In the lead-up to the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour over the weekend, Mercedes-AMG made history by setting a new official lap record in the GT class.
Behind the wheel for the 6.21km run around Mount Panorama was French racing driver Jules Gounon who managed to put down a time of 1:56.605, two seconds faster than the previous record set in 2019.
His weapon of choice was a specially-prepared Mercedes-AMG GT3 equipped with a few goodies you wouldn’t find on the regulation-bound race car, including a derestricted 6.2-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that makes around 485kW of power.
The car was also equipped with a drag reduction system (DRS) similar to the one used in Formula 1, helping it reach a top speed of 308.71km/h down Conrod Straight. An average speed of 191.82km/h was achieved during the fast lap too.
“What we have achieved with our record-breaking car is really fantastic. Everything feels even faster and more intense,” says Gounon.
“The cornering speeds on the tyres are impressive, the soundscape is simply spectacular. The record lap demanded everything from me, especially in the centre sector. Especially in Skyline, where I reached over 240 km/h.”
While there have been faster laps set at Bathurst in the past, they aren’t officially recognised as they were set during exhibition runs. The fastest of these came at the hands of Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button who set a time of 1:48.880 behind the wheel of a McLaren MP4-23 F1 car.
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