It was bigger, better, faster and more breathtaking in every way. First and foremost, congratulations to Matt Campbell (Australia), Dennis Olsen (Norway), Dirk Werner (Germany) and Earl Bamber Motorsport for a stunning victory in their #912 Porsche GT3-R – Porsches’ first win in the 12-Hour. And to 23-year-old Aussie, Matt Campbell, for his spectacular fourth-to-first final stint – which included a gutsy pass at Forrest Elbow to snatch the lead from Jake Dennis (#62 R-Motorsport, Aston Martin Vantage) with only eight laps remaining.
Following this fierce battle was an equally enthralling fight for the last spot on the podium between Raffaele Marciello (#999 GruppeM Racing AMG GT) and Shane Van Gisbergen (#888 Team Vodafone AMG GT). Over the dying laps they slogged it out, lap after lap, right to the chequred flag – with Marciello crossing the line about half a car length ahead of Van Gisbergen.
As we said the 2019 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour was epic by any measure – eclipsing almost every previous benchmark.
There were more GT3 cars (26 in total), more international teams, more international drivers, more Supercars stars, more green flag laps, longer green flag running and a record number of laps – 312 in total. Despite the blistering pace throughout the day, it was also one of the most competitive 12-Hours on record. At flag fall, there was eight different marquees in the top 10 and seven cars still on the lead lap – all blanketed by less than a minute. That’s mighty impressive after 12 grueling hours of racing around the challenging Mount Panorama circuit.
Crowd attendance was up significantly, with a record 49,495 fans in attendance across the four days. The word is definitely out, the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour is no longer the best kept secret in Australian motor racing. A healthy crowed lined every spectator area. There’s little doubt television and streaming viewer numbers were also up – all-in-all a stunning success. It’s little wonder Liqui-Moly German acknowledges the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour has established itself as the most significant, single event Liqui-Moly is involved in – globally! That’s high-praise indeed considering Liqui-Moly is a huge sponsor of – and the Official Lubricant Supplier for – Moto2 and Moto3.
Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour 2020 – it’s got very big shoes to fill. Bring it on!
