Bathurst title defence
The Team’s confidence was not very high even though we had been tipped by the pundits as Favourite to win the Bathurst 3 Hour Showroom Showdown.
Season championships are important, but the prize of a Bathurst victory is coveted by all. Several V8 Supercar drivers relish the opportunity including John Faulkner and John Bowe.
So much so that the entry list was over-subscribed and more cars had entered than allowable in the field of 55. On this occasion the Organisers held a Pre-Qualifying session for drivers that did not compete throughout the year.
This is a good system as it gives priority to the regular teams plus ensures that anyone who’s skills are, let’s say " a little under- polished" are not careering around what is a very dangerous race track.
With our race held on Saturday, preparation and Practice starts a day earlier.
Pre-Qualifying was held on Thursday which reduced our Practice time. This would not be so bad if it applied to everyone, but several CLASS A drivers were allowed. Given the closeness of last year’s result we weren’t happy about anyone gaining even the slightest advantage.
Bathurst is demanding in almost every way imaginable. Ultimate horsepower (like a Dodge Viper) is not enough without good brakes and handling. A competent and overall package will win the day. But one thing is for certain, this race could still go down to the wire. Our victory last year over the Ferrari by less that a second proved that. Over a 3 hour period this equated to about one heartbeat. Or another way to calculate it is that it represents 1/10,800th of the race time! So there’s certainly no room for error or complacency.
Practice session Thursday 11th November
I wasn’t entirely happy with the Falken Tyres Porsche in this session. I could feel a vibration in the car.
After the session we went over the car and rectified the cause, and then worked on Thursday night to change the setup of the car.
We were the fifth fastest in this session. Not cause for alarm as Practice sessions are just that. Nonetheless, I still wasn’t that excited being behind the BMW of Beric Lynton even if only by 1/10th of a second. We’d have to do something about that!
Fastest was the Viper of Gary Waldon and John Bowe by a very respectable gap of 3 seconds.
Qualifying session 1 Friday 12th November
We sent Jim out for the beginning of this session. My logic was that Jim had been doing laps in John Bowe’s V8 Supercar and therefore would be further in the "groove" than myself.
Early into the session it was quickly evident that the slower traffic, in the lower Classes would greatly affect the outcome of the Qualifying positions.
At any track hot lap times and high straight-line speeds are based on keeping good momentum right throughout a lap. A record-breaking lap can be ruined in an instant if your mid-corner speed is interrupted! I ’ll explain.
High straight-line speeds are only achieved by getting a "flying start" at the beginning of a straight. Picture this, if you have to cover a given a distance of say 100 metres, you’ll do it much quicker if you have a rolling start.
What I am saying is that the corner preceding a straight is the thing that determines your top straight-line speed.
Getting the right cornering line delivers good mid -corner and, exit speed resulting in a much higher straight-line speed.
At Bathurst this weekend the amount of slower traffic, in a field of 55, was immense. The steep climb up Mt. Panorama, from Turn One (Hell Corner) makes clean, fast cornering vital. If you lose momentum in an up-hill corner you can forget about a good time.
Jim radioed in his total frustration with getting baulked at almost every critical moment. Putting together a whole 6.2 km lap without interruption was looking like a pipe dream. So we decided to bring Jim into the pits for a while to see if the traffic would clear or perhaps wait for a lucky break in traffic to get a flying lap.
After waiting for a good while I hopped in but was baulked on 3 more occasions.
Although being 2.5 seconds quicker than Practice we finished this session in fifth place being less that a second off Ed Aitken’s/John Faulkner’s pole in Ed’s 911 RSCS. Other stalwart Porsche 911 RSCS campaigners, Geoff Morgan and Domenic Beninca were second.
It looked as though the Porsches were shaping up formidably.
Qualifying session 2 Friday 12th of November
We made further setup changes after the previous Qualifying session and decided that I would go out for this one.
