HTCAV – 2022 Bathurst 6 Hour report
Words: Darren Knight
Photos: Phil Wisewould, unless indicated
A dozen members of the Victorian JUST CARS Historic Touring clan journeyed up to Mount Panorama this past Easter as part of the support card for the ARG-run Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour enduro for production cars. Despite red flags and thick fog, all reported a fantastic experience.
Mountain virgins, men and cars
Ben Dahlstrom (Charger), current club champ Pete Meuleman and fellow Mustang man Andrew Lane were among a handful of mountain virgins, but by treating the famous circuit with the respect it demands, they all got through the practice sessions and qualifying unscathed.
Underlining the resurgence of Cortinas amongst the HTCAV, no fewer than six Quick Vics were in the Dagenham Dashers. Great mates Rod Evans and Les Walmsley battled niggles in their recently acquired Fords, while Don Knight (making his first Bathurst start in nearly 18 years) sheared an alternator pulley in his GT.
Fortunately, Coxy’s Motorsport Spares had a replacement (Gordon himself was back in the hot seat debuting a very neat MkII GT) and NSW Lotus Cortina ace Chris Dubois re-wired it to suit, while trouble-free sessions for Simon Browning (Pushrod) and Mike George (Lotus) meant they made the cuppas.
At the conclusion of qualifying, the Tilley family had locked out the front row in their Mustangs, with father Brad on pole and son Jamie alongside. The Camaros of Aldo DePaoli and Darren Collins filled the second row, followed by Keith Kassulke (Camaro) and longtime Falcon fast man Peter O’Brien (XY Falcon).
Race One - went full term
Under a rolling early morning start on Easter Saturday, Brad Tilley jumped out to an early lead as O’Brien briefly punted his big XY past Jamie Tilley into second before the Mustang of Tilley Jnr snuck back past.
After De Paoli and Collins rounded up O’Brien, the Falcon then came under attack from Michael Miceli (Mustang) and Kassulke in what was an entertaining battle.
Wayne Seabrook (Porsche) led the invited Group S sports car contingent, followed by Group N Mustang racer John Harrison, this time in a genuine Shelby GT 350H – the ‘H’ standing for ‘Hertz,’ who commissioned Carroll Shelby to supply a batch of hot Mustangs for their rental fleet in the mid-60s.
When Jamie Tilley retired with gear linkage issues, Miceli looked to challenge for the podium until a drop in oil pressure ended his charge and his weekend.
At one stage, Brad Tilley led the opening stanza by six seconds, but it all evaporated when he caught a gaggle of slower cars across the top of the mountain and was left with nowhere to go. Standing hard on the brakes, with the ‘Stang writhing in protest, Brad somehow managed to avoid contact and eventually got past the backmarkers.
That delay meant De Paoli came within striking distance and, with the flag in sight, pounced at Murrays Corner to make the race-winning pass. Brad was second, suffering brake issues that would scupper his chances in the next race. Collins took third in front of O`Brien, Kassulke and Seabrook.
Doug Barbour made it two Porsche 911s inside the Top 10, the New South Welshman finishing just behind Harrison’s GT 350H.
Amongst the Vics, Lane finished 14th, Meuleman 18th and Dahlstrom 22nd. The Cortina contingent filled places 27 through 31, led by George and Knight, while Evans and Walmsley retired.
Ahead of them, Steve Shepard in the race’s sole Mazda (an RX-2) finished 20th, with Dubois in 26th.
Race Two – racing ’til the red
De Paoli led O`Brien in the early stages of Race 2, held later on Easter Saturday morning, with Brad Tilley having retired on the out lap due to the aforementioned brake issues.
Jamie Tilley, his gear issues now fixed, was charging through from the rear of the field, with Luke Harrison (in the stunning ex-Brian Potts HT Monaro) trying to hang on for the ride after his own race one DNF.
As Collins moved up to second, Adam Walton (Mustang) and Seabrook became involved in a massive scrap, as did Shepard and Bryan Taylor (Porsche 911) which unfortunately ended with both cars in the sand trap after contact at Hell Corner.
At the same time, Queenslander Stephen Scales bent the nose of his Camaro exiting the Dipper and, with zero run off at that part of the track, the Chev had to be parked next to the fence.
With the Camaro obviously in harm’s way and two cars already in the sand trap at Hell, Race Control had little option but to unfurl the red flag and declare the race a non-event with only three of the scheduled five laps completed.
Race Three – hello yellow
Sunday morning dawned with a real “pea souper” enveloping Mount Panorama. The organisers moved the scheduled 7:30am race start to 8:25 in hopes that the fog might lift, and although the top of the mountain was bathed in sunshine by the time of the revised start, the lower reaches actually became frustratingly foggier!
The race started under yellow flags behind the Safety Car and would remain that way for the entire five laps, bringing a rather anti-climactic end to the weekend for the Historic Tourers.
Special guest star Driver Observer for this meeting, Andy Clempson, had an eye-opening experience in Race Control, while Historic category organisers Nic van den Berg and David Noakes put in a sterling effort throughout the weekend and in the preceding months to get the whole thing off the ground.
Despite some race hiccups, the drivers, to a man, relished every single minute of track time on the hallowed Mount. Who knows when they will get the chance to do so again?
Winton Return
From the majesty of the Mount to the wiggles of Winton, the next outing for the JUST CARS historic tourers is the 45th Historic Winton, which will be run on the original short track circuit.
Read all about those adventures in the next issue!
