The New Zealand based Motorsport Services team of Scott O’Donnell, Bob Grove and Allan Dippie has finished the Bathurst 12 Hour in 13th position, claiming third in Class C. The BMW 130i completed 191 laps over the duration of the race, 11 laps shy of race winners Paul Morris, John Bowe and Gary Holt.
The trio managed to creep from 34th to 13th in what was an outstanding effort, especially with a team of drivers who had never tackled the mountain.
Inky Tulloch and Australian team mates Rod Salmon and Damian White were forced to retire after debris caused a hole in the header on lap 156.
“Great result for a ‘dream’ team. We hoped to be in the top three in class and we got there,” reflected O’Donnell at the end of a gruelling day.
Grove was in awe of the team’s effort, remarking, “What can you say? Arriving here on Thursday with no idea what was ahead of me, an untested car so really we were in the deep end.”
Allan Dippie, who brought them home said, “If you told us this morning that we would be in the top 20, we wouldn’t have believed you. We thought we had possibility of a class podium, we had a really good strategy and that’s what it was about.”
All drivers have shown interest in making a return next year, hoping to improve on their pleasing result.