Making several attempts at quick laps, I promptly encountered Jim’s frustrations with the slower traffic.
On my second last lap of the session the track ahead seemed clear and was well into a very good lap.
But three quarters of the way around, at the Challenge Recruitment (nee Caltex) Chase, I encountered a slower car again.
A good speed through the chase would have really nailed this lap.
The Falken Tyres Porsche still did a very respectable 2:26.2 and moved us right up to 2nd position.
3 Hour Showroom Showdown Saturday 13th of November
Conditions for the race were fine, sunny and quite warm, around 20c+. The crowd was substantial and according to some estimates was easily around 25,000. The scene and atmosphere were set for a great race.
I did the first stint in the Falken Tyres Porsche and got a good start according to our expectations.
The real surprise package was Jamie Cartwright’s Twin Turbo Supra. It had a heap of power and watching it’s progress in my rear vision mirror was like watching pending doom.
The Ferrari took the lead on lap one and I was just able to hold out the Supra into the cutting. From there on I was able to concentrate on catching the Ferrari. This I did the start of the next lap as I passed it under brakes leading into Griffen bend at the end of Mountain straight.
I was just settling in to a rhythm with the times coming down a second a lap when a full-course yellow appeared.
Upon resumption, I caught the others napping and got a better run out of Hell Corner and a strong run up Mt. Straight
The Supra soon ran me down. It’s power caught me up the climb up Mountain straight but I was able to hold him out into Griffen Bend. He closed again running up to The Cutting. The awesome power enabling him to pass on the outside running into The Cutting. I nipped under again under brakes but had to settle for 2nd as the power of the Supra pulled it up the mount. We closed again across the top of the mountain and down the other side only to have him pull away again down the long straights. If only I could get in front I’m sure we could have pulled away.
At lap 15 we had a scheduled pit stop for driver and fuel, and Jim jumped behind the wheel. Our plan was to do an early stop hoping to gain an advantage under a yellow/Safety period. Our tyres weren’t holding up as well as expected and I instructed my crew to throw on some rear tyres as well. This strategy worked.
On lap 17 Geoff Morgan, who had taken over 2nd since our pitstop made a move on the Supra at Skyline, contact was made and Geoff overshot the twists at the Esses (at the beginning of the mountain descent) and smacked a concrete wall side on. That was the end of his race.
By this stage our gear box was becoming "not quite right" when selecting 3rd with a crunch. To compensate we tried changing slower but eventually Jim found it stuck in 3rd gear and not suitable for further competition on lap 19.
This was the end of our dream of back-to-back wins.
The race eventually going to Terry Bosnjak and Mark Williamson in a Mazda RX 7 Turbo.
Summary
Sitting out the remaining 2/3rds of the race gave me time to reflect what a magnificent car this Falken Tyres Porsche had been.
If I’m sounding nostalgic it’s because this was over our last race with the 911 RSCS.
It felt like the end of an era as we said goodbye to our trusty Bavarian steed. The Championship and Bathurst winner was making way for hopefully an equally successful era with our new Porsche GT3 which is already here and about to undergo race preparation. With Christmas just around the corner no doubt the season will soon be upon us again. I hope you follow us again next year, and even come and say hello to us at the track as we travel to your state.
In closing this season, I must make special mention and thanks to; my wife Carol; each and everyone of my tireless race Team and my magnificent sponsors. I would like to make a special mention to Steve Webb who also helped us out on the Bathurst weekend and in particular for his help getting us back on the road after our Phillip Island shunt. The season would not have been possible without each and everyone one of them.
Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.
Fitzy
Peter and the team at Fitzgerald Racing Service would like to thank the following organisations for their generous support during the season.
- Falken Tyres
- Porsche Cars Australia
- Graeme Cuthbert Prestige Smash Repairs
- Abelard Shirts
- Gant USA
- Unichip
- Revolution Racegear
- Meguiars Car Polishes
- Graeme Cuthbert Prestige Smash Repairs