JUST as competitors will be pushing the limits at Mount Panorama this November, Australian Production Cars drivers are racing to secure their spot on the grid at the Bathurst International.
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The program for the inaugural Bathurst International will include the Australian Production Cars grand final and in anticipation of it being hugely popular the category introduced a season pass system so that regular competitors would not miss out.
Melbourne competitor Duane West was the first to secure one of the available season passes. It means he's ensured a spot on the 55-car grid at Bathurst.
It is one of four of the five scheduled APC events for the year he plans to attend.
"We may miss the Adelaide event due to work commitments, but we are going to be running the rest of the season," he explained.
"Obviously now that Bathurst is involved, we are going to have a crack at it - we haven't been there yet, so it will be great to get some laps under my belt before next year's six hour event.
"I think the season pass is a good idea, making it fair for those who are running all or most of the season to be able to make sure they can get a spot on the grid, as there are going to be a lot of people that want to come to that event that won't run the rest of the year.
"If you are contending for an outright or class championship at that point in particular, you want to make sure you aren't going to miss out!
"I expect there will more than likely be a full grid of 55 for the event, and we are really looking forward to it, as are our sponsors. The whole MRF Tyres APC calendar is looking really good, and it will be great to finish it off at Bathurst."
After spending most of last year unable to compete due to COVID-19 restrictions, West says he and his team are ready and rearing to go this year.
"We have been spending a lot of time developing the car, it had a full rebuild over the COVID period when we weren't allowed to go anywhere," he said.
"So, it has had a good going over in the last 12 months and we have also put in new 'motion control suspension' thanks to Racing Shocks Australia, so it is ready for this season.
"We ran it in the State Series at SMP under lights a few weeks ago and it ran really well, finishing second overall with a win in race two.
"With the new racing format in the MRF Tyres APC being the 30-minute races, I think that will be well suited to us. When we ran in the 2019 events, we were relatively quick early in the races but then would sort of drop off later on, so with the shorter formats and without the pit stops I think that should help us out a bit.
"Overall, I would say we are feeling pretty confident heading into the season - 2019 was really our first real hit-out and we only ran two rounds, and then we all know what happened in 2020. Before that we had only just finished developing the car.
"After all the work we have been doing over the last 12 months, we are feeling pretty comfortable with where we are at, and we would like to think we can be competitive and at the front this year."
The Bathurst International round of the 2021 APC season will consist of four 30-minute races.
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