The first hour of the 2010 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour has been a conservative approach for Pollicina Motorsports. After qualifying in 21st position, the team of Jim Pollicina, John O’Dowd and Simon Middleton were just hoping for a trouble free run and finish in a respectable position after 12 hours of racing.
Their fortunes would soon turn positive when they were elevated into 20th position, following the exclusion of the Walden Motorsport Commodore and the relegation to the rear of grid. The original plan was for Middleton to start the race, but that changed at the last minute as O’Dowd picked the short straw to start today’s 12 Hour. Although he was slightly nervous, he was calmly excited about the start.
But his nerves would come to the fore at the race start. As the lights went out, he slightly stalled the car and missed the start by a couple of seconds, dropping a couple of sports from his 20th grid position. It wasn’t long before he relaxed and built his confidence up once again, quickly picking up a total of five positions to reach as high as 17th before dropping back to 19th.
Currently on the track, O’Dowd is still in the car and is running 19th overall. The plan is to bring the car in at the 90 minute mark and either hand over to Middleton or Pollicina, depending on how the track and weather conditions are. If it starts to dry, Middleton will jump in. If it is greasy or wet, Pollicina will take over. The outright race leader is Damien White in the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Lancer Evo X RS.
To follow the live broadcast, log on to www.bathurst12hour.com.au