It wasn’t the ending anyone expected at the Bathurst 12 Hour last Sunday. After qualifing 14th quickest, the Jim Hunter Subaru WRX STi, shared by Jim Hunter, Barton Mawler and Dean Herridge, made good gains during the morning.

“We didn’t really get a great run at qualifying and we were a little further down the grid than the car deserved. But we knew that our race pace would be respectable”, a relaxed Dean commented before the start.

In mixed weather conditions the team had a strong start and after the three hour mark, found themselves running smoothly and on the lead lap. This was soon to change when the team had some trouble with a brake pad change during a pitstop, the time lost causing them to fall a lap behind the leaders.

With the unpredictable weather continuing, including a fallen tree on the circuit, the fight-back started and by the eighth hour the #44 Subaru was seventh place outright, with Dean in the car and chasing down Evo X of Peter Hill, Eric Bana and Tim Leahey.

But on lap 130, Dean’s race came to dramatic end. A problem with Hill’s Mitsubishi left it stranded in the middle of the track, between The Cutting and Reid Park.

At the time, Dean was on the tail of the eventual winner, the BMW of John Bowe, Garry Holt and Paul Morris. With caution flags waving, both Dean and John Bowe slowed. But while Bowe managed to swerve to the right of the stranded car, Dean was unsighted and slammed into the rear of the Mitsubishi. The damage to both cars was extensive, putting them out of the race.

“Firstly, I am just glad that everyone was OK”, Dean said a few days after the accident. “I was advised by the team that there was a car in trouble, but in a different part of the circuit. Coming up the hill, out of The Cutting, it’s a 4th gear, 100km/h plus section of track. I guess the extra split-second of vision that John had, was the difference between him managing to swerve and just miss Peter’s car, and me driving into the back of it.”

“Thank goodness for the HANS devices; I woke up on Monday with a few sore muscles in my back and neck. But considering the force of the impact, I’m feeling fine”.

“I am just sorry for both teams involved, because it was going really well up to that point. Our car was very competitive and we had done a good job to move up the order. I have to thank Barton for a great job during his stints and particularly Jim and his team who have been great all weekend. Jim’s passion and motivation is incredible and he has vowed to come back bigger and better in the future”.

The race was won by the #20 BMW of Bowe, Holt and Morris, just ahead of the Wall/Wall/Symonds Evo X, with the Seton/Crompton/King Mitsubishi taking third place.

Final Results – 2010 Bathurst 12 Hour

1. G.Holt/P.Morris/J.Bowe, BMW 335i, 202 laps
2. D.Wall/D.Wall/T.Symonds, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, 202 laps
3. N.Crompton/G.Seton/M.King, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, 201 laps
4. N.Pretty/C.McConville/A.Jones, Holden Commodore R8 Sportwagon, 201 laps
5. P.Conroy/A.Robson/M.Brame, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, 197 laps

Photos courtesy of Achilles Zsolti – www.racetrackphoto.com

For a long time gamers have been able to ‘drive’ Formula 1, WRC and even Australian V8 Supercars on their game consoles. But now rally enthusiasts, using an Xbox 360 and Forza Motorsport 3, can jump into the drivers seat of the Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STi.

Forza Motorsport 3 was released in October and sold one million copies worldwide in the first week of release. It was too much of a tempation for the dedicated team at Autoart Tuning, who set their skills to work, faithfully reproducing the #426 Maximum Motorsport WRX STi that debuted at last years Targa Wrest Point.

We’re always looking for something different”, commented Autoart tuner Nathan Elcoate (aka TGM Overlord). “I came across Dean’s catchy livery in middle of last year, before Forza Motorsport 3 was available, and knew we had to do it.”

“Our painter, ‘Rugged Ronnie’, is a Tasmanian. So doing a Targa car was right up his alley! Within a week he’d faithfully reproduced the stunning livery, complete with hand-made decals and logos. The car looks spectacular, and it has received great reviews.”

“Then myself and our tuner ‘OzzyPrid3’, we’re both Queenslanders, set about giving this STi the ‘go to match the show’. The tuning engine in Forza Motorsport 3 allows for almost infinite tuning and adjustment. Everything from engine and suspension upgrades, to tweaking rebound pressures, brake balance, downforce, diff lock, toe settings, and more. The tuning process took a further week to complete, and it was tested on many of the race and rally tracks in the game.”

“It was then sent to our race and test driver, ‘Catty32’ in Sydney, to see what the car was capable of. And he didn’t disappoint. The ‘Dean Herridge Subaru STi’ by Autoart hit Top 10 times on the Leaderboards on the ‘Point to Point’ and ‘Tarmac Rally’ tracks. In fact on one track, Ralli Di Positano, ‘Catty32’ placed the car at #9 on the International Leaderboards in it’s class!”

Autoart’s ‘Dean Herridge Subaru STi’ is available from the Tuning Marketplace in Forza Motorsport 3. To drive Dean’s Impreza, you’ll need an Xbox 360 console, Forza Motorsport 3, and an Xbox ‘Gold’ membership (available from game stores or Microsoft directly) to access the Tuning Marketplace.

And to see the car in action, check-out the video of ‘digital Dean’ competing in Forza Motorsport 3.

UPDATE: Autoart have now updated their car to the 2010 livery. Check out the results here:

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After two successful tarmac rallies in the Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza, Dean Herridge will jump into a different Subaru next weekend as he returns to Mt Panorama to tackle the demanding Bathurst 12 Hour production race.

