IGTC – Craig Lowndes: European drivers are better prepared

Being one of the most technical circuits and one of the most difficult to tackle, the Mount Panorama Bathurst Circuit will host this weekend the first round of theIntercontinental GT Challenge 2019.

A track which has often smiled on local drivers, before the GT3 category came on the scene in 2011. Regulars of the SRO series thus came to compete against the most bloodhounds of the Antipodes, very often successfully by adapting from better and better at the legendary Australian route.

“At the start, we had an advantage over the drivers and teams from Europe who didn't know the track, recalls on the Supercars website Craig Lowndes, which will evolve on the Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Team Vodafone / STM with Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup.

Je pense qu’actuellement, il y a un certain nombre de pilotes qui ont une excellente connaissance du circuit, donc cet avantage a diminué au fil des ans. Il y a de meilleures équipes, comme M-Sport avec Bentley, qui viennent chaque année, donc il y a beaucoup plus de concurrence qu’il y a quelques années. »

The 2018 edition of the Bathurst clock was also won by a crew that did not include any Australians or New Zealanders, with the success of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 – Team WRT of Robin Frijns, Dries Vanthoor and Stuart Leonard.

Seven manufacturers should appear at the start of the event this weekend, Nissan Nismo having joined earlier this week, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Mercedes et Porsche. Ferrari will also be there, while Honda will postpone its debut, only taking part in the season from the Laguna Seca round in California at the end of March.