Four and a half hours into the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour, Shane Van Gisbergen and Bernd Schneider fought for first place like their lives depend on it. It's as if a sprint race broke out in the middle of a brutal half-day enduro on one of the most demanding circuits in racing.
Bernd Schneider was leading in the black Mercedes-Benz SLS, but Shane Van Gisbergen quickly caught up to him in the orange McLaren MP4-12C.
The pair caught up to a Ford Focus running in one of the slower classes. The Focus wanted to race, too. The Ford blocked them both for a few corners until Schneider eked past first to maintain his lead.
Van Gisbergen was completely blocked in behind the Focus by Schneider, but managed to get through and catch up in the next few corners.
You see Van Gisbergen all over Schneider's rear bumper, dancing back and forth, waiting for an opportunity to slingshot past. Past the pit straight and Hell Corner, Van Gisbergen glued his car to the back of the Mercedes, drafting the big Merc to pull his car up the hill.
Finally, Schneider lifted a bit to let the McLaren on his tail go past. Schneider was due for a pit stop, so it wasn't worth the risk to continue the battle.
Then Van Gisbergen caught Mika Salo, who was piloting a red Ferrari 458. Salo had just come out of the pits on cold tires, but he wanted to race, too. After all, this is Bathurst. You're going to have to earn every pass here.
Shane Van Gisbergen attempted a risky pass on the outside of the 458, but Salo wouldn't move over to accommodate it. SvG hit the dirt outside the turn instead. De-nied.
Now it was Van Gisbergen's time to come into the pits. Would he or Salo play it safe?
Nope.
Two-wide through the kink.
Here's several minutes of delightful mid-enduro insanity from last year's Bathurst 12 Hour. Enjoy.