Bathurst 24 Hour

The Bathurst 24 Hour was an endurance race held at the Mount Panorama Circuit in 2002 and 2003. Only two 24-Hour races were held before the collapse of the management organisation PROCAR.

Classes and Entrants

The Bathurst 24 Hour featured various classes. The entrants were mainly drivers from local racing competitions including the Nations Cup, Super Touring and Carrera Cup competitions. Both the races also had international drivers entering their international cars in the races.

Class A

Class A (known as Class 1 in 2002) featured mainly vehicles from the FIA GT Championship regulations. These were cars such as the Holden Monaro 427C, Mosler MT 900R, Lamborghini Diablo, Ferrari 360GT, Porsche 911 GT3 and a BMW M3 GTR V8. In both times the 24 Hour race was held, the Holden Monaro 427C came out on top.

Class B

Class B (known as Class 3 in 2002) comprised entrants from the Nations Cup Group B competion and the Carrera Cup, but there was also a Morgan Aero 8 featured in this class. This class was won on both occasions by a Porsche 993 GT3 S Cup driven by J%C3%BCrgen Alzen, Uwe Alzen, Michael Bartels and Arno Klasen.

Class D

Class D (known as Class 5 in 2002) was mainly entrants from the Australian Super Touring Championship which ran a variety of makes, most of them being from Japanese manufacturers. The entrants had to comply with the following rules: the cars must be GT Performance cars under the price of AUD$160,000. Entries included HSV GTS, Ford Falcon GT, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, Subaru WRX, BMW M3 and Nissan Skyline.

Class E

Class E (known as Class 9 in 2002) featured production cars (mainly from the Production Series which cost under AUD$90,000). Most of the vehicles are mid-sized vehicles. Entries from various makes include the Toyota Celica, Ford Falcon XR6, Honda Integra Type R, Alfa Romeo 156 and Holden Commodore SS.

Class F

Class F (known as Class 10 in 2002) was the final and lowest class of the 5 competing classes and featured FIA approved Super Production cars, mainly from the lower classes of the Production Series. This class contained the largest variety of vehicles (in terms of manufacturers featured in this class). Class F consisted of Toyota Altezza, Mitsubishi Mirage, BMW 320i, Alfa Romeo 156 and BMW M3R.

The races

2002

The 2002 Bathurst 24 Hour race was won by Garth Tander, Steven Richards, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty, driving a Holden Monaro 427C. 532 laps were completed.
Pole position: John Bowe, Ferrari 360 GT: 2:15.0742

2003

The 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour race was won by Peter Brock, Greg Murphy, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly, driving a Holden Monaro 427C. 527 laps were completed.
Pole position: Garth Tander, Holden Monaro 427C: 2:13.2856

External Links

* [http://www.motorsm.com/motorsport/auto/AUS_Bathurst/Bathurst_24_Hours_2003.asp Full info about 24 Hour Race]