Is it time GT4 got its own Bathurst enduro?

The Bathurst 12 Hour has struggled to entice GT4 competitors year after year, with just a handful making the annual visit to Mount Panorama.

GT4 as a class has been part of the 12 Hour since 2012 and peaked in 2018 with six cars.

What’s changed in recent years is the advent of GT4 Australia – a dedicated category for the cars.

As an SRO product, the series has thrived in its infancy with a flush grid including a variety of manufacturers from Ford, Porsche, McLaren, BMW, and Mercedes-AMG.

What it lacks, however, is a marquee race at Mount Panorama.

So could the Bathurst 12 Hour support a two-driver Saturday curtain-rasier?

A similar concept exists at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Supporting the IMSA SportsCar Championship is the Michelin Pilot Challenge.

That series is open to GT4 and TCR cars and attracts healthy grids. At Daytona, the second-tier IMSA series hosted a four-hour, two-driver race, which this year attracted 43 cars.

GT4 Australia competitor George Miedecke was at Daytona for the most recent 24-hour race where he saw the four-hour first-hand.

Speaking with Speedcafe, he backed Bathurst 12 Hour organisers to introduce a Saturday curtain-raiser.

“I think a GT4 event would stand on its own – and if it helped TCR then great – but I really think there’s an opportunity,” said Miedecke.

“As we’ve seen in Australia, whenever they try and run GT4 in conjunction with GT3, it has struggled. As soon as it got its own billing, suddenly there’s this huge flock.

“We’re the biggest market for the Ford Mustang outside of North America. I think there is merit for an endurance race for GT4 at Bathurst.”

Multi-class racing has been a staple of the Bathurst 12 Hour, but the sheer speed disparity between the fastest GT3 cars and the GT4 cars is ultimately what keeps him and others away.

“In an alternate universe where the Bathurst 12 Hour is the Phillip Island 12 Hour, you’d run a GT4 car – but Bathurst isn’t Phillip Island,” Miedecke explained.

“The problem with Bathurst is it’s so narrow, it’s so fast, and you get to 10 or 11 hours and some kamikaze from Europe sticks it up the inside of you at the Grate and puts you in the marbles and your day is done with a huge bill.

“That’s what discourages people, I think. A decent, medium-type endurance race at Bathurst on the Saturday — it couldn’t help but be massive.

“The GT4 cars are fast. To drive them as fast across the top of the mountain as they’ll go, you’re having a good go. To do that and be watching your mirrors. It’s one of the reasons why we stay away.”

Miedecke acknowledged the efforts of Chaz Mostert’s Method Motorsport and Mark Griffith’s Nineteen Motorsport, but said that the cost of competing in the Bathurst 12 Hour was equivalent to an entire GT4 season.

He firmly believed that a short-form endurance race would be attractive to domestic teams and that GT3 teams from Europe and Asia would bring cars with them.

Miedecke said TCR cars could be a part of the race too, an idea two-time champion Josh Buchan has backed.

“It’s proven overseas, which makes life easier in terms of not having to set a trend,” Buchan told Speedcafe.

“Having driven both cars, they both produce relatively similar lap times in relatively different ways. You’d get to the start-finish line effectively in the same amount of time, but it may actually open up for some interesting racing where you’ve got TCR cars that may not be as punchy off some corners but are significantly quicker across the top.

“There is a raft of different things that would go on – fuel rate, fuel burn, tyre life as well. It would probably be a really entertaining race when I think about it. The only thing stopping TCR teams is setting up fuel rigging systems. I know that’s been an issue in the past. If it was an option that teams would look at, certainly teams would be interested.”

An endurance race for TCR cars at Mount Panorama isn’t an entirely new concept. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian Racing Group announced plans for the TCR Bathurst 500, an 81-lap endurance race designed to attract TCR cars from around the world.

That was ultimately scuppered and morphed into the short-lived Bathurst International, which brought the TCR World Tour to Australia.

Like Miedeckie, Buchan said the cost of competing in the Bathurst 12 Hour can be prohibitive, labelling it the most expensive race in Australia.

However, a shorter endurance race would be an attractive option in his opinion.

“If that was brought to life, you’re looking at the old Super Touring days all over again, which would be very cool,” said Buchan.

“It’s definitely not looking to rival anything, but that definitely would be something I think drivers across the country would be very interested in doing.

“I definitely know some competitors are daunted by the fact that not only is it a circumstance where cars are significantly faster, but then you’ve got some drivers who probably aren’t too willing to wait behind a GT4 car for too long.

“The fact that there could be a combined grid of cars, all of relative pace is definitely something I think GT4 customers would look at.”