Erebus Motorsport is charging towards victory in the 2013 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, with its two Mercedes-Benz entries running a lap clear of the field at three-quarter distance.
The Bernd Schneider driven #36 SLS led the Lee Holdsworth piloted #63 entry by a full minute at the end of nine hours as the two cars continue to operate on offset fuel strategies.
The two cars ran line astern at the head of the field for an extended period prior to the #63 car making its ninth stop of the day towards the end of Hour 9.
The Clearwater Ferrari, which led at halfway, endured a series of setbacks in the third quarter of the race.
The car was awarded its second drive-through penalty of the day thanks to Mok Weng Sun turning Mark Eddy’s Audi around at Murray’s Corner in Hour 7, dropping it off the lead lap.
Two well timed yellows early in Hour 8 brought the 458 back into contention, before a subsequent full course yellow directly after Weng Sun handed over to Matt Griffin pinned the Clearwater car a lap adrift once again.
A flapping front-splitter towards the end of the ninth hour then proved a further setback for Griffin, dropping him to fourth behind the steadily driven #5 VIP Petfoods Porsche.
The eighth hour spelt the end of Phoenix Racing’s chances of victory. The Michelin-shod Audi had run with the leaders all day until mechanical issues saw it garage bound for four laps.
The troubled #6 MPC Audi’s day finally ended in Hour 8 when a rear hub failure saw Craig Lowndes stranded backwards on the entry to the Dipper.
See below for the full running order after Hour 9
1 | Erebus Motorsport | Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 | A | 203 | 08:59:43.1504 |
2 | Erebus Motorsport | Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 | A | 203 | 09:00:44.3265 |
3 | VIP Petfoods | Porsche 911 GT3 R | A | 202 | 09:00:48.1875 |
4 | Clearwater Racing | Ferrari F458 GT3 | A | 202 | 09:01:28.7388 |
5 | United Autosports | Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT | A | 199 | 09:00:27.8252 |
6 | Network Clothing / Hallmarc | Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT | A | 199 | 09:01:15.9102 |
7 | Phoenix Racing | Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT | A | 199 | 09:01:20.2148 |
8 | Peter Conroy Motorsport | Audi R8 LMS GT | A | 197 | 09:01:39.2876 |
9 | AF Corse SRL | Ferrari F458 GT3 | A | 196 | 09:00:22.8399 |
10 | Hunter Sports Group | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 196 | 09:01:43.7793 |
11 | ASM/BRM Motorsports | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 195 | 09:01:13.6760 |
12 | Equity-One Mortgage Fund | Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT | A | 192 | 09:00:25.9745 |
13 | Grove Group | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 192 | 09:01:33.6737 |
14 | Mal Rose Racing | Holden VY Commodore | I3 | 190 | 09:00:12.1142 |
15 | Motorsport Services | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 187 | 09:01:32.5265 |
16 | GB Galvanizing | Lamborghini GT3 LP56 | A | 186 | 09:00:11.2516 |
17 | 1Cover Motionsport | Lotus Elise | I1 | 184 | 09:01:52.1486 |
18 | DragonSpeed | Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT | A | 182 | 08:36:47.1194 |
19 | We Are Legend | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 179 | 09:00:18.4924 |
20 | Bruce Lynton BMW | BMW E46 | I3 | 179 | 09:00:33.4698 |
21 | Team Peugeot RCZ | Peugeot RCZ Cup | I1 | 177 | 09:00:52.4908 |
22 | nurburgring.com.au | Lotus Exige S | C | 175 | 09:01:14.5912 |
23 | Racer Industries | Holden Astra HSV VXR | E | 174 | 08:59:15.7227 |
24 | Motorsport Services | Seat Leon Supercopa | I2 | 171 | 08:55:52.7939 |
25 | Showershop (NZ) | Subaru Impreza WRX S | I2 | 169 | 08:59:28.2383 |
26 | Skwirk / Oneworld Bar | Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT | A | 162 | 07:20:45.1790 |
