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Daniel Storkersen #defendthecup
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Race Overview Team NZ Motorsport endured the toughest imaginable debut in the famous Bathurst 12 Hour but with a mix of sheer dogged perseverance and an equally big helping of good fortune we came away with a superb third place in Class B (GT3 Cup). As the checkered flag fluttered in the late Sunday afternoon sunshine bathing Mt. Panorama Circuit we had pulled off the biggest turnaround imaginable and the celebrations in our garage were just as wild and enthusiastic as anywhere else in the paddock. What a truly amazing weekend. One of our drivers commented after the race: “This must be the craziest third place in the history of Bathurst” – and that really summed up our race perfectly.
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Overiw Overview
We actually made a late entry to the Bathurst 12 Hour, the decision only being taken in the wake of December’s Sepang 12 Hours, and that meant we had a huge amount of work to do when we arrived in the paddock mid last week. With plenty of raw Bathurst ‘rookies’ in the cockpit, including new drivers to our ‘endurance’ roster, the four lengthy free practice sessions were very important and everything went well. Where it went all wrong however was during the qualifying session as the car suffered a major impact with the barriers in the mountain section and after diagnosing that it was potentially repairable we had a time hurdle to overcome, thanks to the scheduled 0545 start for the race, which meant there were much more limited hours available between qualifying and the lights turning green than at most other races. The crew was thus immediately locked into a race against the clock to repair the Porsche ready for the early Sunday morning start time. They worked flat out through Saturday evening and into the night before finally finishing with just twenty minutes to spare. We enjoyed fantastic support from within the paddock and from local companies in our attempt to get the car rebuilt and in particular thanks go to Michael Newton and his mechanics, who helped with the gearbox, and the enthusiastic chassis/bodywork experts from TAFE.
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teamnzmotorsport | creating racing dreams
Without the assistance we received when our backs were to the wall we certainly wouldn’t have made the race. Our team partners also rallied round to help us, Completion Products, Asia Pacific Spiral, Nakd Water and Motosure, their assistance was invaluable as our small, close knit team battled against the odds to repair the car. The ‘997’ was literally finished with 20 minutes to spare before then being dropped off the jacks and refueled. Thus in the pitch darkness of the iconic Mount Panorama Circuit shortly after five o’clock in the morning the #77 car gunned its way out of the pitlane and round to the grid to resounding cheers from a crew that hadn’t yet slept a wink. Nick Foster took over the driving duties at the break of dawn with a resounding first stint moving up to 2nd place before handing over to John Curran for the second stint. The Irishman settled straight into the pace but after half an hour of his stint he pitted with transmission problems and they proved to be terminal. Our primary gearbox had been badly damaged during the qualifying incident so we had no further spare units and there was also no availability in the paddock. We had been stopped dead in our tracks. However, despite having niggling transmission concerns of their own, Class B race leaders, Grove Racing, late in the race sourced us a replacement transmission and we were finally able to return to the action for the closing hour and a half. Over the closing laps John handed over to Craig Smith who brought the car safely to the checkered flag. Sensationally, during the dying minutes of the race the running order in Class B dramatically evolved as rival cars dropped out and our perseverance, along with the Bathurst 12 Hour regulations that allow all cars to be classified if they pass the checkered flag, we moved up to
an incredible P3 at the finish.
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Media
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Television Broadcasting Live Broadcasters
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Channel 7 Co-share full 12 hour coverage
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7 mate Co-share full 12 hour coverage
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At A tten te da n nced a
RECORD CROWD AT LIQUI-MOLY BATHURST 12 HOUR A record crowd of 37,079 has attended this year’s 2016 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. The attendance at the three-day event at Mount Panorama was a 14 per cent increase on last year’s crowd of 32,297. V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton said Supercars Events, which manages the race, was delighted with the result. “I want to thank everybody who has contributed to the success of the event including the teams, drivers, manufacturers, Liqui-Moly, Destination NSW, the Bathurst Regional Council and all our officials and volunteers,” he said. “I also want to thank the fans for their support. We have seen a significant growth in attendance this year and I’m sure this event will only continue to grow in popularity in the years to come. “This is one of the great endurance events in world motorsport at one of the iconic circuits, Mount Panorama, and to have some of the best international and local drivers here is a great endorsement of the event. “It’s also an opportunity to showcase this spectacular circuit, which already hosts one of Australia’s biggest sporting events, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, to the rest of the world.”
