A SERIES of parity adjustments have been levied on all the leading marques on the eve of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
SRO Motorsport Group has handed down a raft of Balance of Performance changes on Saturday evening following Mercedes’ rapid form in the lead up.
Its cars locked out three of the top four spots on the grid, headlined by Maro Engel’s stunning 2m00.8819s pole position lap, while the Mercedes-AMG GT3s have been regularly at or near the top of the timesheets in practice.
THE GRID: Where every car will start the Bathurst 12 Hour
EXCLUDED: Two cars hit with penalties after Top 10 Shootout
SPOTTER GUIDE: What every car in the Bathurst 12 Hour looks like
The Mercedes are the cars most effected by the changes, copping a 10 kilogram weight increase along with a changed lambda setting for its engine management system.
Porsche, whose sole #912 entry was qualified third by Matt Campbell, will also receive an extra five kilograms of weight.
In contrast, BMW, Audi and Lamborghini will all drop 10 kilograms for the race.
The pair of M4s and a pair of R8s made the cut for the Shootout, but the fastest of them was still eight tenths off Engel’s pole position time.
Another change impacts the minimum tyre pressure rules.
Previously, they were mandated to be no less than 1.4 bar (20.3 psi) when leaving pit lane.
For Sunday’s race, the minimum pressure is now 1.8 bar (26.1 psi), measured once the tyres are hot – specifically after eight continuous laps of green flag running.
The Bathurst 12 Hour is scheduled to start at 5:45am AEDT on Sunday.
