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Lucas Auer Secures Pole for Bathurst 12 Hour
Lucas Auer has clinched pole position for the prestigious Bathurst 12 Hour, driving for Mercedes. In a remarkable performance, the Austrian driver clocked a fastest lap time of 2m01.2760s around the iconic Mount Panorama circuit in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. He will be sharing the car with fellow competitors Maximilian Gotz and Jayden Ojeda.
The qualifying rounds were highly competitive, with Auer managing to maintain a lead of 0.125s over his nearest competitors, a notable margin considering the top five cars were separated by just 0.136s in the initial segment of qualifying. The second place will go to Ricardo Feller, another newcomer to Bathurst, who led the charge for Audi. He will start in the #183 Jamec Racing entry alongside Supercars driver Broc Feeney and Australian GT champion Liam Talbot.
Maro Engel experienced a unique qualifying session, eventually securing third on the grid. The two-time pole winner parked his #888 Team GMR Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo early in the session and did not set a lap time until later. Engel will share this entry with Mikael Grenier and Maxime Martin.
Fourth position will see Sheldon van der Linde, last year’s polesitter, in the #32 BMW M4 GT3. He will co-drive with his brother Kelvin van der Linde and Augusto Farfus.
Chaz Mostert, known for his Supercars prowess, qualified fifth in the #26 Arise Racing Ferrari, making a significant leap into the top 10 after prior sessions. Laurin Heinrich, a Bathurst rookie, finished sixth, showcasing the performance of the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, which he shares with Morris Schuring and bronze drivers Sam and Yasser Shahin.
Seventh place went to Luca Stolz in the #75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, while Scott Andrews, making his debut at this event, showed an impressive effort to secure eighth in the #44 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, sharing the car with Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires.
Scott Taylor’s #222 Motorsport Mercedes-AMG, co-driven by Cam Waters, Thomas Randle, and Craig Lowndes, took ninth, with the #09 Audi, piloted by Lee Holdsworth, Dean Fiore, and Marc Cini, rounding out the top ten.
Interestingly, while one Porsche managed to secure a front-row start, reigning race winner Matt Campbell in the #911 Absolute Racing entry saw himself placed 11th, missing out on the top 10 by a mere 0.088s. Another anticipated entry, the #46 WRT BMW driven by Raffaele Marciello, fell to 12th after experiencing overheating issues early on and having to pit for inspections.
The 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour race will be broadcast live on Motorsport.tv.
Source
www.autosport.com