Bathurst 24: Holdens maintain first, second

Mount Panorama, Bathurst (NSW) 22-23 November 2003
Update at 8 PM Saturday

The six-hour mark in the Bathurst 24-Hour race has passed with the field running behind the safety car, but Holdens maintaining their unchallenged first and second places.

The yellow flags came out at lap 130 after the 26# BMW driven by Mark Westbrook hit the wall on the outside of the left-hand McPhillamy Park corner and rolled.

A short time before, a burst of blue smoke on pit straight signalled the end of the works-backed Morgan Aero 8, with engine failure. The team had battled overheating virtually from the start at 2pm.

Holden 427# with Nathan Pretty at the wheel is leading, with Peter Brock behind in 05#.

Ex-Formula 1 driver Andrea Montermini, from Italy, is third in a Ferrari 360GT and threatening to make a race of it. On lap 127 he put in a stunning time of 2 min. 15.85 sec. in a bid to pick up a lap lost to the Monaro pair.

Porsches 54#, 7# and 6# are running strongly in the following three places.

<pre> Outright 1. 427# Holden Monaro Tander/Richards/Pretty/McConville 131 laps 2. 05# Holden Brock/Murphy/Bright/Kelly 3. 48# Ferrari 360 Brabham/Montermini/Engelhorn/Peter 4. 54# Porsche GT3 Cup Shearman/Teulan/Fitzgerald/Morris 5. 7# Porsche GT3 Cup Denyer/Quinn/Quinn/Marshall

Class A - 427# Holden Monaro            Tander/Richards/Pretty/McConville
Class B -   7# Porsche GT3 Cup          Denyer/Quinn/Quinn/Marshall
Class D -  27# BMW M Coupe              Russell/King/Stubber/Cramp
Class E -  62# Holden Commodore SS      Loadsman/Luff/Luff/Russell
Class F -  23# BMW M3R                  Lynton/Lynton/Cartwright/Jackson

Next update due at: 8.45 pm

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