Bathurst 24 hr coverage

[Dazz]

Comparing lap times is probably a bit hard as you don't push a car as hard over 24-hours / 3,000+ kilometres as you would for a 1,000km race.

Lap record for the GT-R was in the 2:14 range though.

V8 Supercar record is in the 2:08 range.

[IMOA]

Figured I might as well chuck a few comments in

Thanks Dazz for clearing up some of the monaro stuff, I wonder sometimes if people have a 1 thread memory as it gets tiring clarifying the same things 30 times over. I also which people would realise that just because a car isn't there that doesn't mean it's banned.

Secondly, for all those complaining about the TV coverage, get off your arses and come to the race!!!

We were camped up at McPhillemy and had a brilliant time though we will be a bit better prepared next time (ie, we got wet ) Twas good to catch up with some of the performance forums crowd, pity we didn't catch up with more as we had sh*tloads of hot food sunday morning and only a few people to eat it. Next year we should organise a big brekky ahead of time for sunday morning and get everyone along.

As for the race, congrats to GRM for a fautless race, just a pity that so many people are so quick to complain rather than give credit for the outstanding preperation effort they did on the cars.

Entertainment awards to Jurgen Alzen Motorsport #6 GT3 - really drove the pants off it for long periods, Humes #91 STI - if there is anything left on that car that works I'll be amazed, another example of a car which was regularly lapping at 10/10ths, Bruce Lynton #23 BMW M3 - particularly in the wet when they were drifting all the way through McPhillemy but also in the dry this car was a real highlight for showing why they were driving and we were watching Donut King #37 Mirage - once again a superb display of thrashing the pants off a little car and often embarrasing far faster opponents Be racing #48 360 - throroughly enjoyed watching the charge through the middle of the night, rather dissapointed to see the engine go (though next time you might want to hop off the racing line as you're spreading a thick line off coolent and it appears oil over half of the track).

Finally, special mention to Rick Shaw in the 2 hour. He was clearly a class or two above everyone else in that race and his performances first lap out at the start or after a pace car in the wet over the top of the mountain were in Jim Richards class, it was a privillege to be able to watch them.

[Camma]

Tommy the Mosler can be bought off the showroom.

I would love to see the GT500's race due to my love for "jap crap".

It would be great if we start to see more factory backed teams in the race so it would be more competitive. *Dreams of Australian Le Mans*

IMOA - I would have gone had the World Cup Rugby Final been on Saturday night. Will make an effort to go next year, would be good to catch up with the pf crowd and watch the race.

[dazsta]

Damn sr20 boy,

we were camped up there as well
got wet as well

had hot food left over on sunday morning too!

it was definately a great event

Will be back next yr.

[walkie]

yeah dazz the commentators don't know a thing. They quote the engine capacity of cars and sometimes miss by whole litres.

does anyone know what happened for Channel 10 to let go of the rights to the Procar events? Was it to do with Procar not running when the V8Supercars are on anymore (in most cases, anyway)? It's such a shame that what could be such a big event gets treated with such contempt by the broadcaster.

[PT Cruisin]

would of been good to catch up with some of the PF guys up on the hill, but alas didn't even know where to start looking. Had a great weekend watching some races, getting wet and getting the chance to so parage laps with the Pacers, Chargers and PT Cruisers just before teh 24hr race started.

You guys may not be aware but if you saw the Pacers and Chargers before the 24hr race started there was a bit of an incident on Conrod straight. 2 pacers ended up in the concrete wall due to some very poor organisation. The 2 poor guys were at the start of the group for the parade laps that got all the way to the crest on Conrod, when they came over the hill to a view of brake lights from the Holden Precision Driving Team. For some reason someone decided to get them set up for there display before our parade laps had finished. The guys had to lock it up when of course put them on the grass and then into the wall. Luckily noone was hurt just some bruised prides.

some pics.

[Camma]

walkie the best call I heard from the commentators was about how the "427 Litre Monaro was leading". No wonder they won thats a big engine.

