‘The momentum for this exciting initiative has come from our drivers and entrants and it is a natural progression for the expansion of the GT category and brand to compete in the 12 hour at the iconic Bathurst circuit. A race of this nature is what GT cars are all about’, GT Directors Martin Wagg, Rachael Wagg and Terry Little said.

‘The GT Championship has grown tremendously in recent years and these vehicles will now join production cars in the 12 Hour Race enabling the Event to grow further including the attraction of an international audience’, James O’Brien said.

O’Brien added that when the 12 Hour was reintroduced in 2007, it was always the intention to incorporate GT vehicles however the timing had to be right. The introduction of GT vehicles will assist in attracting more competitors, more spectators and a larger viewing audience via television and the internet.

‘The Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour has the capacity for a 72 car grid, and with 42 cars entered for the 2010 Event we are targeting a 50 plus entry for 2011’, he said.

All divisions within Australian GT, namely GT Championship (GT3), GT Challenge, and GT Production will be eligible for the Event.

Australian GT participation in the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour will be as a stand alone event and will not be part of the 2011 Vodka O GT Championship that is likely to commence again at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

The inclusion of GT cars in the Event has been endorsed by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS).

Graham Fountain Chief Executive Officer CAMS said today: ‘‘The GT Category has proven to be spectacular and its inclusion will significantly enhance the standing of the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour’.

The likelihood of international drivers and teams participating in the Race is high with Irish international driver Hector Lester greeting the news enthusiastically.

Speaking at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne today where he is competing in the Cleanevent Vodka O Round 2 of the Australian GT Championship Lester who finished second in the 2010 British GT Championship said: “If the Event is promoted well to overseas drivers well in advance they will be interested. There is absolutely no downside to the announcement and the timing of such an Event means it is possible for internationals to consider it’,

Tony Quinn, a veteran of two Bathurst 24 hours races and three Bathurst 12 hour events in addition to competing at Nurburgring is thrilled with the announcement.

‘In global terms Bathurst is an iconic circuit. There will be no problem running GT cars with production cars at a circuit like Bathurst and I will be there with the Mosler and will most likely also enter another car’, Quinn added.

The fifth running of the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour will be held in February next year.

This year’s race was won by Garry Holt, John Bowe and Paul Morris (BMW 335i) covering 1254 kilometres through rain, fog and even the obstacle of a fallen tree in the most grueling Race to date.

Day two is race day at Phillip Island and the threat of storms and rains were in the backs of the minds of the drivers.

An overnight engine change for the Sports Alive/WA Freightlines entry of Tony Bates had the driver in an upbeat mood. “Game on, it’s game on” said an effervescent Bates, sitting third in the championship.

The Bancroft team, unable to run Q2, had diagnosed an oil pump shaft failure as the reason. A small part, it was almost a miracle that another team, on the verge of tossing a spare, had decided to keep one. A grateful Team Bancroft are now looking forward to their hitout for race one.

Second round racer Garth Duffy from Axent Racing was confident some minor handling issues from Saturday have been rectified, with Duffy saying the car is ready to be driven harder. Team owner Geoff Fontaine was looking at the skies, with light but steady rain before race one, blanketing the circuit, with Fontaine saying he’d be watching the younger drivers, especially the former karters, performing acts on track defying the laws of physics. Nick Parker was also quietly confident his car would run well, after hub seal and electrical problems on Saturday appeared ready to dent his chances.

Pole sitter for race one, Scott Andrews, was eager to get out on circuit and said the back part of the 4.5km track was a technically demanding but enjoyable piece of racing real estate.

Sitting next door for race one is Daniel Orr, expressing a little trepidation about the greasiness of the track but confident being on P2 would allow him to steer clear of any carnage behind him.

Commodore Cup race debutante, Matt Hayes, coming from a karting background, was optimistic about his first race, saying he’d take a lap or two to accustom himself to the car regardless of conditions.

Quietly spoken Allan Hill was also happy with his race preparation, with his Worksense Workwear entry as ready as it could be. Former West Australian based driver Josh Hughes was in the same boat, with no issues of note for the team.

Race 1
Polesitter Andrews was jumped on the start by Nick Parker (their electrical miss caused by a loose fuse holder) and Adam Lloyd while P2 holder Orr slipped back to fourth. Parker and Lloyd then commenced an enthralling battle for the next eight laps while behind them all appeared clean until lap 5 when Orr received a light tap from Tony Bates. Orr was sitting comfortably ahead of Bates and Beechey in the mid pack, falling back to 16th and ultimately finishing 12th with a courageous comeback. Bates himself went off at turn two on the next lap, reappearing with a heap of side and front end damage, missing his front right bumper assembly completely. Allan Hill decided, at races end, with his tongue firmly planted in cheek, that as he wasn’t going to win, he’d spin his car to provide some entertainment.
Rally experienced driver Chris Stevenson again showed his wet weather nous, climbing his way from 13th to finish 5th, with a smooth and consistent drive. Josh Hughes, at one point sitting in the lower mid pack, found a nice turn of mid race speed to claim sixth, just ahead of a clearly delighted Ross McGregor. One of the series administrators, McGregor, bemoaned the greasy conditions yet was obviously happy with his 7th. The top ten rounded out with Fontaine, Wakefield Park round winner Beechey and Matt Chick. Garth Duffy was patient during most of the race, having only one excursion while race newcomer Mat Hayes was glad to have one race under his belt and said wryly “Now I can dent the car”.
Bancroft, Tancredi and Bates in his damaged car rounded out the finishers, with Scott Andrews the new series leader.

