Here you can see the webcast of the BMW Group Press Conference at the Auto Shanghai 2025 Please check your email and enter your one time pin below:   Open in Gmail Sorry there was an error loading the audio children play in the streets and elders sit on the stoep Nolukhanyo in Bathurst, Eastern Cape is a mix of brick and corrugated iron houses. It has bumpy and bare dirt roads, dogs, goats and the odd cow. There’s also the occasional stock theft, murder and a drug issue in the pineapple-producing town. advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Tori Stowe paper and fabric artist (as well as graphic designer) Almost every street in Nolukhanyo contains evidence of the longevity of the project Stowe hasn’t been back here in a year but the gardens continue “The point was to set up a sustainable food support project “I’m quite prolific on Facebook and I went to a private school,” Stowe says aware of her privilege and what to do with it By the end of 2023 there was donor fatigue “I started to feel like I was begging rather than raising funds. Also, I was personally battling so it felt more like begging.” advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Artist Tori Stowe ascribes the success of the Growing Nolukhanyo home garden project to finding interested people One of the school gardens almost didn’t get up and running — because of a lack of water access the school and the clinic next door now have a flourishing patch The government funds a group of people (whose name I can never remember) who wear orange uniforms and their job is to wander around and be vaguely employed causing a dispute with the clinic staff about whose vegetables they were Stowe’s solution to the question of “who owns the veggies?” on communal/government land was to supply more vegetable seeds/seedlings Nokuzola Ntlokwana stands in her mielie patch in Nolukhanyo “She’s a single mom,” Stowe says, as we drive up to Nokuzola Ntlokwana’s brick house, with its fruit trees, an area cleared of rocks and the fenced vegetable patch. A curious Africanus dog pricks its ears at us from the doorway, while Ntlokwana greets us. The garden has been going for four years, she says.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads “A lot,” Ntlokwana says of the amount of food she generates She works at a vegetable farm, working all day and returning to her own plot. Ntlokwana has five children, with the oldest born in 2004 and the youngest in 2023. She points to the cabbage, beetroot, chillies, bananas, and mielies growing in her garden. advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Stowe says success came from finding interested people She says she just introduced the idea of a perennially growing garden and then if they’re there they may steal other things,” Stowe says “People say they don’t want fruit trees because they’re going to bring thieves The project is trying to ensure everyone has fruit “Elderly women were the mainstay of [the gardens] Around the corner another garden has a peach tree She explains that while Bathurst had good spring rains Stowe believes vines and fruit trees along with seasonal planting to be the sustainable way to go “There’s so many little kids that run around here All the little plants get eaten by goats and cows.” The size of plots in Nolukhanyo is ideal for home gardens with the houses fairly close together – for shade and water run-off It’s become culturally a bit unpopular to grow your own food; people see it as backwards You need a space the size of a door to grow One man uses permaculture principles and sells his produce at the local farmers market, providing for his family. He’s commandeered gardens nearby, giving vegetables to people and taking his own harvest. advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads A few high-profile celebrities worked with Stowe on the project something at odds with the goats and people going about their everyday lives A permaculture specialist asked to use the next-door building’s roof as a water run-off for a tank because South Africans are ‘fence people’,” she says wryly She says the Bathurst community provided plants any help needed — all from shoutouts on a Whatsapp group In a car-less society (which this basically is) they’re a transport So you’d pay R40 to deliver a load of sand wheelbarrows and fencing are the three things that make a “permanent difference” “What I want to do next year is focus on the ones that worked Some people are interested and have capacity “The growth and the support was indefinite It was one of the most organic things I’ve ever done.”  Lina Ndesi with her crop of spinach and mielies in Nolukhanyo Julia Memani hugs Stowe and leads her to her neatly sprouting crops Memani calls out to a neighbour’s place one door down Both homes have beautifully painted exteriors — Memani’s is teal Ndesi walks out the gate slowly with a crutch with a rusted water tank on the right and an avocado tree strawberries and onion grow in weeded rows “I’ve got problems with my knees,” Ndesi says “I’m selling the spinach – if someone wants it The grandchildren are visiting Ndesi for the holiday “They’re old ladies and partially disabled It’s a little community; the problem is it’s not passing on to the next generation the knowledge or the resources,” Stowe says “It’s a fairly integrated society for the Eastern Cape making her way to the Seventh-day Adventist church and creche where she got the idea to start the gardens but someone jumped the fence and cut it down a police vehicle and a few dead sheep that are being tied up – possibly the result of stock theft “It was not uncommon during my work to just see a body lying on the road,” Stowe says On one hand you become desensitised and on the other hand you become completely destroyed by what you see caused entirely by poverty because people are desperate.”  “What I found amazing about it was how much change you can make with how little You just have to encourage it in your own space.” DM ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Talk of the Town is the weekly newspaper of record for the community of Ndlambe and serves readers in and around Port Alfred but it’s cool a couple of years before Genesis races properly Get the latest updates delivered directly to your inbox You have successfully joined our subscriber list 96969Determined Waters makes honest Taupo assessmentHaving held onto second in the Sprint Cup standings by the skin of his teeth Cameron Waters claims Taupo will be the “lowest point of our year.” The Taupo Super440 […] Team 18 boss Adrian Burgess has walked away from Saturday at Taupō with mixed feelings — frustrated by what might have been in both races Oscar Piastri called his opening day in Jeddah “decent,” but his back-to-back top-five finishes in practice suggest the McLaren driver is quietly building momentum ahead of Qualifying Oscar Piastri may have celebrated his 24th birthday on the podium but third place at Suzuka felt more like damage limitation than triumph after a Japanese Grand Prix shaped by […] Caroline Garde[email protected] Where can I find Auto Action Premium? Click here seven years after their last experience… This weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour is the “right time” for Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde to reunite in the same car with the South African brothers both seeking their first wins in Australia’s international enduro 32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 alongside Augusto Farfus It marks the brothers’ first time sharing a car since the 2018 ADAC GT Masters season in a Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 that also included other GT3 appearances over a two-year period they won their last race together that season en route to a runner-up finish in the championship to be honest,” Kelvin told Sportscar365 “To think that time has gone by so quickly [Sheldon’s] gone on his journey with BMW and I carried on with my journey with Audi “I think it was the right time for us to reunite “This race is one that’s very special to both of us one that BMW hasn’t won in the GT3 regulations which maybe make for a bit of excitement in trying to tick this one off.” often racing for rival manufacturers in GT3 competition have helped shape them as different types of drivers has gone on to becoming one of BMW’s star drivers in its M Hybrid V8 LMDh car while Kelvin was most recently an ABT-contracted driver and also spent a season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Akkodis-ASP’s Lexus LMGT3 program “I think we’re at very different points in our careers now than back then in Audi,” said Sheldon It was my first works contract with Audi that year and he was kind of showing me the ropes “Now we’ve both established ourselves in the last five years “We’ve driven DTM against each other We’re very different drivers and very different people as well because we’re a lot older “It will be exciting to see how different it is driving together The last time brothers won a race at Bathurst was nearly 30 years ago when David and Geoff Brabham took a factory-supported BMW 320i touring car to victory in the 1997 Bathurst 1000 Super Touring car race “Obviously it’s a good omen,” said Kelvin “It’s exciting but I don’t want to call it too early because I’ve tried this race so many times and had the opportunity to win and in the end it didn’t work out “I want to come here with a level head My brother put the lap in for pole last year “Augusto has also been here in the past and I had the podium here last year “All of us have a good relationship with the race Just all three of us are missing that win.” Kelvin: Rolex 24 Served as ‘Good Prep’ for Bathurst who got his first laps in BMW’s GT3 challenger in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona feels the race offered him good prep for Bathurst despite noticeable differences in car and series specifications Kelvin helped take Paul Miller Racing’s Michelin-shod EVO-spec BMW to a fourth place class finish in GTD Pro “I was relatively surprised by the performance in Daytona,” he said “I didn’t expect to be in the mix so quickly having done limited mileage at the Roar and jumping straight into the race “It was just to get mileage before coming here and this was really the race I was gunning for “I think Daytona worked out even better than I expected I felt straight away comfortable with the car I think the experience with the Lexus [in WEC] helped me a lot more than I initially though John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Scherer Sport PHX to make partial switch to Porsche for N24 title defense.. Mattia Drudi set for first N24 lineup as Aston Martin factory driver Valentino Rossi confirms fourth consecutive bid for victory in 24H Spa.. Jordan Love to race JMR Corvette in 24H Spa BATHURST Regional Council will continue its chase for funding to resurface Mount Panorama despite the outcome of Saturday’s federal election The Coalition, via Nationals leader David Littleproud, last month pledged $14.9 million of funding to complete the council’s full plan of upgrades to the circuit Labor comprehensively defeated the Coalition in Saturday’s election while the seat of Calare remains in doubt but is likely to be won on preferences by incumbent Andrew Gee who dropped his Nationals affiliation midway through his previous term to serve as an independent The election result may have closed that particular door to federal funding but Bathurst Regional Council Mayor Robert ‘Stumpy’ Taylor said resurfacing Mount Panorama is still a priority “It’s not in desperate need of resurfacing but it is due to be resurfaced,” Mayor Taylor told V8 Sleuth I’d say we have another couple of years in it but then we’d have to be desperately looking at resurfacing or getting funding so that we could do it in sections “We’d like to do the whole circuit in one hit – it’s more beneficial that it all gets done in the one hit – but if we had funding to do portions of it we would definitely accept the funding to do in stages.” Mount Panorama was last fully repaved in 2014 but the track surface is just one element of a series of issues that the council wants to address Last year it allocated just over $10 million in its budget for works to the circuit, but was unsuccessful in landing a grant that would have paid for the projects. “The main issue is that the track needs resurfacing,” Mayor Taylor said. “We want to redo the kerbs as well, we want to do the whole lot to bring it all up to scratch to get another 15-20 years out of it. “Then we want to put in the marshalling lights. As you know, most modern circuits now have the marshalling lights, so we’re looking at doing that. “And then the (access) tunnel that goes under our circuit when the races are on, it needs attention to it as well. “That’s why we were looking at that $14.9 million which was pledged from the Coalition if they’d won the election. “Obviously that’s not going to be (happening), so what we have to do is just keep lobbying for funds to become available and keep putting (requests for) funding in to get those projects underway. “If we can get, I think it’s about $8-8.5 million to do the resurface of the track, we’ll lobby for that as a priority, but then we need to address the other issues. “Mount Panorama, it’s not just for our city, it’s a benefit to the whole region when the October race is on, and the February race with the 12 Hour is getting very popular. “We have accommodation booked as far as Dubbo and Katoomba, so it’s a huge benefit to the region. “So look, it’s disappointing, the elections, especially for our area and I think for regional New South Wales as well, because we just seem to be a forgotten commodity out here. “They concentrate, I feel, more on metropolitan areas and they seem to have that big escarpment – the Great Dividing Range – they don’t seem to want to look over at this area as much as they do in the metropolitan area, so it’s a bit disappointing in that regard.” good attendance and a strong focus on agriculture: it was a great weekend for the Royal Bathurst Show All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueIn its 156th year the show attracted a crowd of around 30,000 people across the three-day event the show's executive secretary Brett Kenworthy said there were strong entries in the agricultural competitions all the competitions and particularly the livestock competitions," he said While he said he received good feedback from the commercial exhibitors they did see a drop in their turnover compared to previous years Mr Kenworthy said that was to be expected given the cost of living crisis which has forced people to reduce their spending and it is consistent with what other shows have experienced in recent months "The word that we'd been hearing around the shows that have been running in the last six months was that attendance was holding but how much people were spending inside the show was down so I think it was no different for us," he said it was probably one of the best Sundays at the show that I've seen in 14 Fireworks over Bathurst Showground on night two of the Royal Bathurst Show Picture by Alise McIntoshThe Bathurst Agricultural always hopes for the best when it comes to the weather knowing that a forecast for rain has a big affect on attendance Mr Kenworthy said the association doesn't take anything for granted and always plans in case of an unfavourable forecast the show was fortunate to be on a clear weekend Locals embraced the event and it was also attended by a healthy number of visitors from outside of the Central West which is testament to the appeal of the Bathurst Show we've been having people come from the Blue Mountains and now the Central Coast," Mr Kenworthy said They want to come here rather than go to Sydney it's very big and there's a lot to get around and they want to come here and feel what it's like in a country one." The date has already been set for the 2026 Royal Bathurst Show You can relive the show with our galleries from day one and day two I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014. Newsletters & AlertsView allDaily Today's top stories curated by our news team Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert Your digital replica of Today's Paper Test your skills with interactive crosswords Cattle at this year’s Bathurst Show cattle auction exopected to impress “Spectacular” is what you can expect at the Cape Eastern Livestock/ Future Auctioneers/ Hobson & Co elite fat stock auction at this year’s Bathurst Agricultural Show Expert eyes will be scrutinising some of the Eastern Cape’s most impressive fat cows and large oxen on the morning of Friday April 4 you can rub shoulders with working farmers as fast-paced bidding engaging auction patter and the thunder of hooves fill the auction arena “We’ve got quite a few big oxen entered already,” said Hobson & Co’s Dave Cockroft “You’re going to be seeing animals that literally weigh a ton – 1 000kg!”  These are not going to be run-of-the mill cattle “We’re looking for animals with a ‘wow!’ factor Judging on the morning of Friday April 4will be in the following categories:  “A grades are younger prime feedlot cattle,” Cockroft explained “We expect a strong line-up of contenders in the Big Ox section,” Cockroft said “In addition to the local entries there will be beasts coming from afar afield as Bedford These oxen – which have been grown out for four to six years and fed for several months – will weigh in at a ton or more.”  The Umsenge Nguni group would be offering an impressive string of trade oxen to complement the slaughter stock Expect fast-paced action as would-be buyers from Makhanda East London and Komgha vie to get their hands on the prestige stock Future Auctioneers and Hobson & Co will all be canvassing for livestock for the auction “It’s a collaboration for the benefit of the Bathurst Show,” said Dave Howard “Each livestock marketer has their own clientele who can call each of us to enter stock for the competition and the auction.”  whose clients are mostly in the Alexandria area confirmed that his organisation would be contributing livestock to the auction Bathurst Agricultural Show President Neil Scott said that in order to maintain tight biocontrol cattle would move on to site on 3 April (under strict dconditions) and would be transported to their destinations immediately after the auction at 12pm on April 4 Anyone who wants to enter cattle should do so through one of these agents:  Hobson & Co – Dave Cockroft 082-890-0209  Cape Eastern Livestock – Dave Howard 082-573-7008  Future Auctioneers – Fanie Mostert 082-877-2092  Biosecurity has been upgraded for this year’s show because of the prevalence of foot and mouth disease in some parts of the province FMD is not a threat to human health or food safety and people are unlikely to catch it from animals people can unintentionally carry it from one area to another by walking or driving through infected material The non-invasive biosecurity measures are to ensure the continued health of the livestock that will be on show at the grounds They are also the reason traders are setting up on Wednesday – a day earlier than usual the following measures will be in place to secure the livestock on site:  Bathurst showgrounds buzzing ahead of 115th edition The Bathurst Showgrounds are a hive of activity as preparations for the 115th Bathurst Agricultural Show step up exhibitors and enthusiastic members of the public from across the province Along with a dedicated and skilled organising committee of mostly unpaid volunteers the show’s not-so-secret ingredient for success is its continued dedicated focus on farming farm fare and agricultural machinery and implements remain core to its character Because of the recent foot and mouth (FMD) outbreak in the province there will be tight controls on foot and vehicle traffic entering and leaving the showgrounds Most members of the public enter the showgrounds on foot and biosecurity they will simply walk over disinfectant mats “biosecurity” means having your wheels sprayed with disinfectant FMD is not a threat to human health or food safety and people cannot catch it from animals the Bathurst Horse Show will be the main entertainment in the central arena along with sheepdog demonstrations and the traditional tractor and classic and vintage car parades The Home & Garden competition will move into the ECASA Hall – and you should get your entries in soon because space is limited Junior Art and Art & Photography competitions are good targets for creative souls The show’s stall’s are always carefully curated and this year’s spread is no exception where you’ll find a range of natural products the 4×4 track gets an extra adrenaline add with a Bigfoot 4x4x4 monster truck Rub shoulders with the who’s who of game farming in a classy marquee at the Woody Cape Game auction We don’t want you to miss something important Talk of the Town will be giving you the inside track from chickens to tractors and everything between and beyond sand and seal that woodwork and whisper words of love to that prize pot plant: you have two-and-a-half weeks to enter the Bathurst Agricultural Show’s Home and Garden competition New categories in the section this year include recycling/upcycling; farm produce and bonsais Making your time in the H&G section even more worthwhile will be talks Coordinator Bev Moore says entries have been pouring in and is excited about what the H&G section has to offer entrants and enthusiasts this year “We’ll be holding three raffles,” she told Talk of the Town treats and preserves’ are among the items up for grabs A full programme of demonstrations in the ECASA Hall includes a Persian carpet talk and auction and workshops with experts on jewelry making Vendors on site to demonstrate their machines and specialty goods include PFAFF Brother and Juki sewing machines; Da Gama Textiles; Adele’s Mohair Handi Quilter and Klerksdorp based Quiltalk In addition to the extensive needle- and fabric-craft and woodwork categories are toys and novelty items The children’s catalogue includes instructions and entry forms for similar categories as well as junior art and junior photography Children’s entries (forms and payment) must reach the Showgrounds Office by Thursday March 20 Exhibits need to be delivered to the showgrounds before 4pm a week later The deadlines for adult H&G entries are midday Friday March 21 (entries); midday on Friday March 28 (delivery of exhibits other than those indicated under specific section rules The full catalogues are available on the show’s website, https://thebas.co.za/   Vast array of local cultural talent uncovered The Bathurst Pineapple Music Festival staged at Summmer Hill Inn last weekend has been hailed a success with organisers saying it has set the perfect platform for an annual hosting of the entertainment spectacle Showcasing a vast array of musical talent from predominantly the Nolukhanyo Township which included gumboot and cultural dancing presented by the Abantwana group ensured the party went on in to the wee hours of the morning on Sunday enjoyed trade over the two days of the event Featured on Sunday were talks relevant to the sustainable use and growing of pineapples – reported on separately Coordinator of the festival on behalf of the Bathurst Residents and Ratepayers Association said they had seen a gap in the market to showcase the talent and cultural attractions in the community “There was a similar festival many years ago and it was Elizabeth Milne’s idea to revive it,” said Venter We do have a lot of talent in Bathurst and it is not always being showcased It was our idea to bring the whole community together Bathurst is not just the community on this side of the hill “It was an ideal opportunity for everyone to show off their talents Venter said organisers were pleasantly surprised by the response from the public especially as it concerned the Saturday programme of entertainment “Saturday was very well attended … it started off slowly but definitely picked up later in the day and I think the party carried on until the early hours of Sunday It’s too early to give numbers but speaking too stallholders they were happy with the turnout,” she said The ballroom and cultural dancing events presented by the youth of Nolukhanyo proved a head-turner for the early morning crowd I wasn’t even aware that Bathurst had the talent that was on display … I didn’t know there was a ballroom group and that the kids could perform like that; they were great the outfits were stunning and I think the participants themselves really enjoyed it And that was part of the outcome; to show everybody what they can do.”  Venter made special mention of fellow-coordinator who organised all the  participants and represented various cultural dance groups in the township “It was Funeka who brought all the coaches together of the various dance groups; we had the local athletics team running around the Bathurst area informing people about the festival and the local soccer team who helped us with guiding traffic in and out of the venue.”  Xhanti said though coordinating an inaugural event was a huge task “People were getting up from their chairs and dancing which showed they were really happy very happy as well as coaches and even the parents of the young participants “I got so many messages on my WhatSApp from various performers saying ‘please if there are any other events please inform us’,” said Xhanti “What I enjoyed about the festival was the display of diversity You know Bathurst is just a small community but we are one.”  Xhanti said however they needed more exposure through similar events to showcase talent on offer “The only problem here is there is a shortage of exposure; if you have a talent here it is difficult to get notices; there are no promoters Popsit was asked by a PE band to sing with them … the audience was very excited and thrilled with the ballroom dancing and it was great to hear that Even parents of the participating youth were so happy with the event,” said Xhanti “Bathurst has the big famous pineapple but what is the use you have this attraction and you do nothing about it Knysna has the oyster festival and look at how big that has become “This is just the beginning but I think this is a very good platform for what is to come in the future It is the first hosting and we know where to improve for future festivals.”  Boxers and ballroom dancers swung and stepped it out in the ring in Boxing Day’s stifling heat They stepped and strutted to the delight of their families who made up much of the enthusiastic crowd that packed Bathurst’s Solomon Mahlangu Hall on December 26 Young boxers from Mfuzo Boxing Camp and Golden Gloves in Makhanda Masibambisane Boxing Club in Port Alfred and Bathurst based Maliboxing were among the clubs that took part in a showcase of young boxing talent at the Nolukhanyo The dancers were from the Bathurst Ballroom Studio Instructor Ntomboxolo Ditana said most of their older dancers had been unavailable and so the younger children had their chance to shine It was a similar situation for Mfuzo Boxing Camp Mfuzo Dyira said this had been the first Boxing Day event in the region – possibly in the country but also because things are crazy during that time But we were excited to receive the invitation.” Mfuzo had gone to Bathurst with some of their newer boxers “But that gave us the opportunity to see how they would perform They put up a good show and it helped us to see where they needed to improve.” Maliboxing is one more example of a talented entrepreneur who grew up in Bathurst returning to equip local youngsters with some of the tools they need for success Malibongwe Tokwe (hence Maliboxing) is a boxer himself and understands the power of the sport to help build discipline and confidence Boys and girls are welcome at the Nolukhanyo boxing gym Bathurst Ballroom Studio was founded in 2015 “They stay with us until they leave for university,” said Ditana “Actually we’ve got our second generation coming through now Ditana started the studio as something for bored kids to do “There was nothing happening in Bathurst – at least nothing much for young people.” She had been taught dancing by Miss Nojoko at Mthyobo Primary School in Port Alfred in 1997* and remembered how much she’d enjoyed it and I learnt more through teaching,” she said she was invited to events on the exhibitions calendar “There were events at the University of Fort Hare Nelson Mandela University and Rhodes where you would perform then take part in a workshop where you would learn new techniques and teaching methods.” Ditana credits ballroom dancing with teaching children good manners Lessons and practice are done in the Freestone community hall “They dance from Monday to Sunday,” she said Nolukhanyo and gym times ar Monday to Friday For more information call 082-690-6569 ot 076-805-8458 Back to Solomon Mahlangu Hall on that very hot day after Christmas aunts and neighbours joined trainers in exhorting and advising the young boxers as they did battle on the raised ring – in some cases more than twice their height The boxing ring turned out to be a good stage for the dancers whose elegant turns and dramatic struts charmed the audience READ MORE IN THIS WEEK’S TALK OF THE TOWN – OUT ON THURSDAY strict control of vehicles on the showgrounds and a four-day event to allow for throrough monitoring of animals entering the grounds are some of the measures that the Bathurst Agricultural Show’s organising committee are taking to ensure the event is compliant with biosecurity regulations With foot and mouth disease limiting the movement of livestock in the province the event will be one of only a handful to be accredited and fully compliant with the strict control measures enforced by the Department of Agriculture The Bathurst Agricultural Society’s story over the past year has been marked with important milestones it emerged during president Neil Scott’s report at the AGM at the showgrounds on Thursday October 26 One of the most significant has been the securing of an adequate and relilable water supply for the grounds costing R280 000 had meant no need to cart buckets to flush toilets explaining how important the dedication and service of the committee as well as many volunteers from the community had been key to the resurgence of the Bathurst Agricultural Show “That is why the Society is in the position it is today,” Scott told a gathering of around 50 people Scott noted the efforts of committee member Peter Moore in supporting the continual maintenance of the grounds and buildings Staff member Xolani Mkrakra had been promoted to grounds supervisor Among the other significant factors in the fortunes of the Society in the past year had been the success of the Show’s inaugural goat auction organized by Pieter FOuche; the change in the showgrounds layout which had eased congestion and created extra pasrking; the resurgence of the art and home & garden sections of the show It was not quite goodbye to Chrissie Craddock Craddock was made noroary life vice president of the society and will continue her involvement With the highly contageous foot and mouth disease present in other parts of the province the Bathurst Agricultural Show will be extended by one day to allow for veterinarians to check all animals coming onto the grounds and confirm the paperwork This along with new electric fencing (at a cost of R170K) to prevent stray animals entering the grounds and strict control of vehicles entering the grounds will make it possible for the show to bring cattle and small stock on to the grounds Show patrons will walk across disinfecting mats at every entrance to the showgrounds “It means we can be accredited as biosecure by Agri EC,” Scott said The dates for the 2025 Bathurst Agricultural Show are April 3-6 The new committee elected comprises Neil Scott (president) through almost all the tropics to Eastern Asia these places have something in common – an annual Pineapple Festival And Bathurst has a close connection with one of them – Woombye There in 1971 the world’s Biggest (tallest but not widest) Pineapple was constructed It effectively launched tourism in the area During the 1980s a group of South African pineapple farmers contrived to get the plans of this structure and set about getting a taller and wider replica built near the offices of the Pineapple Growers Association in Bathurst and the world’s new Biggest Pineapple (tallest and widest) opened to the public in 1991 It’s been making a contribution to tourism in Bathurst for more than 30 years Woombye celebrates its Big Pineapple and the agricultural sector it honours with a Pineapple Music Festival The Bathurst Fest organising team is not intent on developing a bigger festival many people do feel that Bathurst should celebrate one of its key economic contributors There’s more agreement on the biggest pineapple plantation in the world The biggest pineapple city is said to be Vazhakulam in Kerala State there’s again disagreement about who produces the most pineapples South Africa’s claim to fame is that we are the most southerly pineapple producing country in the world Planning for the Bathurst Pineapple Music Fest has been an exhilarating journey over the past few months Set to take place on the 22nd and 23rd of February 2025 this vibrant event promises to be a celebration of music the team has been hard at work selecting the venue coordinating logistics and collaborating with incredible partners to bring this vision to life The festival will feature diverse music genres The programme includes an invitation-only reception on Friday evening 21st February Saturday  22nd February will open the gates at Summerhill at 08.30 and local and out-of-town musicians performing from 11.00 This day is intended as a real “jol” that ends when the last visitor goes home Sunday 23rd February will have a different mood with three talks about pineapples and their place in our world Light Sunday lunch will mark the end of the Fest Summerhill activities are intended as a fund-raiser for the Bathurst Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association BR&RA has deliberately kept membership subscriptions ridiculously low choosing rather to organise events to raise the funds that can allow them to make a bigger contribution to the Bathurst community Potential beneficiaries include good causes on both sides of the hill that has divided Bathurst for 200 years Independently from the fund-raiser at Summerhill other venues in Bathurst have been encouraged to put on their own “pineapple show” if they wish and some really fun options are developing