Organisers for the Bathurst 12 Hour have introduced a series of changes and new innovations to its technical regulations ahead of next year’s event, with the main change being the implementation of the Full Course Yellow system.

In what will be an Australian first, the Full Course Yellow system will see all competing cars slow down to 80 km/hr when activated, allowing Race Control more time to manage on-track incidents and reduce the chance of deploying the safety car.

The new system will allow cars up to five seconds to slow down to the designated speed of 80 km/pr, with any competitor not reaching the speed in time to be handed a penalty, while a five second countdown will be given when the Full Course Yellow period is coming to an end.

However, should Race Control be unable to address the issue during the period, the safety car will be called upon and traditional safety car intervention regulations come into place.

Bathurst 12 Hour Race Director James Taylor believed the new system would help with running the event.
 
“This is an important safety innovation that will be very valuable for the team in Race Control, providing us with an opportunity to prepare the appropriate response for any incident,” Taylor said.
 
“We will of course deploy the Safety Car when it is required, allowing us to bunch up the field and complete recoveries and ensure the safety of all our Officials at the event. We’re also pleased to confirm the wave-by system will stay in place as well, another important tool at Race Control’s disposal to keep the world-class race as safe as possible.”

Bathurst 12 Hour Event Director Shane Rudzis echoed Taylor’s comments.

“The recent visit to the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa with Motorsport Operations Manager, Paul Martin, gave us the opportunity to observe the FCY process that is used during the race, we had the opportunity to participate in a test of the system to fully understand how we could possibly implement it into the Bathurst 12 Hour event.  
 
“The ability to neutralise the field very quickly is important for safety especially at a circuit such as Mount Panorama.  
 
“It’s exciting to announce race paperwork open for the 2024 event. We have already received multiple entries for the event, this is the earliest we have had official entries which indicates very positive signs for a full grid come February next year.”

There are plenty of other additions to the regulations on top of the Full Course Yellow system, including a minimum total pit lane time of 85 seconds now being in place for all refuelling or driver change pit stops, however this mandate is not applicable to stops that don’t require refuelling or driver changes, such as tyre-only stops.

When a safety car intervention is called upon, the wave-by system allowing cars one or more laps behind the lead lap to pass the safety car has returned and will occur at the commencement of the third hour and end prior to the last hour.

Not only will the wave-by system be returning, but so will the popular Qualifying format from 2022, which sees the top 10 competitors compete for the Allan Simonsen pole position award across two 15-minute sessions on Saturday afternoon.  

Tickets, Camping and Corporate Hospitality tickets are now on sale for the event via bathurst12hour.com.au  

The 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour will take place at the iconic Mount Panorama on 16-18 February.