2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour

The 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for a variety of GT and touring car classes, including: GT3 cars, GT4 cars and Group 3E Series Production Cars. The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 8 February 2015, was the thirteenth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit
The race and Class AA-winning Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 of Katsumasa Chiyo, Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss.

53 cars were entered for the race and 50 cars started the race, with two entries withdrawn following crashes in practice and the other due to drivers being injured in a road accident prior to the event.[1][2] Katsumasa Chiyo, Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss won the event driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3.[3] Reip and Strauss had both come through the GT Academy programme.[4]

The highlight of the race came in the closing laps. The Nissan had been racing conservatively all day, just staying on the lead lap and in touch with the leaders. Matt Bell led the field in one of the M-Sport Bentleys, ahead of Laurens Vanthoor in the Phoenix Racing Audi with Chiyo in third. Stefan Mucke and Dean Canto were also on the lead lap. There were a few late safety car periods, with the last leaving two laps of racing to the finish. Once racing began Chiyo took second at the first corner before taking the lead going up Mountain Straight. As Chiyo built a gap over his rivals, a battle developed for second place, with Bell ahead of Vanthoor and Mucke. Mucke passed Vanthoor for third going down Conrod Straight on the final lap before attempting to pass Bell at the final corner. Mucke made contact with Bell, sending him into a slide, while Vanthoor drove around the outside of both cars to take second place behind Chiyo. Mucke took third while Bell dropped to fourth.

Class structure

edit

Cars competed in the following five classes.[5]

  • Class A – GT3 Outright
    • Class AP – GT3 Pro-Am, for driver combinations including one unseeded driver.
    • Class AA – GT3 Am, for driver combinations including two or three unseeded drivers.
  • Class B – GT3 Cup Cars
  • Class C – GT4
  • Class D – Invitational (Production)
  • Class I – Invitational (Non Production)

