KING ON THE MOUNTAIN

Parkes Elvis Festival were all shook up with excitement when with Elvis on board, Peter O’Donnell together with Peter Johnston and Garry Mennell, further enhanced the incredible Bathurst record for his racing BMW 335i.

The car which is Mt Panorama’s most travelled race car came away from last weekend’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour with another class win in the production car endurance race. Backed by Spinifex Recruiting, the car was branded with Parkes Elvis Festival to help promote the 2022 event which will be themed on the King’s 27th film, Speedway.

Apart from two blown rear tyres on Conrod Straight at around 250 kilometres an hour, and a minor fuel leak from a loose clamp, the car preformed faultlessly from the start to the finish and won the B1 High Performance Forced Induction class. They finished 26th outright (of the 60 that qualified) and won the class by 16 laps.

“The Parkes Elvis Festival has a motor racing theme next year and what a way to promote it than through a great motor race such as the 6 Hour at Australia’s most famous circuit.

“We knew we were not an outright contender these days, but the car is still fast . . . as fast at the end of the race, as it was in the beginning,” O’Donnell enthused.

Local Parkes businessman O’Donnell started the race with Johnston taking over at the first schedule pit stop. Mennell completed the next two stints before he handed off to Johnston for his second period behind the wheel. For the final run to the chequered flag, O’Donnell returned to the drivers’ seat.

The BMW may not be the outright contender it once was, but it is Mt Panorama’s most experienced and prolific enduro campaigner. It won the 12-hour race twice outright (when it was a production car event) and has now backed up with five class victories. In all, the various driving crews have stood on the podium as a place-getter in ten of the 13 contested enduros.

The car has an astonishing finish record, completed more laps, and covered greater kilometres than any other car on Australia’s most famous racetrack. The venerable coupe has chalked up an amazing 3,318 laps of Mt Panorama and 20,614.734 kilometres in practice, qualifying and racing in the 12 hour, 6 hour and other events at the circuit.

Spinifex is an Australian owned recruitment company that boasts an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the City, Country and Coastal markets with a unique geographical footprint that sets it apart from its competitors. Spinifex specialises in Commercial, State Government, Local Government, Mining, Community, Agribusiness, Renewable Energy and Traffic Control services.

It offices in Sydney City, Byron Bay, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Parkes, Parramatta, Canberra and Wagga Wagga.