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Will Bamber
Will Bamber “Our venture into Australian territory proved more challenging than we could have ever anticipated. Coming back from the huge crash with great resolve to claim a podium is incredible. It was a silver lining to the crazy script that unfolded and just reward for the many sleepless nights.”
Craig Smith “It’s hard to put it into words but it was the most amazing experience and big thanks to John [Curran] and Graeme [Dowsett] for making this happen and to all the guys for busting their guts since they arrived and since the car arrived. I was just so happy to cross the line when it really dawned on me that it was the checkered flag at Bathurst and then later when I parked up the team told me we might have got third place. It’s probably the craziest third in the history of Bathurst but it was just so amazing to be out there on that track with such a good car and with such a great bunch of people supporting us.”
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Craig Smith
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Nick Foster
John Curran “The race was just pure luck, an hour and forty minutes from the start, an hour and a half at the end and we managed to pull out P3 which is real boxing to say the very least. We managed to finally get a gearbox almost at the end and go back out and as luck would have it we were in P5 but moved up. I’m ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic, not only for me, but also for everyone who stretched so far in trying to get the car back on track. A huge to thanks to Grove Racing and an even bigger thanks to Mike Newton and Shane and Alistair, and TAFE, for basically putting the car back together.
Nick Foster “The race as a whole was pretty interesting but for the first stint the guys had only just finished the car, literally just twenty minutes before the start of the race it was going down on the deck getting refueled and ready so we were in a strange boat as it was patched so we had no full idea setup wise where we were. That first stint was always going to be pretty interesting to try and stay out of trouble in the opening laps, but also to make sure the car felt alright so we could drive for twelve hours and work out any issues we had if they needed to be fixed during pitstops. As it turned out we did have a few issues but I did my best to manage them during the stint. So I had an hour and a half in the car, which wasn’t setup, but was actually pretty good, the guys did a good job putting it back together as good as they could they could in that time. I’ve got to thank the Team NZ guys for putting me in the car at the last minute, obviously in better circumstances it would be much nicer, but it was awesome to be part of the team, and hopefully we can do it again in the future.”
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John Curran
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Bathurst Bathurst
The track is a public road for the majority of the year and as such regular road rules apply (incl.2 way traffic, 60km/hr speed limit). It is 174 metres from the bottom of the circuit (Pit Straight) to the top of Skyline, “as the crow flies”. Race direction (during major events) is anti-clockwise. Mount Panorama is unique in its rural setting. There are over 40 private residences located around the circuit (inside and outside). Private businesses also exist on the Mount including: luxury accommodation, a winery, restaurant and fruit orchard. Several local sporting associations also use the Mount as a base for their activities, including the Sporting Shooters Association, Bathurst Rifle Club, Bathurst Gun Club, Panorama Motorcycle Club, and, of course, the Bathurst Light Car Club. The National Motor Racing Museum sits on Murray’s Corner, showcasing an impressive array of motorcycle and car racing memorabilia from all over the country. The mix of homes, businesses and sporting clubs adds to the mystique of the Mount, creating a laid-back, welcoming feel to this remarkable track.
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Circuit Length
6.213km
Conrod Straight
1.916km
Elevation
164m
Race Duration Race Laps Turns Left Right
12 Hours 297 23 12 11
Top Speed Brake Pressure Gear Changes
275 kph 65 Bar 32 (per lap)
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Result
12 Hour Result Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour | GT-3 Cup Cars Position
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Number
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Team
1st 5 Grove Racing 2nd 6 Safe-T-Stop 3rd 77 TeamNZ Motorsport 4th 21 J.F.C 5th 69 APO Sport 6th 38 Wotso Workspace 7th
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Mobil One NZ
teamnzmotorsport | creating racing dreams
Calendar 2016 Calendar Date
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Country
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Event
May 19/22
Thailand
TSS Round 1, Buriram
July 07/10
Thailand
TSS Round 2, Buriram
Sep 08/11
Thailand
TSS Round 3, Bira
Nov 22/27
Thailand
TSS Round 3, Bangsaen
TBC
Malaysia
Sepang 12 Hour, Sepang
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We Thank | All out partners for being a part of our motor racing journey, tackling the world’s toughest races together
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