Ferrari 458 GT3 blasts Bathurst lap record by over four seconds

We knew that the Ferrari 458 GT3 was fast, but we didn’t know that it would be the type to be wiping away lap records without even breaking a sweat.

But that’s what the car achieved at the Australia’s world-famous Bathurst circuit recently when it clocked a time of 2:04.9 seconds at a weekend practice session, blowing away the previous record set by the Audi R8 GT3 by a whopping four seconds.

The record was achieved by the 458 GT3 being run by Maranello Motorsport, which was making its debut in an Australian circuit. On top of its record-breaking GT3 run, the 458 GT3 also blew away the fastest lap set by a V8 supercar - a 2:06.8 lap time that was set by a Holden Commodore last year.

"The 458 is a great car. It’s worth the wait and really is amazing how the time we spent at the factory with Michelotto has paid off with the car so quick and stable so quickly."

“It’s terrific to not need months to dial it in. There’d been a lot of people with stopwatches around the track and to now have confirmation of the new record during the team’s first test is very exciting so we’re looking forward to the racing,” said Mark Coffey, the Managing Director of Maranello Motorsport.

Despite it’s record-shattering lap time, it remains to be seen how the 458 GT3 will fare in a real racing environment. Nevertheless, the record is still all sorts of impressive considering how much time lies between the old and the new record.