Marcos Ambrose returns to racing in a Mustang at Bathurst

[Friend of Dorothy]

The Bathurst 6 Hour production car race, that is. I was hoping the Mach 1 configuration might be eligible for the race, but the car looks like a standard GT so far. The drivers seat is free and the brake rotors might be too; I am not all that familiar with the regulations.

Story here: https://www.v8sleuth.com.au/marcos-ambrose-to-make-racing-return-at-bathurst/

The Mach 1 would be an advantage with the extra heat exchangers that are missing from the car so far, and the better aero package the Mach 1 has. The GTs overheated a bit in the last 6 Hour race.

The race is happening on April 17th, the birthday of the Mustang, so surely that has to be a good omen!!!

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[Stevefreestyle]

Tim Blanchard is entered in a Mach 1 (#3), however it is the only "one" entered.

There are only four other Mustang GTs, with Ambrose sharing with George Miedecke in #95

Lets see them all well up the pointy end - giving it to the leading BMWs, and hitting well above their class "weight" again!

3	A2	Rowell Logistics P/L	Nicholas McLeod	Cameron McLeod	Tim Blanchard	Ford	Mustang Mach 1
7	A2	Local Legends	Tony Quinn	Grant Denyer		Ford	Mustang GT
16	A2	Levitt Motorsports	Tony Levitt	Jason Simes	Ben Walsh	Mercedes	W204 C63 AMG
25	A2	TBA	Coleby Cowham	Lindsay Kearns		Ford	Mustang GT
29	A2	Penrite Racing	Darren Forrest	Paul Razum		Holden HSV	Clubsport R8
41	A2	Manteufel Constructions	Gary Beggs	Jim Manteufel		Holden	Commodore
44	A2	Nolan Finishes	Daniel Clift	Ashley Heffernan		Holden HSV	R8 Clubsport VZ
48	A2	ASAP Marketing Pty Ltd	Scott Gore	Keith Bensley	Steve Owen	Lexus	RC F
49	A2	Visions Estates	Tony Alford	Kyle Alford		Ford	Mustang GT
95	A2	Miedecke Motor Group	George Miedecke	Marcos Ambrose		Ford	Mustang GT
151	A2	Casey Accident Repairs	Travis Lindorff	Adam Lowndes		Holden HSV	VE GTS
666	A2	Triple 666 Racing	Robert Coulthard	Trevor Symonds		Holden	VE GTS

 

[Stevefreestyle]

The Bathurst 6 Hour production car race, that is. I was hoping the Mach 1 configuration might be eligible for the race, but the car looks like a standard GT so far. The drivers seat is free and the brake rotors might be too; I am not all that familiar with the regulations.

Story here: https://www.v8sleuth.com.au/marcos-ambrose-to-make-racing-return-at-bathurst/

The Mach 1 would be an advantage with the extra heat exchangers that are missing from the car so far, and the better aero package the Mach 1 has. The GTs overheated a bit in the last 6 Hour race.

The race is happening on April 17th, the birthday of the Mustang, so surely that has to be a good omen!!!

I think the only overheating issues were from the car who had the hit in the front, however the Mach1 would definitely have an advantage - as they were effectively built for endurance racing with the extra cooling.

Regarding the Brakes - the Standard GTs have massive 380mm / 330mm (F/R) Rotors, with 6 Pot Brembos, so stopping power is not a problem, although they are not grooved to allow for extra cooling.

 

[Friend of Dorothy]

Mach 1 specs would have to be an advantage aerodynamically, to a mild extent, on the high speed parts of the circuit, especially if it rains. Engines usually perform better at low/medium engine temperatures rather than high.

A standard GT is not going to win the race, but at least one Mustang will be in Mach 1 configuration it seems, so happy days!

 

[Stevefreestyle]

Mach 1 specs would have to be an advantage aerodynamically, to a mild extent, on the high speed parts of the circuit, especially if it rains. Engines usually perform better at low/medium engine temperatures rather than high.