Official results

edit
The Class AP-winning Audi R8 LMS Ultra of Marco Mapelli, Laurens Vanthoor and Markus Winkelhock.
The Class B-winning Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S of James Koundouris, Theo Koundouris, Marcus Marshall and Sam Power.
The Class C-winning Lotus Exige Cup R of Tony Alford, Peter Leemhuis and Mark O'Connor.
The Class D-winning BMW 1M of Beric Lynton, John Modystach and Robert Thomson.
The Class I-winning MARC Focus GTC of Ben Gersekowski, Adam Gowans and Garry Jacobson.
Pos. Class No. Team / Entrant Drivers Car Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 AA 35   NISMO Athlete Global Team   Katsumasa Chiyo
  Wolfgang Reip
  Florian Strauss
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 269 12:00:11.0280
3.8 L Nissan VR38DETT twin-turbo V6
2 AP 15   Phoenix Racing   Marco Mapelli
  Laurens Vanthoor
  Markus Winkelhock
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 269 +2.4529
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
3 AP 97   Craft-Bamboo Racing   Alex MacDowall
  Stefan Mücke
  Darryl O'Young
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 269 +2.8016
6.0 L Aston Martin V12
4 AP 10   Bentley Team M-Sport   Matt Bell
  Steven Kane
  Guy Smith
Bentley Continental GT3 269 +3.7821
4.0 L Volkswagen twin-turbo V8
5 AP 36   Erebus Motorsport   Dean Canto
  Jack Le Brocq
  Richard Muscat
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 269 +3.9430
6.2 L Mercedes-Benz M159 V8
6 AA 49   Vicious Rumour Racing   Renato Loberto
  Andrea Montermini
  Benny Simonsen
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 268 +1 lap
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
7 AP 32   Lago Racing   Roger Lago
  Steve Owen
  David Russell
Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 268 +1 lap
5.2 L Lamborghini V10
8 AP 33   Clearwater Racing   Matt Griffin
  Weng Sun Mok
  Toni Vilander
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 268 +1 lap
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
9 AP 16   Phoenix Racing   Felix Baumgartner
  Christopher Haase
  Stéphane Ortelli
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 268 +1 lap
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
10 AA 9   Hallmarc Racing   Marc Cini
  Mark Eddy
  Christopher Mies
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 267 +2 laps
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
11 AP 12   Competition Motorsports   David Calvert-Jones
  Patrick Long
  Chris Pither
Porsche 997 GT3-R 267 +2 laps
4.0 L Porsche H6
12 AA 75   Jamec Pem Racing   Dean Koutsoumidis
  Steve McLaughlin
  James Winslow
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 265 +4 laps
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
13 AA 74   Jamec Pem Racing   Greg Crick
  Alessandro Latif
  Warren Luff
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 265 +4 laps
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
14 AA 2   Fitzgerald Racing   Michael Almond
  Peter Fitzgerald
  Matt Halliday
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 264 +5 laps
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
15 I 93   MARC Cars Australia   Ben Gersekowski
  Adam Gowans
  Garry Jacobson
MARC Ford Focus GTC 262 +7 laps
5.0 L Ford Coyote V8
16 B 47   Supabarn Supermarkets Racing   James Koundouris
  Theo Koundouris
  Marcus Marshall
  Sam Power
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S 261 +8 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
17 B 4   Grove Motorsport   Ben Barker
  Stephen Grove
  Luke Youlden
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 259 +10 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
18 B 64   Motorsport Services   Tim Macrow
  Devon Modell
  Peter Rullo
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 257 +12 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
19 B 21   Motorsport Services   Sam Fillmore
  Ross Lilley
  Danny Stutterd
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 256 +13 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
20 B 68   Motorsport Services   Angus Chapel
  Xavier West
  Mark Whyman
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 252 +17 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
21 AA 63   Erebus Motorsport   Austin Cindric
  Simon Hodge
  Nathan Morcom
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 251 +18 laps
6.2 L Mercedes-Benz M159 V8
22 B 50   Team LHI   Jeff Bobik
  Nick Cresswell
  John Goodacre
  Terry Knight
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 251 +18 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
23 AA 52   Motionsport   Ben Gower
  Gordon Shedden
  Pete Storey
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 250 +19 laps
6.0 L Aston Martin V12
24 C 54   Donut King Racing   Tony Alford
  Peter Leemhuis
  Mark O'Connor
Lotus Exige Cup R 249 +20 laps
3.5 L Toyota 2GR-FE supercharged V6
25 AA 99   Craft-Bamboo Racing   Jean-Marc Merlin
  Jonathon Venter
  Frank Yu
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 248 +21 laps
6.0 L Aston Martin V12
26 C 76   Aston Martin Saint Gallen   Andreas Baenziger
  Florian Kamelger
  Christopher Porritt
Aston Martin Vantage GT4 245 +24 laps
4.7 L Aston Martin V8
