Bathurst, NSW
Hours after the Rolex 24 at Daytona wrapped up Roman was on a flight to Australia to take the wheel of the #159, Garage 59, Aston Martin GT3 in the Bathurst 12 Hour at the historic Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit in New South Wales, Australia. His teammates for the 12 Hour would be Andrew Watson and Oliver Hart, and the car was entered in the GT3 Silver class.The Mount Panorama circuit is steeped in history and fame. Motorsport in Bathurst and the area date back to the 1900s. The modern layout is 6.2km in length with 174m of vertical elevation change from the lowest to the highest point. It's actually technically a "street circuit" as it's a public road when races aren't being held, and some adjacent properties can only be accessed from the circuit. It's a combination of high-speed sections with challenging tight, twisting uphill and downhill sections and zero margin for error.The Garage 59 team put in a solid qualifying effort with Andrew Watson behind the wheel, putting them 20th overall and second in class to start the race. The race started well with Watson and Hart completing their first drives before De Angelis hopped in the car for a double stint with 7h15m remaining in the event. He was able to keep pace and managed to jump from 17th overall to 15th overall during his stint, which had him pit with 6h5m remaining and then run a second stint holding 15th.Unfortunately with around 5h34m remaining a stray plastic bag on the circuit found its way into the front grill above the splitter causing an overheating issue which required De Angelis to stop. The car was put in the garage to address the overheating issue, along with some problems with brakes. Working quickly, the team had the car back on track with little time lost.Roman took to the track again with 3h15m remaining, keeping pace and managing the car for the final push to the checkered. When the checkered dropped the #159 Garage 59, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 driven by De Angelis, Hart and Watson crossed the line 13th overall and took the second spot on the podium in the GT3 Silver class.
"This was such an amazing event. It was one of my bucket list events so I couldn't be happier. I have to thank Aston Martin and Garage 59 for the opportunity. Just a mega circuit, definitely hoping to come back and fight for an overall podium in the future"
Roman returns to the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin for 12 hrs of Sebring in March. The Heart of Racing team has a victory under their belt there in their past, so they are looking forward to the opportunity to prove themselves once again.Make sure to follow Roman as he prepares for the next endurance race of the season through his social channels.
