Bathurst 12 Hour: Hour 1 Report

Mount Panorama has already taken it’s first victim of the 12 Hour race, with the #74 AudiSport Team MPC Audi, the only Pro-Class Audi in the race, out of the race after an incident at Griffins Bend.

Christopher Haase at the wheel had passed the #44 Valmont Mercedes of Duvashen Padayachee at Hell Corner, but on the approach to Griffins Bend, Padayachee held the inside line and threw the nose of the Mercedes towards the apex. The Audi and Mercedes made contact, pitching Haase sideways and into the tyre barrier, rear first.

Haase into the wall! But he got a big helping hand from Padayachee…

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Haase was able to get the car back to the pits, but a quick assessment in the garage uncovered chassis damage, forcing the car from the race.

Head of Audi Sport Customer Racing, Chris Reinke, was visibly frustrated when interviewed by the host broadcaster.

“We’re deeply disappointed,” said Chris. “It was a clean move before, then a few corners later, [he] just punts us out. Leaves Haase no chance to catch the car.”

The stewards assessed the incident as a racing incident, and have issued no further action.

The incident was the boiling point of a 10-car train early in the race, held behind Liam Talbot who started the #65 SportsBet Audi. Talbot was able to stay in 6th in the early running as the only Am-driver in the top 10, and was able to keep Phillip Ellis in the #77 Craft Bamboo Racing Mercedes behind, backing up a train all the way down to 17th. Talbot was able to stretch enough of a gap over the mountain to keep Ellis at bay down the bottom, with the gap to the leading 5 ballooning out to 20 seconds.

Ricardo Feller in the #777 The Bend Motorsport Park Audi and Frederic Vervisch in the #55 Fuchs Lubricants Audi were the early movers, and had just passed Haase and Padayachee before they made contact.

Out front, Maro Engel in the #999 GruppeM Mercedes stretched a small lead over Goetz in the #888 Supercheap Auto Mercedes, with Preining in the #912 Manthey EMA Porsche holding off Luca Stolz in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes for third. Augusto Farfus completes the 5 in the #46 WRT BMW, ahead of the sister #32 WRT BMW with Dries Vanthoor at the wheel.

Despite Audi’s Pro challenge ending, they hold the top two positions in Pro-Am, with Feller ahead of Vervisch in 7th and 8th respectively, with the top Silver runner currently the #6 Wall Racing Lamborghini. After an impressive start to the race, Talbot sits in 11th in the #65 SportsBet Audi, after a minor moment at the chase saw him run wide.

With still 11 hours to go, sunlight has just started streaming over the circuit, which will warm the currently frosty conditions as the day progresses.