A standard GT is not going to win the race, but at least one Mustang will be in Mach 1 configuration it seems, so happy days!

They are slightly off the pace, with a 5th place outright last year, however with three Mustang Gts in the top 8, they were nothing to be ashamed of!!

That result would have been even better, had the #7 Mustang, which was by far the quickest Mustang throughout the day, was not taken out with a terminal encounter with the wall.

Onwards and Upwards for 2022 !!

2021 Bathurst 6 Hr Top 10 Outright Results

Pos	Class	Class Pos	No	Team	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Fastest Lap	On Lap
1	X	1	97	Prestige Connex	S.Smollen/R.Rubis/S.van Gisbergen	BMW M4	120	06:02:25.5600	2:26.4878	105
2	X	2	1	Bruce Lynton BM Service	B.Lynton/T.Leahey	BMW M3	120	06:02:33.4157	2:27.0462	104
3	X	3	27	Sherrin Rentals	G.Sherrin/D.Russell	BMW M4	120	06:02:37.6036	2:27.5365	105
4	X	4	8	Car Mods Australia	B.Carr/T.Slade	BMW M3	120	06:02:59.5580	2:27.6613	118
5	A2	1	95	Miedecke Motor Group	G.Miedecke/P.Morris/B.Kostecki	Ford Mustang GT	120	06:03:58.4766	2:31.1518	53
6	A2	2	25	Greentech Gold Coast	C.Cowham/L.Kearns	Ford Mustang GT	120	06:04:01.9674	2:31.8262	9
7	A1	1	45	RAM Motorsport/GWR	M.Sheargold/B.Hobson/O.Shannon	Mercedes-Benz AMG	120	06:04:07.4172	2:31.3324	54
8	A2	3	49	Racer Industries	T.Alford/K.Alford	Ford Mustang	120	06:04:24.0974	2:32.6056	110
9	A1	2	6	Oneworld Charters	R.Salmon/N.Muston/Y.Shahin	Mercedes-Benz A45	120	06:04:25.1037	2:33.6813	54
10	A1	3	19	Shockwave Signs	J.Vernon/M.Griffith	Mitsubishi Lancer EV	120	06:04:42.7484	2:32.9190	7

 

[Friend of Dorothy]

In Auto Action tonight all but one of the Mustangs are listed as Mach 1. The Miedecke car that Ambrose is co-driving has been tested and is much faster than the GT they used last year. The interesting thing is that it appears it’s running the 10 speed auto!

They are doing more testing with it to see if they can make the auto live the distance before making a decision on it, it seems.

On paper the auto is quicker, but it is optimistic to think it will last 6 hours of abuse, but here’s hoping!

 

[GT 550]

The interesting thing is that it appears it’s running the 10 speed auto!

I hope that's the case, would be really interesting to see how it survives.

Quinny knows a thing or two about race cars, would like to think the Mustang will benefit.

 

[Stevefreestyle]

Interesting article here on the McLeod #3 Mustang GT Mach 1 (with Tim Blanchard as Co-Driver).

It seems they are are a self funded Privateer, and in the Spare Parts Business, so there is possibly a relationship with the Blanchard's "Cooldrive".

Could be very interesting, and I hope they do well !!!

MCLEOD FAMILY HUNTING SIX HOUR SUCCESS - Bathurst 6 Hour
"
"MCLEOD FAMILY HUNTING SIX HOUR SUCCESS
If you are looking for a textbook case of ‘the family that races together, stays together,’ you need go no further than the Ryan McLeod Racing Cars team at this year’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.

Ryan McLeod will run two entries in this Easter’s event; the #3 Rowell Logistics P/L Ford Mustang Mach 1 to be driven in A2 by his sons Cameron and Tim, and the #10 Racer Industries Holden Astra VX-R to be steered in C Class by Ryan’s dad – 1987 Bathurst winner Peter McLeod – his son Benjamin, and family friend, Brock Giblin.

