Three V8 Utes competed with 40 other production cars in the 2010 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race last weekend (12 – 14 February) at Mount Panorama.
Racing for class honors in the V8 Ute class was the Grove Fruit Juice /iseek racing Ford BF of Greg Willis, the new Rockstar Ford FG XR8 of Ben Dunn, Andrew Fisher and Jack Elsegood, and the Holden VE of Grant Johnson, Nathan Callaghan and Allan Letcher.
The #60 Grove entry of Willis/Jason Gomersall and Matt McKelden claimed the overall Century Batteries V8 Ute Class win using only 6 Yokohama (Advan) tyres and one set of Ferodo brake pads.
“It’s not that surprising that the tyres could last 12 hours. The V8 Utes have been racing the A048 tyres for years and they are very endurable tyres,” said Christian Hansen, Yokohama Tyres Australia, Marketing Manager.
The winning V8 Ute completed 185 laps and covered a total of 1,149.41km.
“The plan was all thrown out the window when it started to rain so we re-assessed with the safety car and at the end of the day three drives drove at the same ability and we drove it as an endurance race not a sprint race. We plan to be back again next year,” said Grove Fruit Juice Racings, Greg Willis.
16 February 2010 FG’s debut test of endurance. Charged with campaigning the first ever racing entry of the Ford FG XR8 Ute was always going to be developmental in nature, and despite numerous challenges, Blue Mountains-based Sieders Racing Team has finished second in their class, and 23rd outright, at the 2010 Armour All Bathurst 12 Hour Showroom Enduro this past weekend. After receiving and returning the engine, eight hours troubleshooting, half the number of scheduled test days, a driver withdrawal, brake balance dramas, drained battery, broken sump and a tree falling across the track, Sieders Racing has still declared the racing debut of the FG Ute „a success‟. “Having the honour of being the FG Ute guinea pigs, it would be an understatement to say that the preparation for the 12 hour was not ideal,” said Team Manager Luke Sieders.
“To begin with we were at the mercy of others waiting for part…yet despite everything thrown at the guys, they excelled at every turn and gave a great indication of what is to come for the Yokohama V8 Ute Series next year.” With no previous race preparation data for the FG Ute available, the team‟s journey began only three weeks before the race when they received the chassis and began putting the package together sporadically as they received parts, with the first major hurdle coming only 3 days before they were due to park up at Bathurst for the weekend race.
“We got the engine on Monday, however, when we inspected it, it appeared to have literally fallen off the truck and we had to send it back to get rebuilt,” said Sieders. “It came back at about 11am on Tuesday, and we were ready to turn it over by 4pm, however, a circuit, unique to the FG, had us calling in the reserves before finally resolving the problem and finally starting the car at 1am”. The first and only shake-down, on the Wednesday before the race, had the car showing great pace and the team was in high spirits for the weekend, despite a brake balance issue that continued to plague them. “We struggled a little at in the first few sessions, thanks to a brake balance issue…we had to replace the lines from a BF Ute, which really hampered our qualifying results, leaving us to start in 23rd.” Adding to the dramas, Big Gun Racing‟s Brad Patton was forced to withdraw due to a family illness and left a last minute gap in the line-up, which was quickly filled by current Yokohama V8 Ute Series Champion, Jack Elsgood.
“When Brad‟s brother, and business partner, fell ill ruling him out of the weekend, Ben [Dunn] and Andrew [Fisher] were straight on the phones to find a replacement,” said Sieders, “Jack was one of the first people they called and he jumped at the opportunity”.
“It was good to have the opportunity to work with the current Ute Champion…bringing a great new dynamic to the team for the weekend with invaluable insight.” Ultimately responsible initiating the FG Ute campaign, Yokohama V8 Ute Board Member, Ben Dunn, was given the honours of the beginning the race, and with a battery issue forcing the team to start from pitlane, their luck didn‟t change much into the race. “Ben [Dunn] started the race, however, on lap 16 an excursion through The Chase punched a hole in the sump,” said Sieders, “the car came in on lap 20 and it took around 25 laps to get back out there”.
“Apart from that, the car ran flawlessly.” As if the team‟s own challenges weren‟t enough, like the rest of the field, they had a lot more to contend with, including a tree falling across the track late in the race.
“The weather was unbelievable, from pouring rain to completely dry and hot spells,” said Sieders, “we had almost four hours of safety car intervention due to the weather, which was especially lucky when the tree fell across the track at the top of Conrod [Straight]”. At the 12 hour mark, over a third of the field had retired, 202 laps had been completed by the winning entry of Garry Holt, Paul Morris and John Bowe in the Eastern Creek International Karting BMW 335i, and the Sieders Team were one of only two cars in their class to pass the chequered flag. “Finishing 23rd may not have been the result we are capable of, but we took out second in class and with everything that was thrown at us, it was good just to be there at the end of the day.”
The Sieders Racing Team‟s next appearances will be in the first rounds of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Development Series and Yokohama V8 Ute Series in support to the Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide from 11-14th March 2010. - ends
