Audi scores historic 1-2 at Bathurst

Audi scored a historic 1-2 finish at the Bathurst 12 Hours on Sunday, the first non-native cars to achieve the feat.

The #8 R8 LMS of Marc Basseng, Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young was less than a second clear of the all-Australian sister machine driven by Craig Lowndes, Mark Eddy and Warren Luff at the chequered flag after both were forced in for unscheduled pit stops inside the final 30 minutes.

Lowndes had looked odds on to score victory before his comfortable 30-second lead evaporated with just half an hour remaining. And although he was offered a lifeline when O’Young also required a splash and dash in sight of the finish, it wasn’t enough to deny the Chinese driver and his German team-mates.

Audi’s 1-2 saw them join an elite club of marques to achieve the feat with only Ford and Holden having previously locked out the top two podium steps, while the winning R8’ss dominance also saw it complete 292 laps (1,814.19 km), a new distance record for the event.

Porsche’s bid was dealt a severe blow several hours in when the VIP Petfoods entry of Tony Quinn, Klark Quinn and Craig Baird, a pit-stop ahead thanks to cunning strategy, was caught out by an untimely Safety Car and eventually finished a lap down in third.

David Wall, Barton Mawer and Greg Crick were a distant fourth ahead of another Porsche, this time the Roger Lago, Matt Kingsley and David Russell B Class winning entry which punched above its weight throughout.

Ferrari made it three different brands in the top six positions thanks to the Hector Lester, Allan Simonsen and Luke Searle F430 GT3, which endured several technical issues throughout the day to finish twelve laps behind the leader.

BMW claimed the Class C spoils after Lynton, Mackelden and Modystach finished over 40 laps clear of their nearest rivals, while Conroy, Robson and Brame took the D Class victory in their Mitsubishi Evo X. Thomlinson, Fontaine and Gartner won Class E.

Catch coverage from this year's Bathurst 12 Hours on Motors TV.

Tom Hornsby