Breaking news
Endurance Bathurst 12 Hour
Jarvis surprised by “brutal” Bathurst
Oliver Jarvis says he’s never seen a race as “brutal” as yesterday’s Bathurst 12 Hour, after the Briton finished on the podium on debut for Bentley.
Andrew van Leeuwen
Edited: Feb 6, 2017, 12:47 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Jarvis, Steven Kane, and Guy Smith combined to finish third in the M-Sport Bentley, a spot earned largely on keeping out of trouble after a difficult build up saw the trio qualify down in 23rd.
Having survived the carnage, Jarvis later reflected on what he thought was one of the more brutal races he’s been a part of, particularly in the early stages of the 12-hour affair.
“This is an incredible place and I don’t think I have ever been in a race as brutal as that,” said Jarvis, who recently switched to Bentley after a lengthy stint as a factory Audi driver.
“I have been involved in a lot of endurance racing but I have never seen so much carnage within the first three or four hours of a race, and some of the top drivers sticking it into the wall.
“We had a game plan simply to stay on the lead lap. We didn’t have a great run up to the race with a lot of issues with the brand new car but the team did a fantastic job.
"It didn’t stay issue-free throughout the race, but coming out third is a great result and a credit to my teammates."
Smith added that the unlikely podium was something all three drivers should be proud of, despite not being able to challenge the Maranello Ferrari for the win.
“We had a couple of issues throughout the race and basically were just trying to stay on the lead lap,” he said. “Ultimately we didn’t have the pace.
"[But] if you had told us last night after qualifying 24th that we would be on the podium tomorrow we would have taken it all day long.
“We are very happy; the team did a fantastic job and congrats to all the guys here for a great race.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Whincup says Van Gisbergen battle was "hard and fair"
Next article Lynn, Scheider among additions as BMW unveils Nurburgring line-up
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Andrew van Leeuwen
Toby Price explains 'unfortunate' Mitsubishi split
Dakar
Dakar
Dakar
Toby Price explains 'unfortunate' Mitsubishi split
Supercars parity review begins
Supercars
Supercars
Supercars parity review begins
SRO set for bigger Australian GT presence
GT World Challenge Australia
GT World Challenge Australia
SRO set for bigger Australian GT presence
More from
Oliver Jarvis
Pfaff Motorsports adds Alexander Rossi to Rolex 24 lineup
IMSA
IMSA
Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta
Pfaff Motorsports adds Alexander Rossi to Rolex 24 lineup
Jarvis “had to think for myself” to seal Portimao win with no radio
WEC
WEC
Portimao
Jarvis “had to think for myself” to seal Portimao win with no radio
United laments "cruel" TV camera issue that cost team Sebring win
WEC
WEC
Sebring
United laments "cruel" TV camera issue that cost team Sebring win
More from
Bentley Team
Bentley’s Le Mans-winning mastermind to retire
WEC
WEC
Bentley’s Le Mans-winning mastermind to retire
Gounon replaces Jarvis in Bentley Blancpain line-up
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Gounon replaces Jarvis in Bentley Blancpain line-up
Bentley unveils all-new Continental GT3 challenger
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
Bentley unveils all-new Continental GT3 challenger
Latest news
Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
37 min
Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027
Tim Clark wants NASCAR to be better storytellers to counter "brand perception problem"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h
Tim Clark wants NASCAR to be better storytellers to counter "brand perception problem"
Why NASCAR's Zane Smith fine for Carson Hocevar contact was consistent
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
2 h
Why NASCAR's Zane Smith fine for Carson Hocevar contact was consistent
Jimmie Johnson on the NASCAR business world: "It's a war"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 2 h
Jimmie Johnson on the NASCAR business world: "It's a war"
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe