Ben Barker continued his winning start to 2020 by claiming a fourth class success in the gruelling Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia.
Reuniting with the Grove Racing team for a sixth assault on the increasingly important endurance event, Barker was hoping to add not only to his previous success on the Mount Panorama circuit, but also to the Dubai 24 Hours title he took in January during a prolific mid-season hiatus from his regular World Endurance Championship commitments.
The Briton made a good start to the weekend, defying his lack of experience in Grove’s all-new Porsche 911 GT3R – as well as it also being the car’s first time at Bathurst – to eventually post the fourth fastest time overall in the fifth practice session of the event.
“Free practice went well considering that we were all gaining experience and confidence with the car,” Barker commented, “We made a few set-up changes along the way and the car responded well, allowing me to post a lap good enough for fourth overall and raising our optimism for qualifying.”
With conditions ever-changing, qualifying did not go as smoothly as the team had hoped, with the Porsche developing tricky handling at the rear that made it difficult for any of the three drivers to commit through the circuit’s high-speed mountain section.
“We wound up down in P16, but only 0.8secs from pole, so you can see how closely-matched the field was,” Barker pointed out, “I knew I had more in me, but I didn’t want to risk anything as this place bites – and bites hard. The race always has to be the focus.”
With time to make further adjustments to the set-up pre-race, the #4 machine was more to Barker’s liking as he strapped in for the night-time start, and the increased confidence it engendered saw the Cambridge native make up good ground to climb into the top 14 by the end of his stint. Team-mates Brenton and Stephen Grove mirrored Barker’s initial performance with faultless stints of their own as the red-and-white Porsche headed the Pro-Am class from the off, despite finding itself in an intense battle with the #75 Mercedes and #12 Porsche.
With no mechanical problems, and strong race strategy, the Grove machine was able to run at the front of the class throughout, eventually opening up a 40secs lead over its nearest opposition as Barker returned to the cockpit for the final shift. Now completely comfortable with the GT3R, the former Australian F3 champion rattled off some of his best laps of the event to put the result beyond doubt, ultimately extending Grove’s advantage to over a lap by the chequered flag.
“That was tough!” Barker noted, back in the sanctuary of the Grove garage, “Ambient temperatures of 36°C made it the hardest race I have ever competed in, especially with the intensity of the track and pace of the car over the hill. We led the Pro-Am class from the beginning, but there was hardly any time to relax.
“Despite that, I set some of the fastest laps of anyone at the end, as the car felt brilliant and I really felt in sync with both it and the track. This place is all about momentum – and I had lots of it! That said, the team played its usual brilliant part, with perfect strategy by our engineers, JR and Jarred, meaning that we could capitalise under the numerous safety cars. Running a faultless race here usually means victory, and that was definitely the case for us.”
With another piece of silverware to explain away through customs, Barker now reset his sights on WEC duty, looking to keep the Gulf Racing Porsche amongst the podium places after a fine third place in the final race before the break.
“Thanks to my friends at Grove Racing for again trusting me behind the wheel as their Pro driver,” Barker concluded, “It’s been epic from the day I started with them six years ago, and to make the top step of the podium for a fourth time is particularly special, even more so now that we’ve done it in a GT3 car in the most competitive year of this race.
“That’s two wins to start the new decade, and three races in a row on the podium. Let that continue in Texas in a few weeks’ time!”
The FIA World Endurance Series resumes with the Lone Star Le Mans event at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas in Texas over the weekend of 20-22 February.
