Dream cars primed for Mt Panorama

A WALK down the Bathurst 12 Hour pit lane is like every car-loving kid’s dream come true.

This year’s 53-car entry represents about $22 million of the most beautiful, sweetsounding, and mechanically diverse racing machines ever to grace Mt Panorama.

Class A, including the Pro, Pro-Am and Am outright divisions, is where the biggest money is at, with all the top machines unlikely to give you much change from $600,000.

The sleek McLaren 650 GT3s are back to avenge last year’s dour run and chase a repeat of their 2016 victory, their charge led by Supercars stars Shane van Gisbergen, Craig Lowndes, Scott McLaughlin and Tim Slade.

Then there’s Porsche, the bridesmaid twice in mid-1990s as well as last year.

After dipping their toe in the water of the outright class last year, they’ve brought their big guns this time. The factory has sent its crack Manthey Racing squad among a fourcar attack, along with a host of their elite pilots, including Australia’s own factory junior driver Matt Campbell and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Earl Bamber.

“For a while there, it was this ‘far away race’,” Bamber said. “But after coming here last year the Manthey Racing guys have seen what race it is and it’s really clear it’s something we need to tick the box.”

The action starts with four practice sessions today ahead of qualifying and racing over the weekend.