A wild weekend that was.
While applying vinyl decals isn't a foreign concept to us, seeing them being applied to a brand-new $800,000 GT3 race car was really a surreal experience.
Led by current Erebus V8 Supercar driver Will Brown & V8 Supercar veteran Jack Perkins, the 2 sat alongside Team 19 owner/driver Mark Griffith in the Mercedes AMG-Motorsport GT3 'Racer' for 12hrs of the undulating and incredibly unforgiving Mount Panorama Bathurst for Australasia's International Endurance Race, the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12hr.
Practice was marred with a number of issues, from a transmission leak, to a number of yellow and red flag events. Qualifying also presented its challenges, with the trio only narrowly missing out on the Top 10 shootout by only 7/10ths of a second.
Heading into Sunday's race, Will Brown was the lucky or not so lucky one placed to start in very ominous conditions, complete darkness lit only by moonlight, coupled with a thick sheeting of fog. The combination of close quarters, headlights and a distinct inability to even make out the corner apexes, let alone being able to see further up the road, meant for a challenging first stint. Despite the challenges, Will managed to displace 5 ahead of him, to bring the car into the pits in p5. Despite Will having called for wets, the decision was made to send Jack Perkins out on slicks, mirroring Triple 8's pit strategy. Jack was the pioneer leading the field and unfortunately struck some unrecoverable trouble leading into the chase. The rear stepped out which then in quick succession pushed the nose into the concrete wall, followed by the drivers side of the car. As Jack described it "Young bloke, hot tyres, effed up". The slowest lap was then recorded as the car left the circuit on a tow truck, retiring, unable to be repaired in the garage due to chassis damage.
While it wasn't the fairytale finish that everyone hopes for, motorsport rarely is. Mount Panorama is the place that so many people want to take a bite out of, but it often bites back and when it does, it can be quite gut-wrenching.
Despite the negatives, it was an all-round positive experience for the Alcoholder team. Having the brand represented in such a prestigious event, on a world stage is something that'll be written into our record books for ever.
View some of the images from the event below:
