GWR Australia has completed a fine team performance at the 2023 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, with all three of its cars finishing in the top 10 outright.
The best-performing entry was the #92 Breast Cancer Trials/Yellow Pages BMW M2 Competition of Ben Kavich/Michael Kavich/Thomas Randle, which finished fourth outright. A combination of smart strategy and cautious but swift stints from the three drivers saw the car in contention throughout the day, with the tactical decision to complete a compulsory pit stop early in the race paying dividends later in the day.
Ultimately, the car narrowly missed an outright podium, despite a determined push from Randle in the final stint.
The #24 Syd Fab BMW M3 of Garth Walden/Michael Auld/Tyler Everingham was classified fifth in the final results. Like the #92 entry, the #24 crew made the decision to tick off a number of compulsory pit stops early in the race, but a gearbox glitch forced the team to make an unscheduled pit stop to perform a system reset inside the final two hours.
A combination of Safety Cars and a late charge from Everingham hauled the car back into outright contention, and it actually crossed the line in third position, only to be demoted to fifth with a post-race penalty for overtaking under yellow flags.
10th position outright and second in Class A2 for the #45 RAM Motorsport Mercedes A45 of Michael Sheargold/Brett Hobson and Dylan O’Keeffe was a bittersweet result after the car dominated the class all weekend. O’Keeffe started the final stint in sixth outright, only for a suspected turbo boost issue to see him dropping down the order in the closing laps.
It was a busy weekend for the GWR squad, which also ran cars for Sheargold/Walden and Hobson/Mike Bailey in GT World Challenge Australia.
The opening GT race was one to forget for the team, with an unscheduled pit stop for Sheargold/Walden (deflated tyre) and a drive-through for Hobson/Bailey dropping them down the order.
However, they fought back in Race 2 to finish third in the Am Class (Walden/Sheargold) and seventh in the Pro-Am Class (Hobson/Bailey).
In what was a mammoth logistical exercise for the GWR Australia squad, Walden complimented the efforts of the staff and crew.
“All the boys and girls did a fantastic job and all the cars ran well all day,” Walden said.
“It was a shame car #24 had a gearbox issue – we lost two gears, so we had to come in for an early pit stop to reset the system.
“Tyler trucked on really well after that – he was fastest on track in the last stint and was unlucky to miss out on a podium.
“The Kavich boys and Thomas drove really well, while the result for car #45 was a bit depressing – things had been running perfectly all weekend, so to have the late boost issue that cost them three class wins in a row was a shame.
“It was a huge team effort and as a team owner and driver, I’m very proud. A lot of the crew are first-timers at this event, but all our pit stops ran faultlessly and the strategy calls were spot-on.”