27 | GWS Personnel | BMW 130i | E | 161 | 09:01:40.5592 |
28 | Donut King | Nissan R35 GTR | C | 160 | 09:00:31.0936 |
29 | Team Peugeot RCZ | Peugeot RCZ Cup | I1 | 155 | 08:59:32.6313 |
30 | Sennheiser/ Ric Shaw Racing | Mazda RX-7 | I2 | 153 | 08:59:36.7838 |
31 | Motorsport Services | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 151 | 09:00:55.7156 |
32 | Rentcorp Forklifts | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 148 | 09:01:33.9605 |
33 | The Shire Conveyancer | BMW 130i | E | 146 | 09:00:27.7901 |
34 | GWS Personnel | BMW 335i | D | 146 | 09:01:12.8492 |
35 | Motorsport Services | Seat Leon Supercopa | I2 | 141 | 09:01:32.2505 |
36 | Motorsport Services | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 140 | 09:00:06.8014 |
37 | Maximum Motorsport | Subaru Impreza WRX S | D | 138 | 07:02:38.8634 |
38 | Racer Industries | Holden Astra HSV VXR | I2 | 133 | 06:35:41.7159 |
39 | Daytona Sports Cars Pty Ltd | Daytona Coupe | I3 | 132 | 08:12:54.5187 |
40 | Cootes Transport | Ford FPV GT | D | 130 | 06:55:09.2298 |
41 | Trofeo Motorsport / Pirelli | Chevrolet Corvette Z | A | 127 | 08:29:42.5052 |
42 | Il Bello Rosso | Ferrari F458 GT3 | A | 111 | 05:33:33.2263 |
43 | Simply Sports Cars | Lotus Exige | C | 107 | 06:22:00.1697 |
44 | Motorsport Services | Seat Leon Supercopa | I2 | Â 85 | 09:00:44.3240 |
45 | Aston Martin St. Gallen | Aston Martin Vantage | C | Â 81 | 08:57:41.3526 |
46 | Liqui Moly | BMW Z4 GT3 | A | Â 36 | 01:47:26.8595 |
47 | Motor School | Porsche 996 GT3 Cup | GT | Â 13 | Â Â 51:58.1733 |
48 | ES Australia | Ginetta G50 G4 | GT | Â 13 | Â Â 51:59.9930 |
49 | VIP Petfoods | Aston Martin | GT | Â 11 | Â Â 40:57.0530 |
50 | Mark Griffiths | Ginetta G50 G4 | GT | Â 5 | Â Â 18:05.3455 |
OUT | Sherrin Rentals | BMW 135i | D | Â 67 | 03:32:56.8681 |
OUT | IMAK / KWIKMIT | Mosler MT900 GT3 | A | Â 55 | 03:36:10.8420 |
OUT | JBS Swift | Lamborghini GT3 LP56 | A | Â 11 | Â Â 40:57.1130 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s live Twitter updates from Hours 7 – 9
Hour 7
The race restarts with 5 hours and 55 minutes remaining #B12Hr
Jaeger is shadowing Baird at the front, with the two cars currently running just 2.6s apart #B12Hr
Baird pits the leading Clearwater Ferrari at the 6 hour 30 minute mark after an inspired double stint. Jaeger is the new leader #B12Hr
Weng Sun rejoins in the Clearwater 458 with new tyres and a full tank of fuel #B12Hr
Jaeger has built a 30 second lead over Kristoffersson throughout the last 35 minutes of green flag running #B12Hr
Third placed Hackett is 40 seconds off the lead with Weng Sun a further minute adrift in fourth #B12Hr
A disappointed John Bowe says he’s suffering from a sore neck after his McPhillamy crash in the Maranello Ferrari. He’s not happy with the Seat driver
Weng Sun has out-braked himself in the Clearwater Ferrari, tipping himself and the Dean Grant Audi into spins at Murray’s Corner
Both cars rejoin seemingly without damage, but the Clearwater entry is now in real danger of going a lap down to Jaeger #B12Hr
Jaeger pits with nine minutes to go in Hour 7 after a strong 33 lap stint. Kristoffersson goes back to the lead #B12Hr
Schneider is now in the #36 Jaeger Mercedes. Kristoffersson and Hackett are nose-to-tail at the front #B12Hr
Lowndes pits from seventh as Hour 7 ends. The Audi is five laps down after several dramas during the previous stint for car owner Salmon
Kristoffersson pits the Phoenix Audi. Weng Sun has also been in and out of the pits after a costly drive-through penalty for the incident with Grant #B12Hr
Hackett pits the leading Erebus Mercedes. The Phoenix Audi meanwhile appears to be enduring a long stop #B12Hr
Hour 8
The Class D leading Dean Herridge Subaru is stopped on the circuit, thankfully off-line, just over the McPhillamy crest #B12Hr
Safety Car number nine called, breaking a 60 minute green flag spell. Phoenix Audi is still in pitlane with a problem #B12Hr
