Bathurst

[strad]

Since the NBC y'all love so much can't see their way clear to broadcast the race, here is a link to streaming.
http://www.bathurst12hour.com.au/live-int

[MOWOG]

Oh, bless you, good sir. Bathurst is far and away my favorite track in all the world. I would love to see the F1 circus race here, but I doubt most of today's drivers would have the stones to tame this circuit. Kimi might but only if you put vodka in his drinks bottle!

Seeing a race at Bathurst is on my bucket list, most definitely. Crikey, you can even get there by train from Sydney and avoid all the hassle of driving to and parking at the track on race day.

I'll post up some pictures when I go.

[feni_remmen]

Jenson McLaren bathurst

http://youtu.be/x4XVF3jJL5Q

http://youtu.be/6YDDFgtXRBU

[MOWOG]

Well, yeah. That's good stuff. But imagine a full complement of F1 machinery snarling around that track and snapping at eac other. Pure bliss!

[J.A.W.]

Perhaps such machines are too fast for Bathurst.. ..as a track it is tightly constrained by concrete walls,
which makes it most unforgiving for offs..

I found the racing was spoilt by the incessant safety car call outs, which caused a 'musical chairs' lottery..

The performance of the Nismo GTR was impressive though, for a class-car to take outright victory..

[MOWOG]

Oh, you're probably right, of course.

But I do miss the "heritage" tracks so much. There's just something about a street race in Sochi that is so, I dunno....BLAH, ya know?

[RacingManiac]

Perhaps such machines are too fast for Bathurst.. ..as a track it is tightly constrained by concrete walls,
which makes it most unforgiving for offs..

I found the racing was spoilt by the incessant safety car call outs, which caused a 'musical chairs' lottery..

The performance of the Nismo GTR was impressive though, for a class-car to take outright victory..

The difference is just the driver lineup no? The car is the full pukka spec GT3 car, no different to Audi/Bentley or other GT3s...

[J.A.W.]

Correct, the Nismo factory GTR was indeed, & at last - a very competitive top-spec car,
-but the polished/assured performance of the largely amateur driving team was just as impressive..

[RacingManiac]

For sure, that is IMO still the most remarkable aspect of it. GT Academy could've been like any other publicity stunt thing, but Nissan it looks like is taking it quite seriously, and are getting some really good talent out of it, that really would've never been found. Its still remarkable that they are literally taking these video gamer and put them through crash course of race car driving and are finding actual success with them.

[DaveKillens]

There is something about such old-school tracks like Bathurst that really make me adore it. Up on the mountain there are no run-offs, the walls are close, and stuff happens. Unlike most Formula One tracks that are so antiseptic, Bathurst is the "Random Death Coaster". And because of it's nature Formula One would not work as well, the cars would be spaced apart unlike what we just witnessed, cars nose-to-tail snarling and biting, fighting everywhere.

Although for many the safety car is "unfair", all drivers and teams know full well that you can be screwed over or receive a huge make-up when it happens. And having such safety cars bunches the pack up, leading to continual close battles, something that I yearn for.

[MadMatt]

I'm not really up for these BoP formula, I mean, it all depends on how well you hide your game when the FIA evaluates your car to define what boost you are running, what wing you are running, and so on. In the end, just make your car rock solid, the FIA will make it fast.

Nevertheless, I like Bathurst track, but I am very surprised there was no Ferrari at the end. Not that the field was immense, but still.

[WaikeCU]

It would have been cool if the BTCC, DTM, WTCC and the V8 Supercars were similar paced, so that they could do an annual race every season. Like 6 hours or 1000 miles of the Bathurst. It would be a prestige race touring car wise.

[dobbster71]

As a Brit in his mid-teens in the 1980's, the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst became one of those mythical races along with the Indy 500 & Monza GP.
I can't remember whether it was the BBC, ITV or both that used to show the race, but I always managed to catch it. I remember that TWR entered Jag V12s. The races were always action packed & totally great viewing. Towards the end of the 80's it was the scene of the mental Ford Sierra Cosworth vs BMW M3 vs Aussie V8s vs Nissan Skyline battles.

Here's some great archive footage of the Jag:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9I7GWllPFY

[WaikeCU]

I still remember watching Volvo taking this win. God I miss the BTCC era back then.

Here's a footage of the 1998 BTCC Bathurst 1000km

[Vettel Maggot]

I have been to the last 2 Bathurst 12 Hour races, it is a fantastic circuit and a fantastic event that is growing each year. I know everyone says it, but television simply does not do this track any justice. The rises and falls are mind boggling. There are so many blind corners that add to the drama.

The highlight was the start of the race, nothing like seeing 40+ cars racing at night and then dawn slowly breaks over the mountain. Stunning and well worth the effort to get there. If you are a true motorsports enthusiast and you are ever in the region do yourself a favour and go and drive on the track if there is nothing on, it is public road. You will they shake your head and come away with a lot more respect for the drivers.

Here is a picture that sums up the event:



And a video of Laurens Vanthoor who later in the day set a new lap record - sadly I can't find that lap