Entries for the 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour will open on June 1 2013, commencing the build up to an even bigger race on the February 7-9 weekend next year.
A revised, six-class structure has been put in place for the 2014 running of the around-the-clock enduro, simplifying the format for fans and competitors alike whilst still allowing the incredibly diverse array of vehicles witnessed in recent years.
Event organisers will begin accepting early bird entries this weekend, with a large number of ‘EOIs’ already received.
The focus will remain on building a world-class GT Event with the three classes for GT vehicles remaining the focus of Event organisers.
International-specification GT3 vehicles will again make up the outright class, vehicles complying with the FIA’s 2012 and 13 homologation documents set to be the ones fighting for the outright victory.
This year, Erebus Motorsport’s Mercedes Benz SLS AMG won the race, with Ferrari (Clearwater Racing) and Porsche (VIP Petfoods Racing) finishing second and third, respectively.
Cars racing for the outright win are expected to include the three brands above, plus cars from BMW (Z4M), Lamborghini (Gallardo), two-time Bathurst 12 Hour winners Audi with their dominant R8 LMS, plus potential entries from Corvette, Nissan and McLaren.
The Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour will continue to utilise the well-regarded Blancipain Endurance Series (BES) Balance of Performance (BoP) measures to ensure equality between vehicles.
Class B will feature superseded, older model-year GT3 vehicles, whilst Class C will continue to feature GT4 specification cars.
The major change to class structure comes in the form of three amalgamated Production Car / Invitational categories that will form classes D, E and F.
Class D (Invitational, 4000cc and up) will be the domain of BMWs M3 and 12-hour winning 335i, the popular Daytona Coupe, Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon Production Car, and more.
Class E (Invitational, 3001cc – 4000cc) will include the Holden / HSV Astra and SEAT Leon Supercopa’s, amongst others, whilst Class F (invitational, up to 3000cc) will be the home for the smallest class cars in the race and include the BMW 130i and Peugeot RCZ entries, and more.
Cars in Classes D and E have run to Group 3E (Production Car Regulations) in the past. However, there has been little growth in these classes and Group 3E Regs have limited freedoms thus making it difficult for these cars (especially Class E) to ensure all their drivers are within 130% of the fastest time in qualifying – a CAMS requirement,” explained Event Director James O’Brien.
“As such, production cars will not be bound to Group 3E Regs, with the Event producing a set of Technical Regs for these cars which creates some freedoms. This should assist with improving the performance, and lap times, of these cars.”
“We initially created plenty of classes (there were eight in 2013) so we could accommodate as many cars as possible, however now we have a better ‘feel’ for the field, we have reduced to 6 which theoretically should equate to more cars per class and thus more competition per class.
“These changes are designed to refine our product and are just part of the natural evolution of the race.”
The other major change will be a cap on the total number of entries – the grid to be filled at 55 cars in 2014.
This move is designed to offer a large field whilst retaining as much quality as possible to provide the most exciting and spectacular race possible – and to ensure that traffic remains manageable throughout the course of the race.
“The objective for this change is to facilitate a better race with less traffic across the circuit,” said James O’Brien.
“We recognise that speed differentials in this Race are part of its attraction however with current differentials at the maximum tolerance, and the long section from Griffin’s bend to Forrest Elbow being narrow, we believe a field in excess of 55 would detract from the spectacle.
“The 2013 Event attracted a record field of 49 and we are hopeful of attracting a capacity 55 car field in 2014.”
The Event will revisit the grid capacity for the 2015 race, following a review of the 2014 Event and the speed differentials between cars competing next year.
The official grid capacity remains 72 cars, with the potential to expand the field remaining a possibility, long-term.
The 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour will be held on the February 7-9 weekend next year.
