8 February
5:50am – Bathurst 12-Hour – Race (12-hours)
———————————————————————-
Australian GT teams entered in the 2015 Bathurst 12-Hour
2. Fitzgerald Racing (Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Peter Fitzgerald/Michael Almond/Matt Halliday
5. Skwirk/Beechwood (Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes/Oliver Gavin
6. Safe-T-Stop (Porsche GT3 Cup Car) – Class B
Richard Gartner/Michael Hector/Garth Duffy/Aaron Zerefos
7. GWR Australia (Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3/Pirelli) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Dean Grant/Ash Samadi/Max Twigg
8. Flying B Racing (Bentley Continental GT3) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Peter Edwards/John Bowe/David Brabham
9. Hallmarc Motorsport (Audi R8 GT3 ultra) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Marc Cini/Mark Eddy/Christopher Mies
21. Motorsport Services (Porsche GT3 Cup Car) – Class B
Sam Fillmore/Danny Stutterd/Ross Lilley
27. Trass Family M’sport (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Jono Lester/John McIntyre/Graeme Smyth
29. Trofeo Motorsport (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Jim Manolios/Ivan Capelli/Ryan Millier
32. JBS Swift (Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3) – Class A (GT3 Pro-Am)
Roger Lago/David Russell/Steve Owen
36. Erebus Motorsport (Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) – Class A (GT3 Pro-Am)
Jack LeBrocq/Richard Muscat/Dean Canto
38. Wall Racing (Porsche GT3 Cup S) – Class B
Paul Tressider/Daniel Bilski/Matt Kingsley
47. Supabarn Racing (Porsche 997 Cup S) – Class B
James Koundouris/Theo Koundouris/Marcus Marshall/Sam Power
48. Interlloy/M-Motorsport (Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3) – Class A (GT3 Pro-Am)
Justin McMillan/Steve Richards/Craig Baird
50. Team LHI (Porsche GT3 Cup Car) – Class B
Nick Cresswell/Terry Knight/John Goodacre/Jeff Bobik
51. AMAC Motorsport (Porsche GT3-R) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Andrew Macpherson/Brad Shiels/Matthew Campbell
54. Donut King (Lotus Exige Cup R) – Class C
Tony Alford/Mark O’Connor/Peter Leemhuis
59. VIP Holdings (McLaren MP4-12C GT3) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Tony Quinn/Klark Quinn/Kevin Estre
63. Erebus Motorsport (Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Nathan Morcom/Austin Cindric/Simon Hodge
73. TM Motorsport (Ginetta G50 GT4) – Class C
Tony Martin/Michael Hovey/Grant Bromley/Robert Hackwood
74. JAMEC-PEM Racing (Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Allesandro Latif/Warren Luff/Greg Crick
75. JAMEC-PEM Racing (Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra) – Class A (GT3 Am)
Steve McLaughlan/James Winslow/Dean Koutsoumidis
88. Maranello Motorsport (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) – Class A (GT3 Pro-Am)
Mika Salo/Tony D’Alberto/Ben Collins
91. MARC Cars Australia (MARC Focus GTC) – Class I
Keith Kassulke/Jake Camalleri/Ivo Breukers