Walkabout wallaby escapes harm in Bathurst practice

The marsupial made a cameo in the closing minutes of the 40-minute session at Forrest’s Elbow.

It waited for the #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG to pass before crossing the track and into the nearby bush.

“It wouldn’t be a day at Bathurst without a kangaroo yellow flag,” remarked commentator and five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Garth Tander.

Co-commentator Richard Crail joked about the very real threat of wildlife making its way onto the track.

“I’ll remember for as long as I live, the first drivers briefing when we had GT cars here and Christopher Mies rocked up – and in the drivers briefing they get up and go ‘this is what happens if a kangaroo comes out onto the track’ and they thought they were joking,” he said.

“‘Is that real?’ Absolutely it’s real because if you hit one it’s day over. I’ll never forget that as long as I live. They couldn’t quite believe it.”

Tander chimed in: “It happened year on year on year when I was with the Audi guys. Every time one of the factory drivers would come down and they hadn’t been to Australia before, you had to say ‘No, they don’t put it in the driver briefing notes as a joke, this is real’.”

Skippy is back for his annual appearance 🦘#B12Hr pic.twitter.com/4YndZ4j7Hk

— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) January 31, 2025

At the end of the session, it was Team GMR driver Maro Engel on top in the #888 Mercedes-AMG. The German driver eclipsed compatriot Ricardo Feller by 0.026s.

“It’s great to be back here,” said Engel.

“Always such a magical place. A place I’ve loved driving. Of course, we’re here to try and get that win. Whether this will be the year, I don’t know.

“For sure, we have a very strong team, a strong car, and great teammates.”

Engel holds the lap record at Mount Panorama after his qualifying effort in the 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour.

That year he set a 2:00.819s but reckons the track will not be quick enough for a repeat in 2025.

“I’ll definitely try,” he said of trying to take pole position.

“Let’s see where we can get to. The track was quick this morning but we’re in a bit of a similar situation to last year where the first practice was really quick and then the track got away from us a little bit in terms of speed.

“I don’t know if it’ll be quite quick enough. I wouldn’t mind if it’s not quick enough because the record stands. At the end of the day, it’s a 12-hour race and what really matters is the end result.”

Laurins Heinrich was the last of the drivers in the 2:03s bracket with a time 0.122s off the chart-topping pace. The #91 Porsche 911 was the top Pro-Am entry.

The #47 Mercedes-AMG of David Russell and Luke Youlden with the Koundouris brothers James and Theo wound up fastest in the Silver class, putting them 10th overall.

The #4 Mercedes-AMG of Fabian Schiller, Stephen Grove, and Brenton Grove was the leading Bronze entry in 12th.

Results: Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour Practice 3