Christmas has come early because it’s BATHURST RACE WEEK! We look forward to this weekend all year and it has finally come.
Fabian Coulthard and Lee Holdsworth are back again, ready to strap in to take on The Mountain alongside Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert.
The entire crew have been hard at work since Sandown to turn the cars around for the biggest race of the year, preparation is key for this event, you never know what the Bathurst Gods will throw at you.
161 laps, 1000kms, the toughest race in Australian motorsport, bring it on.
The Track
What more can you say about Bathurst? 6.2 kilometres of the most amazing piece of road in Australia (and the world if you ask us…)
With 23 wild corners from Conrod to McPhillamy, The Grate to Forrest Elbow, it’s a hold your breath operation for most of the lap, leaving no room for error with an average speed of 181km/h.
Tyres
We are back on the Dunlop Hard tyre this year after running the Dunlop Soft tyre last year.
Format
The action all starts on Thursday with Practice 1 in the early afternoon and the co-driver only Practice 2 session to finish off the day.
The greatest qualifying session of the year takes place on Friday afternoon, with a 40-minute session that determines 11th-26t h on the grid, but more importantly, who gets a lap of The Mountain to themselves on Saturday afternoon in the Top 10 Shootout.
On Sunday, at 11.30am AEDT the lights will go out, engines will roar, and 161 laps later, a champion will be crowned.
Pitstops
A similar format to Sandown with no compulsory pitstop requirements. So how much fuel you take, and when, will be the big question, it all depends on strategy.
At some stage during the race, cars will have to complete a front brake rotor change. This involves, for us, taking the entire brake calliper and rotor off, and replacing them with brand new ones, fresh out of the oven to warm up.
The fuel rate is going to be slowed down from Sandown which means longer stops in the pits when refuelling which changes the game if we have Safety Car double stacking.
Weather
It’s looking like it will be an overcast weekend, there is no rain on the forecast.
How to Watch
Fox Sports and Kayo will have you covered for every session live across the weekend. For the free to air viewers Channel 7 will have Saturday and Sunday live. For the Kiwi fans Sky Sports will cover all of the on-track action.
For the full TV guide, please CLICK HERE.
Ryan Wood
“I have been dreaming about this weekend, driving in the Bathurst 1000, for as long as I can remember, so the entire weekend is going to be a dream come true.
“Really looking forward to starting the weekend off with track to town, it’s pretty special being able to take our cars out on the streets to hype up the weekend for the fans.
“It’s great to have Fabs alongside me this weekend, we’ve had so much fun together this year, he’s very experienced at Bathurst, I’ll be a sponge learning off him all weekend.”
Fabian Coulthard
“It feels like we have been waiting all year for this weekend, I’ve been counting down the days, I’m excited!
“The first time over the top of The Mountain always feels pretty sketchy, I’m usually so focused I forget to blink.
“Anything can happen at Bathurst, but we’ve done the work, the team have been amazing, so we are ready for whatever is ahead of us.”
Chaz Mostert
“It’s here, the holy grail, the weekend we look forward to all year, the Bathurst 1000!
“It’s going to be a big weekend, to be competitive at Bathurst you need to minimise your mistakes, our focus this weekend will be doting every “i” and crossing every “t”.
“We are back on the hard tyre this year, we’ll be able to push harder in every stint and it’ll definitely make the racing a lot more of a sprint. Everyone has done an amazing job to get us here, so let’s see what we can do.”
Lee Holdsworth
“Us co-drivers look forward to this weekend all year, there’s nothing like this place, and nothing like driving it.
“Chaz and I fell short of a podium last year which definitely hurt, it makes us even hungrier this year to come back stronger.
“The fans at Bathurst always turn up, they are so passionate, and I look forward to soaking in the atmosphere – I just love this weekend.”