OFFICIAL

PREVIEW

WELCOME TO THE

MOUNTAIN

Every racing series has it’s premier race, the one they all want to win. For Formula One it is the Monaco Grand Prix, Indycar the Indianapolis 500, WEC the Le Mans 24 Hours. V8 Supercars drivers aspire for Bathurst. The track has everything—170mph kinks, massive gradient changes, chicanes, hairpins, and whoever navigates this challenge 65 times come Sunday may end up winner of the biggest race in V8 Su-percar racing. Our own Australian FRL member TDZ Dave will also help us around a track he has experienced in the virtual and real worlds.

A tight first corner that deceptively narrows on exit, getting it wrong can cost you half a second on the following straightaway. TDZ: “Fear the name, it makes sense! the saying goes "You will never win a race in turn 1, you can only lose it!" And its never been more true in this left hand 90 degree corner, trying to brake and turn in as late as possible to straight line the exit of this 90 degree left hander is made even more difficult being off camber from the start!”

HELL CORNER

A tricky braking zone from high speeds, with the bumpy road throwing you out on exit towards the wall, which of course is on the edge of a high kerb, exit speed is key here. TDZ: “Griffins Bend, an off camber entry through apex to off camber exit, Yes it's going to be a long tough day, And one of the easiest places to be slayed if you choose to be hesitant and play it safe”.

GRIFFIN BEND

A tough two turns, uphill at high speeds braking through the corners to get set up for corner exit. The inside exit is quickest but the rise is sharp and can spin a car with ease. It’s also narrow and has major consequenes if you crash—see Marcos Ambrose and Greg Murphy in 2005. TDZ: “Turns 3/4, The Cutting! Focus! This place will hurt you harder then you think, Your main priority is "Slow in, Fast out" as you need all of that momentum to haul your 600BHP weapon of choice up across the Mountain”.

THE CUTTING

The track winds up the mountain with technical progressive uphill left and right flicks, each get-ting faster, and the walls are closer with every flick of the wheel. TDZ: “Reid Park. A frugal throttle is required here, the crest in turn 5 will happily spit you out, if that doesn't then the top of the steepest climb exiting Turn 6 will. Turn 8/9, Sulman Park, this is where bravery pays off! get it right and its almost flat chat through Turn 9 grazing walls on entry and exit, Extremely thrilling part of the circuit!”

REID PARK / SULMAN PARK

A high speed left, commitment required but with kerbing on exit it is so easy to put a wheel wide and suddenly a hige crash into the inside barriers is ineveitable. A true test of driver bravery. TDZ: “Turn 10, McPhillamy Park. Have you had enough yet??? A blind uphill climb into a downhill en-try, and that's not all! the exit is off camber also, And yes, It will bite, and bite hard it will!”

McPHILLAMY PARK

This is pure torture for an ill handling racecar. Sharp downhill braking into a chicane, that some-times mean rear wheels are briefly off the ground, aiming for blind plunging downhill apexes. So hard to get right, so easy to get wrong. TDZ: “Another uphill blind entry to downhill apex, to blind entry to another blind entry, with gradient and camber changes. The Dipper has an elevation change of around 30ft down!”

THE ESSES / THE DIPPER

One of the slowest corners on the track but de-ceptive. Totally off camber and you want to get on the power on exit but the wall on exit and tyre stack are intimidating and close to the car. TDZ: “Turn 18, Forest Elbow. The 140 degree left hand turn that fires you onto Conrod Straight, You want that exit to be perfect, you want out of there fast, though that wall to the right will have different ideas!”

FOREST ELBOW

The fastest turn in Australian motorsport can be taken flat at 180mph after the monstrously long undulating Conrod Straight. Question is do you dare to? Part two is a braking zone leading to a uphill off camber apex, deceptive at best. TDZ: The entry to the chase is and has been for over a decade labelled "The fastest corner in the world of touring car racing!", and the car will want to slide out on you! then you have to brake as late as you dare for Turn 21!”

THE CHASE

A tight final corner, the car will be on the limit of braking ability as you throw it in. A note of worth for people pitting—please be committed to Pit Lane before the solid white line. TDZ: “Turn 23, Murray's Corner. This is a downhill braking entry into an off camber apex to slide into the off camber exit. Justdo that another 64 times, GOOD LUCK!”

MURRAYS CORNER / PIT ENTRY

CHAT BOX SIGNALS: “CO” - Caution Out, Pit Lane Is Shut: racing stops soon as this is stopped. Pitlane is shut regardless of I have typed “PS”. “PS” - Pits Are Shut—this is automatic as soon as a yellow is thrown however and may not be typed out. “PO” - Pit Lane Open—pit lane is open for cars to pit end of lap. LAP DOWN CARS: With under 10 laps left in a race, lap down cars are required to hold their position but drop to the rear of the lead lap cars on the final lap before green. RESTART POINT: The start of the red barrier on the photo above.

RULES / REGULATIONS: A QUICK REFRESHER

16 drivers are in 8 teams of 2 for the Bathurst 400. 2 teams from each make, Cadillac, Ford,

Erebus, and Lexus. As well as the main battle for the championship, Bathurst is Round #2 of

the PIRTEK ENDURANCE CUP, which counts team points across all the races. Teamwork will

also be key as Bathurst is the second of the three events, which are also double points to

boot!

