THERE were few surprises during the opening day of Challenge Bathurst as former 24 Hours Nurburgring and Australian GT champion Christopher Mies topped the time sheets.
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Fresh off his victory in the California 8 Hours, the German Audi factory driver arrived at Mount Panorama with an aim to get his Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia in an ideal racing setup for February’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
Mies, a two-time winner of the 12 Hour, produced a two minute and 3.8020 second lap during the first of the day’s timed sessions.
“It’s cool to be back. I didn’t think I’d be here again this early. I thought I would just be back in February for the Bathurst 12 Hour but it’s great to be here early,” Mies said.
“We have a test program and we follow that. So far we’re happy with the development of the car. Sometimes it goes into the wrong direction, sometimes it goes in the right direction but this is all about testing and we’re very happy with the progress.
“Our balance was really good from the beginning. We tried to fine tune it a little bit. In the last outing we put some camber on and found the car was much better balanced and made an even better step forward.
“It’s great fun to drive here. Every lap feels unique.”
The closest Mies came to besting his mark was with a 2:04.1890 during the third of his timed sessions around the Mount.
Supercars driver Garth Tander kept the Audi Sport Customer Racing entry at the top of the board in the following session with his time of 2:06.1210.
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Alexander Grant
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
