Team Joest has produced a commanding one-two finish for Audi in the 2011 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour.
Imports Darryl O'Young, Marc Basseng and Christopher Mies led home the local team of Craig Lowndes, Warren Luff and Mark Eddy after 292 laps of racing.
The race was decided in the final hour when Lowndes was called in for his 12th compulsory pitstop. While the #7 entry had already completed 12 stops, one of those could not be counted as a CPS, having been completed within 10 laps of a prior stop.
The race had earlier appeared to swing in Lowndes's favour when he passed O'Young at pit exit at the end of Hour 11.
A late ‘splash-and-dash' pitstop for O'Young allowed Lowndes to close up on car #8, with the final winning margin recorded at less than a second.
The VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3 R of Tony Quinn/Klark Quinn/Craig Baird rounded out the podium in third place, one lap behind the Audis.
The David Wall/Greg Crick/Barton Mawer Porsche GT3 Cup S was fourth – the first of the 2009-spec GT3 cars home.
Fifth outright for the Roger Lago/Matt Kingsley/David Russell Porsche GT3 Cup entry was enough to give the trio the Class B victory.
Winners of Class C were Beric Lynton, Mathew Mackeldon and John Modystach in Lynton's aging BMW M3 – finishing 11th outright despite suffering two punctures during the race.
The Peter Conroy/Anthony Robson/Mark Brame Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X took out Class D with ninth outright, while Class E went to the BMW 130i of Barry Thomlinson/Geoff Fontaine/Richard Gartner.
See below for the full results
1 | D.OYoung/M.Basseng/C.Mies | Audi Top Service | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | A | 292 | 12:01:30.7045 |
2 | M.Eddy/C.Lowndes/W.Luff | Audi Australia | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | A | 292 | 12:01:31.4186 |
3 | T.Quinn/K.Quinn/C.Baird | VIP PetFoods | Porsche GT3 R | A | 291 | 12:03:07.7427 |
4 | D.Wall/G.Crick/B.Mawer | Wilson Security – Shannons | Porsche GT3 Cup S | A | 289 | 12:01:59.0682 |
5 | R.Lago/M.Kingsley/D.Russell | Falcon Property Group | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 282 | 12:02:38.5294 |
6 | H.Lester/L.Searle/A.Simonson | Red Alert Laser Tag | Ferrari 430 GT3 | A | 276 | 12:02:50.0944 |
7 | S.ODonnell/S.McLennan/M.Konopka | Motorsport Services Limited | Porsche 996 GT3 Cup | B | 264 | 12:01:46.1710 |
8 | A.Dippie/S.Thompson/M.Maddren | Motorsport Services Limited | Porsche 996 GT3 Cup | B | 257 | 12:03:21.1949 |
9 | P.Conroy/A.Robson/M.Brame | RSH Electrical/DrivingSolution | Mitsubishi Evo X RS | D | 256 | 12:01:45.2597 |
10 | P.ODonnell/M.Hansen/C.DAgostin | G.W.S Personnel | BMW 335i | D | 252 | 12:03:38.8181 |
11 | B.Lynton/M.Mackelden/J.Modystach | Bruce Lynton BMW | BMW M3 | C | 245 | 12:03:34.1061 |
12 | B.Thomlinson/G.Fontaine/R.Gartner | G.W.S Personnel | BMW 130i | E | 244 | 12:03:32.3214 |
13 | N.Tinkler/J.Gray/S.Johnson | Tinkler Motor Sports | Ford FG-FPV GT | D | 238 | 12:02:37.1787 |
14 | D.Glasson/D.Roderick/A.Harris | Motorsport Services Limited | BMW 130i | E | 235 | 12:02:53.3888 |
15 | P.Tressider/S.Smollen/S.Middleton | Bakehouse Quarter-McGrath-Midd | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | B | 230 | 12:03:40.8699 |
16 | C.Mostert/A.Walsh/G.McLeod | Racer Industries | HSV VX-R Turbo | E | 227 | 12:03:55.8888 |
17 | P.Freestone/H.Pullin/D.Seiders | Michelin | Corvette Z06 | C | 192 | 12:02:24.0342 |
18 | A.Gowans/R.Meins/C.Lillington-Pri | Eagle 1 | Lotus Exige S | C | 192 | 12:02:32.2864 |
19 | D.Herridge/J.ODowd/A.Kennard | Maximum Motorsport | Subaru STI | D | 129 | 12:01:41.2740 |
DNF | J.Koundouris/T.Koundouris/S.Owen | Supabarn Supermarkets Pty Ltd | Porsche GT3 Cup S | A | 261 | 11:27:28.9388 |
DNF | M.Cini/D.Reynolds/D.Fiore | Hallmarc | Porsche GT3 Cup S | A | 196 | 08:53:25.0075 |
DNF | L.Burges/D.Flack/N.McFadyen | Easts Holiday Parks | Mitsubishi Evo IX GS | D | 165 | 07:45:42.9671 |
DNF | P.Edwards/J.Bowe/T.Leahy | IL BELLO ROSSO | Ferrari 430 GT3 | A | 161 | 07:14:57.9304 |
DNF | A.Shephard/G.Duffy/P.Stubber | The Shire Conveyancer | BMW 130i | E | 106 | 05:45:20.2294 |
DNF | T.Alford/P.Leemhuis/M.Rose | Donut King Racing | Nissan GTR R35 | C | 102 | 06:48:41.1208 |