Maranello Motorsport have returned to the top of the Bathurst 12 Hour podium after taking out Sunday’s race from pole position.
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The 2014 champions showed excellent pace across the weekend in their Ferrari 488 GT3 and it was Jamie Whincup who lapped up the experience of driving the last lap.
Whincup and co-driver Toni Vilander claimed their first 12 Hour crowns while Craig Lowndes made it win number two.
The final hour of Sunday’s race looked certain to become a duel to the line between Whincup and his Supercars team-mate Shane Van Gisbergen, who was driving the #22 Mercedes-AMG Team STM/HTP Motorsport entry.
A battle to the line between the pair was cut short due to two critical errors from defending champion Van Gisbergen inside the final half hour.
Whincup pulled off a high speed overtake on Van Gisbergen down Conrod Straight with two wheels on the grass. In his attempt to keep up with the Ferrari driver Van Gisbergen made his first mistake.
Van Gisbergen knocked the #51 Porsche entry of Andrew McPherson off track at the exit of the Chase.
Just moments after being given a drive through penalty for the incident Van Gisbergen smashed the outside wall at the exit of The Dipper, ending any hope of defending the title he won with Tekno Autosports in 2016.
From there Whincup simply had to guide the Ferrari home with care, winning by over a lap ahead of the next closest contenders.
“Obviously it’s a great day for us. It’s my debut into GT racing, along with my team-mates at Triple Eight. It was a fantastic day with fantastic teamwork,” Whincup said.
“I enjoyed the battle [with Van Gisbergen] and there’s always a bit of grass action when we’re rubbing panels.”
Van Gisbergen opted not to put a fresh set of tyres on during his final pit stop, unlike the Maranello garage.
It allowed him to come out ahead of Whincup but it was a lead which lasted less than two laps.
“It was the right call. The car had great pace,” Whincup said of his final stop.
“All in all it was a massively enjoyable weekend for us. They’re great cars. I couldn’t believe the traffic. There was so much.
“It’s a long, long day but I’ll certainly be back, for sure.”
A defining moment for the Maranello team came just after the four-hour mark of the race when Craig Baird in the #22 Mercedes knocked Lowndes off the track during a race restart.
The Ferrari was rescued from the sand trap within seconds of going down a lap – a situation that could have changed the race.
The #12 Competition Motorsports entry of Matt Campbell, Patrick Long, Marc Lieb and David Calvert-Jones held on to the runner-up spot after being pushed hard late in the race.
Bentley Motorsport’s #17 crew of Guy Smith, Steven Kane and Oliver Jarvis claimed third spot after starting the race from the 11th row of the grid.
The race contained a record 18 yellow flags.
Other classes were taken out by the #21 Steve Richards Motorsport Porsche (Class B), the #91 MARC Cars Australia Focus V8 (Class I) and the #19 PROsport Performance Porsche Cayman PRO (Class C).
