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GT Racing
GT: Baird Dominates In Adelaide
Erebus Motorsports Mercedes dominates last weekend's Australian GT Championship on the streets of Adelaide...
Craig Baird jumped into the Erebus Motorsport Mercedes and dominated last weekend's pair of Australian GT Championship races in Adelaide. (Photo: Erebus Motorsport)
It was five from five for Craig Baird at Adelaide, if it weren’t for a post race penalty in the final race of his weekend.
The New Zealand driver did the double in the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli and the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
Baird was racing with Erebus Motorsport in the GT Championship and took out both races in what was an exciting weekend’s racing.
Baird, whose mainstay is a Porsche, did the sportscar double on the tight street track. The two cars were quite different with the Mercedes being a front engined car with the Carrera Cup being the usual Porsche rear engined layout. He also swapped between Pirelli and Michelin for the two categories.
"It is a very rare thing to have done what I've done this weekend," he said. "As a race driver, every time you get in the car you want to win, but to win races across two categories and in two vastly different cars was pleasing.
"The transfer between the two wasn't that difficult to be honest. Whilst the SLS is a big front engined car and the Porsche a nimble rear engined car, I didn't have to adapt that much. That's the thing about a modern racecar such as these... The balance in them is so good that you can easily switch between the two.
"Erebus Motorsport provided me with a beautiful race car for the GT Championship. I was a little unsure going in with there being some changes within the team, but the organisation was truly professional and I slotted in perfectly."
He would have won all five races he competed in if it weren’t for a five-second penalty, handed post race in the final Carrera Cup race for jumping the start.
The rest of the Australian GT field battled over two races, a 1 hour race into twilight and a second 30-minute event, held on early Sunday morning.
Many teams and drivers couldn’t make it after the tough Bathurst 12 Hour, including Maranllo Motorsport and their Ferrari. Peter Hackett and Erebus had also split after Bathurst. Hackett would be replaced with former F1 driver Christian Klien.
Following his monumental shunt at Bathurst, Tony Quinn would be driving his Aston Martin despite broken ribs. His son, Klark would also be back with his Porsche.
After the parity issues at the last race in Bathurst, the GT Management were careful to outline what exactly would happen this weekend.
The parity and seedings are based on the Blancpain Endurance Series and drivers were placed into three categories - Pro (Christian Klien, Craig Baird), Master (Klark Quinn) and Gold (everyone else). The time penalties would be determined on driver rank, qualifying position and race length. The time penalties would be taken in a compulsory pit stop - ensuring an open race and a transparent system.
Klein would take pole position with a last gasp effort in the session. He would take the pole off teammate, Baird and in the process take 1.5 seconds off the previous lap record.
“It’s been a great day for me," Klien said after qualifying. "I have built my pace slowly, but in qualifying I could really hammer it. I felt comfortable in the car and went for it."
Klein would not get the greatest start, being passed by both teammate Baird and Klark Quinn.
The New Zealand driver did the double in the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli and the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
Baird was racing with Erebus Motorsport in the GT Championship and took out both races in what was an exciting weekend’s racing.
Baird, whose mainstay is a Porsche, did the sportscar double on the tight street track. The two cars were quite different with the Mercedes being a front engined car with the Carrera Cup being the usual Porsche rear engined layout. He also swapped between Pirelli and Michelin for the two categories.
"It is a very rare thing to have done what I've done this weekend," he said. "As a race driver, every time you get in the car you want to win, but to win races across two categories and in two vastly different cars was pleasing.
"The transfer between the two wasn't that difficult to be honest. Whilst the SLS is a big front engined car and the Porsche a nimble rear engined car, I didn't have to adapt that much. That's the thing about a modern racecar such as these... The balance in them is so good that you can easily switch between the two.
"Erebus Motorsport provided me with a beautiful race car for the GT Championship. I was a little unsure going in with there being some changes within the team, but the organisation was truly professional and I slotted in perfectly."
He would have won all five races he competed in if it weren’t for a five-second penalty, handed post race in the final Carrera Cup race for jumping the start.
The rest of the Australian GT field battled over two races, a 1 hour race into twilight and a second 30-minute event, held on early Sunday morning.
Many teams and drivers couldn’t make it after the tough Bathurst 12 Hour, including Maranllo Motorsport and their Ferrari. Peter Hackett and Erebus had also split after Bathurst. Hackett would be replaced with former F1 driver Christian Klien.
Following his monumental shunt at Bathurst, Tony Quinn would be driving his Aston Martin despite broken ribs. His son, Klark would also be back with his Porsche.
After the parity issues at the last race in Bathurst, the GT Management were careful to outline what exactly would happen this weekend.
The parity and seedings are based on the Blancpain Endurance Series and drivers were placed into three categories - Pro (Christian Klien, Craig Baird), Master (Klark Quinn) and Gold (everyone else). The time penalties would be determined on driver rank, qualifying position and race length. The time penalties would be taken in a compulsory pit stop - ensuring an open race and a transparent system.
Klein would take pole position with a last gasp effort in the session. He would take the pole off teammate, Baird and in the process take 1.5 seconds off the previous lap record.
“It’s been a great day for me," Klien said after qualifying. "I have built my pace slowly, but in qualifying I could really hammer it. I felt comfortable in the car and went for it."
Klein would not get the greatest start, being passed by both teammate Baird and Klark Quinn.
FIA GT Nogaro
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