Race 2
Hard Charger contender Chris Stevenson put his rallying skills to the test at the end of lap one, where it looked like there was contact between he and Josh Hughes, getting the Aerial Motors racing entry flying to the right side of the track, across the gravel trap and into the tyre barrier, damaging the front and rear of the car on the left as he’d pun coming across. The impact also smashed the left rear quarter window and finished removing his rear bumper. Chris himself was ok but said afterwards he’d wrapped both arms around himself and hung on.

Yet another classic duel between two front running drivers, this time between ultimate winner Scott Andrews and Adam Beechey, with Andrews pulling off a gutsy passing move heading into the sweeping turn 1 late in the race. Andrews said he wasn’t sure he’d make it through as Beechey had left his brake move late, forcing Scott to do the same, with one front tyre on the grass. Somehow he made it stick and claimed the win.

Adam Lloyd got caught up in a Bates sandwich, shortly after Daniel Orr had jinked left to avoid a braking Bates. Orr went wet then dry and the subsequent grip fired the front right of his car into the left front door of Garth Duffy, showering the Queenslander in glass and forcing a visit to pit lane to racetape the door closed, as the impact had broken the hinges. The delay cost Duffy points, being classified as a DNF (points awarded for place finish minus ten for DNF) due to finished just five of the eight laps and the damage to Orr’s car forcing another third race non start. Just after this Bates then went right and collected Adam Lloyd’s left, unable to do anything as Lloyd had been unsettled by a moving Domaschenz.

Allan Hill and Anthony Tancredi were unable to start, with Hill suffering a five stitch cut to his thumb before race start and Tancredi battling more carbie problems.

McGregor varied between fourth and sixth, finishing fifth after some classic driving between he and Jason Domaschenz. Fontaine’s Axent Racing entry got tagged on the right rear necessitating some panel work while the Brian Bancroft car managed to avoid all the carnage and stayed damaged free to finish eleventh.

Race Three

A scintillating finish, with eight laps of toe to toe racing between Andrews and Parker. With no quarter given it was Parker that held out a grimly determined Andrews, unable to find the chink in the armour that Parker had enveloped his car in. Andrews rued his missed start, having pole but missing the opportunity off the line to consolidate and paid the price at race end. Adam Beechey had similar issues for third, with both Adam Lloyd and Josh Hughes vying for the place. Beechey was lucky not to go off when his car was unsettled by a racing nudge from Lloyd coming into the main straight.

Jason Domaschenz, a quiet achiever on the weekend, was black flagged along with Fontaine, with both drivers adjudged having jumped the start. Chris Stevenson’s gearbox problems resurfaced, finishing two laps down. Mathew Hayes finished strongly, gaining confidence and experience in each race. Matt Chick’s average weekend didn’t disappoint, in that respect, with the #7 car finishing eighth in R3. Ross McGregor, winner of the Hard Charger award, finished tenth.
Tony Bates’ weekend went from shocking to abysmal, with the car getting a broken rim. Brian Bancroft finished unscathed whereas Anthony Tancredi’s battle worn VH sported new scars on the chin, courtesy of an impact with Allan Hill, continuing a rotten weekend, suffering a badly dented right rear quarter, finishing 14th.
Daniel Orr’s run of not making race three continued, with the two man operation not able to fix the damage from race two.

Parker took the round with Andrews now leading the series, leaving the door open for an exciting battle at Mallala at the end of May.

Dave Conole
Commodore Cup Commentary.

Practice sessions kicked off the day and Australia’s one make V8 series, the Commodore Cup, sponsored this weekend by Southern Star Windows, was first out onto the track. 17 entrants, ranging from experienced campaigner Geoff Fontaine to debutante Matt Hayes, had the opportunity to enjoy the cool conditions.

Matt Chick ran mid pack in the practice and the car suffered a repeat of an issue during the media drives on Friday. The right rear hub seal blew as Matt was completing lap 6. Allan Hill had a front end vibration, with Hill hopeful it was only the flat spot on his front left. Daniel Orr, who retired in the last event at Wakefield Park, with a camshaft issue, delivered a solid run for second in practice, just under two tenths from Scott Andrews, quickest with a 1.49.08 to Orr’s 49.52.

Chris Stevenson in the Aerial Motors Racing said the rear end went away in the second half of his runs, coming down to either old tyres or higher pressures. Adam Beechey, returning to the island for the first time in a Commodore, ran a creditable 1.49.95 for fourth quickest in practice.

The Axent Racing duo of Garth Duffy and Geoff Fontaine showed almost identical times, with Garth less than a tenth quicker for ninth overall, posting a 1.50.74 to Fontaine’s 1.50.81.