It was three years ago that Dean teamed with Cody Crocker and Chris Atkinson to finish 2nd outright in a factory run Subaru. This year he returns in the Jim Hunter Motorsport Impreza WRX STi, partnering with Jim Hunter and Barton Mawler

“I really enjoyed the experience in ’07”, said Dean. “This year it’s going to be a little different. A different team and a different car, but I’m really looking forward to going back to Bathurst. I’m going there purely as a driver, so in one way there will be less pressure. I’ll be able to focus just on my role as a driver, and I really want to do well for the team.

“With three rallies during December and January, I’ve not been able to have a drive of the car yet. So I’ll get my first drive during Friday practice; get myself acquainted with the car, and reacquainted with the track and having other cars racing around me. Bathurst is such an iconic track. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m really looking forward to it”.

The Bathurst 12 Hour runs over the weekend of February 12-14, with first practice on Friday morning and the main event starting at 6:30am on Sunday morning.

Approximately 45 cars are expected to grid-up for the enduro, with touring cars drivers like Jason Bright, Cameron McConville, Allan Simonsen, and Paul Morris, touring car greats Jim Bowe, Glenn Seton and Neil Crompton, tarmac rally regulars Tony and Clark Quinn, and even Hollywood star Eric Bana.

Photos courtesy of Vern Norrgard and Subaru Australia.

Dean Herridge and the Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STi have scored more valuable points in the Australia Tarmac Championship with a fantastic second place at Targa Wrest Point.

An error with the day one stage times for the Jason and John White Lamborghini was corrected overnight, meaning Dean and co-driver Chris Murphy started leg two with a nine second lead over the local crew. But White threw caution to the wind on the fast downhill sections of the morning stages, and got back past the Maximum Motorsport Subaru to take victory. Dean and Chris finished second, 48 seconds ahead of third placed Steve Jones.

“We were out-gunned today”, Dean said upon return to Hobart. “Although we tried our best, realistically we were not going to be able to match the speed of the Lamborghini. We did a great job yesterday to beat them and win three of the six leg one stages. The car performed really well all weekend. We were driving it on the limit the entire event and it didn’t miss a beat. We’re now equal second in the championship, and I’m looking forward to coming back here in April for Targa Tasmania which will be the ‘grand final’ of the series”.

The result moves Dean up to 450 points in the Australian Tarmac Championship standings, equal second with Steve Jones, and just 50 points adrift of Jason White.

Targa Wrest Point 2010

1. Jason White / John White, 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Type R
2. Dean Herridge / Chris Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX, +24s
3. Steve Jones / Ben Searcy, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +1m12s
4. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +1m23s
5. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 C2, +2m49s

Photo courtesy of targawrestpoint.com.au

Dean Herridge and the Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STi were the surprise ‘bolters’ early on day 1 of Targa Wrest Point.

With victories on two of the first three stages, Herridge and co-driver Chris Murphy took the early lead, were never out of the top three fastest cars all day, and sit in second outright at the end of the the first day.

“It was a surprise, based on last year’s times from this event”,” said Dean. ““We had a real crack. Hopefully later in the event, when some of the stages suit our car a bit better, we can hold the others guys off that are behind us. Our speed is probably a combination of the car being sorted and us knowing the stages a little better than last year”.

It was a very pleasing days work for the Maximum Motorsport team, the Impreza WRX STi holding off challenges from the Nissan GT-Rs of Steve Jones and Tony Quinn, and the Porsche 911 GT2 of Jim Richards. It was only during the afternoon stages that Jason and John White’s Lamborghini Gallardo was able to pass the Herridge Impreza, to lead the event by 26 seconds at the end of the leg.

But the fight for victory is far from over. During the day the Italian car broke a spark plug, bent a valve and ingested pieces in the process. While it is still running, the Whites will have to nurse it during the final day on nine of its ten cylinders.

Tomorrow the field will wind their way south of Hobart for another seven stages, before returning for the ceremonial finish at Wrest Point Casino in the afternoon.

Modern results after Day One

1. Jason White / John White, 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Type R
2. Dean Herridge / Chris Murphy, 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX, +26s
3. Steve Jones / Ben Searcy, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +38s
4. Tony Quinn / Naomi Tillett, 2008 Nissan GT-R, +1m:06s
5. Jim Richards / Barry Oliver, 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 C2, +1:20

Photos courtesy of targawrestpoint.com.au

The 2010 rally season kicks off this weekend, with Dean and co-driver Chris Murphy in Hobart for Targa Wrest Point.

Tasmania’s ‘little Targa’ once again takes in roads to the south of Hobart, with 210kms of competitive stages set down during Saturday and Sunday. Last year’s Targa Wrest Point was the debut outing for the tarmac-spec Maximum Motorsport Impreza WRX STi, with the new car showing plenty of speed on the final afternoon, edging past Jim Richards’ Porsche to claim 5th place.

Now a part of the Australian Tarmac Championship, Targa Wrest Point has again attracted leading drivers Tony Quinn, Kevin Weeks and Jason White, along with Richards and Dean, to tackle the tricky Tasmanian roads.

Live updates will be available at www.targawrestpoint.com.au, and we’ll have full coverage of Dean’s progress right here at www.deanherridge.com.

But in the meantime, check out the action from opening leg of Targa Wrest Point 2009.

Photos courtesy of www.targawrestpoint.com.au and James Griffiths.