Stay tuned as the team reveals more about the line-up and all the unique surprises in store discovery and unforgettable memories at the Bathurst Pineapple Music Fest    For more general information or to volunteer help Dramatic three-wide battle for lead at start of Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour… Chaz Mostert led the opening hour of the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour following a dramatic three-wide start in the Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener held a 9.122-second lead over the pole-sitting No 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maxi Goetz Goetz was part of contact-filled first green flag lap when the German went wide in Turn 1 and let the No 183 Jamec Racing/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Ricardo Feller and Maro Engel’s No 888 GruppeM Racing Mercedes-AMG go three-wide for the lead in pitch darkness up Mountain Straight 32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus jumped into second behind Goetz got around the Brazilian on Lap 5 for second and then took over the lead from Goetz two laps later and extended his lead through the remainder of the opening hour Farfus ran third at the end of the opening hour with Feller and Engel completing the top-five after a swap of positions near the end of the hour 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Luca Stolz was sixth 222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG in seventh which was given a hardship lap last night after qualifying due to a water leak that took the car out of Pirelli Pole Battle contention 911 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ayhancan Guven was ninth with Scott Andrews out front of the Pro-Am class in tenth overall 27 Heart of Racing by SPS Mercedes-AMG in 11th overall John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John This year presented a unique opportunity for a travelling Sportscar reporter Europe’s three major 24-hour races – the 24 Hours of Nurburgring and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – were all in one month After a decade of watching these events (and more recently providing overnight coverage on DSC) from my bedroom in Adelaide I finally made the trip over to experience each of these events in the flesh Not only was it a packed month of sportscar coverage but this was also my first trip overseas to boot I’ve been very lucky to get the opportunity to document and share my travel experiences as a wide-eyed motorsport fan who happens to be in possession of a notebook and a media pass experiencing these major events for the first time in person after a lifetime of being a motorsport fan My early memories are littered with mornings watching Formula 1 races on tape with my dad before heading to school and we’d watch Supercars from the stands at the Adelaide 500 Video games exposed me to international series and tracks; I knew Donington Park better than my own neighbourhood thanks to the 1998 TOCA Touring Cars game and as a 10-year-old I had the Nordschleife memorised thanks to Forza Motorsport I was able to engage in motorsport in different ways Online streaming meant I could watch Le Mans in full for the first time in 2009 and a desire to be involved saw me start my Motorsport Australia Marshalling licencing in 2018 state and international events at tracks such as Adelaide I’ve done commentary for national sim-racing leagues which have included drives from current Supercars drivers and I managed the reddit.com/r/WEC community for a 7-year period from 2015 to 2022 I ran my own podcast – Endurance Chat – from 2016 to 2023 Through my experiences both in person and online I’ve been able to meet and interact with so many people who share a passion for not just Endurance Racing While attending the Bathurst 12 Hour as a fan in 2019 a meeting with DSC’s editor Graham Goodwin turned into an hour-long podcast recording turned into coverage of the Australian GT series for the site The extremely well-timed visit to Adelaide by the Asian Le Mans Series in 2020 provided an opportunity for my first taste of trackside reporting before a whirlwind of a weekend at the Bathurst 12 Hour to really get an idea of what this sportscar media was all about and I’ve been the lead reporter for DSC at the Bathurst 12 Hour since that 2020 event And that’s where this year’s travel diaries start Approaching the town of Bathurst always brings with it a sense of anticipation The Blue Mountains fading in the rearview mirror giving way to the central tablelands – fields on gently rolling hills dotted with gum trees far out into the distance the hairs stand up on the back of the neck or the punters – everyone has something to say about the place Drivers mark it in their calendar as a race they want to compete in A win here compares to a win at the Spa 24 Hours the two tentpole events in the world of GT3 racing There’s an adage among the Australian motorsport community that ‘The Mountain’ chooses its winners And there’s an element of that spirituality that is embedded in every event at Bathurst the Bathurst 12 Hour as an event – like the circuit – is “special” Friday Morning at the Bathurst 12 Hour felt like waking up late for the first day at school A significant delay in travel meant I arrived in town after dark on Thursday missing the chance for a gander as the teams were settling in I arrived at the track at 6 am to do a quick tour of the paddock and driver I could find ahead of the first practice session of the weekend The Bathurst 12 Hour is the one regular event I cover on-site for DSC there’s always a bit of nerves on the first day of proceedings Even though the 2024 edition is my fourth working as trackside media and friendly faces to touch base within the paddock and media centre there’s still a significant dose of imposter syndrome that hits me as I hit the paddock for the first time It always takes a few solid conversations with colleagues in the media centre or an interview going well off the bat to take the edge of that off Working solo makes the balance of responsibilities a constant juggle; you must find an appropriate balance between chasing news in the garages and welding yourself to your desk to cover the sessions and with how quickly the sessions come through sometimes a story must wait until the end of the day to get wrapped up everything I wrote was being subbed and posted by people working on a totally diffentent timezone which takes some of the immediate pressure off Why rush to publish a practice report when your audience is fast asleep My early imposter syndrome feeling always seems to peak at about midday on Friday – right about the same time that BMW WRT hosts its ‘media roundtable’ in the old driver’s briefing room When a team has a particularly high-profile driver they’ll often lock down media access times to specific windows to prevent a constant stream of reporters requesting an interview Knowing that Valentino Rossi is a big draw WRT always offers a roundtable early in the weekend for reporters to ask questions before effectively locking its drivers away for the rest of the event but it is extremely daunting to be in a room with a group of other reporters firing questions at a 7-time World Champion so early in the weekend One disadvantage of working trackside during an event as media is that it’s impossible to engage in the goings-on around the track the same way as you can as a fan Making the most of the gaps in the track action for the IGTC runners is key instead it’s the time to gather information in the paddock or feverishly convert audio files into text and getting things queued to publish My first few years at the 12 Hour were spent as a fan camping at the top of the mountain in swags – effectively a canvas bag that you sleep in – taking in the sights and sounds of the track action on one of the best pieces of road in the world I hadn’t had a chance to go back up top and experience the cars on the limit Sneaking out for the Bronze-Only Practice 2 I took the shuttle up the mountain and stepped into the chaos at McPhillamy Park While Mountain Straight and Conrod Straight are bordered by residential properties the entire top of the mountain is General Admission access An artificial spectator mound puts you above the wall with great sightlines on every rise and fall while the sound of the cars scraping on The Grate or echoing down The Esses tells you just how hard everyone is pushing Taking good pictures is as easy as point-and-shoot as the mountain does all the hard work for you It was awesome to take a chance to enjoy the Mountain as a fan But I was entirely unprepared for what was still to come I get a tap on the shoulder from Richard Craill Myself and a few other selected media were loaded into a minibus and sent out onto the circuit with an intervention vehicle behind us 60 seconds ahead of the start of Free Practice 3 the call over the radio came: Green Light at Pit Exit and only just saw the headlights of the first Mercedes AMG come into view as we rounded the corner Approaching The Cutting the #75 SunEnergy 1 Mercedes roars past us with GT3s rounding us up over the top of the hill as we lurched over kerbs laughing in disbelief and clinging on for dear life Not bad for my first proper lap of the Mountain especially something like the Bathurst 12 Hour gives you plenty of access and is a real privilege weilding a media pass comes with real perks It’s great to be able to pick apart questions that you are interested in and share those learnings on a platform like DSC One of the contentious points of the weekend was the entry of Bronze drivers in the Pro class in an attempt to circumvent the drive-time requirement in Pro-Am which included an hour of Bronze-rated time after the halfway mark while on my way back from interviewing Pro-entered Bronze driver Liam Talbot in the #22 Wash-It Audi I came across Pro-Am-entered Bronze driver Yasser Shahin in the #911 Shell V-Power Porsche it’s ideal to effectively book a time with a driver via the team or manufacturer’s media representative This year it came in handy to book a time with Maro Engel and Jules Gounon to ask about the end of the 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour and how their friendship changes on the track I booked a time with each of them through their media representative and let them know that I’d be asking about that race which they were both very gracious in answering for me approaching drivers and team members for comment particularly the Pro-class entrants understand that it’s all part of the job and will give you the appropriate time and responses if you approach them respectfully especially if a team is having issues or if things aren’t going well Sometimes those issues can be minor frustrations – Audi Team MPC suffered a string of crank sensor issues on Friday that affected much of their running but were otherwise inconsequential – but sometimes those issues can be huge rebuilds or weekend-ending shunts I remember very meekly asking KCMG boss Ian Geekie about the damage to the #35 KCMG Nissan GT-R Nismo after a heavy shunt in Practice 2 where I was frankly informed that the car’s weekend was over after a single practice session and withdrawals comes hand-in-hand with the difficulty of the circuit it was the KTM X-Bow that would be the Mountain’s pre-race victim with a heavy crash late in Practice 6 damaging the chassis and unfortunately putting the GT2 X-Bow out of the weekend Earlier in the weekend I sought out Laura Kraihamer to ask her thoughts on being a part of the event and her energy and excitement were electric – she was bouncing off the walls she cut a forlorn figure as we crossed paths on one of the stairwells not only that The Mountain bites and bites hard but that there are humans involved in every team and every car and the human aspect of these events shouldn’t be forgotten “It’s a long way to come to not even get to the race start.” I’m out the door and on my way to Crema on George not least of all because they’ve extended their opening hours to allow the line of crew members and me to get a cup of coffee on the way to the track have already been trackside since about 3:30 in the morning It has a magic about it that I don’t think can be replicated anywhere else in the world The Bathurst 12 Hour is unique in the world of motorsport in that it starts in darkness and runs into the sunlight That first magic hour in the darkness is the only time each year that cars race at Bathurst in the dark and it has a magic about it that I don’t think can be replicated anywhere else in the world Watching the headlights cut across the Mountain on that opening lap before the sun starts to rise and paints the sky with that perfect orange glow is a remarkable hour of motorsport As the cars exited the pits onto the sighting lap and made their way to the grid a frenzy of activity caught my attention at the bottom of pit lane; the Vortex 1.0 was in the lane and there was some significant work going on I slipped into the back of the garage and watched the crew and working frantically to hammer something into place and peels away from the pit box to a cheer of relief making it to pit exit just three minutes before the start of the race A spin on the sighting lap at Forrest Elbow The media centre at Bathurst has a small balcony looking over the starting gantry – a perfect view as the field rounds the final corner and roars into life and the field roars away into the darkness The first hour ticks away without any major incident with major players already coming to the fore The Bronze drivers in the Pro-class cars get their stint squared away without issue put their feet up and watch the pros do the work The stop-start nature of the morning had kept the field compressed and kept me typing away trying to keep track of everything going on Sheldon Van Der Linde talked about ‘consequence’ at Bathurst after taking pole; 24 hours later his car was riding the wall and out of the race The 12 Hour is a long day’s work and after a busy weekend then we go green and the rain starts again I think a 12-hour race is maybe harder to cover than a 24-hour one especially one that starts so early in the morning There’s no chance to unwind or take a break in the midst of the action It starts out slowly; you stop paying attention to the commentary in your ear and before you know it there’s 20 minutes of the race that’s disappeared without you the race was already building towards the finish and not even a late safety car could put them in trouble as Matt Campbell took his second victory at The Mountain the clock starts ticking; get that quick race report up and live as close to the end of the race as possible before the drivers file in for the post-race press conference Try and catch a driver or two for a chat afterwards then load that recording in and send that off to DSC’s deputy editor Stephen to have a listen to try and chat to the Pro-Am winning guys – quick that’s Yasser Shahin heading to his motorhome I flag him down for a quick chat and wish him congratulations and good luck for the WEC campaign ahead before heading back to the press room to unpick the race The traditional post-race pizza rolls in – thank you Bathurst 12 Hour The rows in the media centre start to empty as the people around me finish up their last bits and begin to trickle out their goodbyes and well wishes the only interruptions to my tunnel-visioned writing I finally feel like I’ve finished the report over three hours after the race has finished The 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour had been an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish but there was plenty more in store for me in the year ahead CLICK HERE FOR PART 2! Author: © 2023 dailysportscar.com. All Rights Reserved. Link Digital Volo FC beat hosts in final to win 31-team tournament Thirty one teams tested their limits on three fields in the inaugural Bathurst City Football Tournament last weekend Home side United Eleven lost on penalties after a 1-all draw with Marselle’s Volo Football Club Player of the Tournament was 19-year-old Likhaya Nkohla (United Eleven) and top goalscorer was Siyamnkela Khanyela of Motherwell N/U 12 side Camper United who amazing 13 goals scored throughout the three-day event weren’t enough to beat Peddie’s Bagijimi – Campers lost a penalty shootout after a draw in the quarter-final Despite a later than planned final (it was played under floodlights after an abbreviated third- and fourth-place playoff) organisers Masivuye ‘Scott’ Ntlokwana and Siyabonga ‘Bakkie’ Bhudaza were upbeat “Our objective was to bring the entire soccer community together from the region Teams and their supporters came from Port Alfred Somerset East and Peddie for a chance of glory and a share of the R35 000 purse Bathurst’s Emzini Lounge sponsored the Player of the Tournament and Top Goalscoerer prizes Astron R72 sponsored the medals and other items for example with fuel costs for the organisers,” Ntlokwana said Freestone Stadium in Nolukhanyo was the main venue for the event and to accommodate the fantastic turnout of teams Mzandela and Qhayiya Primary fields were also used The two semifinal matches pitted Abagijimi against Volo and United Eleven against another Bathurst team The atmosphere was festive at Freestone Stadium in the build-up to the final between United 11 and Volo Children ran around on the grass in their pyjamas and slippers as families stood around braais on the perimeter; parents and coaches compared notes on players’ strengths and downfalls Among those watching keenly with expert eyes were Masters players Maxwell Mahlati and Thobani Gobizembe They’re two of the town’s over-30s who play for the recently formed team “Players tend to leave competitive football when they hit 30,” Mahlati explained they often end up drinking and instead of seeing their dad active on the pitch “We’d rather give our kids something better to learn and so every Sunday we get together with our young boys and play soccer We hope they learn something positive from their fathers uncles and brothers instead of how to make excuses for coming hojme late because you were out drinking.”  