Audi Bathurst 12 Hour Event Feb 2018

[jamesatfish]

Did anyone else get the invite to the Audi Bathurst 12 Hour event in February next year?

Would be good to catch up with anyone else from the forum who is going along.

 

[Alister]

Nothing for me this year (haven't been spending enough with the dealer).

I have been in the past though and it is an awesome event with fantastic hospitality from Audi. Well recommended!!

 

[Cristian G]

Nothing through Audi, but I’ve got 3 sites booked on mountain straight.
Already looking forward to it

 

[mike]

I'll be there camping in the paddock with a few mates.

Can't wait.

 

[jamesatfish]

Any tips for someone who has never been to watch a race there?

 

[mike]

Any tips for someone who has never been to watch a race there?

Have a good look around the pits on Sat, most of the teams are very approachable when their not under the pump. If your doing Audi Corp, they will have full pit tours and all the rest.

Get there for the start on Sunday morning, its at 5:45, we usually watch it from the inside of the track at the Chase, you get to see the cars come down Conrod straight in the dark then all the rotors glow when hitting the brakes for the Chase. The sound of the cars thundering down the mountain in the dark is pretty special.

We then have some brekky and head up to the top of the mountain around 9:30 - 10:00 before it gets to hot in the day. Watching them across the top and then heading down to the dipper, it's quite surprising how steep it is in real life. The tv doesn't do it justice.

It's a great event & well worth the trip.

 

[jamesatfish]

We had a fantastic day yesterday, and Audi certainly puts on a good event.

Audi chartered a flight from Sydney to Bathurst early Sunday morning, about 50 guests plus a fair few Audi staff on hand. They had 6 corporate suites right at the end of pit lane, free food and booze all day, organised tours of the pit garages and a fleet of RS6s and RS7s to shuttle you up to the top of the mountain.

I took the chance to wander around pretty much every vantage point - as mike suggested one of the highlights is watching a bunch of cars try to force their way past each other down Skyline, and although I've driven around the track you really don't appreciate the steepness of that section until you walk down (and back up again). Sitting at the Chase and watching the cars at V-max before they brake for the corner is impressive, especially when you see the how much quicker the front runners are going compared to the GT4 class 'moving chicanes' they have to dodge.

A couple of the Jamecpem drivers came and spoke about the race - we heard from one of the Chris' from #74 about 10 laps before it broke down going up the hill whilst in the lead, and from Garth Tander after his car dropped out of the race.

Audi Sport had a decent static display - a couple of new RS5s, a Nardo Grey TT RS and an R8. Interestingly the entire current RS range was on hand in one form or another with the exception of the RS3. Even one of the Audi employees they'd flown out from Germany to meet Australian customers and do some research into our vehicle preferences was surprised at the omission given how popular they are in the Australian market.

The only anti-climax was the odd finish - I've never seen a race won by a stationary car parked on the grid - but with the right manufacturer on the podium it was a pleasing end to the day.

 

[IchBautAuto]

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The only anti-climax was the odd finish - I've never seen a race won by a stationary car parked on the grid - but with the right manufacturer on the podium it was a pleasing end to the day.

An anticlimax if there ever was one. We have had this sort of ending a few times over the years, Race declared on the lap before the leader crashes out etc. Good team result for a first visit to the mountain but personally I would have liked to see it run to the end as the first four were definitely light on for final fuel strategy. You take them when you can but I doubt that any of the podium would have felt it was an incontestable win.

 

[jamesatfish]