WARREN Luff is man well versed with endurance racing at Mount Panorama, but even he marvels at just how much the Bathurst 12 Hour event has grown.
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The now 42-year-old boats 19 starts in the Bathurst 1000, was amongst the field in the two editions of the Bathurst 24 Hour staged in 2002 and 2003 and made his 12 Hour debut in 2008.
Back then he drove a Ford Falcon BF in the race for Production Cars that in the main was contested by Australian drivers.
This year he will steer the Objective Racing McLaren 650s in a race which now features GT outfits from across the globe.
“I enjoy the endurance races and the Bathurst 12 Hour is a great way to start the year off. It’s a great event and great to see every year that this event just keeps growing,” Luff said.
“More drivers from overseas keep coming back out here and the fans are really starting to embrace it. So it’s great for Bathurst.
“It’s a testament to the event and how it’s grown that it’s now part of the Intercontinental Challenge. It’s also a great testament to the town and the people who run the event.”
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As Luff indicated, the Bathurst 12 Hour now doubles as the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
It means that teams and drivers from across the globe – such as one of Luff’s Objective co-drivers Andrew Watson – now have the 12 Hour as part of their annual program.
On top of that, there are more and more Supercars drivers who are getting involved. Just as the famous 6.213 kilometre circuit is a huge lure come the Bathurst 1000, tackling its slopes early in the year as part of a quality international field is a big draw card too.
Luff, who placed second in last year’s Great Race, is one of those who holds the Mount in high regard and knows it will also be a place where the world’s best drivers want to compete.
“Bathurst is sort of the spiritual home of endurance racing here in Australia, obviously the 1000 has cemented its place for a very long time in Australian motor sport folklore,” Luff said.
“I think the way that this event every year just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger – it’s great.
“It’s great for the local economy obviously, but it’s great for us as drivers because it means we can come back to the track and drive here at another time during the year.”
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As for this Sunday’s race, Luff is hoping that he, Watson and Tony Walls can snare a class podium in the exceedingly competitive Pro-Am category.
He knows it will require both skill and luck.
“With endurance racing it’s all about buying yourself a ticket towards the end of the race. You’ve just got to stay out of trouble all day and at the end of the day, if you do everything right, who knows where you can possibly end up?,” he said.
“It’s 12 hours, it’s a tough race and we are focused on the Pro-Am battle. We know we’ve got the right car, the right drivers and the right package, so at the 11½ hour mark if we’re still somewhere close to the front, then we’ll have a serious crack.
“I think the Pro-am is going to be just as good as the pro battle, there’s some great line ups, some great cars and some great teams. It’s going to be exciting.”
