Pole position, lap record, victory – Pirelli revels in Bathurst 12 Hour outcome

Pirelli claims ‘Grand Slam’ honours at the Bathurst 12 Hour production and GT car race in Australia: pole position, fastest race lap, and race victory.

In qualifying, the Pirelli-shod Tekno Autosports McLaren 650S GT3 of Shane van Gisbergen, Alvaro Parente and Jonathan Webb secured pole position by establishing a new outright lap record of 2 minutes 01.286 seconds over the Mount Panorama circuit with van Gisbergen behind the wheel, and then also set a new race lap record of 2 minutes 01.567 seconds during the race itself.

The Tekno Autosports McLaren 650S GT3 dominated the weekend from start to finish, claiming Pirelli’s first win in Bathurst and McLaren’s most significant endurance racing victory since it triumphed overall at Le Mans in 1995. The drivers used the latest evolution of Pirelli’s medium compound DMC P Zero tyre, which Pirelli says demonstrated performance and consistency both during long stints and short stints, throughout a wide range of temperatures.

“I knew that the tyres would be good, but I didn’t think they would be that good,” commented New Zealander Van Gisbergen, who brought the number 59 McLaren home in his own biggest career success to date. “The car was the fastest all weekend: any time I needed a gap, I just stuck the knife in.”

This year’s Bathurst 12 Hour also set a new distance record, which Pirelli says underlines both the durability and the performance of the P Zero. Pirelli additionally won the Am category as well as two of the lower classes.

Matteo Braga, Pirelli’s circuit activity manager, commented: “It was a fantastic weekend for our tyres, which played an instrumental role in securing pole position and the race win at Bathurst, as well as lap records in both qualifying and the race. The fact that the race lap record was only a few-tenths of a second off the qualifying lap record underlines the sheer pace and competitiveness of the race. We had dry conditions but quite a wide variety of temperatures, as the race started early in the morning and then finished in the late afternoon. Throughout all these conditions, during both long and short stints, our tyres demonstrated unbeatable pace. Congratulations to Shane, Alvaro and Jonathan, as well as everyone at McLaren and Tekno Autosports.”

The Bathurst 12 Hour was the opening round of the newly-formed Intercontinental GT Challenge, which also includes the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium and Sepang 12 Hours in Malaysia. The next round, the Spa 24 Hours, takes place between 28 and 31 July.