Schneider leads from Slade (now in the Hackett Mercedes) and Weng Sun, who benefits greatly from this yellow having almost dropped a lap down #B12Hr
We’re left with three cars on the lead lap with almost five hours still remaining. The Phoenix Audi has not returned to the circuit #B12Hr
The VIP Porsche now runs fourth, one lap down. Klark Quinn is back behind the wheel after a solid effort from stand-in Kingsley #B12Hr
The Phoenix Audi returns to the track several laps down. The race restarts at the 7 hour 20 minute mark #B12Hr
Lowndes is in the #6 Audi and facing backwards at The Dipper #B12Hr
The Safety Car returns for the 10th time at the 7 hour 23 minute mark #B12Hr
Dean Grant pits under the yellow. The #9 MPC Audi is running in fifth place, albeit four laps off the lead #B12Hr
All of these yellows are good news for Clearwater Racing. Schneider and Slade are at least five seconds per lap faster than Weng Sun #B12Hr
The Clearwater Ferrari has made another brief visit to pitlane during this yellow #B12Hr
Race restarts with 13 minutes remaining in the eighth hour. Jaeger and Slade lead the way #B12Hr
Lowndes confirms that his car broke its left-rear hub, pitching him into a spin that caused the last lengthy yellow. #B12Hr
Erebus Mercs both run 2:08.7s laps last time around. With Weng Sun stuck in traffic, they are 48s ahead just two laps after the restart #B12Hr
The Audis of Mies, Primat and Li are all four laps down, separated by 15s in the battle for fifth #B12Hr
Order and gaps to leader at end Hour 8: Jaeger, Slade (0.3s), Weng Sun (+1:20s), Quinn (+1 lap), Mies (+4 laps), Primat (+4 laps), Li (+4 laps), Huff (+5 laps ) #B12Hr
Hour 9
Weng Sun’s minimum driving time is complete so he heads to pitlane. Fuel in, Griffin in, new Michelins on. #B12Hr
The Hunter Motorsport Porsche has taken the Class B lead after a long stop for the ASM example. The McElrea run car had broken a drive belt. #B12Hr
Quinn has temporarily moved up to third after the Clearwater car’s stop. Erebus Mercs now only cars on lead lap #B12Hr
The Erebus Mercs currently run 0.6s apart. They’ve been circulating line astern for almost half an hour since the restart #B12Hr
Safety Car number 11 called after 8 hours and 15 minutes #B12Hr
Jaeger heads straight to pitlane, Slade continues and takes the lead – ensuring the rest of the field remain at least one lap down #B12Hr
Quinn pits from third. Griffin will continue having been in recently. Mies pits from fifth #B12Hr
A crash for the Daytona Coupe at Forrest’s Elbow is the reason for the current Safety Car #B12Hr
Race restarts with 3 hours and 30 minutes remaining. Slade leads Schneider, who has replaced Jaeger in the #36 #B12Hr
The Phoenix Audi of Simonson passes Eddy’s similar R8 for fifth place #B12Hr
Griffin is lapping at a competitive pace despite the front splitter flapping on the Clearwater Ferrari #B12Hr
Slade, Griffin and Schneider are running just 13 seconds apart with 15 mins remaining in the ninth hour, but the Ferrari is a lap down #B12Hr
Slade pits at the 8 hour 48 min mark while the front -splitter of the Clearwater Ferrari falls and jams under the car #B12Hr
The battle for top Audi continues. The Hartley driven United Autosport R8 now holds fifth ahead of Eddy and Simonson.
Simonson was recently in for a drive-through following an unsafe release from its last stop #B12Hr
Griffin continues to circulate in the troubled Clearwater Ferrari. Holdsworth meanwhile is back in the #63 car, taking over from Slade #B12Hr
Mechanical black flag issued to Clearwater Ferrari. Griffin pits immediately. #B12Hr
Clearwater crew rip remainder of splitter from Ferrari. A relatively quick stop, but it won’t do much for the handling balance #B12Hr
Order after nine hours: Schneider, Holdsworth, Quinn, Griffin, Hartley, Eddy, Simonson, Conroy, Cioci, Johnson #B12Hr