Jason Domaschenz delivered a solid third for practice, with Tony Bates, in his newly sponsored Sports Alive entry, placing fifth in practice. Young gun pair of Nick Parker, running with new sponsorship from Ray White Commercial, and Josh Hughes started the 1.50 rush, with six cars in the bracket, including Adam Lloyd in eighth, on a 1.50.51.

Newcomer to the series, Matt Hayes, in his very first hitout in a Commodore Cup entry and running the VH shell to gain experience before upgrading to the VS later in the season, laid down a 1.53.45 for thirteenth, just ahead of Brian Bancroft in the LBC Motorsport vehicle, with a 1.57.48.
Matt comes to the Commodore Cup with an extensive karting background, including designing and test driving, plus a number of wins (6 state titles, 3 City of Melbourne titles) and has decided on the series as his way of making it to the Supercar fraternity.

Ross McGregor had an oil surge issue, perplexing the crew and Anthony Tancredi rounded out the field, with a disappointed Tancredi completing just the one lap.

Qualifying Session 1

It was déjà vu all over again for Scott Andrews, who lead the time sheets for qualifying session 1. Andrews, with his eyes firmly on his second pole for 2010, banked a 1.48…. just a half second ahead of a quietly happy Daniel Orr. Andrews said he was happy with his driving, concentrating on getting his marks and throttle points right. Andrews also thanked his engineer, Sean Stuart, as he felt the car was smoother to drive. Looking towards Q2, Andrews said he would wait until roughly half way through, venturing out if he felt his time was under threat.

The quietly spoken Orr was happy with his run although he mentioned tyre pressures may have held him back. Orr said the car was running fine but a little oversteer affected his run throughout the circuit.

Nick Parker came in with the #39 car leaking fluid at the differential, with Nick saying this was a repeat problem and may look at installing his previous unit. Veteran driver Ross McGregor had an all wheels off excursion, reporting later the car was fine, but the driver wasn’t.

Brian Bancroft came in towards the end of qualifying, with lubrication problems caused by a failing oil pump while Allan Hill struggled with a power loss. He’d changed his carbie only to find it was running rich, needing some fine tuning on the jets. Gravity was playing tricks for Tony Bates, with his car, somehow, coming in underweight. A clearly frustrated Bates was at a loss to figure out how this had occurred given the team had ensured all components, including the driver, appeared to be of at least the minimum requirement.

Frustration too for the Commodore Cup entry of Anthony Tancredi, with a team member simply saying “it’s just not running right”. It was a common theme for the Axent Racing duo of Garth Duffy and Geoff Fontaine, with Duffy, although delighting in his first visit to the iconic track, stating he loved it and didn’t want to leave, disappointed in his run. An excursion on the back part, near Lukey Heights crueled one lap and a flat spotting tyre from a session of understeer blunted chances of a higher result. Duffy also described the track as scary and fun.

Team principal Fontaine was at a loss to figure out what he needed to do to find a vital extra half second. With a nicely understated way of looking at the situation, Fontaine said “it’s not exactly easy”.

Qualifying Session 2

16 cars took to the track for Q2, with the Bancrofts sitting out the session. Times were slower, as expected, later in the day, with Q1 winner Andrews not taking to the track until half way through. Dramas for Chris Stevenson with a blown gearbox and electrical gremlins played havoc with Nick Parker. High speed revs went astray with a miss in the firing, leaving Parker to retire the car to save tyres.

It wasn’t until half way through the twenty minute session that a driver cracked the 1.49 bracket, with three drivers ultimately doing so. Andrews lodged the quickest time of 1.49.24 to ensure his second pole for season 2010. Ominously, Andrews said he was hoping to go a bit quicker as his Q1 time was set after he backed out of a lap which he thought wasn’t as good as it turned out to be. Andrews is now looking forward to putting that second pole position to good effect in race 1. Josh Hughes went through for second in Q2 with a 1.49.27 and Adam Lloyd banked a 1.49.89. Fontaine, although not as quick timewise, was knocking on the forty nine second door, with a 1.50.007, barely shading Jason Domaschenz’s 1.50.01.

It came down to ten thousandths of a second, in Q2, to separate sixth and seventh in the form of Daniel Orr and Tony Bates. Orr had a 1.50.1251 to 1.50.1254 from Bates.
Matt Chick, Adam Beechey and Garth Duffy filled out the 1.50 contingent, with McGregor, newcomer Hayes, Hill and Tancredi rounding out the field.

Barring last minutes changes, Race 1 at 9.55am on Sunday May 2nd will look like this:
P1 Scott Andrews, P2 Daniel Orr, P3 Adam Lloyd, P4 Nick Parker, P5 Josh Hughes, P6 Matt Chick, P7 Adam Beechey, P8 Jason Domaschenz, P9 Geoff Fontaine, P10 Tony Bates, P11 Garth Duffy, P12 Ross McGregor, P13 Chris Stevenson, P14 Mathew Hayes, P15 Allan Hill, P16 Anthony Tancredi, P17 Brian Bancroft.