After a punishing 257 laps around the Mt Panorama track, the Chris Atkinson, Cody Crocker and Dean Herridge Subaru IMPREZA WRX STI, car number 98, has finished second outright in the WPS Bathurst 12-Hour Showroom Enduro on 8th April. The Subaru took Class B honours for All-Wheel Drive Performance Cars. Subaru IMPREZA, car 7, driven by Chris Alajajian, Neil Crompton and Grant Denyer, was fifth outright, third in class.

The lead swapped throughout the day between car 98 and car 20(winner of the event) of BMW, as safety stops came at crucial stages for both cars, meaning leads hard-earned were forfeited. In the end the top speed of the BMW proved decisive, but the Subaru team, made up of three rally drivers, was delighted with its circuit racing debut

"The car performed incredibly well on its first outing," said World Rally Championship driver, Chris Atkinson. "It was a big change from what we normally do but it was a real highlight. We all learnt a lot and I'm sure we'd all jump at the opportunity to do this again."

The three drivers looked after the car superbly. Their knowledge of the Impreza gleaned from so many years rallying, was a huge advantage.

  
"We just kept the car neat and tidy the whole time, looking after the tyres and brakes, and we just don't have the outright speed to match the other guys," Crocker said.?0"We would have liked a bit of rain, that would have favoured us, but sadly for us it stayed dry all twelve hours in Bathurst."

Herridge also enjoyed his time on the legendary track, setting the fastest lap time for his car, in lap 88, a time of two minutes 35.33 seconds. "That is a big day," said Herridge. "The day started with the unknown but we worked our way into the event and finished up feeling very comfortable out there. We always knew that the BMW would be hard to beat but I think we gave a very good account of ourselves."

Subaru Motorsport boss, Derek Ashby, was full of praise for the three. "Here were three guys who had never raced around this track before, up against guys who have vast experience on the mountain," Ashby said. "They showed their class. We were delighted. It seemed every time there was a safety stop, they'd just come out of a pit stop, but they were right at the pointy end for most of the 12 hours."

Results
Pos. No. Driver Name Car Cl Laps Time/Diff 
 
1. 20 G Holt, P Morris, C Baird BMW 335i A 257 12:00:10.48 
2. 98 C Atkinson, D Herridge, C Crocker Subaru IMPREZA WRX STI B 257 +1:08.39 
3. 15 B Hughes, R Bates, P Gazzard Mitsubishi Lancer B 253 4Laps 
4. 17 B Morcom, B Lynton, C Pither BMW 335i A 253 4Laps 
5. 7 G Denyer, N Crompton, C Alajajian Subaru IMPREZA WRX STI B 248 9Laps 
6. 9 A Moffat, D Russell, S Juniper BMW 130i C 247 10Laps 
7. 10 D Gran,M Cini, M Eddy BMW 130i C 246 11Laps 
8. 3 L Searle, P Kelly BMW 130i C 244 13Laps