“My wife is part of the team, my three boys are driving, my dad is there, and I am running it. We are completely resourced by ourselves, and we do everything – we build the cars, we tune the cars, we transport them, we do the lot, so it is about as ‘family’ as it gets, I suppose,” Ryan McLeod explained.

“Dad first raced at Bathurst in 1980 and funnily enough the Astra he will race this year is going to be the number 10, which is the same number he had when he won the race with Peter Brock in 1987, which is just a fluke that that is the number we were given. He will mostly be there to help the boys along, providing guidance – he is 74 now but is still pretty active.

“In the Mustang, it is the next step for the boys who have been racing in Formula Ford and other things, so I thought that was the right thing to do.

“Racing is just what we do. If we are not working on our cars, we are working in our business. I think we just love all parts of it. I run my own cars in Formula Ford for the boys, and when we aren’t doing that, we are in the shop and selling parts and we are very active in that and really enjoy doing that, so I suppose it is just what we do, it is our thing.

“We really enjoy it, and we have a good group of people around us. Some of our crew have been coming to race with us since the early nineties, and of course there is mum and dad and all the rest. At some stage I had been to every Bathurst since around 1991 to about 2007. Then we started doing the 12 hours – dad started doing those in 1991 and I think we did every one of them up until the last one that was run. So, we have always been doing some form of endurance racing at Bathurst every year.

“We think the 6 Hour is a great event and it well worthwhile for all young drivers to try and get there and do it properly. There is a real good combination of people from the top level like Marcos Ambrose all the way to the enthusiast level, and I think that makes for a really great event which caters for a wide scope, and we really like doing it.

“(To be successful this year) would be a good achievement for us. It would show that the boys are able to drive, and the cars have been prepared well. It is not an easy job – it is a difficult race, a long race, and a lot of prep goes into it beforehand.

“If we do a good job and get to the end and everything goes well, I suppose it will be ‘job done’ and we plan on giving it the best go that we can,” he added, while thanking Michael Rowell for the opportunity to race his Mustang this year.

Joining the McLeods in their steering duties at the Mountain for Ryan McLeod Racing Cars will be Brock Giblin, who has become close to the family over the years."

“In 2012 when I came back to the Australian Production Cars, I was in a practice session in Sydney and a dozen or so cars behind Brock when he had a massive accident and his car rolled and burst into flames; he nearly lost his life,” McLeod explains.

“I stopped and helped to get him out of the car, and we have been in close contact ever since. He has been slowly working his way to get back into production cars, and has been doing some Hyundai races with my son Ben. The deal always was that we would get him back where he wanted to go all those years ago; so, it is a big deal for us that he is coming back.”

 

[Stevefreestyle]

In Auto Action tonight all but one of the Mustangs are listed as Mach 1. The Miedecke car that Ambrose is co-driving has been tested and is much faster than the GT they used last year. The interesting thing is that it appears it’s running the 10 speed auto!

They are doing more testing with it to see if they can make the auto live the distance before making a decision on it, it seems.

On paper the auto is quicker, but it is optimistic to think it will last 6 hours of abuse, but here’s hoping!

Thats interesting, I am not surprised that the 10 Speed Auto is faster than their last years 6 sp Manual car, however the 2021 Miedecke Mustang GT Finished 5th OUTRIGHT and it was the second fastest Mustang behind the Tony Quinn car. (out of a 5 Mustang GT and 60 car field)

If it is a Mach 1, they only need to email or call Ford Performance in the US to determine the durability with the standard Auto Box with the OEM Oil Cooler under competition conditions - and any additional cooling requirements.
If it is not a Mach 1, they only need to install a decent aftermarket (or Ford Mach 1) Auto Gearbox Oil Cooler, and go go go!

This will be really interesting to see how much they give it to the leading BMWs!!!

Bring on next weekend !! Hope SBS has it again live.

