2012 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour

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Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama street racing circuit in Australia.svg
Layout of the Mount Panorama Circuit
The race and Class A-winning Audi R8 GT3 LMS of Christer Jons, Christopher Mies and Darryl O'Young. Jons-Mies-O'Young 2012 Bathurst 12 Hour Winner.jpg
The race and Class A-winning Audi R8 GT3 LMS of Christer Jöns, Christopher Mies and Darryl O'Young.

The 2012 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for GT3 cars, GT4 cars, Group 3E Series Production Cars and Dubai 24 Hour cars. [1] The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 26 February 2012, was the tenth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour, and the sixth since the race was revived in 2007.

Contents

There were 25 starters in the race, the smallest field since the inaugural Bathurst 12 Hour event in 1991. Four of the six classes, B, C, E and I, each had only three starters.

The race was won by 2011 Armour All Bathurst 12 Hour winners Darryl O'Young of Hong Kong and Christopher Mies of Germany with their new co-driver for 2012, German Christer Jöns. The trio drove a Phoenix Racing prepared Audi R8 LMS GT3, the same model that Mies and O'Young had driven to victory in 2011.

Class structure

Cars competed in the following six classes. [1]

Classes D & E were open to Group 3E Series Production Cars and Class I was for cars complying with the regulations for the 2012 Dubai 24 Hour race. [1]

Qualifying

Two qualifying sessions were run on Saturday 25 February with New Zealand driver Craig Baird setting the fastest time of 2:07.56 in the Clearwater Racing entered Ferrari 458 GT3 and Allan Simonsen next in the Maranello Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3. However, as grid positions were determined by aggregating the lap times of all drivers in each three-driver entry and the three slowest drivers in each four-driver car, [2] pole position was awarded to the Phoenix Racing entered Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Christer Jöns, Christopher Mies and Darryl O'Young. [3] Simonsen's Ferrari started second on the grid ahead of the Clearwater Racing Ferrari and the Lago Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 of Roger Lago, David Russell and Wayne Park. The Hunter Sports Group Porsche 997 GT3 Cup was the first of the Class B cars in eighth grid position.

The Clearwater Racing Ferrari was forced to carry addition weight during the race as, in a form of parity equalisation, any car undercutting a 2:08 lap time in any pre-race session was levied with a 50 kg penalty. [4]

Two cars were withdrawn before the race. The Consolidated Chemicals Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 was crashed by Ted Huglin during Qualifying and could not be repaired in time for the race [5] and the Mark Bell Racing Ford BF Falcon XR8 did not start after only one of its three drivers had lapped during Practice or Qualifying within the mandatory 130% of the fastest time set during Qualifying.

Race

The Phoenix Racing Audi won by 1 minute and 13 seconds over the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG jointly run by international team Black Falcon and Australian team Erebus Racing. The Mercedes was driven by Dutch driver Jeroen Bleekemolen, American Bret Curtis and Australians Peter Hackett and Tim Slade. The two leading cars finished two laps ahead of the third placed car, the Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 driven by New Zealand driver Craig Baird, Irish driver Matt Griffin and Indonesian driver Weng Sun Mok.

The race was affected by inclement weather, with rain falling for over eight of the races twelve hours, exacting a high price amongst the fastest cars in the race. Of the Class A starters, only the three podium placed cars finished, with crashes eliminating the other two Audis, a second Mercedes and a Lamborghini. The only other car in the class was the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 which retired early with mechanical problems, but not before the car's lead driver, Dane Allan Simonsen, established a new outright lap record for the Mount Panorama circuit, the first time the record had been held by a GT car.

In fourth place outright, 14 laps behind the Clearwater Ferrari, was the first of the Class B cars, the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup fielded by the Tinkler Motorsports team owned by former mining magnate Nathan Tinkler. Tinkler himself was one of the drivers, joined by professional V8 Supercar drivers Steven Johnson and Steven Richards. They won Class B by ten laps over the similar Porsche of New Zealand team Motorsport Services Limited, driven by Simon McLennan, Brett Niall and Scott O'Donnell.

Class C was won by the Donut King Racing Nissan R35 GT-R driven by Tony Alford, Peter Leemhuis and Adam Beechey. The Nissan finished ten laps ahead of the Lotus Exige of Rob Thomson, Sarah Harley and Austrian driver Christian Klien.

Class D was won by the HSV GTS of James Atkinson, Dean Lillie and Rick Newman. It inherited the class lead after the Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STi of Dean Herridge, John O'Dowd and Angus Kennard suffered a turbocharger failure. The damage was repaired and the Subaru still finished second in class, 11 laps down.

Class E saw the HSV VXR Turbo of Elliot Barbour, Scott Pye, New Zealand V8 Utes racer Chris Pither finishing first in class and seventh outright. The HSV finished 13 laps ahead of the second placed GWS Personnel Motorsport BMW 130i driven by Angus Chapel, Richard Gartner and Tony Prior, and nine laps ahead of the first Class D car.

Class I saw only two classified finishers with the Dutch SEAT León TDI of Ivo Breukers, Henk Thijssen and Australian driver Martin Bailey winning the class and finishing in sixteenth position outright, over 100 laps behind the winning Audi. A pair of Mazda RX-7s completed the class with one retiring after 53 laps and the other still running at the finish but having completed only 82 laps.

