2007 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour
The 2007 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour was an Australian endurance race for Production Cars, held over a twelve-hour period starting from 5:45am on the 8th of April, 2007 at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales. It was the fifth Bathurst 12 Hour race and the first to be staged since 1994.[1] It was also the opening round of the 2007 Australian Production Car Championship.[2]
The race was open to Group 3E Series Production Cars and to invited cars not eligible under Group 3E, but otherwise subject to compliance with Group 3E specifications.[3] These included Tarmac Rally Cars built to Modern Tarmac Rally Spec Rules and cars that had competed in the Australian Performance Car Championship and the Australian Production Car Championship in the last five years.[3] After 257 laps and 1596 kilometres of racing, Garry Holt, Paul Morris and Craig Baird claimed victory in a BMW 335i, finishing a minute and 18 seconds ahead of the Subaru Impreza WRX STi of rally drivers Chris Atkinson, Dean Herridge and Cody Crocker.
Class structure
Cars competed in the following classes:[4]
- Class A : Penrite Rear Wheel Drive Performance Cars
- Class B : Sonax All Wheel Drive Performance Cars
- Class C : APCC Hot Hatches
- Class D : APCC Production Sports and Touring Sedans
- Class E : APCC Production Hatch and Sedans
- Class F : APCC Production Micro Sports and Coupes
- Class G : Eco Diesel Over 3.5 Litre
- Class H : Eco Diesel 3.5 Litres and Under
Results
| Position [5] | Drivers | No. | Car | Entrant | Class Pos. | Class [6] | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craig Baird Garry Holt Paul Morris |
20 | BMW 335i | Eastern Creek Karts P/L | 1 | A | 257 |
| 2 | Chris Atkinson Cody Crocker Dean Herridge |
98 | Subaru Impreza WRX Sti Spec C | Subaru Australia | 1 | B | 257 |
| 3 | Rick Bates Peter Gazzard Bob Hughes |
15 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evolution VIII [7] | Scott's Transport | 2 | B | 253 |
| 4 | Beric Lynton Barrie Morcom Chris Pither |
17 | BMW 335i | Rondo | 2 | A | 253 |
| 5 | Chris Alajajian Neil Crompton Grant Denyer |
7 | Subaru Impreza WRX Sti Spec C | Subaru Australia | 3 | B | 248 |
| 6 | Shaun Juniper Andrew Moffat David Russell |
9 | BMW 130i | Australian Motor Finance | 1 | C | 247 |
| 7 | Mark Cini Mark Eddy Dean Grant |
10 | BMW 130i | Bended Elbow | 2 | C | 246 |
| 8 | Peter Kelly Luke Searle |
3 | BMW 130i | SAE College | 3 | C | 244 |
| 9 | John Bowe Chris Delfsma Jack Elsegood |
21 | Ford BF Falcon XR8 | Century 21 | 1 | D | 244 |
| 10 | Andrew Fawcett David Ryan Michael Trimble |
12 | FPV F6 Typhoon | Robinson Racing Developments | 3 | A | 240 |
| 11 | Neal Bates Colin Osborne John Roecken |
13 | Toyota Celica SX | Osborne Motorsport | 1 | E | 240 |
| 12 | Andrew Bretherton Trevor Keene Tim Slade |
50 | Mini Cooper S | Mid-West Multimedia | 2 | E | 239 |
| 13 | David Mertens Leigh Mertens Carl Schembri |
31 | Toyota Celica SX | Osborne Motorsport | 3 | E | 238 |
| 14 | Nathan Callaghan Allan Letcher David Turner |
99 | Ford BF Falcon XR6 Turbo | Team Queensland Racing | 2 | D | 232 |
