Rain has played havoc in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia’s race two at Mount Panorama, with a sudden heavy downpour forcing officials to abandon the race.

Storm clouds loomed as the Porsche field began the warm up lap, though all teams elected to remain on Michelin slick tyres on the then-dry Bathurst surface.

The race started under safety car conditions for safety reasons as light rain began to fall prompting several drivers changing to Michelin wet tyres, including Craig Baird, the sole front-runner to do so.

As conditions worsened several runner still on slicks spun behind the safety car.

The conditions were then deemed too dangerous to continue; the race was abandoned and no points were allocated for Saturday.

The result was frustrating for Baird, who was well placed after his early decision to change to wet tyres.

“It was too wet for me to carry on so I decided to come in and change to wets, which was obviously the right call,” said Baird.

“I think I’ve done 21 Bathurst races and it’s pretty simple; when it’s that wet on top of the mountain, you may as well pull in and do your tyre stop early. It’s disappointing the race was declared as we were in a great position with the early call, but it is what it is.”

Another driver to make the early change to wet tyres was debutant Brenton Griguol; the newcomer facing some unique challenges in his first ever Carrera Cup event.

“On the warm up lap I was coming down Conrod Straight on hard lock, the car was heading toward the wall and I said ‘Oh, dear!’… or something similar,” said Griguol, who managed to avoid carnage in the tough conditions.

“It was just so, so wet. At the end of the day, the best call was made for the safety of all competitors, whether you’re a Professional or a Challenge driver.”

The Bathurst round for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia will be reduced to two races; with the final race for the weekend scheduled for 9:25am on Sunday morning, the final on-track event before V8 Supercars’ Bathurst 1000.

Race Schedule
Sunday October 11, 2015
9:25am Race 3 (10 laps)

Broadcast Schedule
Fox Sports 5 (Channel 506)
Race 3 – 9:25am, Sunday October 11, 2015
Channel 10
Race 3 – 9:25am, Sunday October 11, 2015