DRIVER PREVIEWS

ABRA CADABRA Lexus IS-F V8 Driver 1: #34 Chuck Driver 2: #22 Smuffy Reserve: #11 Roo

It has been a difficult start for all Lexus teams, and Abra Cadabra have had it worst. Chuck has had it worst arguably with a car package that whilst has the potential to be incredibly fast, they haven’t unlocked it yet. Nevertheless Chuck has kept running, and some slow but noticeable improvements are appearing. Smuffy is an ultra quick driver who might be able to spring a surprise in an under-developed car, and whilst Roo was last at Motegi, it was worth remembering he only drove the car for the first time in qualifying, and he kept it on the road and registered a race finish.

BANTER AUTOSPORT (ECM) Erebus C63 Driver 1: #43 Lancer Driver 2: #12 Yeratel Reserve: None

Is it unfair to call this team Erebus weak link? BAS are a secondary ECM team (featuring ECM boss Lancer) and have not quite shined as much as their ECM counterparts. Lancer has been held up in midfield and getting caught in incidents that have held his progress up, but Bathurst is a strong track for him, so this weekend might be a change in fortunes. Yeratel has been quiet and consistent, barring his mechanical dramas in Rome, and this approach has led to him becoming a possible contender for the title. He’ll be up there surely near the end of the race.

DARKHORSE SPORTS Ford Mustang V8 Driver 1: #38 Panoz Driver 2: #93 ChrisJohnson Reserve: None

One of the two teams of Mustangs, it hasn’t quite worked out for Panoz and Chris. The car is for sure a winner, but for some reason DarkHorse are lacking. A lack of pace in qualifying can be a large reason, as midfield scraps and battles have quite literally ruined Panoz’s Ford on more than one occasion, and Chris has milled around at the rear of the field. Quite honestly, coming to Mount Panorama, both cars in the top 8 would be a massive achieve-ment for this team.

EAST COAST MOTORSPORTS (ECM) Erebus C63 Driver 1: #51 Ninners Driver 2: #77 Andil Reserve: #5 MiniStiggy

The main ECM squadron arrive at the Mountain the team to beat. Mini Stiggy gave the team a major win at Rome, with Ninners in support. Whilst Nin has struggled for pace a little, he should be back on the pace and if he keeps his nose clean will be a victory contender. Andil arrives at Mount Panorama the odds-on race favourite, with dominating wins in the last 3 events. If he is anywhere else than the podium, it will be a shock.

FLYINGFOX SYSTEMS (FAS) Cadillac CTS V8 Driver 1: #85 FlyingFox Driver 2: #4 Whitetail Reserve: #72 Snowcrash

A difficult season for the FAS Cadillac team so far. Rossington left the team on the eve of the Rome opener after failing to raise a budget for the drive, and this left a solo Cadillac from FFS around Rome. Then just before the PEC Motegi race Fox suffered a leg injury that led to Snowcrash debuting last minute to pick points up. However it is not all bad. Whitetail won Cadillac's first ever pole at Motegi and ran top 4 all day, and will be a force to reckoned with in Bathurst. Fox returns and whilst he has little track time, the partnering FAS team had their best ever runs at Motegi and at Bathurst the Cadillacs arrive in what is arguably the fastest they have ever been.

FORD PARNELLI JONES RACING (PJR) Ford Mustang V8 Driver 1: #15 Camikaze Driver 2: #16 CnD01 Reserve: None

PJR have for the most part had a fantastic start. CnD has been a revelation, despite problems reading martial flags at Red Bull Ring leading to a penalty. The beautiful retro coloured Mustangs are a sight to behold, and CnD wherever he goes is always near the top of the timesheets. Cami has had some glimpses of pace but shown little potential— a top 10 will be a good result for him.

FURI AUTOSPORTS (FAS) Cadillac CTS V8 Driver 1: #54 Furinkazen Driver 2: #7 O’Rama Reserve: #44 SkengD

A quick turnaround at Rome due to SkengD hav-ing business commitments meant that O’Rama joined Furi in the FAS Cadillacs. Glimpses of pace were there, but an end result and product was lacking until Motegi. Furi qualified 5th and ran in the top 5 most of the day, securing a 5th place finish behind O’Rama who had stealthily worked through the order. At Bathurst confidence is at an all time high in the FAS garage—the car is now quick, Furi is a fan of Bathurst himself and always has pace here, and O’Rama looks more and more closer to the front every passing week. It could be a big weekend for FAS.

NORTON HORNETS Lexus IS-F CCS-RV8 Driver 1: #37 R1600 Driver 2: #96 GT38 Reserve: None

R1600 was a solo entry at Rome, but however after some front running pace came some big news—budget for 2 cars and a major sponsor leading to a total rebranding as the distinctive yellow and black “Norton Hornets”. The Lexus is a car that has made major strides forward in development and looks lethal around Mount Panorama. R1600 will be a front runner for sure, and although debutant GT38 was off the pace on his V8 debut at Motegi, having a home advantage could be a key factor come Saturday...