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GT Racing
GT: Phoenix Audi Wins Wet Bathurst 12H
Audi goes back-to-back on Mount Panorama in rain-soaked battle...
Phoenix Racing's Audi R8 LMS gave the German manufacturer back-to-back wins in the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour. (Photo: John Dagys)
Battling adverse conditions and a high-rate of attrition, including its sister car, Phoenix Racing powered through to give Audi back-to-back victories in the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.
Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young joined Bathurst rookie Christer Jons on the top step of the podium Sunday evening after conquering Mount Panorama in what turned into a hard-fought, three-way fight for the overall win.
The No. 1 Audi R8 LMS, run by the veteran German sports car squad, crossed the line more than one-minute clear of the competition after a near flawless run in the rain-soaked contest.
"Chris [Mies] drove a lot in the earlier part of the race; he had more experience in the wet, so we were trying to get him while as much as we can," O'Young explained. "But then it never really stopped raining, so we just had to drive.
“It was really tough in the middle stints. There were times where we were doing [two-minute] 46's and 47's because there was so much water on the circuit. It was almost impossible to even go flat down the straights."
While the pre-dawn start saw dry conditions, rain hit the famed Australian circuit by the third hour and played a key factor in the remainder of the race.
A number of cars got caught out by the changing conditions, including the eventual-winning Audi, which spun off-course in the fifth hour in the hands of Mies, but crucially remained on the lead lap when the German rejoined.
“We were the fastest car on the straights but I made a mistake, spinning in the last corner,” Mies said. “We think the brake discs were covered with water and I spun and hit the wall lightly with no damage so we could continue."
Phoenix’s sister Audi of Aussies Craig Lowndes, Warren Luff and Mark Eddy was also contenders early on but a series of mistakes, including a fuel spill in pit lane and subsequent spin, ended with a heavy crash in the sixth hour by the two-time Australian GT champ Eddy.
The demise of the white Redback spider-liveried R8 LMS left the battle for the win between the No. 1 Phoenix entry and the No. 20 Erebus Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Tim Slade, Bret Curtis and Peter Hackett. While the gull-winged beast challenged in the closing stages, Bleekemolen was unable to make up enough ground in the end, settling for second.
"It was very close," Bleekemolen said. "The car in dry conditions wasn't fast enough, we were missing a little bit straight-line speed and torque out of the corners. But the team did a great job and everything ran really well. It's a shame we came so close and didn't win it but it's a good reason to come back."
Reigning Asian GT champions Clearwater Racing ran a solid race with its Ferrari F458 Italia GT3, which finished third in the hands of Matt Griffin, Craig Baird and Weng Mok, despite carrying a 50kg penalty due to Baird going over the benchmark 2:08 lap time in qualifying.
“It's gotta rank as one of the toughest races I've ever done," Griffin said. "When the rain was heavy, you couldn't really see where you were going, which isn't a real issue if all the cars are the same speed. But all of a sudden a slower-class BMW appears and the closing speed is 50 mph.”
Weather clearly played a factor in the outcome, as only three of the eight GT3 cars finished. The No. 22 United Autosports Audi was one of the first to be claimed by the mountain, as Frank Yu spun under wet conditions and severely damaged his R8 LMS in the third hour.
Other retirements included the No. 21 Black Falcon Mercedes, which crashed out just moments after Yu’s spin, as well as the No. 23 JBS Lamborghini that also made contact with the treacherous concrete walls.
Maranello Motorsport’s Ferrari dominated the opening hour in the hand of a storming Allan Simonsen, who set a new race lap record of 2:06.458. However, traction control and ECU problems ultimately ended the day for one of the pre-race favorites.
Eighteen of the 25 starters took the checkered flag, with the winning Audi covering more than 1,000 miles during the rain-soaked battle on the mountain.
RESULTS: Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour
PHOTOS: Bathurst Weekend Gallery
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young joined Bathurst rookie Christer Jons on the top step of the podium Sunday evening after conquering Mount Panorama in what turned into a hard-fought, three-way fight for the overall win.
The No. 1 Audi R8 LMS, run by the veteran German sports car squad, crossed the line more than one-minute clear of the competition after a near flawless run in the rain-soaked contest.
"Chris [Mies] drove a lot in the earlier part of the race; he had more experience in the wet, so we were trying to get him while as much as we can," O'Young explained. "But then it never really stopped raining, so we just had to drive.
“It was really tough in the middle stints. There were times where we were doing [two-minute] 46's and 47's because there was so much water on the circuit. It was almost impossible to even go flat down the straights."
While the pre-dawn start saw dry conditions, rain hit the famed Australian circuit by the third hour and played a key factor in the remainder of the race.
A number of cars got caught out by the changing conditions, including the eventual-winning Audi, which spun off-course in the fifth hour in the hands of Mies, but crucially remained on the lead lap when the German rejoined.
“We were the fastest car on the straights but I made a mistake, spinning in the last corner,” Mies said. “We think the brake discs were covered with water and I spun and hit the wall lightly with no damage so we could continue."
Phoenix’s sister Audi of Aussies Craig Lowndes, Warren Luff and Mark Eddy was also contenders early on but a series of mistakes, including a fuel spill in pit lane and subsequent spin, ended with a heavy crash in the sixth hour by the two-time Australian GT champ Eddy.
The demise of the white Redback spider-liveried R8 LMS left the battle for the win between the No. 1 Phoenix entry and the No. 20 Erebus Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Tim Slade, Bret Curtis and Peter Hackett. While the gull-winged beast challenged in the closing stages, Bleekemolen was unable to make up enough ground in the end, settling for second.
"It was very close," Bleekemolen said. "The car in dry conditions wasn't fast enough, we were missing a little bit straight-line speed and torque out of the corners. But the team did a great job and everything ran really well. It's a shame we came so close and didn't win it but it's a good reason to come back."
Reigning Asian GT champions Clearwater Racing ran a solid race with its Ferrari F458 Italia GT3, which finished third in the hands of Matt Griffin, Craig Baird and Weng Mok, despite carrying a 50kg penalty due to Baird going over the benchmark 2:08 lap time in qualifying.
“It's gotta rank as one of the toughest races I've ever done," Griffin said. "When the rain was heavy, you couldn't really see where you were going, which isn't a real issue if all the cars are the same speed. But all of a sudden a slower-class BMW appears and the closing speed is 50 mph.”
Weather clearly played a factor in the outcome, as only three of the eight GT3 cars finished. The No. 22 United Autosports Audi was one of the first to be claimed by the mountain, as Frank Yu spun under wet conditions and severely damaged his R8 LMS in the third hour.
Other retirements included the No. 21 Black Falcon Mercedes, which crashed out just moments after Yu’s spin, as well as the No. 23 JBS Lamborghini that also made contact with the treacherous concrete walls.
Maranello Motorsport’s Ferrari dominated the opening hour in the hand of a storming Allan Simonsen, who set a new race lap record of 2:06.458. However, traction control and ECU problems ultimately ended the day for one of the pre-race favorites.
Eighteen of the 25 starters took the checkered flag, with the winning Audi covering more than 1,000 miles during the rain-soaked battle on the mountain.
RESULTS: Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour
PHOTOS: Bathurst Weekend Gallery
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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