The 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will go down as a memorable day for SunEnergy1 Racing.
The Kenny Habul-led squad secured a breakthrough victory for Mercedes-AMG on Sunday.
Jules Gounon crossed the line after 5:00pm on Sunday to clinch Mercedes’ first win since 2013.
For Frenchman Gounon, it was a second straight 12 Hour win following his victory for Bentley in 2020.
Mercedes entries swept the podium, a feat not seen at the event since Mitsubishi in the 2009 Production Car race.
The event will return in February 2023.
Supercars.com has listed the stats shaped the 19th running of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
291: The lead trio completed 291 laps on Sunday, some 23 laps fewer than the 2020 race. Sunday’s race was affected by wet weather and eight Safety Car periods.
8.707: The winning margin, in seconds, for Sunday’s race. Maro Engel finished second for Craft-Bamboo Racing.
3: Just three cars finished on the lead lap. It comes after seven cars finished on the lead lap in 2018, 2019 and 2020. There were five lead-lap cars in 2014 and 2015, four in 2016, two in 2011 and 2012, and one in 2013 and 2017.
Six: Five drivers have won consecutive 12 Hours; Garry Waldon (1992-93), Rod Salmon and Damien White (2008-09), Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young (2011-12), and Gounon (2020-22). Craig Lowndes missed the 2015 and 2016 races, but won in consecutive attempts (2014 and 2017).
4: Sunday marked the first time since 2014 that a four-driver line-up won the race. Eight years ago, the Ferrari of Craig Lowndes, John Bowe, Mika Salo and Peter Edwards won the race.
7: Seven different marques have won the race in the GT3 era, Mercedes-AMG became the first to do it multiple times. Audi leads the way with three ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG (two); Nissan, McLaren, Porsche and Bentley all have one.
2:03.117: Audi's Kelvin van der Linde set the fastest lap of the race, a 2:03.117s, on lap 256. Shane van Gisbergen’s record 2:01.567s from 2016 remains intact for at least another year.
5:15: The 2022 race will feature its earliest ever start time at 5:15am local time. It will also feature up to 90 minutes of night running.
11: Just 11 cars were classified on Sunday, beating the previous record of 18 set in 2012.
2:02.493: Chaz Mostert’s pole-winning time, the third-quickest pole-winning time in 12 Hour history.
The next edition of the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will be held on February 3-5 2023.
The 2022 Supercars season will resume at Winton this weekend. Purchase your tickets now.