2021 Results - Bathurst 6 Hour

 

[Friend of Dorothy]

Thats interesting, I am not surprised that the 10 Speed Auto is faster than their last years 6 sp Manual car, however the 2021 Miedecke Mustang GT Finished 5th OUTRIGHT and it was the second fastest Mustang behind the Tony Quinn car. (out of a 5 Mustang GT and 60 car field)

If it is a Mach 1, they only need to email or call Ford Performance in the US to determine the durability with the standard Auto Box with the OEM Oil Cooler under competition conditions - and any additional cooling requirements.
If it is not a Mach 1, they only need to install a decent aftermarket (or Ford Mach 1) Auto Gearbox Oil Cooler, and go go go!

This will be really interesting to see how much they give it to the leading BMWs!!!

Bring on next weekend !! Hope SBS has it again live.

2021 Results - Bathurst 6 Hour

I doubt that the rules would allow non-standard oil coolers.

Last years results show that the Mustang GTs were nowhere near quick enough to win the sprint to to flag following the last safety car. Their fastest race laps were 3-4 seconds a lap slower than the BMWs.

The extra Mach 1 coolers should help maintain something closer to qualifying pace.

But what if the BMWs are quicker this year?

Unfortunately for some, the race is only on Stan this year, I believe.

 

[Stevefreestyle]

I doubt that the rules would allow non-standard oil coolers.

Last years results show that the Mustang GTs were nowhere near quick enough to win the sprint to to flag following the last safety car. Their fastest race laps were 3-4 seconds a lap slower than the BMWs.

The extra Mach 1 coolers should help maintain something closer to qualifying pace.

But what if the BMWs are quicker this year?

Unfortunately for some, the race is only on Stan this year, I believe.

Yes the Mustangs are a few seconds off the pace of the leading four Turbo 3L BMWs, however last year a mustang not only finished Fifth Outright, but also Qualified Fifth.

Actually, Replacement Engine & Gearbox Oil Coolers ARE permitted (amazingly I usually do my homework before making a definitive statement lol)

Page 6: 2022-MA-Group-3E-–-Series-Production-Car-Regulations.pdf (bathurst6hour.com.au)
"4.16 COOLING SYSTEM
(d) It is permitted to replace a thermostat in which case its operation and method of control is free. The manner in which the radiator pressure is controlled is free.
(f) It is permitted to fit an oil cooler to each of the engine, transmission, final drive and power steering oil systems provided that the sole purpose of each oil cooler, save for the additional volume of oil, is to reduce the oil temperature. It is not permitted to change the direction of oil flow within the engine. Each oil cooler and the associated components must remain inside the external bodywork of the automobile. The only modification permitted to facilitate the fitment of an oil cooler and associated components is the: (i) addition of hoses and fittings; (ii) addition of a distribution (sandwich) plate; (iii) relocation of the oil filter; (iv) the addition of a bracket/s of the minimum necessary size to support the oil cooler; and (v) the drilling of holes for mounting purposes. (vi) A duct may be added to oil coolers. The combined surface areas of the duct are not permitted to be any larger in size than the area of one side of that oil cooler core. The ducting must also remain within 200mm of the oil cooler core in any direction. The duct cannot be any lower than the surrounding bodywork (g) It is permitted to fit independent additional cooling systems to electronic and electrical components (i.e. electronic modules/controllers, electric power steering motors) by either the fitment of additional heatsink and/or air flow ducting or by the fitment of a heat exchanger system. Each additional cooling system and the associated components must remain inside the external bodywork of the automobile.

 

[Stevefreestyle]

I doubt that the rules would allow non-standard oil coolers.

Last years results show that the Mustang GTs were nowhere near quick enough to win the sprint to to flag following the last safety car. Their fastest race laps were 3-4 seconds a lap slower than the BMWs.

The extra Mach 1 coolers should help maintain something closer to qualifying pace.

But what if the BMWs are quicker this year?

Unfortunately for some, the race is only on Stan this year, I believe.

Could this be what you previously referred to in AutoAction Chris, or is it new?

