SunEnergy1 leads Mercedes podium at the Bathurst 12 Hour

An unusual scenario saw the Bathurst 12 Hour start the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge with only Australian based teams, although some drivers from overseas came in to play, and SunEnergy1 did the basic to win the race, which was to make less mistakes, as Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon, Luca Stolz and Martin Konrad had only some offs in their winning run with their Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo.

Thick fog made things pretty difficult in the early moments as the grid started behind the Safety Car, which lasted 10 minutes but still sent the drivers into the dark once the green flag was waved, with the No. 65 Coinspot Audi leading a field that was keeping distances close but not trying overtakes, as the night time and the fog needed a patient approach to be negotiated.

With the No. 52 Wheels/FX MARC finding the wall at the top mountain, the Safety Car was called again, ending the first hour in a yellow flag. As the dawn was approaching, the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes took control of the race, and the tumbling No. 65 Coinspot Audi was getting more problems, as contact sent Liam Talbot way down the table, and with the No. 4 Grove Porsche beached in the gravel, it was time to adjust strategies while under yellow, sending the once struggling No. 65 back to the lead before the end of the second hour, only to be beaten by the No. 17 BRM Audi.

The daylight came into play with a lot of rain, and if it couldn't get worse, the fog came back again at the higher parts of Mount Panorama. Ricardo Feller mastered the wet environment and took the No. 777 MPC Audi to first place, with the No. 17 BRM Audi getting the lead near the third hour with a combination of routine pit stops and a Safety Car.

Then disaster fell over the No. 17 BRM Audi with 3 hours and a half of racing, as work had to be done in the wiring to recover the rain lights of the car, handing over the lead to the No. 777 MPC Audi, but Markus Wilkenhock's lead would be in danger as Jules Gounon found some good pace in the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes, enough to pass the No. 65 CoinSpot Audi for second and go away despite the wet track, and with a pit stop right after another Safety Car entry some minutes later, the No. 75 had the race in control.

With some cars pitting on half hours while others had their strategies on full hours, around the fourth hour the lead changed as if they were in a carrousel until the No. 91 CRAFT Bamboo Mercedes appeared, leading for most of the hour and a good part of the fifth one, when the No. 75 appeared again, now with Luca Stolz doing the overtake on Kevin Tse for first, only to see Maro Engel put the No. 91 in front at the halfway mark. A tire blow and suspension damage for the No. 24 C Tech Audi brought another Safety Car entry, extending the No. 91's time in the lead while the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes came in for the three-point star party, while the No. 74 MPC Audi appeared later to break the Mercedes control.

The final quarter started in a benefical manner for the No. 75, as result of a long Safety Car caused by the crashed No. 45 RAM Mercedes, with the rain returning to keep the field tame. Another thing that helped the No. 75 was that the No. 91 was fighting to keep second place as Broc Feeney kept the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes on close quarters for as long as possible, eventually losing contact due to Daniel Juncadella's increasing pace. Juncadella was successfully keeping the second place, but it wasn't approaching Jules Gounon in the No. 75, which became Maro Engel's task at the eleventh hour.

Engel was having some moments of pace supremacy over Gounon, but the 16 second gap from an hour ago only fell down to 8 seconds at its best during the final, as Gounon stretched it as time went by, which secured his position and the top step of the podium for the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes crew. The No. 91 CRAFT Bamboo Mercedes had to settle for second while the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes was comfortably in third as the fourth placed No. 74 MPC Audi was one lap behind.

Bathurst 12 Hour - Race results

Audi could still celebrate a win as the No. 47 Supabarn entry conquered the Class A-Am win, and the No. 222 Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia car conquered the Porsche Cup restricted Class C.

The Intercontinental GT Challenge returns with the GT World Challenge Europe grid at the 24 Hours of Spa, with the Belgian race set for 30-31 July.

PHOTO: SRO/Xynamic