Bathurst 6 Hour
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| Venue | Mount Panorama Circuit |
|---|---|
| Corporate sponsor | Hi-Tec Oils |
| First race | 2016 |
| Duration | 6 hours |
| Most wins (driver) | Australia Jayden Ojeda (2) Australia Simon Hodges (2) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | BMW (8) |
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The Bathurst 6 Hour, currently known as the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual race for Group 3E Series Production Cars and other invited cars that was first held in 2016. The race is held on Easter Sunday, with practice and qualifying sessions taking place on the preceding two days.
History
[edit | edit source]The race is not to be confused with the 1962 Bathurst Six Hour Classic, a one-off event held for production touring and sports cars.
The Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race held for production cars from 1991 to 1995. It was revived in 2007 and continued as a production car-only race until 2010, before GT3 cars were made eligible for the race in 2011. Over the following years there was growing focus on the outright GT3 cars, while the number of production cars in the race declined. In April 2015, the former promoters of the 12 Hour, Yeehah Events, announced a six-hour race for Group 3E Series Production Cars, called the Bathurst 6 Hour, to be held at the Bathurst Motor Festival in 2016.[1] Cars conforming to other regulations, such as V8 Utes and Saloon Cars, were also allowed to compete in the Invitational class.[2]
In winning the 2017 Bathurst 6 Hour, Paul Morris, driving with Luke Searle, became the first driver to win all of the three current major events at Mount Panorama; the 6 Hour, the Bathurst 1000, which he won in 2014 with Mostert, and the Bathurst 12 Hour, which he won in 2007 and 2010.[3]
The 2020 running of the race was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was to be part of the inaugural Bathurst International event in November,[4] however this event, along with the 6 Hour, was eventually cancelled due to border closures within Australia arising from the pandemic.[5] The 6 Hour returned to its traditional Easter date in 2021.
Class structure
[edit | edit source]Entrants in the Bathurst 6 Hour are divided into six classes:
- Class X: Ultimate Performance
- Class A1: Extreme Performance (Forced Induction)
- Class A2: Extreme Performance (Naturally Aspirated)
- Class B1: High Performance (Forced Induction)
- Class B2: High Performance (Naturally Aspirated)
- Class C: Performance
- Class D: Production
- Class E: Compact
Winners
[edit | edit source]| Year | Drivers | Vehicle | Entrant | Laps | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Australia Nathan Morcom Australia Chaz Mostert |
BMW 335i E92 | Australia Direct Plasterboard Outlet | 125 | 776.625 km (482.572 mi) |
| 2017 | Australia Luke Searle Australia Paul Morris |
BMW M135i Hatch F20 | Australia Roadchill Freight Express | 113 | 702.069 km (436.245 mi) |
| 2018 | Australia Grant Sherrin Australia Iain Sherrin |
BMW M4 F82 | Australia Sherrin Rentals | 109 | 677.217 km (420.803 mi) |
| 2019 | Australia Beric Lynton Australia Tim Leahey |
BMW M3 F80 Competition | Australia Bruce Lynton Bodyshop | 1311 | 813.903 km (505.736 mi) |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | Australia Shane Smollen Australia Robert Rubis New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen |
BMW M4 F82 | Australia Prestige Connex | 120 | 745.560 km (463.270 mi) |
| 2022 | Australia Thomas Sargent Australia Cameron Hill |
BMW M2 Competition | Australia CHE Racing | 130 | 807.690 km (501.875 mi) |
| 2023 | Australia Jayden Ojeda Australia Simon Hodges |
BMW M4 F82 | Australia Secure Wealth Advisers | 112 | 695.856 km (432.385 mi) |
| 2024 | Australia Jayden Ojeda Australia Simon Hodges Australia George Miedecke |
BMW M4 F82 | Australia Secure Wealth Advisers | 123 | 764.199 km (474.851 mi) |
| 2025 | Australia Dean Campbell Australia Cameron Crick |
BMW M2 Competition | Australia DA Campbell's Transport | 122 | 757.986km (471.091 mi) |
| Source:[6] | |||||
^1 – Race record for laps & distance covered.
Multiple winners
[edit | edit source]By manufacturer
[edit | edit source]| Wins | Manufacturer | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Germany BMW | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Source:[6] | ||
References
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