Austin Cindric on the Bathurst 12 Hour

Young American driver Austin Cindric is back from his impressive debut with the Erebus Motorsport Mercedes SLS team at the Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia, managed to get caught up on most of his homework – he's 16, after all – and has documented the adventure for RACER.com.

When we decided that we wanted to run the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. Not just regarding driving, but trying to convince teams and co-drivers to trust a 16-year-old to drive and preserve their racecar over the course of 12 hours. So being given the opportunity to drive for Erebus Motorsport (2013 outright winners) in an A-Class car, was not only a pleasant surprise, but also very humbling. Right then and there I knew I had one job – do not crash the car. Anything else would be a bonus.

The week before the race we were able to organize a test day at Winton Raceway, so I would be able to have some time in the car before I had to tackle the mountain. During the test I was able to get in five good 20-minute sessions full of traffic (mostly club day cars). My initial impression of the car was the car is really stable/balanced, lots of torque, lots of aero dependence, and really, really good brakes. The test went well and I was ready for the mountain.

After about a week of spending time in Melbourne getting fitted to the car, exploring, and doing homework, my mom and I flew to Sydney Tuesday morning. We spent the day sightseeing. The next morning, we walked to the top of the Harbor Bridge and then drove up to Bathurst to start the race weekend.

I arrived at the track Wednesday afternoon, met my co-drivers Nathan Morcom and Simon Hodge for the first time, and tried to get a glimpse of what I was in for on Friday. After our team barbeque (hosted by our owner's Betty and Daniel Klimenko), I headed off with Jack LeBrocq and Richard Muscat to the house that was rented for the drivers. As you can imagine, six drivers all alone in one house produced another fun dynamic to my adventure...

Thursday we practiced driver changes, looked over more data and video, and then we all walked the track – which is an extensive calf workout. But what a place! No matter what you see on TV, video games, or on-board cameras, it cannot match the Mount Panorama circuit in person. The elevation changes are crazy, the track width is extremely narrow, and the surface is incredibly smooth. It was clear to me that I had a lot to learn, but I was ready for the challenge.

Friday morning came early as everyone was eager to get to the track and kick off the race weekend. Nathan set out in the car first, then Simon, and I got the car with about 20 minutes left. I was never able to complete a lap without having to pass at least two cars, but that didn't matter, it was really cool!

• OnBoard Visor Cam with Austin Cindric at Bathurst

I got back to the garage and couldn't stop watching my on-board in anticipation for the next session. It was the same story for practice 2, but I was still getting valuable track time, since that was my biggest disadvantage heading into the weekend. We decided to start me for practice 3, and I was going to go out on a set of sticker tires (or in Australia "greens"). I followed Richard in the #36 car out of the pits. I made it my goal for the session not to let him get out of my sights, and that's exactly what I did.

Because so many cars had damage from the first two practice sessions there was actually a decent amount of clear track. Richard and I were able to get three good laps together without major interruption. My fun could only last so long until I had to give the car over to the other boys. When I got out, I received a few that-a-boys from the team, and I found out why when I checked the timing-monitor. I posted a time good enough for P7 with Richard in P5. To be 100% honest, I impressed myself, and from then on throughout the weekend my confidence levels were much higher.

Saturday arrived, and the atmosphere felt very serious as we got to the track in the morning. It was qualifying day and it was time for everyone to show their stuff. There were two qualifying sessions, one for all the classes (one hour) and another for just A-Class cars (15 minutes). Simon started the first session, and we rotated to Nathan, and then me for the last 30 minutes.

Traffic was really quite bad because the lower class cars were much harder to get around as they too wanted to get in a lap. I was able to find somewhat of a clear track with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the session, and I knew it was my shot to put us on the board. I made quick work of the first section of track only having to pass a car down Mountain Straight. It was all clear for me up to the top. I pushed hard through Reid Park and McPhillamy Park, where I was sideways from apex to exit curb at 122mph. All smooth through Skyline and The Dipper, then using every bit of road on the exit of Forest Elbow, just ever so slightly grazing my mirror on the outside wall. I let the big 6.2-liter V8 stretch its legs down Conrod Straight flying past a B-Class car heading into The Chase, peaking at 177mph.

I jumped onto the brakes past the 150 meter board, getting my last downshift done right before the apex. One turn to go: I was deep on the brakes and early on the power using up every bit of road and then some exiting the corner, running a lap time of 2:05.22, putting me into P3. By the end of the segment I was bumped down to P6, and had to get prepared for the 15-minute dash.

