This is BS.
PROVISIONAL POLE TO EREBUS AS MARANELLO EARNS PENALTY
Erebus Motorsport has ended the first of two qualifying sessions for the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at the top of the order after a penalty for the pace-setting Maranello Motorsport Ferrari.
Lee Holdsworth’s early effort of 2:06.27s in the Mercedes was later beaten to the tune of 0.78s by the Allan Simonsen-driven Ferrari – a time which will be disallowed under the race’s 2:06.0s minimum time regulations.
Breaking the benchmark, which is in play during the pre-race sessions to help the class entries make the 130 percent qualifying cut-off, will also earn the Maranello entry a 50kg weight penalty for the remainder of the event.
The car’s second best time of 2:06.4s was good enough for second fastest ahead of the Matt Griffin driven #33 Clearwater Ferrari on 2:06.9s.
The #23 JBS Lamborghini was just 0.08s further adrift in fourth, with the #9 Network Clothing Audi fifth.
The #36 Erebus Mercedes, #1 Phoenix Audi, #5 VIP Porsche, #48 GB Galvanizing Lamborghini and #58 AF Corse Ferrari rounded out the top 10.
The majority of the outright contenders cycled through their entire driver line-ups during the 90 minutes after an early flurry of fast times when the ambient conditions were at their coolest.
The #6 Craig Lowndes/Warren Luff/Rod Salmon Skwirk Audi had a quiet session, recording just the 12th fastest time after struggling with traffic.
The session was punctuated by three red flag periods, the first of which was called in the opening moments after the #9 Audi stopped on the circuit with battery issues.
It took just 20 minutes for the car to return to the circuit, with two-time defending race winner Mies soon joining the heavy-hitters in the 2:06s bracket.
The session was also halted at the 30 minute mark after Greg Murphy crashed the #29 Trofeo Motorsport Corvette while negotiating lapped traffic at Forrest Elbow.
Another incident at the Elbow, this time a clash between the Ivo Breukers-driven #3 Racer Industries Astra and the exit wall, caused the final stoppage with 25 minutes remaining.
Steven Richards was lucky to survive a late spin at The Cutting in the #48 Lamborghini – missing the concrete before completing an awkward multi-point turn in order to rejoin.
A 30 minute final qualifying session at 1340 local time will determine the full grid for Sunday’s 12 Hour race.
See below for the full qualifying result
1 63 Erebus Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 A 2:06.2730
2 88 Il Bello Rosso Ferrari F458 GT3 A 2:06.4839
3 33 Clearwater Racing Ferrari F458 GT3 A 2:06.8857
4 11 JBS Swift Lamborghini GT3 LP56 A 2:06.9615
5 9 Network Clothing / Hallmarc Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:06.9835
6 36 Erebus Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 A 2:07.2389
7 1 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:07.5672
8 5 VIP Petfoods Porsche 911 GT3 R A 2:07.6015
9 48 GB Galvanizing Lamborghini GT3 LP56 A 2:07.6838
10 58 AF Corse SRL Ferrari F458 GT3 A 2:07.9320
11 29 Trofeo Motorsport / Pirelli Chevrolet Corvette Z A 2:08.6714
12 6 Skwirk / Oneworld Bar Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:08.7569
13 71 Equity-One Mortgage Fund Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:08.8931
14 23 United Autosports Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:08.9790
15 14 Peter Conroy Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:09.8581
16 81 DragonSpeed Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT A 2:11.0050
17 12 ASM/BRM Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:11.7360
18 51 IMAK / KWIKMIT Mosler MT900 GT3 A 2:13.1292
19 16 Liqui Moly BMW Z4 GT3 A 2:13.9285
20 30 Hunter Sports Group Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:13.9314
21 4 Grove Group Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:14.2955
22 44 Mal Rose Racing Holden VY Commodore I3 2:16.1436
23 65 Daytona Sports Cars Pty Ltd Daytona Coupe I3 2:16.2340
24 45 Rentcorp Forklifts Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:16.6129
25 10 Simply Sports Cars Lotus Exige C 2:21.6981
26 8 We Are Legend Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:22.0879
27 54 Donut King Nissan R35 GTR C 2:22.6052
28 69 Motorsport Services Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:22.6187
29 67 Motorsport Services Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:24.0454
30 76 Aston Martin St. Gallen Aston Martin Vantage C 2:25.0950
31 35 Sennheiser/ Ric Shaw Racing Mazda RX-7 I2 2:25.9253
32 20 Team Peugeot RCZ Peugeot RCZ Cup I1 2:26.5056
33 55 Motorsport Services Seat Leon Supercopa I2 2:26.6948
34 56 Motorsport Services Seat Leon Supercopa I2 2:27.0011
35 21 Team Peugeot RCZ Peugeot RCZ Cup I1 2:27.6536
36 62 nurburgring.com.au Lotus Exige S C 2:27.7740
37 2 Racer Industries Holden Astra HSV VXR I2 2:27.8507
38 19 Sherrin Rentals BMW 135i D 2:28.4451
39 7 Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX S D 2:29.0967
40 60 1Cover Motionsport Lotus Elise I1 2:29.3522
41 13 Bruce Lynton BMW BMW E46 I3 2:31.4765
42 68 Motorsport Services Porsche 997 GT3 Cup B 2:33.2178
43 22 Cootes Transport Ford FPV GT D 2:33.3710
44 3 Racer Industries Holden Astra HSV VXR E 2:38.9062
45 27 The Shire Conveyancer BMW 130i E 2:40.6276
46 70 Motorsport Services Seat Leon Supercopa I2 2:41.0537
47 26 GWS Personnel BMW 130i E 2:41.5339
48 17 Showershop (NZ) Subaru Impreza WRX S I2 2:43.9006
49 24 GWS Personnel BMW 335i D 9:09.2838
m.speedcafe.com/2013/02/09/provisional-pole-to-erebus-as-maranello-earns-penalty/