AMBROSE FOCUSED ON 6HR RELIABILITY - Auto Action

They seem very confident of "Definitely chasing Outright", and apparently working with Herrod for the Engine & Gearbox cooling and reliability for a 6 hour Racing Enduro - yes its the 10A80 10 Speed Auto.

There is some really interesting info here,

" Marcos Ambrose believes if reliability can be sorted, the Miedecke Motor Group Mustang will fight for outright Bathurst 6 Hour honours, he stresses that this is not a comeback.

The Garry Rogers Motorsport/Miedecke Motor Group prepared Mustang will compete in Class A2, however the speed is there to take on the all-conquering BMWs but reliability is more of an issue.

“The scope of the project was to run the 10-speed auto in the Mustang, the car is super-fast, but we’re breaking new ground with the 10-speed auto,” Ambrose explained to Auto Action.

“So, when we’re running an auto for six hours in a race environment, temperatures and reliability come into play.

“That’s the big question mark on our car, is it going to make the six hours? That’s what we’re talking about and working through right now.

“It’s obviously coming down to crunch time, we’ve got a couple of weeks before the race and we’ve got another test scheduled to try to keep moving forward this weekend, but it’s just such a new thing for us here.

“We are working with Herrods, who did the transmission and the engine, to come up with a really good solution to make the transmission live, and to keep the temperatures under control.”

One of the six-hour’s challenges is making a production-based car last the distance, Ambrose highlighted the difficulty of testing out of a race environment.

Ambrose will test the car this weekend and is optimistic of a fix.

“We’ve got new parts and we’ve got a new way of thinking about how we’re going to do it, so we’ve just got to go to the track and prove it. It’s either going to work or it’s not,” he stated.

BMWs have won all five Bathurst 6 Hour races, however Ambrose is optimistic of taking the fight up to them.

“George and Andrew (Miedecke) ran a Mustang last year with the manual gearbox and their feedback from the testing we’ve done is that this car is significantly quicker, it’s got a better brake package, it’s got a little more power, it handles very well and the auto will really suit a faster lap time.

“If we get that auto to work and keep the temperatures under control I think we will be really fast and we’ll definitely be chasing outright.”

Ambrose hasn’t raced at Bathurst since 2015 when he ran for Team Penske paired with Scott Pye for the Bathurst 1000. He said that the 6 Hour is just a one-off drive.

“I’m actually looking forward to the event, it’s just a more relaxed vibe, we’re doing it as friends,” Ambrose said.

“The expectation from my perspective is that I’m not making a comeback, for me it’s fairly low key. George will be the number one driver and I’ll be just support for him.”

 

[Friend of Dorothy]

That’s the same article @Stevefreestyle . They start putting articles online a few days after the magazine is released.

Given the regulation you posted, that explains the lack of the extra ‘Mach 1 only’ radiators hanging off the car.

PWR in Queensland produce the best racing heat exchangers, supplying nearly all the F1 teams. Maybe they will produce the correct sized heat exchangers for the teams.

I am hoping for a Mustang victory because no one remembers who finishes fifth :-)

 

[Stevefreestyle]

LOL ! Yes it really has to be First-Third Outright! (I am serious)

it is true, no-one remembers 5th, although coming behind 31 cars from two higher category Classes comprising Forced Induction cars (12 Class X, and 19 A1), in a 60 car field is not too shabby!

 

[Stevefreestyle]

That’s the same article @Stevefreestyle . They start putting articles online a few days after the magazine is released.

Given the regulation you posted, that explains the lack of the extra ‘Mach 1 only’ radiators hanging off the car.

PWR in Queensland produce the best racing heat exchangers, supplying nearly all the F1 teams. Maybe they will produce the correct sized heat exchangers for the teams.

I am hoping for a Mustang victory because no one remembers who finishes fifth :-)

Yes PWR have an enviable reputation with competition / racing oil coolers, however with Herrod's involvement in the development, I am sure it will be well sorted (probably with PWR gear) .

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