News
BUMPER GRIDS FOR SIX-HOUR SUPPORTS
MORE than 240 cars will take to Mount Panorama this Easter on the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour support event program. Five categories, Production Sports Cars, Heritage Group C+A Touring Cars, HQ Holdens, Group N Historic Touring Cars and the Porsche Club NSW regularity have all attracted bumper fields to the exceptionally diverse racing program.The return of the classic cars from Bathurst’s past headline the return of the Heritage Touring Cars category, with famous cars from the Group C and Group A eras entered amongst the deep 43-car field.Amongst the entries, Carey McMahon’s ex-Tony Longhurst Ford Sierra RS500 will take on its late 1980s rival for Ford bragging rights from Dick Johnson Racing – now driven by Chris Stilwell.Tony Alford – who will also contest the Bathurst 6 Hour – will likely also run at the pointy end in his Nissan GT-R, while Terry Lawlor (Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang) and David Holc (Holden Commodore VL) will add some Bathurst V8 muscle. Bathurst legend Bob Holden will also return in his Toyota Corolla.From the Group C era, Ed Singleton’s ex-Allan Grice Roadways Commodore will also be a feature.The 44-strong Production Sports Car field will tackle three races on Saturday – finishing their weekend early so the pit lane complex can be utilised for Sunday’s Bathurst 6 Hour race.Two 30-minute sprints and a 1-hour enduro at the end of the day will highlight their program for an array of GT and sports cars, including several – Mark Griffith’s AMG GT3 amongst them – that contested February’s Bathurst 12 hour enduro.The capacity 55-car HQ Holden field includes several of the best runners in the country, including Bathurst 1000 legend David ‘Skippy’ Parsons, Brett Osborn, Gary Bonwick and second-gen HQ racer, Joel Heinrich.The big Group N Historic Touring Cars field includes an array of classic Touring Cars from the 1960s and early 1970s – meaning that along with the Group C and Group A grid, a vast chunk of Bathurst’s history will be covered on-track this Easter.Notable names include Group N legend Brad Tilley and his Ford Mustang and Dean Neville’s storming Chevrolet Camaro.The field also includes class runners in diverse machinery ranging from Holden Torana XU-1s to Ford Cortina’s, Mazda RX2 and Porsche 911s.55 Porsche’s will tackle the Porsche Club NSW regularity sessions, and though they’re all from the same brand there is still plenty of variety amongst the grid – an array of 911s, 944s, 928s, 968s and Cayman’s all entered by enthusiasts all looking to get some special track time at Mount Panorama.The racing and regularity program will see practice and qualifying on Friday – with the Production Sports Cars kicking off their race program that evening.A busy Saturday schedule will see 10 race / regularity sessions held either side of qualifying for the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, the Porsche Club, HQ Holdens, Heritage Touring Cars and Group N cars all racing Sunday morning prior to the 11:30am start of the enduro, which has this year attracted 67 entries.The 2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour commences at 11:30am on Sunday, 16 April.Click here to view the full entry lists. Tickets and camping remain on sale and available at www.bathurst6hour.com.au