A record 12 overseas entries will make next month’s Bathurst 12 Hour the most ‘international’ race to be held at Mount Panorama since the 1987 Bathurst 1000 that doubled as a round of the World Touring Car Championship.
A 32 car field will face the starter the second to be held under regulations that allow international GT3-specification vehicles to enter.
Audi who finished first and second in their R8 LMS in 2011 will face a tougher task this year, taking on the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and Lamborghini for outright honours.
Australian stars including Craig Lowndes, Tim Slade, Steven Johnson, Craig Baird, Steven Richards, John Bowe and former German F1 driver Christian Klien will all be competing in outright contending cars.
Last year the race had 26 entrants including six from overseas, 16 international entrants started the 1987 Bathurst 1000, the last time that Bathurst had a true international invasion of competing vehicles and crews.
Twenty cars make up the combined Production and Invitational classes, continuing the great Bathurst tradition of class racing on the mountain.
Great New Year
While most of our New Year's resolutions are still in place, some firmly adhered to, others were broken before the end of the first week in January.
While many will endeavour to show constraint and follow that new budget we cooked up on New Year's Eve the likelihood of further increases in the price of petrol, the inevitable rise in insurance premiums and registration costs will stretch the motoring purse strings to the limit.
Some of us will be in the market place for a new set of wheels, while others will hang onto old faithful for another year.
One New Year promise that needs to be adhered to is that regular maintenance and servicing will keep those running costs to a minimum.
Bargains will be easy to find in the new car market this year with most of the major brands releasing new models or major upgrades on the way, superseded models will be available at rock bottom prices.
Motorsport fans will be in for a bumper 2012 with the V8 Supercar Championship dominating the local scene, the World motorsport stage will feature Aussies including Mark Webber, promising to climb to the top rung in Formula one, Casey Stoner ready to claim back to back championships in MotoGP, Marcos Ambrose heading towards the top rung in the American Nascar scene, Phil Crump determined to grab another World Speedway crown and Chris Atkinson securing selected drives in the World Rally Championship.
Summernats Numbers Up
Australia's biggest car festival '' Summernats'' attracted 90,102 people, a substantial increase over previous years.
The Nation’s Capital premier car show entrant numbers were also up by over 20per cent.
The unique event, now in its’ 25th year, showcases millions of dollars worth of cars, bikes and trucks, including high powered Street Machines, Hot Rods, Vintage and Classic Cars, Custom Cars and Bikes, not your average car show, Summernats is a festival of the motoring lifestyle with everything from the top show cars from all over Australia and overseas to purpose built burnout machines and everything in between.
Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez was joined by ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher to announce that the festival, which injects around $15M to the ACT economy, will remain in Canberra in 2013, amid speculation that it would be moving interstate.
Loeb Leads 2012 Wrc
Sebastien Loeb has secured victory in the opening round of the 2012 World Rally Championship at the famous Rallye Monte Carlo.
Having held a considerable lead heading into the final stage, Loeb did all he needed to do to secure the win, taking a maximum 28 points away from the round after setting the fastest time on the ‘power stage.’
It was a dominating win, but the eight-time champion looked like he might have a fight on his hands when Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala signalled his intentions on Day 1, shooting to a 30 second lead.
That threat came crashing down when Latvala rolled his car late on Wednesday, leaving Loeb’s Citroen at the front of the field, pulling away to claim a sixth Monte Carlo win.
Mini’s Dani Sordo, finished second with Peta Solberg in his return to Ford rounding out the podium.
Safe Motoring
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