Official results

Pos [6] Class [6] No [6] Team / Entrant [6] DriversCar [6] Laps [6] Time/Retired
Engine
1A1 Flag of Germany.svg Phoenix Racing Flag of Germany.svg Christer Jöns
Flag of Germany.svg Christopher Mies
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Darryl O'Young
Audi R8 LMS GT3 27012:03:31.3753
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
2A20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Erebus Racing Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jeroen Bleekemolen
Flag of the United States.svg Bret Curtis
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Hackett
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Slade
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 270+13.2838
6.2 L Mercedes-Benz M159 V8
3A33 Flag of Singapore.svg Clearwater Racing Flag of New Zealand.svg Craig Baird
Flag of Ireland.svg Matt Griffin
Flag of Indonesia.svg Weng Sun Mok
Ferrari 458 GT3 268+2 laps
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
4B3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Hunter Sports Group Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steven Johnson
Flag of New Zealand.svg Steven Richards
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nathan Tinkler
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 254+16 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
5B65 Flag of New Zealand.svg Motorsport Services Limited Flag of New Zealand.svg Simon McLennan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brett Niall
Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott O'Donnell
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 244+26 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
6C54 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Donut King Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Alford
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Beechey
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Leemhuis
Nissan R35 GT-R 237+33 laps
3.8 L Twin-turbo VR38DETT V6
7E50 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Racer Industries Flag of Australia (converted).svg Elliott Barbour
Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Pither
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Scott Pye
HSV VXR Turbo 231+39 laps
2.2 L Ecotec I4
8B66 Flag of New Zealand.svg Motorsport Services Limited Flag of New Zealand.svg Allan Dippie
Flag of New Zealand.svg Mark Maddren
Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce Tomlinson
Porsche 996 GT3 Cup 228+42 laps
3.8 L Porsche H6
9C62 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rob Thomson Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sarah Harley
Flag of Austria.svg Christian Klien
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rob Thomson
Lotus Exige S 227+43 laps
1.8 L Supercharged Toyota I4
10D53 Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Atkinson Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Atkinson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Lillie
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rick Newman
HSV GTS 222+48 laps
6.2 L LS3 V8
11E26 Flag of Australia (converted).svg GWS Personnel Motorsport Flag of Australia (converted).svg Angus Chapel
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Richard Gartner
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Prior
BMW 130i 218+52 laps
3.0 L BMW N52 I6
12D7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Maximum Motorsport Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Herridge
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Angus Kennard
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John O'Dowd
Subaru Impreza WRX STi 211+59 laps
2.5 L Subaru H4
13D28 Flag of Australia (converted).svg GWS Personnel Motorsport Flag of Australia (converted).svg Christian D'Agostin
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garth Duffy
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter O'Donnell
BMW 335i 205+65 laps
3.0 L BMW N54 Twin-turbo I6
14E27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg GWS Personnel Motorsport Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kean Booker
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Carl Oberhauser
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Shephard
BMW 130i 200+70 laps
3.0 L BMW N52 I6
15D67 Flag of New Zealand.svg Motorsport Services Limited Flag of New Zealand.svg John de Veth
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Head
Flag of New Zealand.svg Todd Murphy
Flag of New Zealand.svg Lewis Scott
BMW 135i 198+72 laps
3.0 L BMW N55 Twin-turbo I6
16I14 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Red Camels Jordans Flag of Australia (converted).svg Martin Bailey
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ivo Breukers
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Henk Thijssen
SEAT León TDI 166+104 laps
2.0 L SEAT Turbodiesel I4
17D68 Flag of New Zealand.svg Motorsport Services Limited Flag of New Zealand.svg David Glasson
Flag of New Zealand.svg Aaron Harris
Flag of New Zealand.svg Dennis Roderick
BMW 135i 162+108 laps
3.0 L BMW N55 Twin-turbo I6
18I32 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Massel Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Caine
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gerry Murphy
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jim Pollicina
Mazda RX-7 82+188 laps
1.3 L Mazda 13B-REW Twin-turbo Two-Rotor
DNFA2 Flag of Germany.svg Phoenix Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Eddy
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Lowndes
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warren Luff
Audi R8 LMS GT3 156Crash
5.2 L FSI 2×DOHC Audi V10
DNFA17 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Maranello Motorsport Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bowe
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Edwards
Flag of Germany.svg Dominik Farnbacher
Flag of Denmark.svg Allan Simonsen
Ferrari 458 GT3 114Electrical issues
4.5 L Ferrari F142 V8
DNFA23 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lago Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Roger Lago
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Park
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Russell
Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 103Crash
5.2 L Lamborghini V10
DNFC10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simply Sports Cars Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Gowans
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Lillingston-Price
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard Meins
Lotus Exige S 69Engine
1.8 L Supercharged Toyota I4
DNFA22 Flag of the United States.svg United Autosports Flag of France.svg Alain Li
Flag of the United States.svg Mark Patterson
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Frank Yu Siu Fung
Audi R8 LMS GT3 59Crash
5.2 L Audi V10
DNFI35 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ric Shaw Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Phil Alexander
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Bollom
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Duvashen Padayachee
Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Parish
Mazda RX-7 53Crash
1.3 L Mazda 13B-REW Twin-turbo Two-Rotor
DNFA21 Flag of Germany.svg Black Falcon Flag of Ireland.svg Sean Patrick Breslin
Flag of Ireland.svg Sean Paul Breslin
Flag of Tanzania.svg Vimal Mehta
Flag of New Zealand.svg Rob Wilson
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 52Crash
6.2 L Mercedes-Benz M159 V8
DNSA4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Consolidated Chemicals Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ted Huglin
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Peter Kox
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cameron McConville
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke Searle
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 0Crash in Qualifying
5.2 L Lamborghini V10
DNQE91 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Bell Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Bell
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Dodd
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Aaron Zerefos
Ford BF Falcon XR8 0Did not qualify
5.4 L Boss 315 V8

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