when you leave a team because you’re a bit too old for it “That’s what our Masters soccer team provides: you have a problem Winners Volo FC walked away with R20,000 along with gold medals and a trophy United Eleven were rewarded for their efforts with R10,000 and silver medals Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting BMW has won the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour, with the WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Kelvin van der Linde, Sheldon van der Linde and Augusto Farfus taking its maiden win in the race's GT3 era and leading a 1-2 finish Two of the changes in the race regulations since 2024 proved to be crucial and went some way in determining the winner of the race held in hot and dry conditions at the 3.86-mile/6.213km Mount Panorama circuit In previous years drivers had been limited to stints of no more than 32 laps before refuelling and had to serve a minimum number of stops But those windows were wide open this year and BMW made the best use of the changes Sheldon van der Linde handed the car over to his brother Kelvin with just over an hour of the race remaining with a charging Chaz Mostert-driven Ferrari close behind him But everyone at WRT – and Mostert – knew that the Italian car would need a lot of Safety Car laps to make the finish without another pitstop Even after Mostert took the lead at The Chase with 37 minutes of the race remaining no Safety Cars appeared in the final half-hour and that sealed the deal for the Belgian team Mostert pitted from the lead with 22 minutes of the race to run resumed in sixth and moved up places when Matt Campbell and Lucas Auer who were also out of their final fuel windows steaming around the outside of Jules Gounun' Mercedes-AMG at The Chase to take third and then chased after the other car to make the best of its fuel But the Mercedes also fell foul of its fuel window pitting with six minutes left on the clock and promoting the second BMW of Marciello/Valentino Rossi/Charles Weerts to second “It was the hardest two hours of my life,” said Kelvin after a 10.25s victory so far and we wound up having a fast car and we executed a perfect race.” Sheldon echoed his brother’s words: “I have to say it is brilliant I think we were flawless from the get-go this morning We have been trying to win this race for three years!” The BMW result was not without some good fortune but was spotted passing a slower GT4 entry under yellow flags while Weerts was completing the consequent drive-through penalty another Safety Car period for a separate incident allowed him to minimise the loss of track position and stay with the leaders even if it dropped the car from second to eighth at the time What the race came down to was the six leading cars: both BMWs; the 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Gounon Will Brown and Daniel Serra in the Arise Racing Ferrari 296 GT3; the Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Auer Maxi Gotz and Jayden Ojeda and the Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of defending winners Campbell and Ayhancan Guven The best of the non-Pro entries in seventh outright turned out to be the Heart of Racing Mercedes-AMG of Ross Gunn The Pro Am class winner was the second Arise Ferrari which got the better of the Manthey EMA Porsche the Porsche’s Pro drivers Laurin Heinrich and Morris Schuring were right among the Pro entries but the car lost pace during the stints of Bronze drivers Sam and Yasser Shahin In the Silver class and ninth outright was the #93 Wall Racing Lamborghini Brendon Leitch, Tony D’Alberto, Adrian Dietz and Australian television personality Grant Denyer The Adam Christodolou/Daniel Bilksi/Mark Griffith McLaren was the sole finisher in the GT4 class The David Crampton/Trent Harrison/Glen Wood KTM X-bow took out the Invitational Class in spite of the sole entrant in the class losing 20-plus laps while crash damage was repaired From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker Most visitors to the Big Pineapple in Bathurst — the largest pineapple building in the world — would probably walk away with a craving for fresh pineapple juice and an appreciation of the tropical plant’s cultivation the Eastern Cape tourist attraction sparked something else: a business idea that is life-changing for its customers Candy Androliakos, a local beautician who volunteered at a home for the elderly in Bathurst, had been looking for an affordable, quality and eco-friendly alternative to adult incontinence products because she had witnessed the financial strain that these disposable products were placing on its residents and the environment. advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads which produces eco-friendly and reusable nappies pads and other sanitary products from pineapple fibre for adults and babies she came across a billboard describing the potential of pineapple fibre which can be milled from the leaves of a cayenne pineapple It was discovered by a local farmer when he observed hornets nests created from pineapple leaf fibres that are stronger and more durable than cotton Androliakos realised that this fibre could be used in developing a reusable, cost-effective product that was better for the environment. With proper care, pineapple fibre pulp can last up to two years with repeated use and break down in nature within 50 years.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads these nappies are a particular problem because they are often thrown into sewerage systems The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that every minute 300,000 used disposable nappies are incinerated are a major culprit in the global plastic waste crisis where there is inadequate waste management infrastructure nappies contribute significantly to plastic pollution in waterways The harmful chemicals contained in them pose risks to both children and the environment Animals often also mistake soiled nappies for food Leafline produces eco-friendly reusable nappies pads and other sanitary products from pineapple fibre for adults and babies.(Photo: Supplied) the problem is so severe that local residents refuse to eat pork because they say the pigs eat nappies Disposable nappies tend to be worn for longer in poorer communities because of their cost which exposes the users to urinary tract infections Nappy production takes a significant toll on the planet: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation says the industry consumes 248 million barrels of crude oil annually It’s extremely difficult to recycle because of the combination of plastics, pulps and other materials in nappies.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads With an average baby using between 4,000 to 6,000 nappies before they are potty-trained The disposable nappy market is also a lucrative industry, valued by the WEF at more than $60-billion annually. Convenience is a key factor in their popularity, with around 95% of families in developed countries choosing disposable options, while the rising ageing population is also driving growth in the adult nappy market.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads initially aiming to produce adult nappies for the elderly that are affordable She contacted the pineapple farmer who agreed to start producing the fibres for her he told me he was out in the fields one day and saw his staff fleeing he saw a hornet nest that looked like a solid ball of cotton The hornets were pulling out fibres from a pineapple leaf and he realised there could be a use for it.” Previously, the fibre was weighed at her facility in Bathurst and sent to Grahamstown, where it was milled into a mat. Now, the mat is manufactured at her factory. Her six staff members, three of whom are from a special needs centre in the area, cut the mats into shapes, which are then stitched into a Leafline product.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads She hasn’t needed vast quantities of the fibre pulp to date (each product requires less than 15g of the pulp) but with growing orders, Androliakos has ordered a hammer mill to produce the fibre herself.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Leafline won The Innovation Hub’s Gap Green Award in 2018 and the SAB  Foundation’s Disability Empowerment Awards 2020 which significantly propelled its growth and development Her range now includes washable sanitary towels Leafline has now established a significant partnership with the Spar Group which is stocking its products in select stores in the Eastern Cape and is looking at expanding to KwaZulu-Natal They are also selling online and through agents in KZN and Gauteng national communications and sponsorship manager at the Spar Group the cost of pads and tampons is prohibitively high seven million girls across the country grapple with period poverty unable to afford essential feminine hygiene products.” Maubane says the Spar Group has long engaged in educational initiatives and partnerships with schools and independent Spar retailers to break down the stigma surrounding menstruation “One of our most impactful partnerships is with Leafline, an innovative and cost-effective menstrual product that is washable and lasts up to two years. This product not only saves on monthly expenses but also empowers women economically, allowing them to invest their money in other essential needs.”advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Maubane says Leafline contributes to social empowerment by employing women with learning disabilities and promotes eco-friendly practices by reducing single-use plastic waste. “As South Africa continues to grapple with issues of inequality and access to education, initiatives like Leafline provide a beacon of hope. They remind us that a little bit of care can have a profound impact on communities and that when small businesses and corporates partner to address social challenges, the benefits ripple far and wide.” Androliakos says sanitary towels retail for about R70 for a single pad, or R180 for a pack of three; a three-pack of nappies for R150; and an adult liner and pants costs R280 per set. The liners are strong enough to absorb about 350ml of liquid.  A month’s supply of disposable adult nappies can cost over R1,000, which is unaffordable to people on state pensions. Through Leafline, a pack could last up to two years. DM Amazing..clever lady. What about Dischem stocking these items…they request donations for sanitary pads for girls but I would prefer to donate these pads. I’m wiith you, Dee … excellent idea! Why don’t you suggest that to Dischem? You can buy directly from Leafline, though, and Candy will probably distribute for you when she has a local delivery. Jehovah Jireh orphanage in nearby Alexandria needs nappies. I’m an enthusiastic supporter – her factory is down the road from my house. Surely the government ought to get involved with subsidies to Leafline, and implement price control to retailers in order to bring down the cost to the end-user? Oh, please. Don’t get the government involved. They will demand the insertion of BBEEE middlemen, pass ludicrous regulations and triple the price. Wow what a wonderful story. Hope Leafline grows from strength to strength. Well done Ms. Androliakis. I hope you’ve protected your invention before big pharma pinches it. This if fantastic! Disposable sanitary items have been a bugbear for me for decades both in terms of cost and their impact on the environment. Viva Leafline!! Well done but maybe we can also use pineapple skins as toilet paper 🙂 Well done! What a fantastic story about a sustainable product that is desperately needed. Strength to Candy Androliakis and Leafline! I wouldn’t sell to Dischem, rather to Clicks. They are a better company to deal with. Dischem are not easy to work with. On Saturday, October 5, the small town of Bathurst transformed hosted a German-inspired Oktoberfest. The sun-kissed event (actually it was really hot) invited families and friends to indulge in a fun-filled day.  The Pig and Whistle pub had a cool, chilled atmosphere with craft beers, traditional German delicacies like Sauerkraut and Eisbein, and lively music that kept the crowd entertained.   Meanwhile, Summerhill Inn offered its own unique vibe, featuring a diverse array of stalls, dart games, beer pong, and a jumping castle for kids. Chef Carl Penn added a touch of authenticity with his German-inspired dishes, which went perfect with the refreshing pineapple beer. The open bar ensured that no one went thirsty. Talk of the Town is the weekly newspaper of record for the community of Ndlambe and serves readers in and around Port Alfred, Kenton on Sea, Bushman's River Mouth, Alexandria, Kleinemond, and Makhanda. Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThousands of people flocked to the showground to take advantage of the wonderful weather and see what makes the Bathurst Show one of the best in the state There were people from all across the state to take in all the action of the Kelso Electrical 2025 Royal Bathurst Show Following the success of the 2024 instalment the 2025 edition featured all of the Show classics we have come to know and love +16See photos of smiling faces soaking up the sunshine at the Bathurst Show.This year, the Bathurst Royal featured rides and amusements A Western Advocate attended the event and snapped some photos of smiling faces on the show's first day Is there anybody you can recognise in the above gallery Born in the same year that his father ‘Bo’ won the Great Race at Bathurst Seton has made his own mark on the sport as a driver He cut his teeth in karts before making the first of his own 26 Bathurst starts as an 18-year-old in 1983 sharing his father’s Ford Capri – a car that remains in the family today Seton Jr soon caught his big break with Fred Gibson’s Nissan team and narrowly missed out on a maiden Australian Touring Car Championship crown in a final round thriller in 1987 Seton fought through tough early years campaigning Ford Sierras but hit the ground running when the V8 formula was introduced in 1993 He won that year’s ATCC title and scored another in 1997 single-car effort after the outlawing of cigarette support two years earlier decimated his budget Renamed Ford Tickford Racing in 1999 amid increased Blue oval support Seton sold the team to English firm Prodrive four years later and Seton drove for the rebranded Ford Performance Racing in 2003 and ’04 and finished runner-up in the Bathurst 1000 on both occasions alongside Craig Lowndes A single year with Dick Johnson Racing proved his last as a full-timer before again climbing the Bathurst podium as co-driver to James Courtney at Stone Brothers Racing in 2006 His final three Great Race starts came in Holdens crossing the divide to join the Holden Racing Team for two years from 2007 before bowing out with Kelly Racing in 2010 Seton is widely regarded as the best driver never to win the Great Race following a series of heartbreaks that included engine failure while leading nine laps from the end in 1995 Glenn has remained involved in motorsport in various roles across recent decades, including as a driver, a mentor to son Aaron, and an engineering gun-for-hire through his GSR business. Speedcafe celebrates Seton’s 60th birthday with a look through his Hall of Fame career in 60 photographs Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox SUPERCARS F1 NASCAR INDYCAR GT MOTOGP PHOTOS TV PODS ACDELCO Subscribe to our daily and breaking newsletter for all the latest news delivered direct to your box Copyright © 2025 Speedcafe.com. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Our Team    /  Advertise with us  /  Privacy Policy Please enter your username or email address to reset your password Squads selected to compete in federation championships It was an impressive sight as 112 school children (literally) toed the line before following intructions to lift their bows then shoot in the Bathurst Agricultural Showgrounds main arena on Saturday August 3 Kariega and Alexandria to compete in a tournament hosted by the Africa Genesis Archery (AGA) federation The Bathurst event was a qualification competition for selection to a squad to represent the federation’s provincial chapter at its national championships in Kimberly from 25 to 28 September 2024 A total of 112 school-age archers competed to be selected for one of the four teams going to the national event According to parent and coach at El Shaddai Christian Academy Elizabeth Ford this was the biggest turnout of archers the organisation has had for its provincial competition AGA Eastern Cape chairperson Quinton Kruger praised the venue “This is beautiful: I think we must make this our permanent venue.”  