{"id":284374,"date":"2023-04-09T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=284374"},"modified":"2023-04-09T13:59:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T13:59:58","slug":"plans-revealed-for-new-bathurst-enduro-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=284374","title":{"rendered":"Plans revealed for new Bathurst enduro event"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bathurst 6 Hour<\/a> is set to keep its production car formula for the foreseeable future despite the growth of the global GT4 platform.<\/p>\n

Murmurs have been getting louder in the pit lane that the six-hour race might move from its bespoke multi-class set-up to an event led by the global FIA GT4 platform.<\/p>\n

Instead, GT4 cars look set to get their own endurance race and a standalone series to boot.<\/p>\n

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At the Bathurst 6 Hour, a handful of GT4 machines joined the Australian Production Cars grid as a curtain raiser to the endurance race.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

That prompted suggestions from some competitors that the six-hour race might ditch its top division, Class X, which is home to the fastest production cars.<\/p>\n

Bathurst 6 Hour organisers have moved to quell those fears, revealing plans to establish a standalone GT4 series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"It's one of those things \u2013 if it's not broken, don't fix it," Australian Racing Group chief operating officer Liam Curkpatrick told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

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"I think it's got a good vibe. It's got a good feel. Definitely down in the paddock speaking to teams, everyone's happy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"It works. The regulations are good, they don't need tweaking. We've seen quite a few good races and finishes and so I think the formula is all there.<\/p>\n

"While it's working well, you keep pushing in the same direction. Next year, we say it every year, but there's no reason we can't get closer to the 70 cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"This time of year is always a bit difficult. In some ways it works for a lot of people, in other ways it's a difficult one. The tradition of running on Easter as well is important and ultimately does work."<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The inclusion of GT4 cars to the Australian Production Cars is a means to an end, using the series as a launch pad before the category goes solo.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that GT4 cars are currently eligible to race in GT World Challenge Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, some competitors are reluctant to race against the faster GT3 cars and would rather be the stars of their own series.<\/p>\n

Curkpatrick confirmed a three-hour endurance race for GT4 cars at the Bathurst International in 2024 is in the works.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, organisers are keen to keep the amateur ethos of the event where professional racing teams might otherwise enter GT4 cars and change the feel of the six-hour.<\/p>\n

GT4 cars are purpose-built race cars by manufacturers and come with customer support from the factory. By contrast, production cars are home-built machines, featuring minor modifications from the showroom floor.<\/p>\n

There is already a healthy stock of GT4 cars in Australia and more are coming into the country.<\/p>\n

Curkpatrick expects upwards of 14 entries when the GT4 series stands on its own with up to five events on a future calendar as well as the Bathurst International enduro.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Curkpatrick is also conscious that Bathurst 6 Hour competitors in the leading Class X have invested significantly in the top-line cars, and dethroning those cars would be doing the owners a disservice.<\/p>\n

"It's got its own DNA," said Curkpatrick of the Bathurst 6 Hour.<\/p>\n

"It is a cost-effective way to go racing. I don't think you really want to change that by bringing influences that might do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Keeping the DNA of what it is, not changing that or interfering with it, that's probably the key.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

"There was a lot of rumour about GT4 coming into the six hour, but in all honesty, it was never really the intention.<\/p>\n

"We were always looking for a way to introduce GT4 and working with APC (Australian Production Cars) to bring it in with them.<\/p>\n

"That's been the best strategy and already we can see it's working.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"They've got a lot of interest and Troy Williams (Australian Production Cars general manager) is talking about having up to six GT4 cars for their next round at Phillip Island."<\/p>\n

Curkpatrick expects the new GT4 series to be a springboard for competitors to graduate into GT3 cars locally.<\/p>\n

The Bathurst 6 Hour takes place annually on Easter weekend.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bathurst 6 Hour is set to keep its production car formula for the foreseeable future despite the growth of the global GT4 platform. Murmurs […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284374"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284374"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284376,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284374\/revisions\/284376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}