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The Bathurst 12 hour is into its second half now and the unexpected wet weather has caused a bit of carnage. Prior to the rain the #17 Ferrari 458 GT3 (first pic after the break) smashed the outright lap record for any category/race at Bathurst when Allan Simonsen recorded a 2:06.33 lap time.

To complement the live stream we bring you a selection of images from the first six and a bit hours.

With thanks to Marcel Stawiczny for the pics and we’ll be back later to add more photos, so keep an eye on this link for updates.

UPDATE (1655): 15 new pics added below, mostly taking you inside pitlane.

UPDATE (1750): 10 new pics from the top of the mountain added below.

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UPDATE 26 February: (1815) The #1 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS wins from the #20 Erebus Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and the #33 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 GT3.

(1715) With eleven hours safely locked away it now looks like it is Audi’s race to lose. The #1 car enjoys a lead of 2:08 over the #20 Mercedes. It’s expected the Audi will have to pit again, while the Mercedes may just make it to the end. But without a Safety Car that may not be enough for the Mercedes to challenge for the lead. The #33 Ferrari remains in third place with a 13 lap lead over fourth.

(1545) With two and a half hours remaining the lead car has completed 209 laps. The #1 Audi leads by 18 seconds from the fast closing #20 Mercedes. Third is the #33 Ferrari which is currently on the lead lap but has to serve a pit stop penalty, following a black flag for passing under yellows, which will put it down one lap.

(1330) Mark Eddy has succumbed to the weather in the #2 Audi and crashed into the wall near Skyline. He’s okay, but the ‘Australian’ Audi, with Warren Luff and Craig Lowndes, is now out of the race.

(1300) Drama for the #2 Audi has seen its race hopes dashed. The car has been given a 5 minute penalty for the earlier refuelling dramas. On the way into the pits to serve that penalty the car spun at the pit entry and was bogged in the sand trap. The car has been freed and is now sitting in pit lane. The Audi crew cannot work on the car while serving its penalty.

(1240) At half race distance we had the first three cars all within a second of each other. Since then the rain has become much heavier and created some chaos. The #1 Audi spun into the gravel while in the lead. Moments later its sister car was in the pits and exited before the refuelling rig was removed from the car. Both cars are going again, but the lead was surrendered to the #20 Erebus Racing Mercedes SLS AMG. With subsequent pit stops the three lead cars are now spread over 45 seconds, although the order has changed: #2 Audi R8, #20 Mercedes SLS AMG, #1 Audi R8.

In this morning’s qualifying session for the 2012 Bathurst 12 Hour the #17 Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 GT3 continued to head the field.

Allan Simonsen maintained his good form to record a best time of 2:08.2244, ahead of the #2 Phoenix Racing Audi (2:08.9396) and the #33 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 (2:09.0096).

There were three red flags during the 90 minute session. No drivers were hurt, but unfortunately the field has been reduced to 26 cars with the #4 Consolidated Chemicals Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 forced to retire from the event.

Aggregate times to finalise pole position will be calculated following this afternoon’s Qualifying 2. For now you can check a full list of Q1 times on the Bathurst 12 Hour website.

After the break we bring you another image gallery thanks to Marcel Stawinzcy who was on hand to capture the action.

UPDATE:  Aggregated results show the #1 Audi R8 LMS, the defending race winner, is on pole with a time of 6:28.65. Second is the #17 Ferrari 458 GT3 (6:29.61) with the #33 Ferrari 458 GT3 close behind in third (6:29.31). Drivers have a 30 minute session remaining to improve their team’s overall standings.

UPDATE #2: Like the qualifying format itself we’ve aggregated our image gallery from today’s qualifying. There’s 15 new images from the afternoon session for you after the break.

Allan Simonsen sent a warning that he and his Ferrari 458 GT3 would mean business at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour when he set a new lap record around Mount Panorama last November. And so it proved in yesterday’s practice when he was the fastest man on track setting a time of 2:08.2824.

That’s still a way off his November mark of 2:04.956, a time which is unlikely to be broken this weekend thanks to a ‘balance of performance’ cap. That cap sets a benchmark time of 2:08 and if any driver goes below that time during any practice or qualifying session they may be subject to a 50kg weight penalty.

A complete list of times from all 27 cars in the field recorded during Friday’s practice is available on the official Bathurst 12 Hour website.

AUSmotive is trackside this weekend and has teamed up with photographer Marcel Stawiczny. Here’s a gallery of Marcel’s shots from yesterday. We’ll have more for you throughout the event.