Travelling to the renowned Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst, NSW last weekend for the second consecutive year to participate in the Bathurst 12 Hour race, Jason Busk and the Taunton Motorsports team were thrilled to find themselves on the podium at the completion of the event.
Having achieved his lifelong dream of racing at the famed circuit in last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, Busk’s excitement reached another level on Sunday, achieving much more than he anticipated, with the team improving on last year’s overall fourth-place result in Class I by two positions to finish second overall in Class I and first in Class I Division B aboard the Taunton Motorsports # 95 Marc Focus V8 car.
While this pleasing result gave Busk and the rest of the team plenty of reason to celebrate as they stood on the Bathurst podium, their campaign almost ended in disaster during the final stint, when teammate Bryce Fullwood was tagged by another car at the top of the mountain, sending him into the wall at 180 kilometres per hour and destroying the car as a result.
Despite this bittersweet end to their second Bathurst 12 Hour attempt, with the race being red flagged, the final positions reverted to the previous lap, rewarding the team with their well-deserved podium results.
“Racing at Bathurst last year was an absolute dream come true, but to come back this year and achieve a podium result is better than anything I could have imagined,” expressed Busk, who got over five hours of track time under his belt throughout Friday and Saturday’s practices sessions and Sunday’s 12 Hour race.
“The professionalism and organisation of the entire Taunton Motorsports team this year allowed us to hit the ground running throughout the weekend and while we had some front splitter issues during the race on Sunday, the team’s amazing efforts and preparation was ultimately reflected in our results.”
Despite Busk, Taunton and Fullwood being at the centre of the team’s recognition, there are numerous people behind the scenes who make it all possible for them.
“I have to say a huge thank you to Geoff and Kristen Taunton for allowing Bryce (Fullwood) and I to drive their car, Mick and Dianne Bonnano from Eastgate Engineering, Matt Stone and Aaron Harris from Matt Stone Racing for their engineering and strategy expertise, Alan Peters from Everyday Finance Solutions and every member of our team who have made this incredible experience a possibility,” added Busk.
“So much time and effort from the team goes into making us competitive, and without the continued support and commitment of these people and sponsors, we would never have been able to achieve the result we did.”
Busk would like to thank the following sponsors for their support during the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hour event: Eastgate Engineering, Gladrock Transport, Gold Coast Screw Piers, Taunton Excavations, Castrol, Wormpaints, ProLube Lubricants, High Torque Performance, Citi Steel, Diverse Order, Illicit Industries, and Brisco Rural.
