Early end to the Bathurst 12 Hour for Scott Taylor Motorsport
2nd February, 2025The hopes of the #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG in the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour have been dashed early after a clash with the wall during the opening hours of the race.
After qualifying ninth and enjoying a strong opening stint with Thomas Randle behind the wheel, the car’s race unravelled in the second stint when Bathurst legend Craig Lowndes clipped the wall in The Esses, damaging the rear suspension and ruling the car out.
Lowndes attempted to get the Mercedes AMG back to pit lane, but the car stopped on the run down the mountain.
It was a disappointing early end after a solid early stint from Randle who took the #22 car up from ninth place to be running a competitive sixth and well in contention for outright honours.
The build up to the race was almost flawless for the STM Mercedes. The team’s third driver Cameron Waters topped both Practice 5 and 6 on Saturday, ultimately qualifying ninth after he didn’t maximise the car’s potential on his final qualifying lap.
While the on-track result was not what the team wanted, there has been some great success for the team and the event’s nominated charity – the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. With six hours of the race remaining, the charity’s cause – led by Craig and Lara Lowndes – has raised over $55,000 and counting.
You can donate to the PCFA via this link >> https://fundraise.pcfa.org.au/event/bathurst12hr
Scott Taylor Motorsport’s next event will be at Sydney Motorsport Park for the opening round of the Super2 Series with Nash Morris, plus Taylor’s own entry in V8 SuperUtes Series.
The Sydney Motorsport Park event will be held on February 21-23.
QUOTES
Craig Lowndes
Driver, STM
“It’s been a really strong weekend that unfortunately has ended way too early,” said Lowndes.
“The car’s been much better this year than what we had last year. Cam did a great job in qualifying to get it into the Top 10. We’ve learned a lot too and have shown us what we can do next year if Scotty and the team invite us back.
“It was quite dewy this morning. It was a bit wet and slippery, and when I got in the car, the sun had made the dew start to rise. We’d just had a safety car period and the tyres were coming in, but I got caught out. It was really slippery, and I just probably turned in a bit early before the dip.
“The car just clipped that inside right wall, which then ricocheted me across the track. I thought I’d caught it, but it just tagged the left rear.
“It’s actually bent the rear or broken the bottom rear left wishbone. And then it pulled the driveshaft out. I limped it all the way down to The Chase but it stopped, and the rule is that if you come back on a tow truck, you’re out of the race automatically.
“So it’s disappointing. I feel for Scotty. He’s put a lot of effort in. We had a hell of an opportunity to be on the podium today and that’s why I’m so gutted.”
Scott Taylor
Team Owner, STM
“Unfortunately, we’ve had an accident in the car and we’re out of the race,” said Taylor.
“Thomas started, did one hour in the dark and did a fantastic job. He handed over to Craig who was in the car for about half an hour before it all went wrong.
“He just touched the wall in The Esses and it made the car back come around and it hit on the left-hand side.
“The car has sustained significant damage to the rear suspension, but that just shows how tricky this place is. When it bites, it bites really, really hard. And unfortunately, for all the preparation that has gone into it you can only feel sorry for all of the drivers and the entire team.
“It’s disappointing, but I don’t feel down and out because the preparation and what our team has put into this is absolutely incredible. I’m really appreciative of what everyone puts in.
“But this is motor racing. Sometimes it goes wrong. Unfortunately for us, it has gone wrong. But if I think about the entire weekend, I can only smile because we’ve actually had a really good, strong weekend.”
Ashley Seward
Team Manager, STM
“It was just going so damn well,” said Seward.
“We had a strong car this morning with Tom at the wheel, and we had the measure of the factory Mercedes-AMGs
“Craig is a safe pair of hands, but he has made the smallest mistake that has ruled us out.
“We only ran one set of tyres on Friday. The car was basically rebuilt on Friday night to give us the best chance for the weekend, and we came out punching in qualifying.
“This is certainly the one race I really want to win. It has broken our hearts a few times. I want to come back and win it one day.”