A group of Shannons Nationals competitors will combine their racing with a role in the WPS Bathurst 12 Hour, in a big weekend of double duty at Mount Panorama on 20-22 February. After racing in the opening round of the 2009 Shannons Nationals wraps up on Saturday afternoon, 22 drivers and numerous crew members will remain in Bathurst for roles as competitors and officials in Sunday’s production car endurance race. A total of 11 drivers will also participate in the 12 Hour, with five drivers from the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge trading their Porsches for production cars. Having finished second in the 2008 12 Hour, series newcomer Tony Quinn will be joined on the grid on Sunday by GT3 Cup Challenge rivals Max Twigg, Josh Hunt, Richard Howe and Dennis O’Keefe.

West Australian Saloon Car drivers Clint Harvey and Brett Niall will make the most of their trek across the Nullarbor, while Kean Booker, Richard Gartner, Rocco Rinaldo and Leanne Tander will represent Improved Production.

Following two days of racing around Mount Panorama, 11 Shannons Nationals competitors will join the ranks of officials for Sunday’s WPS Bathurst 12 Hour.

Father-and-son racers Peter and Ryan Dane will share the role of driving the event’s Lamborghini Gallardo Safety Car across the weekend, with Peter Dane continuing a role he has held since the Safety Car was first used at Bathurst.

“I’ve driven the Safety Car at all of the major Bathurst races since it was introduced in 1987,” Peter Dane said.

“There’s been a couple of times I’ve been racing, but I’ve probably done about 90% of the events since then, including the 12 and 24 Hour races and the V8 and 2-Litre 1000km races.

“Some weekends you do a lot of laps in the Safety Car and other times it’s relatively quiet, the 12 Hour is generally a bit calmer than the V8s, where one year I was out there 13 times in the seven hour race.”

The Danes will also race in the opening round of the Saloon Car National Series, each driving in the competitive Ford versus Holden class, while fellow competitor Naomi Maltby will join them on the officials list.

“Another guy will drive the Safety Car while we’re in the Saloon Car races, but other than that, Ryan and I will split the driving duties all weekend,” Peter Dane said.

“We’ll be sitting in the Lamborghini on standby most of the time; fortunately we’ve got some people coming along to look after our Saloon Cars for us.

“It’s going to be a really busy weekend.”

Terry Knight and Mark Nicholson will fly the GT3 Cup Challenge flag, while HQ drivers Dallas Crane and Graham Boulter, Ray Hislop, Sam Maio and Graeme Wilkinson from Improved Production and Formula Vee’s Simon Duffy are also volunteering their time on Sunday.

In a bumper start to the year, over 260 competitors will take part in the Shannons Nationals’ season opener, including a number of capacity, 55-car fields.

Kicking off tomorrow, Friday 20 February, Mount Panorama will host the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Saloon Car National Series, Formula Vee National Series, HQ Holdens and Improved Production.

Racing starts at 4:25pm tomorrow afternoon and continues all-day Saturday along with practice and qualifying for Sunday’s WPS Bathurst 12 Hour.

For more information about the 2009 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, visit http://www.thenationals.com.au.