Castrol backs legends of Mount Panorama & BMW Bathurst 12 Hour Campaign
Castrol backs legends of Mount Panorama & BMW Bathurst 12 Hour Campaign A total of 10 Bathurst 1000 wins will team up in one BMW M6 GT3 for next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, as three legends of The Mountain put old rivalries aside and join forces for BMW Team SRM. Mark Skaife, Russell Ingall, and Tony Longhurst will share a BMW Team SRM M6 GT3 at next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, bringing 10 Bathurst 1000 wins together in one entry for one of the world’s fastest growing endurance events. And that victory count is reserved for the driving line-up alone, BMW Team SRM boss Steve Richards bringing another four Bathurst 1000 victories of his own to the operation. Supported by Castrol and Vodafone, the brand-new BMW M6 GT3 will complete the two-car effort for BMW Team SRM, signalling a determined return to Mount Panorama for the brand. The entry will unite a wealth of Bathurst experience and success to the 12 Hour. Skaife is a six-time winner of The Great Race. One of those wins came alongside Longhurst (2001), while three others were shared with Jim Richards, father of BMW Team SRM boss and lead driver Steve Richards. Longhurst is a two-time Bathurst 1000 winner himself, having already won in 1988 before adding the second win alongside Skaife in 2001. He was also a class winner at Bathurst in a BMW M3 alongside Richards Snr back in 1987. Longhurst is no stranger to the BMW Motorsport family, having raced BMWs in the Australian Touring Car Championship between 1984 and 1987, and then again between 1991 and 1994. He also won the 1994 Australian Super Touring Championship in a BMW 318i. Ingall is also a two-time Bathurst winner, ‘The Enforcer’ having conquered Mount Panorama twice alongside the great Larry Perkins (1995 and 1997). He is just as famous, however, for his fiery clash with Skaife at Eastern Creek in 2003. During the final round of that year’s V8 Supercars Championship, the pair had an on-track altercation that resulted in Skaife hitting the wall. The drama continued after Skaife extracted himself from his wrecked car, erupting trackside when Ingall came back past a lap later. Ingall further fuelled the fire by swerving towards an enraged Skaife. The rivalry is set to be put aside as the pair team up to try and conquer The Mountain one more time next February. Testing has already begun for the Bathurst Legends BMW M6 GT3, with a comprehensive preparation program to continue between now and the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour. QUOTEBOARD: RUSSELL INGALL: Firstly, what a great opportunity to drive a true racecar in the BMW M6 GT3 around one of the world’s best circuits in Bathurst at the 12 Hour in February. I’m really looking forward to that. Who would have thought that myself and Mark Skaife would be pairing up together to do an endurance race? I would say nobody. And when you look at someone like Tony Longhurst, who has been integral in putting this whole programme together, and you look at the Bathurst wins between the three of us, this is people who know how to win Bathurst and are very passionate about racing. It’s going to be fantastic. Make no mistake, we are taking this seriously. We’re going there to try and win the race. I’m looking forward to getting to Bathurst and having a big swing at it. MARK SKAIFE: It’s a very exciting project. It’s one of those things that came out of nowhere, really. Who would have thought I’d have a teammate like Russell Ingall at some stage. We won’t go there and not do a good job. You can’t go to a place like Bathurst and have the tiger by the tail, you have to go there and be able to drive the car properly. I wouldn’t do it if I couldn’t. BMW are very serious about it, and we’ve got some great corporate partners too. The way we’re going to go about this is as good as we can do it. At the end of the day, we want to surprise a few people. TONY LONGHURST: It’s amazing the planning that’s gone in to get to this stage. The BMW M6 GT3 is just an amazing car. I started my career back in 1984 with Jim Richards, and this will be my last time at The Mountain with Steve Richards. That’s pretty neat. And to do it with BMW, that’s very special for me. The best moments of my career have been in BMWs, but what a difference between the M6 GT3 and the 635 that I drove in 1984. It’s an amazing journey. It’s a long, long way. It’s a 12 Hour race, and it’s going to be a full field. For the next four months, we have to plan to be very comfortable in the car and make no mistakes. Twelve hours around Mount Panorama is a huge ask. We’ve got a trick team. We’re very, very fortunate to have Mark and Russell on board, and Steve and this team. We’ve got the cream of the crop. We’ve got the right people around us, no egos, it’s nice and calm. STEVE RICHARDS: We’ve got three guys that have moved away from racing a little bit, and here’s a great opportunity for them to jump back in to a totally different car and learn a whole new way of driving. It’s fantastic. It’s going to create so much interest for motor racing in Australia. We’re very lucky that we’ve been able to put this group together, and that BMW Group Australia are so keen to be back in motorsport and take on this challenge. This is a very serious campaign. We have expectations of those guys running on the lead lap all day, and at the end of the day seeing where they pop up. With the right driver in the right car at the right time, it can make all the difference at the 12 Hour. We’re going there with a full-on, two-car attack for that race. SEAN RAHALEY - GENERAL MANAGER - CASTROL AUSTRALASIA: Castrol is proud to part of this iconic collaboration that will include some our longest standing partners, such as BMW and with three drivers that have been part of the Castrol family for many years in Russell Ingall, Tony Longhurst and Steve Richards. To complete the team we welcome Mark Skaife. It is exciting to see one of Australia's most successful drivers finally in the Castrol colours. This iconic line-up of drivers is something that has not only my heart racing, but I'm sure will captivate race fans across Australia, New Zealand and around the world as we move closer to February and the Bathurst 12 Hour. Our program will give the fans plenty of opportunity to see the guys in preparation and then at the event truly become part of our team. With 20 wins in the Bathurst 1000's history, Castrol and Mount Panorama are synonymous with one another. No other oil brand has powered as many Bathurst winners as Castrol. Combine Castrol with the magnificent BMW M6 GT3, our good friends at Vodafone, along with our 14-times Bathurst winning Super Team of drivers and we aim to begin another wonderful chapter to the Castrol and Bathurst story. The Castrol-backed BMW M6 GT3 that will be shared by Tony Longhurst and former Supercar rivals Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall [http://www.bammedia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/BMW-Car.jpg] Steve Richards, Tony Longhurst, Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife with their Bathurst 1000 trophies at the launch of the 12 Hour campaign [http://www.bammedia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/BMW-drivers-and-trophies.jpg] Skaife, Ingall, Longhurst - 10 Bathurst wins - combining with Castrol & BMW for the Bathurst 12 Hour [http://www.bammedia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/BMW-names.jpg] Having trouble reading this? View it in your browser http://bammedia.cmail20.com/t/r-e-ydkhljld-sdidikdkk-j/. Not interested anymore? 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