Maranello Motorsport's Ferrari 458 GT3 looks to be a major threat in February's Bathurst 12 hour race. Photo / Supplied
Maranello Motorsport's Ferrari 458 GT3 looks to be a major threat in February's Bathurst 12 hour race. Photo / Supplied
A race-spec Ferrari 458 GT3 smashed the lap record at Mount Panorama at the weekend.
Allan Simonsen posted the sizzling in practice, putting the Ferrari around the legendary 6.2km circuit in 2:04.9560.
The time was four seconds quicker than the existing GT3 record and the quickest for any non-open wheelracing car.
Jamie Whincup's V8 Supercar record is 2:08.4651, and his Team Vodafone offsider Craig Lowndes' GT record is 2:09.0861 in an Audi R8 LMS GT3.
The 458 GT3 has just arrived in Australia and will be campaigned there by Maranello Motorsport - and will provide a very strong challenge in the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race next February.
Maranello Motorsport Managing Director, Mark Coffey is impressed with the speed that the Ferrari has shown straight away.
"The 458 is a great car," he said, "it's worth the wait and really is amazing how the time we spent at the factory with Michelotto has paid off with the car so quick and stable so quickly.
"It's terrific to not need months to dial it in. There'd been a lot of people with stopwatches around the track and to now have confirmation of the new record during the team's first test is very exciting so we're looking forward to the racing."
Simonson, who had already driven a 458 during his international commitments, was joined by Maranello endurance driver Peter Edwards, who also posted fast times during the test.
"This car is damn fast!" said Simonson. "Given this is our first test, it's certainly nice to break the lap record finally and we did it in style.
"From the first laps at Bathurst the car was very quick, given it has a great setup baseline from running in Europe this year so we knew we'd be able to work from where they'd left off.
"The power and the chassis are so complementary and I'm feeling really comfortable in the car and with the team.
"These new generation cars are all going to have a fast pace, and there's no doubt the (Bathurst) 12 Hour is going to be very fast and incredibly competitive - it's an event I'm definitely looking forward to on the calendar."
