12 Hour winner reveals close fuel call, dismisses Mostert gesture
Fuel surge came on in #32 BMW heading to Bathurst podium
Race-winning #32 BMW made a 34-lap run home work on fuel
First 12 Hour wins for Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde, Augusto Farfus
WRT BMW’s breakthrough Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour win was a dominant one, but also cutting it fine on fuel.
Kelvin van der Linde/Sheldon van der Linde/Augusto Farfus dominated Sunday’s race, leading the sister Valentino Rossi/Raffaele Marciello/Charles Weerts car in a one-two.
The winning #32 BMW made its 11th and final stop of the race on lap 272, with Kelvin racing away to win in a 34-lap run home.
As a number of cars made fuel stops in the final dozen laps, the BMWs held sway and delivered the 12 Hour’s first one-two finish since the first race of the GT3 era in 2011.
Speaking after the race, the South African revealed his team’s numbers were perfect, revealing: "I had a fuel surge on the way to the podium ceremony, so it was very, very tight.”
Van der Linde’s final stint featured a tense battle with Supercars star Chaz Mostert, who pushed hard aboard his #26 Arise Racing Ferrari amid a looming final stop.
After a robust battle, Mostert charged down the inside at The Chase, before throwing the middle finger van der Linde’s way after completing the pass.
When asked about the gesture, van der Linde shrugged it off, joking Mostert thought it was brother Sheldon behind the wheel.
"I think it was my brother. I think he was confused who was in the car. I don't know, it didn't feel like it was dirty in any way,” the elder van der Linde said.
"I was trying to hold him back across the top of the Mountain to try and save as much fuel, and then give it the beans out of Forrest Elbow and try and keep it flat.
"But the Ferrari really turned up today. They were flying in that last stint. I could never have done a 2:02, so I said to the team, 'Look, it's going to be difficult. Try to save or hit my fuel numbers’.
"But at some point it was inevitable that he would come past. But I didn't really think that it was particularly dirty. In the end it worked out. I don't know why. Maybe he was showing me he finally got P1.”
The win was BMW’s first in the Bathurst 12 Hour’s GT3 era, the first for the brand since 2010, and WRT’s first since 2018.
