Interest in Australia’s international endurance race has boomed this year, with the entry rocketing from 22 to 35 cars.
The increase has come entirely among the GT3 contenders, with just two GT4 cars in the race despite that category’s local sprint series attracting over 30 cars to its rounds.
GT4 car owners are reluctant to run in the 12 Hour due to the dramatic closing speeds of the GT3 cars and the high cost of contesting an endurance event.
Bathurst 12 Hour director Shane Rudzis revealed to Speedcafe that talks are taking place with GT4 Australia promoter SRO Australia for the event to host a sprint round of the series.
That would in part be facilitated by a plan to add Thursday track running in the form of a GT3 testing day, aimed at getting amateur drivers up to speed.
“Bronze drivers in GT3 right now need more practice on this circuit,” Rudzis told Speedcafe.
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“It’s becoming such a pressure cooker now right from the moment they get in the car on the Friday, it’s tough out there for those Bronze drivers.
“The Thursday would become a testing day, where we can have paid testing by the GT3 teams and Bronze drivers, and make sure Friday they are hitting the ground running.
“That then opens up the opportunity for more track time for us to have more categories. A GT4 sprint round would be ideal.”
Previous discussions about separating GT4 from the 12 Hour itself have centred on an endurance race of around three hours, which is still costly for teams due to refuelling requirements.
SRO Australia has meanwhile pushed to take over the fifth event date at Bathurst vacated by the Bathurst International – a slot the local council appears to have cooled on filling.
The majority of GT3 manufacturers also have GT4 homologations, making a GT4 sprint round at the 12 Hour a perfect fit from a marketing and driver progression perspective.
“There’s a lot of investment from OEMs (manufacturers) in the event, the track signage is everywhere now, they’re big believers in programs for corporate customers and branding,” said Rudzis.
“It works really well for them all now, but to have cars in GT3 and GT4 racing at the event would be a good thing.
“There will be a time when [the 12 Hour] will be GT3 only. I’m not saying right now that we don’t want GT4 or Invitational class on the grid, because they’re an integral part of the event.
“But there will be a time where there’s so many GT3 cars here that it will turn into GT3, and that’s probably [ideal] from a fan perspective, but also from a safety perspective too.
“To be able to have young kids in GT4 cars, not having to race in the main race, but to actually get to the track and the event itself and have a pathway would be a fantastic thing.”
The Bathurst 12 Hour’s packed schedule currently includes the Ferrari Challenge and Combined Sedans support categories, as well as Gen3 Supercars test sessions.
Rudzis has been discussing the Thursday expansion plan with stakeholders in recent months, with further conversations taking place this weekend.
“The good thing about the event is we’re active on the track from Friday to the following Thursday as we have private track hire days, which we sell to manufacturers or other people,” he said.
“We’ve got that amount of track time, so it would mean losing one of those track days post-event, but we can start a day earlier and do this.
“The schedule is just so tight at the moment, it’s pretty hard to fit everything in. [Thursday] opens everything up for us. That’ll be the solution we need for the future.”
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