2014 Bathurst 12hr update: Hour 3

The 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour is now into its fourth hour and has already seen plenty of action. The polesitting #1 Erebus Mercedes has held onto its lead through a series of pitstops and is looking good for a strong final result.

Tony Quinn’s #37 McLaren is also performing well and is charging hard in second place, ahead of the #3 Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

Peter Kox has suffered bad luck in his previous visits for the Bathurst 12 Hour and good fortune averted him again when he hit a kangaroo on the climb into the Cutting in the #23 Lamborghini Gallardo less than 20 minutes after the race start.

The incident brought out the first Safety Car of the race and according to Kox the chassis rails were damaged and his race was over. Kox also complained angrily about a loose roll of tape rolling beneath his pedal box which he claims was left there by the race camera crew.

Once the race settled into a rhythm lap records began to fall, first for the GT3 category but the outright lap record around Mount Panorama has been broken as well with Steven Richards currently holding the honour thanks to his 2:04.5134 lap in the #48 Lamborghini Gallardo.

The next major Safety Car period happened after the #33 Clearwater Ferrari hit the wall at MacPhillamy Park and spun coming to a rest on track facing the wrong direction. Its race was already over with suspension damage but in the dust from the kitty litter cars flying around the corner heading towards Skyline were unsighted and the #32 Nissan GTR made heavy contact with the Ferrari in a spectacular incident.

Luckily the drivers from both cars were able to get themselves out of their cars and they appear to be all okay. It was a terrifying accident and we’re lucky that no serious injury occurred.

The leading pair are now providing great entertainment with a terrific scrap for the race lead. Check out the live stream to see all the action for yourself.