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[VIDEO] Bathurst 1000: Highlights, race updates, preview and commentary

11th October, 2014
Starting grid and top ten shootout results

1. Shane Van Gisbergen – 2:06.327
2. Mark Winterbottom – 2:06.639
3. Scott McLaughlin – 2:06.778
4. Jason Bright – 2:07.043
5. Fabian Coulthard – 2:07.057
6. Craig Lowndes – 2:07.730
7. James Moffat 2:07.745
8. Dale Wood – 2:07.992
9. Jack Perkins – 2:08.250
Racing in the Bathurst 1000 (Image: AAP)
Roar Guru
11th October, 2014
369
10918 Reads

Who will win the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama? Join The Roar for live updates from Australia’s Great Race, and the warm up, from 9:15am AEDT.

Today is the day where man and machine will take on Mount Panorama in the hope of winning the Peter Brock Trophy.

25 cars will start the race today with the hope of being at the top at the end of 161 laps. Some will lose the battle. Others will fight all day to remain in contention and stay on the lead lap.

Some – the chosen few – will fight for victory until the end. Only one car though will become victorious today. Picking that winner is almost impossible in 2014.

The new surfaces, and the quicker lap times, have thrown plenty of spanners in the works this weekend. Expect that to continue today.

Plenty of drivers have already complained about the rear of the car going away after two or three laps during practice and qualifying.

Today, those stints will have to last 20 to 25 laps, and the problems with the rear will only get worse as the tyre life gets worse.

Combine this with some fast teams at the back of the grid, and some inexperienced teams at the front and accidents are going to happen today.

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The race pace is also going to be electric today. In the Dunlop Series endurance race, some teams were doing 2:07 and 2:08 lap times, around the mountain. The race record in a V8 Supercar is 2:08.4651 by Jamie Whincup in 2008.

According to Paul Dumbrell, who won the Dunlop Series race, and broke the race record in the process, we could see low 2:07’s and high 2:06’s in the race. That is extremely quick for a V8 Supercar race around the mountain.

With those times, the overall race record, with minimal safety cars is under threat.

This will only increase the pressure on the drivers and co-drivers and more mistakes are bound to happen today. Safety cars could be a frequent occurrence today.

The 1.01 price for a safety car during the Bathurst 1000 from one particular betting agency is a guarantee today. One other factor in the race is the pit stop strategy. Teams are required to do 7 stops today during the race.

This allows the Volvo, Mercedes, and Nissan, to be more competitive in the race as they can’t conserve as much fuel as the Holden and the Ford.

This could still become a disadvantage if safety cars become a frequent occurrence during the race. Three or four safety cars in the first 70 laps would allow plenty of teams the chance to get rid of those required stops.

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This would then allow the teams to stretch the fuel stops and create an advantage by not pitting as much in the final few laps.

Another factor is the final safety car for the race.

If it comes out with 30 laps to go then the Volvo, Nissan and Erebus, become disadvantaged in the race.
Many teams would make their final pit stop during the safety car.

They would struggle to finish the race on fuel and would hand an advantage to the Holden and Ford teams. If it comes out with around 25 laps to go then it would favour all teams in the field.

That final safety car could be decisive for a lot of teams.

One other factor in the race is the weather. For the first three days of the weekend, the weather has been absolutely perfect, with no sign of rain. This is Bathurst though, and today, it could deliver a nice shock in the final few hours of the race.

According to Weatherzone, the forecast is “the chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and early evening.”

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From 12pm to around 5pm the chance of rain is between 40 per cent and 60 per cent. Rain is a big possibility in the afternoon. How that affects the teams and drivers is anyone’s guess.

If I had to pick one it would be Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards. Their experience will count for something among the combinations that can win. I believe up to 15 combinations can win today.

With the threat of rain, and the unpredictability of the new surfaced track, that could rise to 20.

It is one of the most open Bathurst 1000s in years.

Stay with The Roar all day as we cover what could be a brilliant Bathurst 1000.

Bring it on.

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