Tim Leahey and Beric Lynton have put a disappointing 2018 behind them to take out the 2019 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour at Mount Panorama in style.
Behind the wheel of their trusty BMW M3, the pole sitters led the 44-car field for the whole race as Lynton got off to the perfect start in the Easter Sunday main event to build a solid gap within the first hour.
The duo barely put a foot wrong throughout the whole six hours as Leahey eventually crossed the line more than one and a half laps ahead of the runner-up pairing of Iain and Grant Sherrin. A2 class winners Chris Lillis, Nathan Callaghan and Matthew Holt rounded out the podium.
Following the sensational victory, Lynton was thrilled they were able to claim victory, putting it down to the excellent strategy and preparation by his team.
“We finally did it, last year we came so close but this year we got there,” Lynton said post-race.
“A big thank-you to the team who has put in so much hard work and Tim drove well but the boys have worked really hard. Also, a big thanks to the marshals who volunteered their time.
“Watching Tim drive made me little nervous because there is nothing you can do. I was telling him what was going on during his last sting and with the Sherrins having to pit again late, we had a good lead and he could take his time.
“The car has run well and has been prepared well by Aaron and the team. We nailed the strategy, got all the pit stops right and boys did a superb job.”
While the winners’ performance was quite memorable, the drive of the day goes to the runners-up in the Sherrins as they worked their way from the back of the grid all the way to second place.
After nabbing third place in Saturday’s entertaining qualifying session, the Sherrins were handed a penalty after their BMW exceeded its maximum turbo boost pressure and they were forced to start the race in last.
However the reigning winners were not deterred as they managed to work their way up from 44th to eighth in the first four laps. Within the first hour, they were in second spot challenging the leaders.
In fourth place finishing extremely close behind the Callaghan driven Holden VF HSV R8 Clubsport were class B winners David and Geoffrey Russell managed to finish half a lap ahead of Mitsubishi pilots Paul Loiacono and Deiter Holzl in fifth place.
Another solid performance throughout the day was that of Jake Camilleri and Charlie and Alfie Senesd who guided their N-Gen-Racing Hyundai i30 to outright 11th and the C class victory, despite starting the event next to the Sherrins at the back of the grid.
Other class victories saw Aaron Cameron, Kyle Gurton and Cooper Murray claim the D class, while Andrew McMaster, David Noble and David Worrell took top honours in the E class.
Click here to view the full results.