In an entry brought about solely for the purpose of raising funds and awareness for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA), the Ashley Seward Motorsport prepared Scott Taylor Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup has won the Class C battle in addition to an impressive outright 10th place finish at the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour.
Prior to the race start the #222 car received a tweak to its livery, an initiative on Saturday allowing race fans to sign their names on the car itself at the cost of a $50 donation to PCFA. By race start every inch of blue on the Porsche 911 was covered in signatures including the names of Neil Crompton, Will Davison and Riana Crehan who all committed money to the cause.
The signature initiative, combined with online and in person donations at the track have raised in excess of $60,000 for the PCFA.
Driven by Craig Lowndes, Alex Davison, Geoff Emery and car owner Scott Taylor, the team started Sunday’s 12 Hour from 14th position overall and Class C pole. Emery and Davison were given the responsibility of qualifying, their combined time earning the starting spot.
At 5:15am under the cover of darkness and thick fog, Davison got off to a trouble free start despite encountering conditions dissimilar to anything he had previously experienced.
“Sunday morning was challenging, the dark is always a challenge but by itself that is fine. When it was combined with the fog, I’ve never driven in conditions like that. Normally they just won’t run cars in those conditions, you couldn’t really see anything past your own bonnet,” said Davison.
“Fortunately, it was quite low pressure for us and we didn’t need to take any risks. We could push where it was safe and comfortable but otherwise, we were happy to just ensure we were being safe on the track and navigating the other challenges such as the wet weather.”
Rather unfortunately for Lowndes the rain arrived on two occasions through the race, both times when the two-time 12 Hour winner was getting in the car. It was perhaps a blessing for the team however that its most experienced driver was behind the wheel in what were some treacherous conditions. Lowndes did get to enjoy a dry stint as he hopped in for the final hour to bring the car home.
“The whole purpose was for us four guys to get out there and have some fun, spread the news and get some good funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and we did that,” said Lowndes.
“It’s been a very successful weekend, and to finish in the 10 was the other thing. With the attrition rate we were able to keep moving forward, we were 12th and then 11th and we didn’t know if we’d make it to the 10. It was great, a great result for us as a team and a credit to everyone who has been a part of it.”
It was a quiet and straightforward race for Emery and Taylor who enjoyed time at the wheel through the middle of the race, both bronze class drivers putting together consistent performances in the predecessor to the type 922 Porsche 911 the pair races in the Carrera Cup Championship.
“I reckon we’ve had an awesome day, the crew have done a fantastic job all day. Every pit stop was executed faultlessly, every driver did exactly what he had to do,” said Emery.
“We had three objectives, we wanted to finish obviously, we were here to raise money for Prostate Cancer and we wanted to get a top 10 so I think we ticked all the boxes this weekend and we all had a great time racing.”
“We’ve only put this together in the last couple of weeks and we came here with just four mates who wanted to have a drive but that was secondary to the cause of the whole thing which was to raise money and awareness for PCFA,” said Taylor.
“The names on the car, it was a sensational thing to be a part of. Big thank you to the team, Lara Lowndes, everyone, I had some mates come out, it was just a really good experience. Plus, Ash Seward, this simply wouldn’t have happened without Ash and his team.”