HE has won the Bathurst 1000 and the Bathurst 6 Hour and now Chaz Mostert is thinking about winning a 12 Hour crown at Mount Panorama.
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It was confirmed this week that Supercars talent Mostert will make his Bathurst 12 Hour debut next February in the MARC GT team’s BMW M6 GT3 alongside Paul Morris and Morgan Haber.
“I am really excited to get the call up to do it with Paul and Morgan and the whole Paul Morris crew, it is pretty exciting,” Mostert said.
“I have always wanted to drive a GT car, so I jumped at the opportunity when it came up. I am just excited to drive a different car.”
That excitement meant while other Supercar drivers such as Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom opted out of the inaugural Challenge Bathurst this week, Mostert was present at Mount Panorama.
He used the Lightning Sprint races on Thursday and Friday to familiarise himself with the BMW M6, his talent showing as he topped the time sheets.
Mostert was the fastest man on Thursday with a 2:05.705 lap and on Friday was even quicker. His best circuit around the Mount was a 2:04.291 – that’s an average of 179.96km/hr.
“I’m not really in the [Supercar] championship race going into next weekend and for me, this might be the only test I get before the 12 Hour,” he said of Challenge Bathurst.
“I wanted to have a crack at the 12 Hour a year or two ago and I was trying to get something together for the start of this year, but maybe the body wasn’t quite right from the wreckage last year.
“But one of the things I find is, it’s like starting all over as a rookie again as a driver. No-one wants to give you the keys to one of these cars to go, even though you might have good credentials in a Supercar.
“Hopefully this might lead on to maybe something overseas, have a steer of something else and go from there.
“The car’s fantastic, absolutely awesome. I have a whole new respect for race cars. This car definitely does what you want it to do – the inputs and the braking, it’s amazing. I’ve had an absolute ball.”
Though Mostert still has more to learn about his 12 Hour ride, he knows firsthand what it is like to race alongside Morris.
The 48-year-old was Mostert’s co-driver in 2014 when the pair produced a remarkable victory from the rear of the grid in the Bathurst 1000.
Morris, already at two-time 12 Hour winner, played a crucial role in securing Mostert a seat for his GT debut.
“I do have good memories of driving with Paul, we won here in 2014 and it’s good be teaming up with him again,” Mostert said.
“He brings good experience and is giving me a go – he’s really the guy that helped me secure this deal.
“I’m also excited to be driving with Morgan.
“It’s good to be able to drive a BMW again. I won the 6 Hour here this year with Nath in a 335, so it’s pretty cool to now have a crack in a BMW in the 12 Hour.”
As well as the two days of racing at Challenge Bathurst, Mostert will have another chance behind the wheel of the MARC GT BMW at Mount Panorama on Monday.
BMW will be conducting private testing at the track.