Erebus Mercedes wins 2013 Bathurst 12 Hour

Mercedes-Benz, under the watch of the Erebus Racing team has ended, Audi’s reign of the Bathurst 12 Hour by taking victory in a drama-filled race today.

There were a record number of safety car periods and more laps than any previous Bathurst 12 hour were driven under yellow flag conditions and short periods of heavy rain late in the race kept the front runners on their toes as well. Through all of that it was the #36 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, driven by the all-German crew of Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jäger and Alex Roloff, that managed to come out on top.

It’s a great result for the Bathurst 12 Hour race, too, as it continues to grow in depth and international stature.

Proving that was the sight of a fast charging Craig Baird at the wheel of the #33 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 who, along with 2012 teammates Matt Griffin and car owner Mok Weng Sun, finished in second place; one better than last year.

In third place was the #5 VIP Petfoods Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by Shane van Gisbergen, Klark Quinn and last-minute stand in Matt Kingsley.

The defending #1 Phoenix Audi finished in fourth place, which is not a bad result when you consider they lost four laps mid-race with mechanical dramas. In the end #1 car only finished two laps down.

Let’s look at the top four again: Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Porsche and Audi. In a nutshell that tells you what makes the Bathurst 12 Hour race so special. I’m gutted to have missed it live.

A three-hour highlights package of the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hour race will air nationally next Sunday on Speedweek (SBS TV).

[Pic: Bathurst 12 hour]

2013 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour

Top Three Result:

1. B.Schneider/A.Roloff/T.Jaeger – Erebus Motorsport – SLS AMG – 268 laps
2. M.Sun/C.Baird/M.Griffin – Clearwater Racing – Ferrari 458 – 267 laps
3. K.Quinn/S.Gisbergen/M.Kingsley – VIP Petfoods – Porsche 911 – 267 laps

Class Results:

Pedigree GT3 Class B:
D.Russel/S.Johnson/J.Reid – Hunter Sports Group – Porsche 997 – 257 laps

Rydges GT4 Class C:
R.Thomson/L.Talbot/R.Sartori – nurburgring.com.au – Lotus Exige S -0 228 laps

V8Race Production (High Performance) Class D:
P.O’Donnell/A.Heimgartner/A.Gilbertson – GWS Personnel – BMW 335i – 183 laps

Race Fuels Production (Performance) Class E:
I.Breukers/M.Haber/D.Ward – Racer Industries – Holden Astra HSV VX-R – 229 laps

Meguiars Invitational Class I1:
B.Jouanny/D.Wall/A.Jones – Team Peugeot RCZ – Peugeot RCZ Cup – 233 laps

Meguiars Invitational Class I2:
M.Niall/C.Harvey/B.Niall – Motorsport Services – Seat Leon Supercopa – 225 laps

Meguiars Invitational Class I3:
M.Rose/A.Wallis/A.Tebb – Mal Rose Racing – Holden VY Commodore – 248 laps

[Source: Bathurst 12 Hour/Facebook]