Bathurst Hour 1: Mostert sets scorching pace
Chaz Mostert has his prancing horse galloping by sprinting clear of the pack as the sun rises over the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
Mostert is flying in the #26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296, lapping almost a second faster than the rest of the field to enjoy a 9s after the opening hour.
He only needed seven laps to rise from fourth to first and set the tone.
Heading a tight pack for best of the rest is Maximilian Gotz in the #77 pole-sitting Mercedes ahead of Augusto Farfus and Maro Engel following a thrilling start in the dark.
If fans were still wiping the sleep out of their eyes when the lights went out at 5.45, they were wide awake as the leaders sensationally went three wide.
After Gotz understeered wide at the front of the field at Hell Corner, Feller and Engel pulled up alongside him, which produced the stunning sight of the top three flying over the crest side by side and banging doors down Mountain Straight.
Eventually the Craft Bamboo Mercedes prevailed to retain the lead on the inside line, but it was those sitting in the wake of the three-wide battle who were the winners.
Both Farfus and Mostert capitalised on the opportunity to shoot up to second and third respectively, while Feller was the big loser, falling from second to fifth.
Further back Yasser Shahin retained the Pro Am lead in ninth with Dean Fiore the top Bronze entry two spots back, while David Russell had a solid advantage in Silver sitting 13th.
Tom Hayman had a great start and was able to gap GT4 rivals Christodoulou and Buchan.
One car that was in the pack was Glenn Wood’s KTM with electrical gremlins putting the XBow in the garage after just two laps.
Gotz was able to pull a 1s lead in the first 20m as the fight for second was on.
Mostert was on the charge in the Ferrari, setting the fastest lap and successfully lined up a move down the inside on Farfus at The Chase on Lap 5.
With the Arise Racing GT 296 going eight tenths faster than anyone else, Gotz had nothing for the #26 as it flew past him and snatched the lead at The Chase two laps later.
Such was Mostert’s pace being the car in the 2m02’s, within a heartbeat he already had more than 2s up his sleeve.
Engel and Feller resumed their wheel to wheel conflict on Lap 6, with some close moments at both Murrays and Hell Corner which saw the Audi take to the grass.
The Pro Am lead battle also came alive after 26 minutes with Andrews on the move.
Two laps after picking off Russell, Andrews reeled in Yasser Shahin to snatch the class lead.
It did not take long for the Audi to go 4s up the road as Shahin was skating to keep Russell behind him.
Eventually he could not as the Mercedes pulled off a stunning move around the outside on entry to The Esses.
Sitting 17th, Jamie Day was the first to find the concrete, running slightly too wide approaching “The Tree” and clipping the wall on the inside of the following left hander.
Fortunately for the Volante Rosso team, they escaped without any damage.
As the opening hour neared its completion, Gotz showed strong pace across the top of the mountain to get a 1s buffer over Farfus.
Bronze entry Dean Fiore was the first to pit at the 50m mark but did so at the precise moment Schiller passed D’Alberto which created a brief awkward moment.
At the end of the first hour Feller finally overcame Engel on the third attempt at Hell Corner.
Image: GT World Challenge Australia
Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour leaderboard
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