SunEnergy1 leads 2023 12 Hour at halfway

A clever strategy has propelled SunEnergy1 Racing into the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour lead at halfway.

SunEnergy1, which won the 2022 race, benefited from Safety Car stops to short-stop into top spot.

Jules Gounon was at the wheel of the #75 Mercedes-AMG when the six-hour mark ticked over.

Mathieu Jaminet (#912 Manthey EMA Porsche) and Raffaele Marciello (#999 GruppeM Mercedes-AMG) rounded out the top three.

The Porsche and Mercedes were split by Broc Feeney’s #888 Triple Eight AMG before it was called in just prior to halfway.

Feeney remained in the car and emerged in seventh, behind Daniel Juncadella (#77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG) and both WRT BMWs.

It was a turbulent second quarter of the race, which was centred on a closely-fought lead battle.

Shane van Gisbergen led the field into the fourth hour following the Aaron Cameron-Theo Koundouris accident.

With eight hours remaining, the Safety Car was deployed for a third time due to the stricken #19 Mercedes GT4.

Fabian Schiller brought the car to a halt at the Turn 1 run-off, and officials neutralised the race.

From there, the race ran green beyond the halfway mark, leading to green flag stops.

Van Gisbergen carried on in the #888, while the #912 Manthey Porsche, #46 and #32 BMWs and #999 GruppeM Mercedes all changed drivers.

A long stop for the #888 saw the #912 — with Thomas Preining taking over from Matt Campbell — take the outright lead.

Preining led van Gisbergen, Augusto Farfus (#46 BMW), Maro Engel (#999 Mercedes-AMG) and Sheldon van der Linde (#32 BMW) to green on the stroke of the eighth hour.

Preining skipped away as van Gisbergen battled to warm his tyres, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

After one green lap, the #912 led by nearly three seconds, but once van Gisbergen found temperature, the top six were covered by just 3.6s.

The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic, although Pro #777 Audi driver Ricardo Feller proved a tricky obstacle to overcome.

On the 112th lap, van Gisbergen bowled a wide at The Chase, and was forced to deny a racy Farfus.

Van Gisbergen handed over to Feeney on the 118th lap; 11 laps later, the Porsche and both BMWs were all serviced and changed drivers.

Like Feeney, Marciello had to wait over five hours for his first laps once he took over from Engel on the 131st lap.

A short stop for the #75 Mercedes-AMG, with Gounon getting into the car, saw SunEnergy1 take over the lead running.

Down the road, Feeney hounded Jaminet; Marciello was fourth for GruppeM, with Dries Vanthoor overhauling Valentino Rossi to become lead BMW.

It was a smart strategy by SunEnergy1, which led despite completing seven stops and a drive-through penalty.

Feeney made the #888’s fifth stop on the 154th lap, letting Jaminet off the hook after a 25-lap battle.

To the midway point, four cars had been withdrawn — the #74 Audi, #4 Porsche, #6 Lamborghini and #44 Mercedes-AMG.