Treasurer Chris Oelofse said the organisation’s aim was to use archery to develop concentration and hand-eye coordination He said all AGA archers used Mathews Genesis bows proponents describe this brand of bow as the simplest form of compound bow During the time Talk of the Town was at the competition venue the highest score so far was 287 out of a possible 300 Africa Genesis Archery South Africa NPC (AGA-SA) is affiliated to the Africa Genesis Archery Federation It was previously known as The National Archery in the Schools Programme-SA (NASP) The US-based NASP governing body required that members have archery as part of their school curriculum the South African organisation changed its name to Africa Genesis Archery South Africa The sport it promotes is called Africa Genesis Archery Provincial treasurer Chris Oelofse confirmed that the discipline AGA-SA promotes is not an Olympic sport The South African archery body recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) via SASCOC is the South African National Archery Association (SANAA) which is also a member of the World Archery Federation Olympic rules are derived from the World Archery Federation rules The following archers from Ndlambe schools were selected to participate in the federation’s national championship as members of its Eastern Cape team The AGA-SA national championships will be in Kimberly September 25-28 Peter du Plessis (top boy) – Kowie Archery  Hannah Ford (top girl) – El SHaddai Christian Academy  Mia Schutte – Alexandria Christian Academy  Ruben Petzer – Alexandria Christian Academy  Chandre Simpson – El Shaddai Christian Academy  Zintle Sizani (all Alexandria Christian Academy)  Addison Scraton and Likhaya Nonyati – El Shaddai Christian Academy  Gerhard Brink and Daleen Brink – Kowie Foundation School  Gareth du Plessis and Elana Bothma – Port Alfred High School  111 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo due to withdrawal of sponsorship leaves 22 cars for IGTC opener… Mercedes-AMG team 111 Racing has been forced to withdraw from this weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour The team had stepped up from competition within the invitational class last year to enter their Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Darren Currie and Axle Donaldson to join a yet to be named third driver in the Bronze-class entry But the last-minute failure of promised sponsorship to materialize has left the team in the lurch and short of the funds needed to contest the Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener aided by the Bathurst 12 Hour team and other key supporters worked until late Sunday – the latest possible time they could – to find a replacement backer for the event the late notice made finding the required funds impossible That situation was made even worse by the fact that the two drivers had just enjoyed a fruitful pair of endurance races in the Middle East claiming podium finishes in the Michelin 24H Dubai and 6H Abu Dhabi and claiming the GTX class in the championship “We had funding promised and even agreements in place that while promised “We’ve been let down badly by a third party who up to a week ago had promised us that the sponsorship was there that has forced our hand – If we had one more week we might have had a chance to fill the void “We were all incredibly excited to be part of the GT3 field and compete against some of the world’s best drivers It’s something we have been working to for a long time and having our names on that entry list was a long-term goal the resources you need to contest the event are significant and we’re unable to do to it without external support which until the last minute we believed were secured The withdrawal of the 111 Racing Mercedes-AMG leaves the entry for the Bathurst 12H at 22 cars photos and video features from the trusted Sportscar365 web staff iRacing’s Special Event calendar features a selection of the world’s most compelling races across numerous disciplines Whether you’re interested in stock cars or sports cars sticking to pavement or playing in the dirt running solo or racing with a team of your closest friends our Special Events have something for everyone The Bathurst 12 Hour is a 12 hour endurance race staged on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst This event serves as the opening round to the Intercontinental GT Challenge Series in the real world To learn more about the event, its time slots, the latest information on the cars that will be competing, and everything else you need to know, visit our Special Events page or the iRacing Forums Stay In Touch These cookies gather data on how visitors use this website – which pages are visited most often We use analytics to determine how users use our website and look for opportunities within these datasets to improve our site design These cookies remember website preferences and generally improve the performance of the site for the user This is an internally generated cookie that we use to hide our SMS form if our users have signed up or indicated they are not interested receiving SMS notifications It is there to improve your site experience by saving your preferences These cookies are used to provide a customized experience and can be used to provide targeted ads through advertising networks We use this pixel to run digital marketing campaigns across other websites This basically just lets us know you are interested in iRacing We use this cookie to see what our users do after they click on an ad This helps us understand how effective our marketing campaigns are in leading to product purchases This is the code that allows HubSpot to track your activity We use cookies to improve your site experience Chaz Mostert on Arise Racing GT’s chances with Ferrari 296 GT3 at Bathurst… Chaz Mostert believes this weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour will serve as a “good test” for Arise Racing GT which is set to face international GT3 competition for the first time won the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS title with Supercars star Mostert and Liam Talbot and is now set for its first start in Australia’s international enduro Mostert is teamed with defending Supercars champion Will Brown and Ferrari factory ace Daniel Serra in the No which will fight for overall honors in the Pro class “It’s the first time at the 12-hour for Arise,” Mostert told Sportscar365 “They’re a world-class organization and they showed that last year in the GT World Challenge [Australia] “I’m very honored to be driving with them in the 12 Hour as a full Pro entry obviously the current [Australia] Supercars champion everyone knows what he can do behind the wheel “I feel like I’m a bit like the third driver I’m going to be the guy that just fills in at lunchtime while those guys need a break “We’ll see what we’ve got “This 12 Hour always brings out the world’s best teams You’ve got so many great Mercedes teams and so many great BMWs “It’s going to be a really good test for Arise From what I’ve seen in different organizations they’re really up for the task and we’ll see if we’ve got a competitive package to try and go for the win.” This year’s effort marks the first large-scale Ferrari program at Mount Panorama in a number of years Ferrari has also entered Intercontinental GT Challenge as a manufacturer for the first time since 2022 The Prancing Horse’s last win at Bathurst came in 2017 with Maranello Motorsport’s Ferrari 488 GT3 featuring Toni Vilander When asked if there’s any extra pressure this weekend to perform given the eight-year gap since a Ferrari won the race Mostert said: “A driver’s job is just to do the best job they can “You find in GT3 that some weekends it’s in your favor “We’re just going to see what we’ve got We ran the car here at the [Bathurst] International at the end of last year It was really quite a dream to drive around in I think it’s a track that the 296 should suit is Bathurst I’m pretty keen to drive it here around for 12 hours.” Mostert “Keen to Watch” Method’s Progress in Second 12H While having driven for his own Method Motorsport GT4 team last year in the organization’s first race outing Mostert will have his eyes on the team’s pair of McLaren Artura GT4s this weekend as well “I’m very lucky with my team in Method Motorsport,” he said “We’ve got some amazing people involved This was our first event as a team here last year we’ve got some amazing people that have come along for the whole year “The structure of the team… to be honest We’ve got some really good people lined up and some amazing drivers with that too “I’m keen to watch that race unfold through the weekend as well John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Scherer Sport PHX to make partial switch to Porsche for N24 title defense... Mattia Drudi set for first N24 lineup as Aston Martin factory driver, joining Walkenhorst... Valentino Rossi confirms fourth consecutive bid for victory in 24H Spa... Alexander Sims, Jordan Love to race JMR Corvette in 24H Spa, joined by Nicky... Copyright ©2025 John Dagys Media, LLC. All rights reserved. but there’s a catchOverdue maintenance is promised for the legendary race circuit if the Nationals candidate – and the Federal Opposition – win at next month’s election + 5 PhotosNearly $15 million to upgrade the iconic Mount Panorama Bathurst race track has been pledged by National Party candidate Sam Farraway ahead of the 2025 Australian Federal Election Farraway is sitting for the federal seat of Calare – an area including the famous Bathurst circuit – and has promised to fund upgrades to the track if both he and the Federal Opposition are voted in on May 3 who won the seat as a member of the Nationals in 2016 before leaving the party to become an independent member in late 2022 MORE: BMW Bathurst 12 Hour one-two victory reiterates Valentino Rossi’s ability on four wheels “Mount Panorama brings in over $32 million a year to the local economy and supports jobs across the Central West,” Farraway said on social media.  “But after a recent safety inspection the track is overdue for critical repairs That includes resurfacing the 6.213km layout – last carried out in 2014 – after a plan to conduct the work early this year fell through as the $10 million required from the current Federal Government didn’t materialise “This $14.9 million investment will enable Bathurst Regional Council to carry out essential works and critical improvements to communications MORE: Bathurst stunt plane investigation launches – report The previous plan – announced by Bathurst Regional Council as part of its draft budget in April 2024 – included $1.7 million for tyre barrier updates $1 million for work on the Conrod Straight tunnel (which provides access to the inside of the track) A provisional $150,000 was planned for catch fencing but the track surface was – and remains – the key issue “The nature of that surface is that it is supposed to be replaced every 10 years and we are actually at that time now where the surface is due [for] its replacement,” Aaron Jones, from Bathurst Regional Council, explained to the local Western Advocate newspaper in April 2024.  “The need for the works associated with the tyre walls it was identified at our track safety inspections that we need to start giving some attention to those tyre walls MORE: V8 Supercars wants Daniel Ricciardo “Whilst we have been able to retain a track licence we are wary as to how long that licence would be retained if we did not do anything.” Mr Jones resigned from his long-standing position as the council’s finance director on April 11 Drainage also became an issue for the circuit – which is also a public road when not closed for an event – during the 2022 Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercars race when drivers had to negotiate large pools of water for extended periods after a downpour As well as the Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama also hosts the annual Bathurst 12 Hour – won this year by BMW – and 2025 Bathurst 6 Hour due to take place over the Easter weekend on April 18-20 MORE: Ford’s electric van breaks Bathurst lap record The circuit precinct also contains the National Motor Racing Museum, which recently helped Ford Australia celebrate its 100th anniversary by supplying several historic race cars for the car maker’s event “Given the tough financial position of Bathurst Council this funding means they can focus on other local priorities – while we make sure the track stays safe licensed and race-ready for years to come,” Farraway said “This investment will ensure the track meets modern standards allowing the Bathurst 1000 and other major events to continue thriving.” The Federal Opposition has also announced it would abolish penalties for car makers not able to meet the Government's new emissions regulations, which are currently set to be enforced from July 1 2025. Copyright Drive.com.au 2025ABN: 84 116 608 158 DAP Pricing– Unless otherwise stated, all prices are shown as Manufacturer's Recommended List Price (MRLP) inclusive of GST, exclusive of options and on road costs. Photo: AP PHOTOSkechers is being acquired and taken private by the investment firm 3G Capital Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThe board of Skechers unanimously approved the $US9 billion ($A14 billion) deal The offer of $US63 per share represents a premium of 30 per cent to Skechers' 15-day volume-weighted average stock price Skechers shares jumped 25 per cent at the opening bell Monday Skechers reported a record $US9 billion in revenue in 2024 with net earnings of $US640 million China accounts for 15 per cent of Skecher's revenue About 97 per cent of the clothes and shoes purchased in the US are imported according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association Using factories overseas has kept labour costs down for US companies but neither they nor their overseas suppliers are likely to absorb price increases due to new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump's administration the company will continue to be led by Skechers chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg and his management team Its headquarters will remain in Manhattan Beach California where it was founded more than three decades ago The deal is expected to close in the third quarter this year Author: Both Porsche entries finished inside the top 10 in another thrilling edition of the Bathurst 12 Hour with the EMA Motorsport-run The Bend entry second in the Pro-Am class The Absolute Racing entry crossed the line in sixth having led at times during the dramatic race punctuated by safety cars The endurance epic took place over the weekend at the Mount Panorama Circuit and marked the first stop on this year’s four-round Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar was in the thick of the battle for overall pole after a brilliant effort saw them put in the second quickest time in the first part of qualifying while also taking Pro-Am pole position thanks to an excellent one-lap performance on his Bathurst debut the #911 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) made up of 2024 winners Matt Campbell and Ayhancan Güven and Alessio Picariello having narrowly missed out on the top ten shootout providing a stunning sunrise backdrop for the opening stages Güven took the start amid plenty of action and a strong strategy saw the Turkish driver charge from P11 to the lead Picariello held the lead as the race reached the quarter-distance mark before evolving strategies and safety car periods saw the momentum swing away from Absolute Racing He then handed over to hometown hero and two-time Bathurst winner Campbell but the car’s straight-line speed wasn’t quite enough to challenge the leading rivals consistently running close to the podium positions and ultimately a Safety Car period that followed their pit stop under green flag conditions hindered their progress A late refueling pit stop with less than 30 minutes remaining sealed the outcome 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGT3 class winner Yasser Shahin started in the EMA Motorsport-run car they battled for the lead in Pro-Am while staying competitive in the overall order eventually finishing second in class and 10th overall Teammate Schuring said: “As a Bathurst rookie I thoroughly enjoyed this event and the Mount Panorama Circuit is now definitely one of my favorites We showed great pace considering it was the first time here for three of our four drivers “I’m already looking forward to the next race and thankful for the effort put in by the team throughout the event.” Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific added: “There were positives from a challenging weekend like The Bend securing pole position and second in the Pro-Am class “Absolute Racing showed improvement in the race to come P6 overall We had drivers competing here for the first time showing great pace so that’s a promising sign for the future We’ll be back next year and aiming for victory.” The next stop on the 2025 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar will be 24h Nürburgring on June 19-22 * All new vehicles offered by Porsche are type-approved according to WLTP Official NEDC values derived from WLTP values are no longer available for new vehicles as of 1 January 2023 and can therefore not be provided specific vehicle and are not part of the offered product range They are only for the purposes of comparison between different vehicle tyrpes Additional equipment and accessories (add-on parts tyre formats etc.) can change relevant vehicle parameters such as weight can influence the fuel/electricity consumption Field for IGTC opener down by seven cars compared to 2024 race but number of GT3s remains unchanged… A 23-car entry list for the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season The field represents a decrease of seven cars compared to last year’s running of the Mount Panorama event the number of GT3 cars remains unchanged compared to the 2024 Bathurst 12H at 19 joined by a trio of GT4 cars and a single Invitational entry The contingent of 19 GT3 cars is divided into nine cars gunning for overall honors in the Pro class three each in Pro-Am and Silver Cup and four Bronze Cup entries A total of nine different manufacturers are represented with Mercedes-AMG having by far the best representation with nine cars eight GT3s and a single GT4 for Nineteen Motorsport that will face the two Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4s While the entry list contains few previously unannounced drivers it does reveal the lineups for Mercedes-AMG squads Craft-Bamboo Racing and GruppeM Lucas Auer and Jayden Ojeda will pilot the No while new factory recruit Maxime Martin joins Maro Engel and Mikael Grenier aboard the No There is an additional Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the Bronze class for 111 Racing Grant Donaldson and a third driver yet to be named Bathurst 12H event director Shane Rudzis said: “Amidst a congested global calendar we have maintained the same number of GT3 entries as last year while adding two returning manufacturers to broaden the variety within the field “The depth of the field and the talent within is outstanding and there’s no doubt it’s going to provide another spectacular race “Interest for the race is high with a record number of campgrounds set to be filled the grandstand is sold out and ticket sales are really motoring along “We’re working closely with our partners at the Bathurst Regional Council and with the team at Meguiar’s to make this the best Bathurst 12 Hour yet “The eyes of the world will be on Mount Panorama Bathurst next week as we launch into another chapter of Australia’s International Enduro.” Practice for the Bathurst 12H begins on Friday Jan culminating with the 15-minute Pirelli Pole Battle The race is scheduled to begin on Sunday Feb Jamie Klein is Sportscar365's Asian editor who previously worked for Motorsport Network on the Motorsport.cоm and Autosport titles covers the FIA World Endurance Championship and SUPER GT John Dagys’ first notebook ahead of this weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour… ***Teams competing in this weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour took part in the event’s annual parade from Mount Panorama to Bathurst city center culminating with a fan ‘grid’ walk and autograph session ***A total of 22 cars are set for this weekend’s Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener following the late withdrawal of the 111 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo ***Kenny Habul revealed that he’s brought back his 2023 overall-winning Mercedes-AMG for another attempt after using the same chassis, which was craned out of his sixth-floor museum in Connecticut last year The car has not seen any other racing action outside of the two Bathurst races “I think this car will still have enough mileage left in it for next year and then that will be it,” Habul told Sportscar365 ***Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach revealed they have not allocated any drivers for the full IGTC season Porsche won the manufacturers’ championship last year but the drivers’ title went to BMW Team WRT’s Charles Weerts ***Laudenbach told Sportscar365: “The IGTC it was one of the biggest clashes I had this year was at the SRO Gala you pick a race of these local championships It’s local teams and they’re competing for an international championship where you have a manufacturer trophy.” We as Porsche don’t want to send cars all over the planet to win this championship We’re really proud of that different teams contributed to the title and that’s how we do it this year.” ***It’s understood that longtime Grove Racing driver Ben Barker was due to join Stephen and Brenton Grove in the team’s Mercedes-AMG this weekend before the Ford-contracted driver broke his collarbone in a skiing accident during the holidays that also forced him out of the Rolex 24 at Daytona ***Ford Performance and Chevrolet are understood to have both come close to having customer Mustang GT3 and Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs on the grid for this year’s race but each program fell through for different reasons ***Corvette GT3 program manager Jess Dane told Sportscar365: “There was talk of Bathurst before my time on the program it was conversations that happened before I came into this role the former co-owner of Triple Eight Race Engineering said it’s a “massive goal” of hers personally to have the Z06 GT3.R racing in Australia “Sometimes I have selfish goals for the program that I have to remind myself that they’re self-motivated but on the other hand there are massive benefits of running a Corvette at Bathurst and expanding into that market She added: “Australia is a market for Corvette If the opportunity arrises to get cars there and get cars on the grid for Bathurst ***SRO Motorsports Group celebrated its 30th anniversary last month The Stephane Ratel-led organization continues to be the operators of the IGTC which returns to a five-round season this year with the addition of the Suzuka 1000km in September ***The Mark Goddard-led Eurasia Motorsport squad is providing support for Arise Racing GT’s Ferrari 296 GT3 program Goddard’s operation was also partnered with Arise for its GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS title-winning season last year ***BMW Team WRT is running the non-EVO version of the BMW M4 GT3 which won the Michelin 24H Dubai and 6H Abu Dhabi races with the Belgian squad has yet to complete SRO’s mandatory Balance of Performance testing ***A total of 22 drivers arrived directly from last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona: Matt Campbell Martin and several others were delayed by a day after a late flight resulted in a missed connection in Los Angeles They arrived in Sydney on Wednesday morning along with the majority of the others who were on a different flight one day later ***Robichon, meanwhile, is the only driver to have contested this month’s Michelin 24H Dubai, the Rolex 24 and Bathurst, all with Heart of Racing Team ***Defending Australian Supercars champion Will Brown who will team with Chaz Mostert and Daniel Serra in the No flew to Bathurst from his home in Toowoomba ***1977 Bathurst 1000 winner and motorsport legend Jacky Ickx who is attending this weekend’s event as an ambassador for Genesis was reunited on Thursday with the car that took he and Allan Moffat to victory in the race five decades ago ***The Moffat family has donated the winners’ trophy to the Bathurst Regional Council where it will reside in the National Motor Racing Museum to join the 1977 Ford Falcon XC Hardtop that won the race ***Mount Panorama staged the first-ever world premiere of a BMW on Thursday morning as the covers came off the BMW M3 CS Touring at Bathurst ***Track action kicks off on Friday with a total of four 40-minute practice sessions The second and final sessions in the are reserved for Bronze-rated drivers only John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John BMW Team WRT paces opening practice for Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour… Augusto Farfus led the way in opening practice for Sunday’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour for BMW Team WRT The Brazilian was credited with a best lap of 2:02.900 in the No 32 BMW M4 GT3 early in the 40-minute session around Mount Panorama which was 0.314 seconds quicker than Luca Stolz’s No which ended up second with a late improvement 888 GruppeM Mercedes-AMG was third quickest with Maro Engel having been credited with the lap time Valentino Rossi made a last-lap improvement to put his No 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing entry making it three Mercedes-AMGs in the top-five 9 Hallmarc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II was sixth quickest while Scott Andrews led the way in Pro-Am in the No Manthey EMA’s Pro-Am class Porsche 911 GT3 R was eighth 26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 was ninth 911 Absolute Racing Porsche of Ayhancan Guven completing the top-ten in a late-session improvement The session ran without any notable incidents or red flags RESULTS: Practice 1 John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Sam Shahin confirmed in Manthey EMA-prepared Porsche 911 GT3 R… Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Yasser Shahin will return to the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour to defend his Pro-Am class title in the 2025 race who claimed the LMGT3 category win in the around-the-clock French enduro last year will drive a current-specification Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by The Bend and again prepared by Manthey EMA Racing The car will compete in the Pro-Am class with Yasser to be joined by brother Sam a former Pro-Am champion in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia who will make his 12-Hour return this year The four-up driving squad will be completed by experienced pro drivers The Bend’s Porsche is the first entry from the marque this year as the brand seeks a record-equalling third Bathurst 12 Hour win following their impressive 2024 triumph The Brothers Shahin both had extraordinary 2024 seasons Yasser not only winning his class at LeMans but finishing second in the LM GT3 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship Sam competed in the Porsche Supercup Championship for the first time in between a partial Australian campaign in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia EMA’s 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour campaign was also hugely successful the squad winning not just the Pro-Am class but also the outright race with a sister ‘Grello’ Porsche driven by Matt Campbell Yasser Shahin and co-drivers Alessio Picariello and Harry King finished 8th outright and claimed the Pro-Am class win The latest sports car racing news from trusted series manufacturer and team sources based around the world in a crash involving a vehicle and motorcycle in the South Annex neighbourhood on Friday night Toronto Police officers were notified of a collision in the Bathurst Street and Ulster Street area just after 9 p.m Toronto Paramedics say two adults in their 20’s were taken to a trauma centre while the woman is in serious non-life-threatening condition Investigators say they were both on the motorcycle involved in the crash A Canadian man arrested on vacation has been proven innocent Melissa Nakhavoly with why he is still being held in the Dominican Republic Warmer temperatures but showers are expected on-and-off for the next few days Meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai has your seven-day forecast Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls on Prime Minister Mark Carney to prioritize a list of projects including the proposed Highway 401 tunnel a mentally ill man who was killed in an Ontario prison is calling out the provincial government over the lack of correctional reform listen to NewsRadio Toronto live anytime and get up-to-the-minute breaking-news alerts weather and video from CityNews Toronto anywhere you are – across all Android and iOS devices John Dagys’ post-race notebook from Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour… ***BMW claimed its third Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour win but first in the GT3 era of the event Garry Holt and Paul Morris won the event in 2010 in a BMW 335i touring car with Holt and Morris having teamed with Craig Baird to win in 2007 ***It marked WRT’s second Bathurst win after its 2018 triumph in the red-flag shortened event with an Audi R8 LMS GT3 ***The Belgian squad remains undefeated in competition this year following its overall victories in the Michelin 24H Dubai and 6H Abu Dhabi last month The Vincent Vosse-led team did not take part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona who claimed victory in only his second start as a BMW factory driver a driver he “looked up to for many years” growing up ***Kelvin said: “I was watching him on TV when he was racing touring cars in 2007/2008 for BMW and he was one of my heroes growing up To now share a car with him and win a race with him is really ***Kelvin joined younger brother Sheldon in becoming only the second-ever brother pairing to have won at Mount Panorama in the same car David and Geoff Brabham claimed victory in the 1997 Bathurst 1000 Super Touring race at the wheel of a factory-backed BMW 320i on the race’s 299th lap of 306-lap contest Mostert briefly took the lead from Kelvin van der Linde in the final hour before having to pit his No 26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 for fuel ***Mostert finished fourth in the car’s Bathurst 12H debut 46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 that he shared with Raffaele Marciello and Charles Weerts has vowed to come back for another attempt at victory in what marked the MotoGP legend’s most competitive endurance outing to date ***Rossi said: “I want to come back because for me it’s good to come one time a year in Australia because I like this place a lot It’s the perfect way to start the season because the track is fantastic and it’s really difficult I hope in the next year more factory drivers and cars can come.” 46 BMW came in the seventh hour when Rossi was deemed to have passed under a yellow resulting in a drive-through penalty that Weerts had to later serve ***BMW has taken an early lead in the Intercontinental GT Challenge points standings following its 1-2 finish with the German manufacturer holding an 18-point lead over Mercedes-AMG ***While Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde and Augusto Farfus top the drivers’ championship following his third place overall finish in his No ***Jules Gounon earned his fifth consecutive overall podium finish dating back to his first overall win with Bentley Team M-Sport in 2020 It was also the fourth straight top-three finish for his SunEnergy1 Racing co-drivers Habul and Luca Stolz who won with Gounon in 2022 and 2023 and finished second last year ***Gounon said: “Somehow we always get a bit lucky here This morning I saw a albino-white kangaroo and I was like ***While the race had eight safety car periods the final four hours and 34 minutes ran without caution marking the longest green flag run time since the 2023 event ***GruppeM Racing’s race came to an early end with four hours and 52 minutes to go when Maxime Martin lost control of his No 888 Mercedes-AMG and slammed into the left-side wall exiting The Chase ***Martin said: “I’m very disappointed and frustrated I touched a curb at the wrong spot which sent me into the wall saving as much fuel as we could and playing the strategy to stay in the lead pack which was working perfectly It’s a shame to finish like this and difficult to swallow We’ll go forward and come back stronger.” ***Audi’s chances of a potential final Bathurst 12H overall podium with the R8 LMS GT3 Evo II was dashed in Hour 7 when Ricaro Feller sustained a mechanical issue with the left-front of the car forcing the Swiss driver into the gravel trap at The Chase 183 Jamec Racing/Team MPC Audi bounced back from a left-front puncture with Liam Talbot at the wheel in the second hour after a brief encounter with Habul and Feller getting sandwiched in a three-wide battle for the lead on the first green flag lap of the race in pitch darkness 14 Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 impressed throughout the race and appeared to be en route to a Silver class win until a clutch problem with less than three hours to go relegated the race’s second youngest-ever driver lineup to third in class 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R of Laurin Heinrich during the car’s final stop dashed hopes of Heinrich challenging for a potential Pro-Am class win crossing the line P10 overall and finishing second in Pro-Am although I felt our performance deserved more but endurance racing is never easy,” said Heinrich ***Seventeen of the 22 starters finished this year’s race ***The event reported 51,372 spectators over the three-day event marking the second-largest attended Bathurst 12 Hour ever ***Next up for IGTC competitors is the Nürburgring 24 one week prior to the third leg of the season John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Farfus give BMW first Bathurst win in race’s