Autohaus Hamilton and friends took to The Mountain over the Easter weekend to enjoy an epic weekend of motorsport at the 2012 Bathurst Motor Festival.
The Porsche Club of New South Wales headed to Bathurst to join in on the event, taking part in the Porsche regularity - just one category in a field of racing and regularity machines that was well on its way to a massive 300 entries.
The well-organised event provided an excellent opportunity to bask in a brilliant atmosphere, enjoy the company of the Porsche Club??Australia participants, including PCNSW,??and the huge field of fellow enthusiasts, peruse a massive variety of motoring machinery and, of course, tackle the timeless twists and turns of The Mountain.
The boys all put in very impressive times, much to the delight of Grant Geelan; “the boys certainly had an enjoyable weekend and really did Autohaus Hamilton proud with some fantastic lap times.”
We had a chat with Mark Croudace and Simon Tate to get their thoughts on the weekend. Read on to hear from them and make sure to check out their hot laps!
Mark Croudace nailed a personal best time of 2:42
The weekend was fantastic! From the cars to the circuit to the support from Grant and Matt at Autohaus, to the endless laughs - and there were plenty!
My car, a 1993 968CS, ran flawlessly and was handling like very few other cars there. I nailed a personal best time of 2 minutes and 42 seconds on R-spec tyres, which I am ecstatic with. Then I drove home without any problems afterwards. That’s perfect club level Motorsport!
- Mark Croudace
Simon Tate put in a super-quick 2:38
It was awesome.??One of the best tracks around, Bathurst has everything - tight turns, fast straights. A good mix of testing your ‘go fast appetite’ and technical skill.
When we watched guys getting airlifted to hospital in the production sports session, it certainly kept it real for the Porsche guys. Credit should be given to the club for the culture that exists around being sensible and courteous. We had close calls but no offs and no accidents. All of the drivers kept their heads and focused on safety before lap times.
The Autohaus guys are also very focused on safety, in my case picking up on a toe adjustment that had an impact coming through the chase, basically making the rear of the car very light through the fastest right turn the track has to offer. By adjusting the toe, the car felt safer and went faster.
The crew also decided to do a brake bleed as the peddle travel was increasing gradually through the sessions. A huge thanks to them for??doing a great job in support!
From my personal experience, the last time I raced Bathurst, I was in my m3 and was very pleased with a 2.49.5. Doing a 2.38.7 and feeling like there’s loads more in it has me pumped for next year. I must admit going out 8th on the grid surrounded on both sides by menacing GT3s was a little intimidating, but the Humble Carrera S kept her own and what she lacked in exit speed she compensated for up the hill and across the top. She surprised and delighted me!
- Simon Tate
Thanks to Mark and Simon for taking the time to chat with us, and for the excellent photos and videos!