At the close of entries, the organisers of the 2017 Liqui-Moly 12-hour race for GT cars at Bathurst had received a record 61 entries, which is more than twice the number of cars that would normally compete in the rival V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000 in October.
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From 2007 until 2010, the race was run for Production cars, but then in 2011 it was decided that with the rapid popularity of GT racing around the world that a switch to GT cars was worth the gamble.
The result has been a remarkable increase in entry numbers, especially from overseas teams, and live television coverage is now part of the package.
One of the most appealing aspects of the race is the eclectic range of different manufacturers entering across the four classes and next year’s event to be held the first weekend in February is no different.
There are fifteen brands of cars due to line up for the pre-dawn start.
In Class A, where the outright winner will come from, 37 entries cover ten different makes including Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Audi R8 LMS, Bentley Continental GT3, BMW M6 GT3 (shown), Ferrari 488 GT3, Lamborghini Huracan, McLaren 650S, Mercedes Benz AMG GT3, Nissan GTR and Porsche GT3R.
In Class B there four Porsches, and in Class C there eight cars including Aston Martin GT4, Ginetta G55, KTM and Porsche Cayman.
In the Invitational class there are twelve entries including BMW 335i, Daytona Coupe, Mazda RX8, MARC Ford Focus V8 and MARC Mazda 3 V8.
Last year Shane Van Gisbergen set a new qualifying record of 2-01.2860 in the McLaren 650S and followed that up with a new lap record only three-tenths of a second slower on his way to victory.
With improvements to the cars in the past twelve months, it’s a possibility that we will see the two-minute barrier broken for the first time ever at the mountain circuit.
As a comparison, Jamie Whincup in the Red Bull Commodore established a new qualifying record time for the Bathurst 1000 in October of 2-05.0481, but in the race, the times were two seconds slower.
A current GT3 car produces around 580 horsepower which is probably 70 horsepower less that a V8 Supercar, but the GT3 car is 45 kilograms lighter.
Apart from weight the major difference is in the more sophisticated aero package on the GT3 car which produces more down force and increases the cornering speeds, allowing the car to go deeper under brakes.
The 2016 winner Shane Van Gisbergen will be back for the race, not in a McLaren but in one of three Mercedes Benz AMG GT3s entered for the event.