GT3 era with 1-2 finish… Team WRT stretched the fuel mileage of its BMW M4 GT3s to take a commanding 1-2 victory in Sunday’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour 32 BMW to a 10.245-second win over the sister No 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Jules Gounon with 20 minutes to go Al three podium finishers completed the race with one less stop than their competitors It came in a final four-hour and 34-minute green flag run to the checkered flag that saw strategy play into the outcome of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener Van der Linde shared the winning BMW with his younger brother Sheldon and Brazilian ace Augusto Farfus marking the first brother pairing to triumph overall at Mount Panorama since David and Geoff Brabham in the 1997 Bathurst 1000 Super Touring race gave BMW its maiden victory in the race’s GT3 era which led for more than three-quarters of the race that proved both speed and efficiency Charles Weerts and Valentino Rossi was second while Gounon finished third in the car he shared with Luca Stolz and team owner/driver Kenny Habul which bounced back from several early race incidents Both Gounon and Stolz were on fuel-savings mode in the closing stages of the race which helped the 75 Express-run squad move up the order Marciello pressured Gounon in the closing 50 minutes 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG of Lucas Auer before the BMW driver made a pass on Gounon through the grass who passed Kelvin van der Linde for the lead with 37 minutes to go 26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 after making his final stop for fuel with 23 minute to go Mostert set the race’s fastest lap in the process 77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG of Auer completed the top-five after dashing into the pits for fuel with six minutes to go 911 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Matt Campbell in sixth Heart of Racing by SPS Takes Class Honors in Attrition-Filled Race 27 Heart of Racing Mercedes-AMG of Ross Gunn which finished seventh overall and ahead of the Pro-Am-winning No 93 Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 claimed back-to-back Silver class wins in the race 24 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 of Josh Buchan Australia’s international enduro featured several retirements 888 GruppeM Racing Mercedes-AMG dropped out with just under five hours to go when Maxime Martin slammed into the wall at the exit of The Chase It came after a suspected mechanical failure for Ricardo Feller forced the No 183 Jamec Racing/Team MPC Audi into the gravel trap and retirement in the seventh hour Feller was part of a thrilling three-wide battle for the lead on the first green flag lap of the race alongside Goetz and Maro Engel The race’s biggest accident came in the third hour when Habul and the No 4 Grove Racing Mercedes-AMG of Stephen Grove made slight side-by-side contact at Skyline resulting in Grove’s Bronze class entry slamming into the wall and nearly going over the barrier No further action was made by race control following the incident, which sent Grove to a hospital in Sydney with back injuries Ryan Sorensen was also evaluated at a hospital after his heavy crash in the No 44 Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Audi which returned to action after lengthy repairs 222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG after Craig Lowndes made contact on the top of the mountain resulting in left-rear driveshaft and wheel damage RESULTS: Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOSMillions of hectares of Australian farmland have sold for a total of almost $15 billion as agricultural property values rack up 11 years of growth Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueMedian farmland values increased by 6.9 per cent in 2024 to a record $10,231 per hectare according to Bendigo Bank's Agribusiness Farmland Values report released on Tuesday But despite more than a decade of consecutive growth the figures represent a cooling in the rate of annual increases compared to 2018 to 2022 with mixed seasonal conditions and uncertainties in global trade (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)"The underlying drivers of the Australian farmland market were more varied in 2024 with elevated interest rates a constant and with a greater mix of seasonal conditions," Bendigo Bank executive Neil Burgess said "Favourable weather in NSW and Queensland has been in stark contrast to the significant lack of rain experienced in southern regions which has been reflected in farmland prices." Victoria was the only state to experience a decline in the median price per hectare along with slowing growth in South Australia due to drought conditions Tasmania experienced the strongest growth year-on-year at 14 per cent Buyer sentiment was buoyed by a rebound in cattle prices in Queensland Favourable weather in NSW Queensland lies in stark contrast to poor conditions in southern areas (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)The report showed 4.7 million hectares of farmland was sold for a combined value of $4.9 billion in 2024 The most valuable farmland was in Victoria's Gippsland region at $29,335 per hectare followed by Tasmania's northwest at $27,019 and South Australia's Adelaide and Fleurieu regions at $22,488 Values are expected to record stronger growth in the second half of 2025 off the back of recovering livestock prices and rising crop production "So our outlook is for continuing moderate growth in farmland values across 2025." Six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx will return to Mount Panorama next month for the first time since his 1977 Bathurst 1000 victory to drive the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Concept in its global racetrack debut The X Gran Berlinetta Concept will take to the track with Ickx at the controls during the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend (31 January – 2 February 2025) for a series of demonstration laps across the weekend This will be the first time anywhere in the world that the X Gran Berlinetta Concept has been put to the test on track in public The Concept was first shown at the 2023 Gran Turismo World Series World Finals in Barcelona It was created as part of Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo series and has been available to race in the virtual world of the game since January 2024 The Korean brand’s GV60 Magma Concept will also be cutting laps at the Bathurst 12 Hour having recently won its class at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed and finishing 16th in the shootout The GV60 Magma is on track to enter production later this year becoming the first Genesis Magma model to go on sale Genesis ultimately aims to develop a high-performance Magma model for each production vehicle in its line-up maximising both aesthetics and performance said he was thrilled to have such a luminary of motor racing on hand for the racetrack debut of such important vehicles as the X Gran Berlinetta Concept and the GV60 Magma concept “With his phenomenal achievements over many years his unique knowledge and a contributing strong desire to influence the automotive landscape Jacky aligns perfectly with our brand,” Douglass said “As a prominent figure who has been consistently ingrained throughout the evolving automotive performance landscape over the years it is an honour to have Jacky on board to help shape the future of Genesis.” brand ambassador Ickx is excited about tackling the Mountain again more than 40 years after his victory at one of global motorsport’s most iconic races “I have always admired Genesis for its cultured elegance and design aesthetics and sincerely believe in a relationship that is founded on authenticity and admiration for each other,” he said “I have also long admired Mount Panorama at Bathurst as one of the world’s great motor racing venues and I can’t wait to put the incredible Genesis X Gran Berlinetta through its paces “What I loved the first time was the atmosphere of Bathurst The people are really passionate for motor racing The success of the event is created by the public and the spectators and that was what was so nice about Bathurst.” This news follows Gensesis’ recent FIA WEC Hypercar programme launch in Dubai will make its FIA WEC top class debut with the GMR-001 in 2026 in the FIA WEC before adding an IMSA GTP programme with an unannounced partner team in 2027 Author: Principal partner MyPlace is giving one lucky Panthers fan the chance to win the ultimate Bathurst Gameday Weekend Experience for two valued at $4,400 Enjoy accommodation at picturesque Rydges Mount Panorama corporate tickets to the Round 12 fixture against the Knights wine tour and lunch at Mortimers Winery and tickets to the Bathurst Sportsman's Lunch guests will enjoy uninterrupted views of Concord Straight and the local countryside Your stay will also include a complimentary breakfast at Chicane Bar and Grill and hotel facilities Enter the draw to win this amazing prize by completing the following form prior to Friday 9th May 2025 Entrants must be 18 years of age or older to enter Matt Payne took provisional pole position for the Bathurst 1000 after a qualifying session of fine margins at Mount Panorama Payne and his Grove Racing Ford streaked around the 6.213km circuit in a time of 2m05.6452s to edge out fellow Mustang pilot Cameron Waters by a scant 0.0060s “It just seemed to hook up really nicely and it just seemed to turn really well at 'The Grate',” he explained after the lap “The previous practice we did not have such a good run on green tyres I knew we were going to be in the top five who nearly had a crash at Forrest's Elbow during the session revealed he had also suffered a reliability scare in the early stages I had an engine problem to start with and that cleared,” he said I am just lucky I am not one of the ones crashing.” The session featured a pair of red flags, with the first coming with 23 minutes remaining on the clock as David Reynolds lost control of the rear of his Team18 Chevrolet Camaro at The Dipper collecting the wall where team-mate Warren Luff had performed a miraculous escape earlier in the weekend The second came due to a crash at the same corner after Shell V-Power Racing driver Will Davison destroyed all four corners of his Ford Mustang on his final push.  This crash ruined Broc Feeney's attempt to top the session although he remained the highest-placed Chevrolet driver in third The Triple Eight man was 0.0081s faster than 2023 polesitter Brodie Kostecki who set the fourth fastest time and clattered the wall at Sulman Park requiring a mid-session suspension change which cost eight minutes of track time Kostecki's time was 0.0194s away from Payne Championship leader Will Brown secured his shootout position in fifth, having spent the majority of the session out of the window, while Chaz Mostert was sixth.  Andre Heimgartner, Jack Le Broc, Anton de Pasquale and Richie Stanaway rounded out those who will contest Saturday's shootout both Reynolds and Davison saw their best times struck from the record The Supercars will be back on track at 10:05am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time [12:05am BST] with a one-hour practice session for co-drivers only There will be another hour's practice at 1:10pm [3:10am BST] and the top 10 shootout is due to begin at 5:05pm [7:05am BST] John Dagys’ notebook from opening day of on-track action for Bathurst 12 Hour… 24 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 has undergone a driver change with Bathurst rookie Cameron Campbell having elected to step aside and focus on his Ferrari Challenge commitments this weekend He has been replaced in the car by two-time and defending TCR Australia champion Josh Buchan The decision was approved by the stewards prior to Friday’s third practice session of the day were permitted to run in the pair of Bronze driver practice sessions on Friday at the request of their teams due to both drivers making their Bathurst debuts This led to some confusion in the opening Bronze session which saw Day set the quickest time but second-placed Kenny Habul end up quickest of the Bronze-rated drivers 183 Jamec Racing/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II suffered gearbox issues that prevented Bronze-rated Liam Talbot from setting a time in the second practice The car returned to FP3 to set the second quickest time of the session with Broc Feeney at the wheel ***Among the rules changes for this year’s race include the elimination of mandatory timed pit stops although there is still a minimum timed pitstop time of 80 seconds for any stops that involve refueling and/or a driver change The maximum stint length rule of 32 laps has also been scrapped ***Habul is the only driver registered to score Intercontinental GT Challenge Independent Cup points this weekend. A rules change has permitted Independent Cup-nominated Bronze-rated drivers to compete in any class this year, which allowed Habul to enter for Bathurst. The U.S.-based-Australian is again in the Pro category this weekend as he bids for his third overall win in the last four years the Independent Cup is expected to have a drop score allowing for others to join in from the second round at the Nürburgring without penalty Sportscar365 understands that Antares Au is likely to defend his title from the N24 onwards is set to make his full-season IGTC return this year He confirmed to Sportscar365 that his 75 Express team plans to contest all five rounds which will require him to complete in several NLS races to secure his Nordschleife racing permit ***’King Kenny’ missed both the N24 and CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa last year the latter race due to business commitments This year’s run would mark Habul’s return to the famed Belgian circuit since breaking his back in a qualifying accident in 2023 ***Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach revealed that the German manufacturer will “find solutions” for the three consecutive 24-hour races in June that includes the N24 and 24H Spa on back-to-back weekends Laudenbach indicated that other OEMs may be in worse positions than Porsche ***Lamborghini is poised to only have one Pro car in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup this year following Iron Lynx’s exit according to Lamborghini chief technical officer Roven Mohr who confirmed that no new teams are expected with the Huracan GT3 EVO2 this year ***Mohr told reporters last weekend in Daytona they’re currently “discussing” with teams for both the N24 and 24H Spa with the Italian manufacturer preparing to potentially have more than one Pro car at each event but are still “50/50” at this stage ruled out the same team contesting both races due to their close proximity ***Sportscar365 understands that Volante Rosso Motorsport plans to upgrade its Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to Evo specification for the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS season which kicks off at Phillip Island in April ***Valentino Rossi confirmed to reporters that he will contest the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup event at Misano in addition to his FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 commitments which he chose over a full-time return to GTWC Europe ***Rossi said: “In the beginning when we started the program with Vincent [Vosse it was in the list to come [back] to Bathurst I will race in WEC but I will do some extra races.” ***Heart of Racing Team principal Ian James told Sportscar365 that its full Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH driver lineups for both the WEC and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be announced on Feb Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell have been confirmed in each of the team’s WEC Hypercar entries ***James wouldn’t confirm rumors that the V12-powered Valkyrie will be able to run without any noise restrictions in the WeatherTech Championship but said that “fans at Sebring will be happy” with a smile ***Robichon, who is completing his triple dose of endurance racing this weekend after also contesting the Michelin 24H Dubai and Rolex 24 with the team has been confirmed in Heart of Racing’s No 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with a full season program understood to be likely ***Heart of Racing is the only U.S.