A pissed JA also provided some useless commentary.

[walkie]

yeah I heard that comment too!! what an idiot.

[IMOA]

200 - you should've done what we did and watched the final on the big screen from the top of the mountain.

dazsta - I didn't know you were going up, you should have said something

PT - it wasn't the only near miss with the precision driving team, there were some rather interesting moments when they were doing the drive on two wheels thing as an offical car was coming the other way!!! With the amount of downtime they had between the end of the brutes and the start of the 24 hour it's pretty disgraceful they didn't manage this better.

[Matt]

Winfield GT-R's best was in the 2:12's in 1992

[23Kev]

I also as someone who has been to both races might make a few comments.

I think the GRM Monaro is an amazing car, to be able to run that well, that fast and that cleanly for 24 hours is very impressive. To have two of them do that for 24 hours is a testament to GRM. BUT, I don't like them and wish something would be done to make the racing more interesting. Maybe like others have said other cars from other manufacturers entered may make it a better race.

My impressions of this race over last years are these, I loved being there once again, and the ability to watch some awesome cars race around an amazing track for 24 hours I see as a privelage(sp??). The cars the impressed me are the Fitzergald Porsche, the Humes STi (just 10/10ths through skyline ALL day and night, even with a leaky exhaust), when it was going the Bowe M3GTR (great exhaust note, unlike the very UNimpressive Morgan), the red ferrari especially with Montermini driving and just like last year the Donut King Mirage, goes to show that a small car can be so quick over the top of the mountain.

My impressions of the crowd though are much lower than that of last year. There were some absolute bogans there that took part in the ute muster. I'm sure they didn't even know that there was a race on all weekend, they were just content on abusing people for not doing burnouts or showing some boobs or annoying the whole of the Skyline camping ground at 1230am with the shittiest exhaust note possible on a WB ute. The 24 hour DOES NOT NEED a ute muster to bring a crowd, if those guys are there again next year I would seriously consider not going. I know we could've moved somewhere else, but I like camping where we did.

I also am sick of the rain and don't wish to be wet (apart from a shower) for the next 4 weeks!!!

I also took a heap of photos but haven't got them yet, I should tomorrow or Wednesday....long story .

Kev

[GAZ914]

Originally posted by IMOA

Secondly, for all those complaining about the TV coverage, get off your arses and come to the race!!!

Couldn't agree more.
The "real thing" is so much better than TV can show.

Even though I was "stuck" at the top of the mountain for the weekend (at a flag point) just watching the cars for hour after hour is sensational.

Next years 24hr can't come quick enough for me

[Miraz]

Originally posted by Tommy Boi
And I'm quite sure that you can't buy a Mosler MT900R off the showroom floor as well.

That's not strictly true - they've sold quite a few MT900R spec cars to privateer race teams around the world now - the MT900S road car is much closer to the race car than most of the other class A cars. They have been making noises about striking up a deal with Katech who make the 7 liter C5R motor used in the Monaro racers....the Mosler is running a fairly mild motor setup at the moment, I'm sure it could use a lot more power.

Mosler website

[IMOA]

Lack of power didn't seem to be the Mosler's problem, to me it appeared to be too low and too wide (as odd as that sounds). While I'm sure it could maintain enormous speed through flat, open constant radius corners it did not appear to like turning in or changing line once set. From the outside it looked a bit clumbsy to tell the truth.

I agree with Kev on the crowd as well (though Mcphillemy Park was better than skyline, whaddadja expect setting up camp in front of the ute muster!!!), it was a bit different to last year. However it's still a lot better than the supercars and while the crowd numbers stay low it's easy to find a decent spot to set up camp. There were a _lot_ more people this year though and a lot more people camping.

[Dazz]

Originally posted by Matt
Winfield GT-R's best was in the 2:12's in 1992

2:12 was it's qualifying time, fastest lap in the race was a 2:14, set by mark Skaife in the second car in 1991 whilst driving it to the point where it broke and retired.