Alfa Romeo diesels dominate Bathurst 12 hour
February 23, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Alfa Romeo has dominated the diesel class cars at this weekend’s WPS Bathurst 12 hour race with its 159 JTD (2.4-litre) taking the large category prize and 147 JTD (1.9-litre) coming first in the small diesel category.
Driven by Kean Booker, Rocco Rinaldo and Alfa Romeo Australia’s racing MD, David Stone, the Alfa Romeo 159 JTD completed 208 laps (or nearly 1300kms) of the demanding Bathurst track while the Alfa Romeo 147 JTD piloted by David Filipetto, Nathan Gotch and Wayne Vinckx covered nearly 1000 km during its 156 lap run.
Fuel economy was a strong point in both vehicles, as you’d no doubt expect from a diesel, with the road standard 159 JTD averaging 17.1 litres per 100 km in full race conditions. The 147 JTD managed to shatter this result recording an average of 13.2 l/100 km.
“In the middle of the race there were lots of accidents and these left a lot of debris on the track,” explains driver Kean Booker.
“I was coming down Conrod straight in excess of 210km/h when some of this debris sliced through the front tyre just I was turning into the Chase, the fastest corner on the track. The tyre disintegrated, but thanks to the amazing chassis in the 159, not only was I able to avoid an accident, I managed to get the car back to the pits where out technicians had me back on the track in minutes. Had it not been for this, we would have also done the one race on one set of tyres, as we changed the tyres only as a precaution after the debris problem.”
Servicing was kept to a minimum with both cars reporting no oil use through the duration of the race. Both vehicles also ran the air-conditioner for the entirety of the event.
The 159 JTD also ran standard brakes!
“Once again Alfa Romeo has proven its unique combination of performance and durability on one of the toughest race tracks in the world,” says Mr Stone.
“We look forward to returning next year to make it four years of Bathurst Alfa Romeo success.”
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YES FIRST IN CLASS…..AMAZING
TAKE THAT BMW TOO!
Well done Alfa, its good to see the brand winning category races, and the fuel consumption is remarkable given the race conditions.
Good effort by Alfa BUT the article sounds like Alfa ‘Dominated’ their diesel categories. You should point out that the Alfa 159 was the only car racing in Class H and that the Alfa 147 only had one other competitor in its class which was an Astra diesel that did not finish the race but it did manage to post it fastest lap which quicker than both the Alfa diesels. Hardly dominating…
Alfa Romeo diesels are fantastic. The 2.4 5 cylinder one is absolutely fantastic and the 1.9 is pretty great as well.
Do Alfa build their diesels Alex ?
umm… why make special mention of the diesel catagory winner and not some of the other catagory winners? Particularly considering this catagory had so few competitors…
Yes BM, I think they do. The 2.4 is only used in Alfa Romeos and Lancias so I think they would. The 1.9 is used in Saabs and Opels so they might be made by GM, I don’t think it is though. Maybe each company makes their own for their owns cars. I’m not 100% sure though.
These guys are kidding themselves arn’t they?
They were the only cars in their respective classes!! Of course they are going to win their class!
What a load of PR bulldust!!
Hey Alan – you got it wrong buddy. The Alfa 147 was racing the Holden Astra. I heard they beat it fair and square on the track, overtaking it easy about mid race. Maybe the Astra did post the fastest lap, big deal. The old racing adage is, “to finish first, first you got to finish….”. Enough said mate!
Ok fair enough about the 147 but they conveniently leave out the fact that the 159 had NO OTHER COMPETITORS.
I stand by my statement that this is a massive PR bulldust exercise! Bending the truth at its best.
Now now gentlemen, let me clarify a few things…when we first entered Alfa Romeo into the diesel category in 2007, there was an expectation that other brands would take up the challenge…but no one has had the testicular fortitude to enter their diesels, even the Holden Astra actually runs the same engine as the Alfa 147. Also, keep in mind that the idea with an endurance event like the WPS 12hr is first and foremost to finish. Most people would not be aware that due to a freight problem, the 159 was forced to run with a completely standard road car ECU, sacrificing some 50kw, and 100Nm in the process…the car would have otherwise been 8-10secs a lap quicker…it still managed to finish ahead of several faster cars including a BMW 130i, Subaru Impreza, Mazda 3 MPS, Ford BF XR6 Turbo and Ford BF GT-P as well as a Lotus Exige. But don’t worry, since the diesel class doesn’t seem to be growing in this event, we will probably be running Alfa 147GTAs for 2010 against the BMW130i and Mazda 3 MPS, looking for a class win and a top 10 finish…so keep an eye out gents!!! I should know, I’m one of the drivers!!! In the meantime, we take whatever PR is available from the event, it’s not our fault if other manufacturers didn’t want to compete in what is a fairly competitive category in Europe, or maybe it’s just that they know that the Alfa diesels are amongst the best available. We put our money where our mouth is…watch this space. Thanks for you interest though, at least it’s got everybody talking. Cheers!
Hello Rick/Alan, In my eyes I consider the Alfas dominated. I mean the 147 was up against a astra that had from open wheeler drivers to v8 super car drivers vs the club racers in the 147. From talking to a team member the 147 and astra were on the same lap untill the astra got lapped by the 147 and it actually got over taken on the track. The 159 went strong all day beating quite a number of cars to the finish line. By the way to win a class you have to cross the finish line, so it just shows how strong the Alfa’s are and that they can last 12 hours of full on racing around the demanding track bathurst.