-based team contesting this weekend’s race is receiving operational and technical support from Germany outfit SPS automotive performance It’s understood there are several Heart of Racing staff embedded in the team this weekend ***Australian Supercars were on track for two dedicated test sessions used to balance the ‘technical parity’ between the two Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Ford Mustang platforms One car apiece are to be utilized in sessions that include two additional sessions on Saturday to book-end the on-track track action owner of Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand turned laps in his track day-only Aston Martin Vulcan hypercar Several Genesis vehicles were also seen completing laps John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John International Porsche GT stars join Shahin brothers aboard The Bend-branded 911 GT3 R… Laurin Heinrich and Morris Schuring will make their Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour debuts as they complete the lineup for Manthey EMA’s Pro-Am class Porsche entry which was revealed in full livery at The Bend on Wednesday morning with brothers Yasser and Sam Shahin for the opening round of the new Intercontinental GT Challenge season Yasser Shahin will aim to win the Pro-Am class for a second year in succession having triumphed alongside Alessio Picariello and Harry King in the 2024 running He and Dutch teenager Schuring spent last year sharing a car in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 category taking class honors in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Porsche factory pilot Richard Lietz IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro champion Heinrich will be tackling the Bathurst 12H for the first time Porsche will have representation in the fight for overall Bathurst 12H victory with Absolute Racing’s No. 91 car driven by Picariello and two members of Manthey EMA’s race-winning 2024 crew Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R out front of Meguiar’s Bathurst 12H… Alessio Picariello led the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour after three hours completed following several significant accidents for GT3 contenders Picariello held a 0.861-second advantage over the No with teammate Kelvin van der Linde third in the No 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo that ended up in the gravel after contact with the No 26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 of Will Brown While no further action was made on the incident 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG and the Ian James-driven No 27 Heart of Racing by SPS Mercedes-AMG resulted in a 15-second pit stop time penalty for Habul 44 Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II 222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG retired after Craig Lowndes brushed the wall and damaged the driveshaft and left-rear tire came in the third hour when Habul and the No 4 Grove Racing Mercedes-AMG of Stephen Grove collided at Skyline resulting in Grove’s car nearly going over the wall and bringing out the third yellow of the day No further action was made by race control of the incident Picariello also benefited from a yellow to maintain his lead in the Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 888 GruppeM Racing Mercedes-ANG of Maxime Martin ran fourth with Daniel Serra having completed the top-five in the No Zach Robichon led the Bronze class after rebounding from co-driver James’ spin 14 Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 was out front of the Silver class despite serving a penalty for a safety car infringement Joining the nine Pro-class cars in the Bathurst 12 Hour are 13 machines split into five subcategories Each class features a great mix of experienced Ams ensuring plenty to keep an eye on amongst the undercard of the overall race for Am driver line ups is limited to one Gold-rated driver all of whom are regular competitors in the GTWC Australia competition the series regulars are also joined by some unexpected names Volante Rosso Motorsport are bringing along their #14 Aston Martin Vantage AMR dressed in a brilliant Gulf livery for the weekend who has competed in the Bathurst 1000 for the past three years makes his 12 Hour debut alongside two Aston Martin Academy drivers; Jamie Day and Mateo Villagomez The pair raced in the GT4 European Series together in 2024 with Day taking the Silver category in British GT4 as well All three drivers are making their Bathurst 12 Hour debut in what is the youngest combination of the event Supabarn Tigani Motorsport returns with the #47 Mercedes-AMG Brothers James and Theo Koundouris will be joined once again by David Russell and Luke Youlden Russell has been a regular co-driver of the Koundouris duo with Youlden being added to the group that competed last year Both Russell and Youlden have Supercars co-driver experience and joining the experienced Koundouris duo will make this a strong contender Wall Racing also returns with its #93 BASF-inspired Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO II with Bronze-driver Adrian Deitz joined by long-term Supercars co-driver Tony D’Alberto Bathurst 6 Hour winner and Australian TV personality Grant Denyer and adding Brendon Leitch to the line up for 2025 Leitch had a breakout season in GTWC Australia in 2024 powering the Dayle ITM Audi he shared with Tim Miles to multiple race wins across the season Look for his stints to be particularly impressive during the race The only stipulation for Pro-Am cars is the line-ups must feature a Bronze-rated driver the Bronze must complete one hour of running after the halfway point in the race ensuring the Bronze driver plays a significant part in the outcome of the race Ferrari is represented by the #36 Arise Racing GT Ferrari with regular GTWC Australia combination Elliot Schutte and Jaxon Evans (pictured below last season) joined by GTWC Australia runner-up and Bathurst local Brad Schumacher Schutte graduated into GT3 through Australian Prototype racing first being picked up by Method Motorsport for GT4 before joining Arise for last season’s GTWC Australia the pair took a race win on their way to third in the standings who eventually bested Schutte and Evans to second in the championship alongside Will Brown his speed at Bathurst will ensure that car will remain strong through its Am stints Adding Ferrari factory driver Alessio Rovera will certainly put the team with a chance of an overall result should the cards fall their way Geyer Valmont Racing bring the #44 Audi R8 LMS Evo II with regular GTWC Australia pair Sergio Pires and Marcel Zalloua and Australian Scott Andrews Andrews has spent much of his recent career in the IMSA championship winning the LMP3 class at the 24 hours of Daytona in 2021 Zalloua and Pires took five wins in the Am category of GTWC Australia last season on their way to second in the championship but the gap between Am and Pro-Am will be a significant one to bridge Rounding out the Pro-Am entry is last year’s winner Manthey EMA with the #91 The Bend Porsche 911 The team features reigning Le Mans 24 Hours GT3 champions Yasser Shahin and Morris Schuring alongside IMSA GTD Pro champion Laurin Heinrich former Carrera Cup Australia Am champion Sam Shahin After winning the Pro-Am class at the 12 Hour last year Yasser Shahin went on to a successful WEC GT3 campaign finishing second in the championship but taking the 24 Hours of Le Mans Sam’s return to the 12 Hour is significant after his last attempt resulted in broken vertebrae in a sickening shunt during qualifying in 2020 where he was tagged into the wall at Skyline before being clipped by another car if the right drivers are in at the right time this car could be in the mix for the overall result come the end of the race The Bronze category features teams with two Ams – one of which must be Bronze – or a Bronze driver with two Golds And this year two Mercedes will compete in this class The #4 Grove Racing Mercedes AMG features the father/son driving duo of Stephen and Brenton Grove being joined by German Mercedes ace Fabian Schiller It is the first 12-hour outing for the Groves in a Mercedes after many years running Porsche Carrera Cup and GT3 machinery Stephen holds the record for the most class victories in the event with five Class B victories in seven events between 2014 and 2020 the streak continues for the most entries and longest retained combination with the 14th entry (and 11th in a row!) for Marc Cini He is once again joined by regular co-driver pairing Dean Fiore and 2022 Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth with the hopes that they can finally crack a class victory in the Audi R8 Returning to the Mountain is the #27 Heart of Racing by SPS Mercedes with bronze-rated Ian James and platinum-rated Ross Gunn being joined by Zacharie Robichon for his Bathurst 12 Hour debut Last year saw an incredible run by the Heart of Racing team in their debut at the event a late penalty scuppered its chances of a class victory in Pro-Am with a drive-through relegating it to Second place The ambitious Seattle-based outfit be hoping to go one better this time around GT4 sees the return of three cars from last year’s event the reigning GT4 lineup returns; Mark Griffith and Daniel Bilski are once again rejoined by Nürburgring specialist Adam Christodoulou to see if they can repeat their successes from last year Method Motorsport is once again bringing two GT4 McLaren Artura’s to the event after a successful first season of competition saw them win the Pro-Am and Am categories of Monochrome GT4 Australia This year the #24 will feature Cameron Campbell while the #25 is shared between Paul Buccini Levitt has been a successful Production Car racer in Australia while Santalucia has impressed in Porsche Sprint Challenge Hayman was part of the Pro-Am GT4 winning combination while Buccini has raced in Production Cars The GT4 cars will be significantly slower than the GT3 counterparts so keeping clean will be the focus as the faster machinery attempts to navigate through the slower category The Invitational class is reduced to a solitary entry after the MARC Cars which have been a near-constant of the Bathurst 12 Hour grid have moved into the Combined Sedans support category The remaining entry is the #50 Vantage Team KTM X-Bow GT2 of David Crampton While this is the fourth entry for the X-Bow GT2 it is yet to leave an impression on the race failing to even make the grid on the last two occasions there will be plenty going on in the lower categories of the Bathurst 12 Hour for 2025 Missed out on our Pro class preview? Catch up HERE >>> ENTRY LIST >>> HOW TO FOLLOW >>> + Marciello, Rossi and Weerts complete Bavarian 1-2+ Fourth podium in as many years for 75 Express trio+ Result: Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour BMW has scored maximum Intercontinental GT Challenge points in 2025’s season opener at the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour where Augusto Farfus and Van der Linde brothers Kelvin and Sheldon beat team-mates Raffaele Marciello, Valentino Rossi and Charles Weerts. 10 seconds separated the #32 and #46 M4 GT3s, while Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz extended theirs and 75 Express’ collective podium streak at Mount Panorama to four races by finishing one second further back. BMW was one of this event’s heavyweights in its production car days but had never won in the GT3 era despite twice claiming pole. WRT’s victory draught at Australia’s International Enduro wasn’t quite as long but did stretch back to 2018 – remarkable considering its success elsewhere. Sheldon and Kelvin, meanwhile, have become the first siblings to share a winning car since David and Geoff Brabham won the Bathurst 1000 – also with BMW, incidentally – in 1997. Craft-Bamboo’s Mercedes-AMG led away from pole but was overhauled before the end of the opening stint by a flying Chaz Mostert who started Arise Racing’s Ferrari fifth. The Supercars ace then established a nine-second advantage before pitstop strategies amidst several Safety Car periods jumbled the order. Instead, it was Absolute Racing’s Porsche and WRT’s BMWs that became the regular frontrunners through mid-morning. But while the 911’s speed appeared to tail off, the M4s maintained their metronomic pace out front as first #46 and then #32 became the de facto leaders. Further caution periods kept their advantage in check but by mid-afternoon it was clear that the Van der Lindes and Farfus were in the box seat despite Craft-Bamboo’s Mercedes-AMG, the Arise Ferrari and Absolute’s Porsche remaining within striking distance as the race ticked into its final quarter. The 296 and 911 were first to fall away, while earlier strategy calls left Craft-Bamboo’s Maximilian Götz, Jayden Ojeda and Lucas Auer – who set pole yesterday – just outside of the optimum refuelling window. Pitting six minutes before the finish cost them a certain podium. Second place instead went to WRT’s other BMW, but only after Marciello passed Gounon around the outside of the kink via a trip over Conrod Straight’s grass in the final 10 minutes. The 75 Express Mercedes-AMG is always a contender at Bathurst and so it was again despite the nature of its Pro class crew. Habul completed his drive time before half distance and crucially remained on the lead lap to give Stolz and Gounon a chance of closing down the leaders. In truth, the car was never an out and out victory contender this year but did what its team always does at Bathurst: finish on the podium. Craft-Bamboo and Absolute completed the top six for Mercedes-AMG and Porsche, respectively, while Heart of Racing by SPS’s Ian James, Ross Gunn and Zach Robichon won the event’s Bronze class in seventh overall. Behind, Arise Racing’s other Ferrari finished eighth on the road but scored seventh place IGTC points for its manufacturer. And the Bend Motorsport Park’s 911 rounded out Intercontinental’s top eight in 10th overall.  Notable retirees included GruppeM’s Mercedes-AMG, which went hard into the wall exiting The Chase, and Jamec/MPC’s Audi that qualified second but ended its race deep in the gravel trap overlooked by the Rydges Hotel. IGTC now moves on to the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring on June 19-22 before hopping across the German/Belgian border one week later for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. © 2025 SRO Motorsports Group. All Rights Reserved. the first few weeks of the season are a time for working off the rust and getting back into the swing of things All articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThat's not the case for Samantha Hanrahan The Bathurst teenager has been playing non-stop for virtually a year now and The rangy outside back scored a hat-trick for the Bathurst Bulldogs rugby side on Saturday and she backed it up less than 24 hours later with another three tries for the Bathurst St Pat's league tag outfit It's the latest stellar showing for one of the region's most exciting multi-sport stars. "It was pretty good," an understated Hanrahan said of her weekend The 18-year-old's red-hot start to the season comes after she was part of the Penrith Panthers Tarsha Gale Cup side earlier this year The Panthers made it to the second week of finals before losing to eventual premiers Parramatta but that run was a success after the side won just three games a year prior pictured in action for Bathurst St Pat's last season has been at her best again in both league and union Picture by James ArrowHanrahan was a key part of the backline and had to travel to train but it was all worthwhile as she chases her footy dream "It's such a different experience," she said of being around the Panthers "You're training three times a week and it's just such a higher intensity "It's great to be around other people who feel the same way and have the same passion." Hanrahan impressed with St Pat's last season and also starred in school union where she went on to earn NSW honours in rugby 7s Hanrahan went straight into Western Women's Rugby League competition with the Panorama Platypi late in the year before the Panthers' Tarsha Gale pre-season kicked off The Bulldogs' Westfund Ferguson Cup side has two wins from the opening three rounds while St Pat's have started the tag season by piling on 82 points and conceding just eight in the first two games Hanrahan has also been a representative netballer previously while she's also a budding referee who ran the line in the Tom Nelson Premiership under 18s competition on Sunday it's also about much more than what happens on the field or court "It's something to do on the weekend and it's kind of my social life Samantha Hanrahan (right), with Anthea Clark, after a representative netball selection last year. Picture by Alexander GrantThe bond within the St Pat's side is one which has been spoken about at length by members of the squad previously Many of the players within the tag team have been a part of the side for roughly a decade and while Hanrahan is a relative newcomer in recent years I could just see they were all so tight-knit," Hanrahan said "They weren't just girls who played together they were girls who were friends with each other Pat's have welcomed former NRLW player Cheynoah Amone back to the club this season and her experience has been welcomed Amone's presence also boosts the side's hope of regaining the silverware after being beaten in the grand final by the Macquarie Raidettes last year While Hanrahan wasn't a regular during pre-season - Panthers commitments took precedence - she said there has been a good energy around the squad as it aims to reach the summit of the competition again There's some new people around and we'll just work hard like we did last year and see how far we can go," she said Hanrahan's Bulldogs have a home game against Forbes next Saturday while St Pat's will travel to Litghow the following day I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior sport journalist for Western NSW. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and everywhere in between. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy