Devon Modell further cemented his status as a top-line endurance racer after conquering the undulating Mount Panorama Circuit to record a Class B podium finish in the 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour (6-8 February).
Making his Bathurst debut ‘down under’, Modell opened his weekend with an ‘unhinged’ moment when building pressure inside his Porsche 997 GT3 Cup caused the driver’s door to unseat itself while hurtling down the 1.91km-long Conrod Straight during Friday’s (6 February) practice session.
Throughout the five practice sessions over the course of Friday and Saturday (7 February), Modell continued to extract the optimum from both himself and car to set competitive times, before he and teammates, Peter Rullo and Tim Macrow, set the 33rd fastest time overall in Saturday’s one-hour qualifying session to start the once-around-the-clock race fifth in class.
As the sun began to rise over New South Wales, the state-of-the-art GT field lit up the Mount Panorama Circuit. Macrow was first to pilot the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup for the opening stint and the Australian driver did everything required of him, bringing the #64 car into the pits after 90 minutes of racing to hand the reins over to Rullo, who re-joined the race still fifth in class.
With clear blue skies above the ‘The Mountain’, Modell leaped into the cockpit of the Rotek Racing 997 GT3 for his opening stint, which was hampered by several Safety Car interruptions, as much of the experienced field collided with the surrounding walls lining the ultra-demanding circuit.
The 24-year old, who opened his 2015 account with a podium finish in the ninth-annual Dubai 24 Hour last month, continued to push on and clamber up the leaderboard, before entering a tussle for the runner-up spot with Class B rival, Grove Group, as the race entered the latter half.
Modell and fellow British-driver, Ben Barker, continued to run nose-to-tail for much of the stint, but Rullo and Macrow continued to make in-roads.
A perfect driver-change ensured Modell, from Kent, England, returned to the cockpit of the #64 Porsche during the closing hours of the once-around-the-clock enduro still in contention.
As the battle intensified, others entered the fray and several Safety Car appearances neutralised the field, Modell vowed to fight tooth-and-nail up until the chequered flag, showing true grit and determination to consolidate his position and chase down his rivals.
After 12 hours of racing, 19 Safety Car interruptions and 257 tours of the unforgiving Mount Panorama Circuit, Modell took the chequered flag 18th overall and third in class to stand on the winners’ rostrum after a spectacular debut.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of racing in the 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour and I’m delighted to have come away with a podium,” said Modell. “It is a fantastic track that requires your utmost attention and I believe that I settled into the environment nicely, considering I had never driven a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup in a competitive environment prior to the weekend. It was a relatively drama-free event for the team and I, which allowed me to set competitive lap times during my stints and equal the times recorded by my more experienced teammates. Overall, it was a great weekend and I would love to come back next year in a higher-powered GT3 car and challenge for an overall victory.”
For more information on Devon Modell and his racing actives, please follow@Devon_Modell on Twitter.