2013 marked Rentcorp Motorsport’s inaugural Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour challenge in Class B, with the small Sydney based race team taking on the country’s most gruelling GT endurance race in their type-997 Porsche GT3 Cup car, finishing a credible 6th in class after a tough race with many highs and lows over the twelve hours.
As the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race increases in size and stature for the 2014 event, so does the Rentcorp Motorsport team, with the family-run squad increasing its involvement to two Class-B Porsche GT3 Cup cars. For the first time this year Rentcorp Motorsport will be running a ‘11 specification 911 GT3 Cup car in the Bathurst 12 Hour event, which was campaigned in the top flight Porsche Carrera Cup Australia series by Duvashen Padayachee in 2013.
Padayachee returns to the Bathurst 12 Hour in the number 45 entry, alongside ex-F3 and Carrera Cup racer Barton Mawer and the current Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Champion, Richard Muscat.
Running the car alongside Rentcorp Motorsport will be the current Australian F3 and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia teams champions, Team BRM.
Commenting on his Bathurst 12 Hour debut, Muscat said “I am very excited to get behind the wheel of the Porsche in one of the biggest races of the year. Obviously being at Bathurst it is very special and hopefully I can make the most of this opportunity”. For the 12 Hour returnee’s, Padayachee reported that he was “enthusiastic about racing at such a high profile event against some of Australia’s and the world’s best drivers”, while Barton Mawer went further to say “Last year the Rentcorp Motorsport team showed good form. With some mechanical gremlins mid race we dropped down the order but fought back to 6th in class B. I really want to improve on that this year.”
“The class B is arguably the most competitive in the field. With international works drivers and rules to parity the cars, it will be very close. I think we have a very strong driver line up and could surprise some people.”
The 2014 event also marks the return of Australian GT racer Indiran Padayachee, renowned Mazda tuner and endurance racing specialist Ric Shaw, popular V8 Ute racer and philanthropist Andrew Fisher and Sydney socialite and Porsche racer Aaron Zerefos who will be campaigning the number 35 Porsche GT3 Cup Car (2008).
Zerefos was looking forward to racing at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour again after competing with the team for most of the 2013 season. “It’s nice to return to the mountain again with Rentcorp Motorsport. The last 12 months I have clocked up some valuable racing miles, which will help at Bathurst. The 12 Hour is getting bigger
every year and it’s great to be associated with a quality event like this for my career and my sponsors to develop”.
For Fisher, piloting the light weight, rear engine Porsche Cup Car will be a big change from his usual and iconic Jesus Racing V8 Ute. “I am very excited about being part of the Rentcorp Motorsport Team for Bathurst 12 Hour. I have watched these guys operate over the past few years and have been impressed with their professionalism” he
stated earlier this week.
“ I have always wanted to race the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car and having experienced Porsche race drivers as part of the team will provide a much quicker learning curve as I adapt my driving style from a V8 Ute to that of a thorough bred race car. It will be great to pilot a race car that actually stops, turns in, gets the power down and weights 500KG less than my usual ride!”
After campaigning his venerable Sennheiser sponsored Mazda RX-7 at the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Nurburgring 24 Hour, Ric Shaw needs no introduction to endurance racing, however the 2014 race will also be the first time the Mazda specialist will compete behind the wheel of a Porsche GT3 Cup Car.
“The Sennheiser team is excited to be joining with Rentcorp Motorsport for an all out assault on the 12 hour this year. This will be my first drive in a GT3 Cup Car leading into plans to run our own later in the year at Nurburgring.
The crew are very keen to get on with the job at hand, keeping the car together and at the front of class B for the gruelling 12 hours” he said of the event.
Source: Bathurst 12 Hour
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