After half a day of hard racing over Australia’s most picturesque road course, Bernd Schneider, Alex Roloff, and Thomas Jaeger in the No. 36 Erebus Mercedes SLS AMG took the checkered flag to win the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hours Saturday.
Fighting through dense traffic, a record number of cautions, and a pair of sudden deluges, the Erebus Mercedes finished a lap ahead of its nearest competitor in a race, which delivered drama from flag to flag despite the seemingly large margin of victory.
While not the fastest car, the No. 36 Erebus crew made no errors and exceedingly fast pit stops to run first or second for most of the race.
Bernd Schneider told Bathurst12hour.com.au that he had heard a lot about the circuit, and found it “really impressive.”
“I have been racing for 40 years, it has been a long time since I have had to learn a new circuit,” Schneider said.
“It’s such a difficult place. On Friday when we had our first runs out there, we could not learn the circuit because of the traffic. You couldn’t learn the braking points if you always have cars in front of you.
“When I jumped in the car for my first stint today I was really happy because the balance was very good and very consistent.
“We have achieved something really special, especially since it’s the first time and such a difficult race.”
Teammate Thomas Jaeger said, “The team deserved it. We gave our best, we pushed every lap—the strategy was perfect, the mechanics did a great job. It’s a great win for us as drivers, for the team, and also for Mercedes AMG.”
