HEART breaking - that's how Brad Schumacher described the moment he learned his team went from a realistic chance of outright Bathurst 12 Hour victory to a lap off the pace.
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Schumacher had survived the dark, the fog and the rain, he had peeled off consistently quick laps in the Audi Sport Team Valvoline entry and even enjoyed time in the lead of the world renowned enduro at Mount Panorama.
But in the end eight minutes decided the team's 12 Hour fate.
Team officials miscalculated Schumacher's final stint and the Bathurst driver breached the 80-minute maximum stint time for an amateur by eight minutes.
"It hurts a lot for me personally, because this is, for me, the first chance I've had for an outright win at the Bathurst 12 Hour and we were the fastest car," Schumacher said.
"We did a great job driving all day and to have an error like a driver's time going over cost us a podium result or potentially an outright win, it's heart breaking."
Though the #74 Audi Schumacher shared with Kelvin van der Linde and Nathanael Berthon was the fastest on track for long periods of the race and took quickest lap honours with a 2:03.1173, the penalty for the breach put them off the lead lap.
They had to settle for fourth place.
"It happened in my final stint later in the day, it was a really long stint ... it was up to me to really dig deep in that stint and circulate as quickly as possible," Schumacher said.
"I was on track with the other ams [amateurs] and I was able to put the car into a really good position before I handed over. It was after that stint, when I was out of the car and walking over the the trailer, that the engineer came over and said 'I'm really sorry, but we've gone over on your driving time and we'll end up with a penalty'.
"There was no way of me knowing, I'm just in the car doing my job and I'm pitting when I'm told. This is racing, it's why the 12 Hour is what it is."
What was like rubbing vinegar into the wound of missing out on a potential 12 Hour victory was the job that Schumacher and his team-mates had done behind the wheel.
The combined effort of Schumacher and van der Linde during Saturday qualifying put the car into the top 10 shootout where the South African gun ranked second.
Then on race day Schumacher endured what he called "the toughest stints" of the morning, but still circulated at a good pace.
"It was honestly the most testing driving conditions that I've ever been in and not only am I saying that, a lot of drivers have said the same," he said.
"I was put into the car in the dark, we had no endurance driving lights on the car and so it was very difficult to see. Then of course the fog rolled through and it was actually dangerous ... when you're flying around the Mount in one of these cars and the fog is rolling through and you can't see anything, it was dangerous for us drivers, we were really putting our lives on the line.
"Then of course there was the rain on slick tyres, it was tough because the bottom of the Mount was raining to start, but the top was dry, so you couldn't put on the wet tyre initially.
"It made it extremely difficult and the cars that fell victim to that back that up. Then we had heavy rain and I could just barely see the car's rain lights ahead at some points, so you were just driving off hope they weren't going to do anything silly.
"Then when the track dried and we were stuck on wet tyres, that made the conditions just as difficult again. The tyre over-heated and started to melt."
As the sun set on Sunday evening Schumacher was left with emotions as mixed as the weather he and his fellow competitors had driven through.
While a potential podium went begging, he received praise for his efforts with the factory Audi team.
"I am very happy with how I performed for the team over the weekend, as they say, pressure makes diamonds," he said.
"Leading up a lot of people asked me if I was nervous, but no I wasn't. I'm driving these cars so often now that it's become second nature.
"I must admit a lot of people over the weekend went out of their way to comment that I have done a good job, in particular Audi and Audi's bosses, they made a point that they are happy with the way I performed.
"Then of course it's humbling to hear a guy like Kelvin van der Linde say on the world stage I did an awesome job. Not only did he say it on the broadcast, but he told me personally that he's absolutely rapt with what I did from practice one all the way through to my final stint in the race.
"Fourth outright is still a great result for a Bathurst 12 Hour, a lot of cars didn't finish, for me a it's a personal win to perform the way I have."
Schumacher also still managed to leave Mount Panorama with a trophy in his possession.
The 12 Hour doubled as the opening round of the GT World Challenge Australia endurance championship.
Schumacher was the second best performed driver in that battle.
"I didn't leave empty-handed, I did get some silverware which was nice and I only came second to Shane van Gisbergen and Jefri Ibrahim," he said.
"So it was good to bank points in the first round of that championship and the second round will be in November at Bathurst when they hold the three-hour endurance race.
"All in all I walk away happy, but I am a little upset it couldn't have been better."
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