Erebus-assisted Mercedes tops Bathurst Practice 4

THE #48 Mercedes-AMG run by M Motorsport with assistance from Supercars squad Erebus Motorsport has topped the final Friday practice session at the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour.

Practice 4 was the second of the four Friday sessions to be held for Bronze-ranked drivers only, giving the amateur runners another 40 minutes to settle into the circuit.

Garth Walden put the #48 Mercedes on top inside the final minutes, leaving the session’s best at 2:05.3317s.

Walden is sharing the entry with Erebus Supercars driver Jack Le Brocq, Glen Wood and M Motorsport owner Justin McMillan.

Liam Talbot ended up second after his final lap placed the #22 Jamec MPC Audi just 0.1975s from the top.

Talbot pipped teammate Brad Schumacher, who’d paced much of the session in the #2 Audi, and reigning winner Kenny Habul (#75 SunEnergy Mercedes).

The top four were separated by 0.3568s, before a near one-second gap back to fifth-fastest Yasser Shahin in the #911 Manthey EMA Porsche.

Garth Walden with a very late jump to the top of Practice 4!#B12HR pic.twitter.com/Jt0UC59ov7

— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 16, 2024

Unsurprisingly, the Bronze driver session did not come close to nudging the fastest time of the day.

That remained the 2:02.7346s recorded by Kelvin van der Linde aboard the #22 Jamec MPC Audi in Practice 1 this morning.

All four Friday sessions ran without a single red flag interruption.

The biggest moment of Practice 4 belonged to Keith Kassulke, who spun his Martini-liveried MARC II V8 at the exit of The Chase 15 minutes into the session.

Kassulke rejoined after a light brush with the tyre barrier – a stark contrast to his car-destroying shunt during the same session 12 months ago.

The Bathurst 12 Hour field will return to the track for two hour-long practice sessions on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying and the Top 10 Shootout.

Results: Practice 4, 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour (40min)