27 D 23   Bruce Lynton BMW   Beric Lynton
  John Modystach
  Rob Thomson
BMW 1M 242 +27 laps
3.0 L BMW N54 twin-turbo I6
28 D 28   GWS Personnel Motorsport   Matt Chahda
  Steve Devjak
  Ric Shaw
  Jake Williams
BMW 335i 239 +30 laps
3.0 L BMW N55 twin-turbo I6
29 I 43   Stawell Cartage   Shane Bradford
  Phil Crompton
  Michael Robinson
  Shane Woodman
Mazda RX-8 234 +35 laps
2.0 L Mazda 3-rotor
30 B 6   Wall Racing   Garth Duffy
  Richard Gartner
  Michael Hector
  Aaron Zerefos
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 206 +63 laps
3.6 L Porsche H6
31 D 18   Sherrin Rentals Racing   Grant Sherrin
  Iain Sherrin
  Mike Sherrin
BMW 135i 203 +66 laps
3.0 L BMW N55 twin-turbo I6
32 B 66   Motorsport Services   Chris van der Drift
  Frank Lyons
  Michael Lyons
  Scott O'Donnell1
  Hayden Knighton1
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 192 +77 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
33 D 65   Daytona Sports Cars   Jamie Augustine
  Ray Hislop
  Benjamin Schoots
Daytona Sportscar 173 +96 laps
6.0 L GM LS1 V8
34 I 41   Stawell Cartage   Ian Cowley
  Bruce Henley
  Mark King
  Jason Walsh
Mazda RX-8 149 +120 laps
2.0 L Mazda 3-rotor
DNF AA 8   Flying B Motorsport   John Bowe
  David Brabham
  Peter Edwards
Bentley Continental GT3 254 Crash
4.0 L Volkswagen twin-turbo V8
DNF AP 11   Bentley Team M-Sport   Maximilian Buhk
  Harold Primat
  Andy Soucek
Bentley Continental GT3 245 Drivetrain
4.0 L Volkswagen twin-turbo V8
DNF AA 27   Trass Family Motorsport   Jono Lester
  John McIntyre
  Graeme Smyth
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 221 Overheating
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
DNF I 91   MARC Cars Australia   Ivo Breukers
  Jake Camilleri
  Keith Kassulke
MARC Mazda3 GTC 203 Crash
5.0 L Ford Coyote V8
DNF AA 7   Garth Walden Racing   Dean Grant
  Ash Samadi
  Max Twigg
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 171 Crash
6.2 L Mercedes-Benz M159 V8
DNF AA 77   AF Corse   Michele Rugolo
  Steve Wyatt
  Davide Rigon
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 163 Crash
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
DNF AP 48   M Motorsport   Craig Baird
  Justin McMillan
  Steven Richards
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 129 Gearbox
5.2 L Lamborghini V10
DNF AA 29   Trofeo Motorsport   Ivan Capelli
  Jim Manolios
  Ryan Millier
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 114 Crash
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
DNF C 73   TM Motorsports   Grant Bromley
  Robert Hackwood
  Michael Hovey
  Tony Martin
Ginetta G50 GT4 112 Bellhousing failure
3.5 L Ford Cyclone V6
DNF I 92   MARC Cars Australia   Michael Benton
  Tim Miles
  Hadrian Morrall
MARC Ford Focus GTC 106 Crash
5.0 L Ford Coyote V8
DNF AA 5   Rod Salmon Racing   Nathan Antunes
  Oliver Gavin
  Rod Salmon
Audi R8 LMS Ultra 103 Crash
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
DNF D 55   Kintyre Racing   Matthew Cherry
  Glyn Crimp
  Stuart Kostera
Audi TT RS 85 Crash
2.5 L R5 TFSI Audi I5
DNF AA 59   Keltic Racing   Kévin Estre
  Klark Quinn
  Tony Quinn
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 80 Spun off
3.8 L McLaren M838T twin-turbo V8
DNF AA 51   AMAC Motorsport   Matt Campbell
  Andrew Macpherson
  Bradley Shiels
Porsche 997 GT3-R 41 Crash
4.0 L Porsche H6
DNF B 14   Peter Conroy Motorsport   Tony Bates
  Peter Conroy
  Grant Denyer
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 36 Crash
3.8 L Porsche H6
DNF D 42   Hallmark Homes   Karl Begg
  Jason Clements
  Anthony Gilbertson
BMW M3 GTR 5 Hit Kangaroo
4.0 L BMW P60B40 V8
DNS B 38   Wall Racing   Daniel Bilski
  Matt Kingsley
  Paul Tresidder
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S Crash in Practice 2
3.8 L Porsche H6
DNS AP 88   Maranello Motorsport   Ben Collins
  Tony D'Alberto
  Mika Salo
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Crash in Practice 1
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
DNS B 69   Motorsport Services   Frank Lyons
  Phil Mauger1
  Lindsay O'Donnell1
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Road Accident
3.8 L Porsche H6
Sources:[2][5][6]

^1 – Scott O'Donnell, Phil Mauger, Lindsay O'Donnell & Hayden Knighton were unable to drive in the race following a car accident on the Thursday. Knighton & Scott O'Donnell were replaced by Frank Lyons (who moved from the withdrawn #69 car) and Chris van der Drift.

  • Note: Class winners are shown in bold.
  • Race time of winning car: 12:00:11.0280[6]
  • Fastest race lap: 2:03.3091 – Markus Winkelhock[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Road crash plunges Class B team into chaos". Speedcafe. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Bathurst Saturday Notebook". SportsCar365. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  3. ^ "NISMO Godzilla claims tense Bathurst 12 Hour". Speedcafe. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. ^ "GT Academy Graduates Win Bathurst 12 Hour". Gran Turismo. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour Official Event Programme, p. 42–43
  6. ^ a b c Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, racing.natsoft.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
edit