Analysis: Bathurst's remarkable final stint pace

Sunday’s LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour featured a grandstand finish of a different kind.

The end margin between Jules Gounon and Maro Engel at the flag was just 8.7s.

An enthralling battle between the two European aces culminated in a thrilling double-stint to the end.

Of late, Bathurst offers physically close challenges for position, with cars usually swapping paint.

On Sunday, the battling cars were kept apart due to a three-hour green run to the end.

However, it left the leading drivers to push like hell, the front two putting in qualifying-like laps to stay alive.

Gounon (#75 SunEnergy1) completed 30 laps in the final stint, and Engel (#91 Craft-Bamboo) 31 laps.

The margin between the two cars hovered at 13 seconds before the final stops.

It dropped to eight seconds after the stops; from there, Gounon was forced to respond to Engel’s every move.

For 30 laps, Gounon’s average lap time was 2:04.385s; Engel’s was 2:04.455s.

On lap 280, Gounon clocked a personal-best 2:03.773s. Three laps later, Engel dropped in a PB of his own, a 2:03.529s.

Had a Safety Car been deployed in the final hour, the two Mercedes-AMG drivers would have engaged in on-track battle.

Instead, it was a battle of wit; don’t make a mistake, and you’ll be on course for victory.

In the final stint, the mistake never came; Gounon held on, with the margin to Engel the same as it was after the stops.

It was proof of why these are some of the best GT racers on the planet; no mistakes came when it counted most.

However, that isn't to say either car got off scot free.

On lap 228, Engel lost a swag of time when he bowled a wide at Hell Corner and surfed through the sand.

Earlier, the #75 entry was delayed after Kenny Habul spun at Murray’s Corner, along with two penalties for Safety Car misdemeanours.

The cork in the bottle was the #74 Audi, which was arguably the fastest car in the race.

Kelvin van der Linde set the fastest lap of the race, a 2:03.117s, four laps before his final stop on lap 256.

What could have been for van der Linde

Unfortunately for Audi, a two-minute penalty for exceeding mandatory driver time ruined van der Linde’s efforts.

The South African was forced to race like hell from the time he took over on lap 227.

That he did; in his final two stints, van der Linde’s average lap time was a 2:04.145s.

Such was van der Linde’s pace, that 19 of his final 29 laps were in the 2:03s bracket.

Conversely, 13 of Gounon’s final 29 laps were 2:03s, Engel clocked seven in 30, and Shane van Gisbergen just two in 28.

Van Gisbergen was the final car on the lead lap, albeit over 90 seconds behind Gounon.

Van der Linde managed to unlap himself on van Gisbergen, and put nearly 56 seconds on the #888.

Habul praised the Pro drivers and Gounon, who became a two-time 12 Hour winner.

"Everyone just drove incredible," Habul said said.

"I was more impressed with all three drivers than I’ve ever been.

"That was a display of the best guys in the world, in equal equipment, just sparring tenth for tenth.

"It’s one thing to go out in qualifying and do one lap: these guys did two hours of qualifying laps, all three of them.

"I was really, really impressed."

The LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will return in February 2023.