Salmon believes
sub-two minute lap of Bathurst
Skwirk.com.au/MPC Audi
R8 LMS GT3 ultra
2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour
Mount Panorama ,
Bathurst
2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour
Audi’s Rod Salmon
firmly believes that the magic 2-minute mark at Bathurst
“In all our pre-event
scheduling and planning it has been a topic of conversation,” the two-time Bathurst
Whilst a re-adjustment
of the solar system seems unlikely, Salmon’s argument does have some level of
merit. His 2012 Audi R8 LMS ultra is the car that won the 2012 Bathurst 12-Hour
and in pre-2013 spec, is faster in a straight line than the newer model R8 by
virtue of the newer car’s increased aero package adopted after the 2013
12-Hour.
He also has two of the
fastest, most experienced drivers at Mount
Panorama on his dance-card; Warren
Luff and former Bathurst
“Luffy is arguably the
quickest guy around the mountain,” Salmon admitted. “During last year’s
12-Hour, he was the quickest guy in our car, and is likely to be again, whilst
Brighty showed at the Highlands 101 event in New Zealand last year, that he can
drive anything at speed.
“This year we also
have four drivers, which takes a bit of pressure off me with the two faster
guys, and Liam Talbot who I drove with late last year will join me again. With
the victory we had in the first race at Highlands in New Zealand at the end of
the 2013 Australian GT season and the two other podiums we achieved that
weekend, it’s clear that despite just 18 months in the sport, that he has a
great natural ability too.”
He may be a big part
of the MPC/Skwirk.com.au Audi’s weapons arsenal, but
Warren Luff is under no illusions about the job ahead at Bathurst
“Rod’s right, we’re
right in the mix of teams that have the potential to reach the podium, but
there’s a lot of elements that go into being there at the end of the race,” he
admitted.
“Take a look at this
year’s entry too, and it’s super-impressive. Names like Rast, Vanthoor and
Winkelhock – those guys are the ‘real deal’ in these GT3 cars, the best of the
best. They race in events like this 15-20 times a year, so I’d expect they’ll
be up to speed within a handful of laps, it’s what they do.
“Does that phase me..
not at all. It’s a 12-Hour race, so what you do in qualifying, how quick your
star drivers are, how much experience you have, sometimes that doesn’t amount
to much because of the large range of factors that come into play at Bathurst
Whilst the car hasn’t
changed much since 2013, and the driver lineup is similar, the big difference
in performance over last year will come down to the performance of the circuit
itself.
“Late last year
Bathurst City Council re-sealed the circuit with a material very similar to
that at Phillip Island Phillip Island
is 4.445 kilometres, and Bathurst
“The team also
discovered at Phillip
Island
“Look, at this stage
the track surface is a complete unknown, and with the weather predicted to be
well above 30 degrees over the weekend, it may not be the perfect conditions
for the tyres or the circuit to break that mark, but I’m sure if we’re close,
someone will go after it..”
“As for what the track
will be like and how quick we’ll be, we can speculate about that for hours, at
the end of the day we’ll know on Friday what difference the new surface will
make,” Luff added. “Last time they re-sealed it I think was about 2003, which
was the year that Greg Murphy did that record-breaking lap, so it’s possible.”
2014 Bathurst
Liqui-Moly Bathurst
Timetable;
Timetable;
Friday, February 7
Practice #1 (Class A-B): 8:55am (1-Hour)
Practice #1 (Class A-B): 8:55am (1-Hour)
Practice #2 (All
Classes): 1:05pm (1-Hour)
Practice #3 (All Classes): 4:15pm (1-Hour)
Saturday, February 8
Qualifying #1 (All Classes): 9:00am (1-Hour)
Qualifying #2 (All Classes): 1:30pm (40-minutes)
Practice #3 (All Classes): 4:15pm (1-Hour)
Saturday, February 8
Qualifying #1 (All Classes): 9:00am (1-Hour)
Qualifying #2 (All Classes): 1:30pm (40-minutes)
Qualifying #3 (Class
A): 2:20pm (15-minutes)
Sunday, February 9
Event coverage;
• the final
3-hours of the race broadcast on SBS (3:30pm AEST, Sunday February 9)
• live webcast of the event (including commentary from Radio Le Mans)
• post-produced coverage of the event on SBS with replays on SPEED TV (Foxtel)
• live webcast of the event (including commentary from Radio Le Mans)
• post-produced coverage of the event on SBS with replays on SPEED TV (Foxtel)
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