A trip to Mount Panorama is a bucket list journey for fans and drivers alike, and for three Kiwi competitors, the dream of competing on the mountain will become a reality when they line up for this weekend’s Bathurst 6-Hour.
Nigel Hanley, Andy Duffin, and Liam Duffin are just one of 59 lineups taking part in Bathurst’s Biggest Enduro, taking to the track in a Mazda RX8 in Class D for Production vehicles.
“It’s a bucket list thing to say you’ve had a go at Bathurst,” Andy Duffin told Velocity News. “We’ve all been here and watched it and watched it on the TV. For all of us, it’ll be our first time driving at Bathurst, so that’s going to be pretty exciting. I’ve been here to watch V8 Supercars, but never to drive.
“I’ve known Ric Shaw, who runs the RX8 Cup in Australia, for a reasonable period of time. He has always said you’ve got to come over and do the six-hour, and this year, it all worked out really well.
“We asked if we could bring three NZ drivers over, lease a car, and run it as a team, so he has organised it all through a young lady called Maisie Place. She prepares the car herself and does all the work. We’re running her car this weekend.
“That’s a cool story in itself. She’s an amazing girl, only in her mid-20s, and she does all the work herself. She does all the engines and that sort of stuff and is tied up in the RX8 Cup in Australia.”
Andy Duffin regularly features in the GT1 class of GTRNZ in a Mazda RX7 Fd3s, while Hanley is an experienced ex-V8 Ute and Pro7 racer. Liam Duffin has also featured in GTRNZ.
“My oldest son Liam, he’s done some club-level racing, so this is throwing him in the deep end a little bit, but he’s proved himself capable,” said Andy Duffin.
Proceedings are underway at Bathurst, with teams taking to the track on Friday for a pair of practice sessions, which were topped by David Russell (Class X BMW M4) and Supercars star Will Davison (Class X BMW M3).
The all-Kiwi Maisie Place Motorsport/ 3 Rotor Racing entry completed 16 laps in Practice 1 with a best time of 2:52.2145 before improving with a 2:45.2142 in Practice 2, the third best in Class D.
However, victory in the Bathurst 6-Hour is not on the minds of the travelling trio, with Duffin admitting the experience and opportunity are the reason for the trip.
“We’ve all set a goal of making the car go six hours to see the chequered flag. We’ll consider that a victory,” he said.
“We’ve watched all the in-car we can, and all sat on the sim and had a go at that, and now we get to go get in the car and drive around it. We’ll have to work into it slowly and stay out of trouble. That’s the number one goal.
“We actually did a track walk around the whole track on [Thursday] morning. It’s an amazing place; you don’t get the perspective on TV as to how steep it is and how hard the corners are up through the top of the mountain. It’s mind-blowing how amazing this track is.
“When you turn up here, there’s a lot of cool stuff, which is awesome to see. You’re used to racing in little old New Zealand, but here, there are transporters and teams, superstars, and Thomas Randle.
“We just had a meet and greet with John Bowe. He’s a guy I watched on TV for many years, driving some cool older cars and in V8 Supercars, and he wanders into our garage to shake our hands and say gidday. How cool is that?
“We’re looking at it as an amazing experience, and it’s so cool to be part of it.”
Andy Duffin, Liam Duffin, and Hanley are just three of a large Kiwi contingent that have made the trip to compete in the race.
The entry list also includes an all-Kiwi Wolfbrook Motorsport contingent, a 2024 Toyota 86 Championship lineup, and a pair of Highlands Motorsport Park drivers.
Steve Brooks, Bill Riding, and Glen Chappel team up in a Mercedes AMG A45 in Class A1 (extreme performance, forced induction), while Highlands Motorsport Park drivers Paul Blomqvist and Kynan Yu share a BMW M2 Coupe with Kent Quinn in the same class.
New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship competitor Tayler Bryant will join Australian-based rivals Summer Rintoule and Hunter Robb to drive a Toyota 86 GT Class D. Fellow Toyota 86 competitor Alice Buckley, also from Australia, will team up with Jack Wood and Jaylen Robotham at BPRO/six80 Racing, also in an 86.
Bathurst 6-Hour competitors will return to the track for Practice 3 at 11.05 am on Saturday (NZ time), ahead of qualifying at 3.40 pm.
The Bathurst 6-Hour begins at 1.45 pm on Sunday and can be followed through Natsoft’s live time.