| 15 | Jack Perkins Nathan Pretty Shane Price Jason Richards |
4 | HSV VXR Coupe | Fire Power/Bendon | 4 | C | 230 |
| 16 | Stuart Jones Grant Sherrin Iain Sherrin Jim Wallace |
11 | BMW 120i | Sherrin Motorsport | 1 | F | 226 |
| 17 | Peter Conroy Terry Conroy Bob Hadley |
14 | Honda Integra Type S | Hankook Tyres/DBA | 4 | E | 223 |
| 18 | Paul Faulkner Richard Howe Dennis O'Keefe Don Tryhorn |
94 | Ford BF Falcon XR6 Turbo | Aporschapart | 3 | D | 223 |
| 19 | Phil Alexander Gary Mennell Shane Smollen Paul Stubber |
40 | BMW 323i | Dayco/Wefil Cooper/Nippon/Max/On Track Motorsport | 5 | E | 221 |
| 20 | Keen Booker Rocco Rinaldo David Stone |
76 | Alfa Romeo 159 2.4 JT | Thomson Alfa Romeo | 1 | G | 218 |
| 21 | Amber Anderson Danielle Argiro Helen Stig |
72 | Toyota Celica SX | Thrifty Car Rental | 6 | E | 211 |
| 22 | Martin Bailey Steve Briffa Allan Shephard |
27 | Mazda 3 MPS | Thrifty Car Rental | 5 | C | 206 |
| 23 | Mark Brame Bob Pearson Anton Mechtler |
38 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evolution VIII [7] | Pro-Duct Motorsport | 3 | B | 200 |
| 24 | Michael Auld Brian Walden Garth Walden |
24 | Holden VY Commodore SS | Walden Motorsport]] / Syd Fab | 4 | D | 188 |
| 25 | Richard Mork Richard Prince Martin Rambow Peter Vicary |
77 | Honda Integra Type R | V8Racing.com | 7 | E | 109 |
| DNF | Anton Mechtler Bob Pearson Bruce Stewart |
33 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evolution VIII [7] | Pro-Duct Motorsport | B | 200 | |
| DNF | Warren Bossie Jim Hunter Jayson Williamson Matthew Windsor |
88 | Subaru Impreza RS | Jim Hunter's Suspension | F | 198 | |
| DNF | Christian D'agostin Scott Nicholas Tim Sipp |
25 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Wilson Brothers Racing | B | 194 | |
| DNF | Lauren Gray Christina Orr Samantha Reid Leanne Tander |
6 | Holden Astra CDTi Turbo | Bendon | H | 136 | |
| DNF | Denis Cribbin Roland Hill Paul Jenkins |
66 | Ford BF Falcon XR6 Turbo | Lakeside Motorsport Park | D | 79 | |
| DNF | Brad Lowe Dean Neville Ben Neilsen |
2 | FTE TE50 | Kitome Pty Ltd | A | 76 | |
| DNF | Gary Deane Rob Rubis |
91 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Gary Dean Constructions/Truffle Group Catering | B | 53 |
Fastest lap was 2m32.5945s, recorded by Car 20 when driven by Craig Baird.[8]
References
- ^ Aaron Noonan, No Bathurst Bunnies, Australian Motorsport News, No 358, 4–17 April 2007, pages 40-41
- ^ Grant Rowley and Andrew van Leeuwen, Rocking Around the Clock, Australian Motorsport News, No 359, 18 April - 22 May 2007, pages 54-59
- ^ a b 2007 Bathurst International Motor Festival - 12hour Category Supplementary Regulations – Final 10.11.06
- ^ Bathurst 12 Hour Showroom Enduro - Update / TV coverage Retrieved on 3 December 2011
- ^ 2007 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour Race Results Retrieved from www.natsoft.com.au on 3 October 2007
- ^ Although some sources show classes as Class 1, Class 2 etc, official results at www.natsoft.com.au quote Class A, Class B etc
- ^ a b c Grant Rowley, Bring back the BIMF!, Australian Motorsport News, No 358, 4–17 April 2007, page 18
- ^ Grant Rowley, Once Around the Clock, The Annual - Australian Motorsport, Number 3/2007, pages 172-173