The Renault Clio 197 will be represented in the Armor All Bathurst 12 HourShowroom Enduro 12 – 14 February 2010, the first time a Renault has featuredon the mountain since Alan Jones raced the Williams Renault Super Tourer atthe Bathurst 1000 in the late 1990’s.
Richard Gartner will be entering the car as the Safe-T-Stop Clio as number97, referring to the model code (Renault Clio 197) and will be entered inClass D Production Sports. “The Clio was purchased brand new from Northshore Motors, Hornsby, who willalso be servicing the car. At the moment all the safety features are added.” “The car will run on German KW Suspension components, fitted and supplied byEast Coast Suspension, Kirrawee. “It will also use a Limited Slip differential designed by DrechslerMotorsport in Germany,” explained Gartner.
Gartner took out the 2009 Bathurst 12 Hour class F (Production Sports) in aHonda Integra and will be driving the Renault 197 with GT Champion MarkEddy. The two have both competed in the 12 hour Sepang and Gartner alsoboasts regular drives in the 24 hour Nurburgring and Dubai 24 Hour. The twoare yet to be joined by a third driver but are feeling confident in the carsability.
“The Clio will circulate in the mid to low 2 minutes and forty secondbracket and should be very reliable. We will try to get through the racewith as little pit stops as possible and aim at a class win and top 12outright,” said Gartner. The Renault is just one of many cars who have recently entered the Event andis expected to challenge the Honda Integra and Toyota Celica domination ofthe class in previous 12 Hour Events.
“We are still two and a half months out from the race and expecting up to40 entries in total,” said Event promoter James O’Brien.
The Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour Showroom Enduro is now in its 4th year, witha grid of over 50 cars expected to compete. The race features productioncars in a class structure representative of the mass road-going market. BMW,Mitsubishi, Ford, Holden, Nissan and Subaru are expected to compete foroutright honours, while an Alternative Energy class is open to diesel,hybrid and LPG entries. The Event will be televised in a 3 hour special on the SEVEN Network,through Fox Sports, New Zealand and other International Markets. -
