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 8 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]

Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit

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

edit

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

edit
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   Marc 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 Fawcet
  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 Holden Motorsport 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
  Mark King
  Jason Walsh
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 Holden Motorsport 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 Deane Constructions/Truffle Group Catering B 53

Fastest lap was 2m32.5945s, recorded by Car 20 when driven by Craig Baird.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ Aaron Noonan, No Bathurst Bunnies, Australian Motorsport News, No 358, 4–17 April 2007, pages 40-41
  2. ^ Grant Rowley and Andrew van Leeuwen, Rocking Around the Clock, Australian Motorsport News, No 359, 18 April - 22 May 2007, pages 54-59
  3. ^ a b 2007 Bathurst International Motor Festival - 12hour Category Supplementary Regulations – Final 10.11.06
  4. ^ Bathurst 12 Hour Showroom Enduro - Update / TV coverage Retrieved on 3 December 2011
  5. ^ 2007 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour Race Results Archived 8 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.natsoft.com.au on 3 October 2007
  6. ^ Although some sources show classes as Class 1, Class 2 etc, official results at www.natsoft.com.au quote Class A, Class B etc
  7. ^ a b c Grant Rowley, Bring back the BIMF!, Australian Motorsport News, No 358, 4–17 April 2007, page 18
  8. ^ Grant Rowley, Once Around the Clock, The Annual - Australian Motorsport, Number 3/2007, pages 172-173
edit