TURN A KEY, WIN BATHURST 12-HOUR If you want to win the Bathurst 12-Hour you need only two things, based on the results of the 2008 and ‘09 events. Three good drivers is a given but if you front up at Team Mitsubishi Australia in Melbourne, plonk down $180,000 (a standard Evo X retails for around $60,000) and drive away with one of its race-prepped Mitsubishi Evo Xs, you’re in with a good shot at a podium.
TMR Evos placed first and second for the second consecutive year in the Feb 22 half-round-the clock epic and after the race the winning team of Damien White and Rod Salmon (who also won in ’08) and Tony Longhurst paid tribute to the Alan Heaphy-run organisation (which is not supported by Mitsubishi), which spent six months developing into Mitsubishi’s new road burner.
Both TMR Evos ran flawlessly, the winning car needing only a change of front tyres and brake pads (in addition to fuel) to complete 239 laps and 1458 kilometres in 12 hours. A turn-key triumph, indeed.
Second outright was the sister TMR car of Tony Ricciardello, Stuart Kostera and Glyn Crimp, the only other car on the lead lap. The latter two drivers were making their competition debuts at Bathurst and it was only veteran Crimp’s second race in four years – his last was just to keep his licence!
Third outright was the Brad Jones/Jason Bargwanna Evo X, which miraculously finished only a lap down despite a recurrent refuelling problem and late race brake drama resulting in 19 pitstops! Mitsubishi Evos dominated the race, the Class C rockets accounting for six of the top 10 outright postions.
Other class winners were:
Class A: High Performance Rear-Wheel Drive
#11 B. Morcom/L. Searle/P. Stubber – BMW 335i
Class B: High Performance Sports
#10 M. O’Connor/R. Buttrose/S. Hogg – Lotus Exige
Class D: Hot Hatch Performance
#27 A. Shepherd/P. O’Donnell/C. D’Agostin – BMW 130i
Class E: Australian Production Sedans
#24 G. Walden/B. Walden/M. Auld – Holden SS VZ
Class F: Production Sports
#14 P. Conroy/C. Schembri/R. Gartner – Honda Integra Type S
Class G: Micro Sedans and Hatches
#88 M. Windsor/S. Sheils/P. Newman – Subaru Impreza 2.5
Class H: Eco Diesel Over 3.5 Litre
#76 K. Booker/R. Rinaldo/D. Stone – Alfa Romeo 159 JTD
Class I: Eco Diesel 3.5 Litre And Under
#77 D.Filipetto/N. Gotch/W. Vinckx – Alfa Romeo 147 JTD