The team decided to keep me in for the 15-minute session. Both of our cars chose the soft tire compound. Because the track temperature was so high, the tires were only going to last for 1 or 2 flying laps. All 28 A-Class cars roared out on track as the green flag flew. Even with it just being A-Class cars, there still happened to be traffic.

On my flyer, I caught a car heading down Skyline and lost a good amount of time, but with the soft tires I was still able to match my time with a 2:05.27. I came in for another set of soft tires, but by the time I made it around for another go at a flying lap, the red flag had been waved for a car stopped in turn 2. With only a few minutes remaining, the session was over and we had to settle for P19. I was disappointed with this because we had potential for much better, but it just didn't go our way. We knew qualifying wouldn't be that important for a 12 hour race, but it's always nice to be up in the mix.

Just like that it was raceday! We decided to start Nathan because he had the most experience when it came to GT racing. All the cars were lined up and set to go on the starting grid as I went down to have a few final words with Nathan before I'd see him after our first round of stops. The boys were ready to roll and we all watched the TV monitors anxiously awaiting the start.

After a long pace lap, the field of 50 cars came around and took the green flag. It was pretty neat watching all the cars flying around the circuit in the pitch dark; but at the same time, it was also a bit nerve racking because one of them was mine.

Patiently waiting, I watched as we completed our first pit stop and Nathan was able to bring us up into the top-15. Simon was now in and getting into his rhythm. As I was watching timing and scoring, my biggest concern was the leader, who was outpacing the field by a several seconds and lapping cars left and right. Nearing the end of Simon's stint he had the leader hot on his heels. He held him off for several laps and was doing a great job, but just like that, he caught traffic at the wrong time and went a lap down.

Finally, what I had been waiting for. Simon was down pit road and in the box. He got me strapped in and I was on my way. Being a lap down, I knew I had to get it back, somehow, to keep us in contention. I got in my groove and went to work. I passed every lap-down car in front of us, while running times as quick as the leaders. This made us the first car a lap down. With a few cautions and some great fuel strategy, we got our lap back. As we were nearing our fuel window, we were now solidly in the top-10.

Just as things were looking smooth, with only a few laps of fuel left, I lost the left-rear tire heading down into The Chase at over 170mph. Not the best place to have an issue, but I was able to keep it on the track. I came in for a fresh set of tires, and the team decided to keep me in the car to save time in the box. This would be my first double stint and the longest I had ever been in a racecar.

We went back down a lap during our stop, but I kept my pace and put us into a solid position by putting us back to the first car one lap down. My fuel window was up and I came in and traded off with Nathan.

After all that went on in my stint, we were still in a pretty good spot with just over 8 hours remaining. I kept hydrated and cheered on my teammates. All was looking promising, until I looked up at the monitor and saw our car backwards into a barrier. Not a good sign...

Nathan lost the right-rear tire heading into The Cutting – not his fault, just bad timing. This ended up putting us back several laps as the car limped back to pit road. The icing on the cake was the overheating issues we encountered, most likely from the damage. Although this took us out of a good finishing position, we still wanted to complete the race. The team worked hard to solve the problem and Simon, Nathan, and I were able to move up past several of the other cars many laps down.

During my final stint, I was cycled around behind the leaders (Richard #36 and the #35 Nissan), which was exciting because I had the best seat in the house to watch their battle. I kept up with their pace, and proved that our team very well could have been in the mix at the end. We finished the race and came home 21st overall. There were many doubts about whether or not a combo of such young (average age 19), inexperienced drivers would be able to handle the Bathurst 12 Hour, but we proved our worth and ran hard and clean.

When I arrived at the track on Wednesday, I had three Australian fans (called "punters" by Australians) walk up to me in the garage and thank me for coming to their country and racing in the Bathurst 12 Hour. They thanked me! I was humbled by this, but it also confirmed something for me. The passion for motorsports in Australia is unbelievably strong. It is amazing to see. It is what I imagine the excitement was for the Indianapolis 500 back in the 1960s and '70s. The appreciation for motorsports that they have is what makes this sport go. Excitement and passion such as this, makes me want to come back and race in Australia again and again. Thank you to all of the fans that attended the event – you guys are great.

I cannot begin to thank Betty and Daniel Klimenko, Barry Ryan and the rest of the team enough for believing in me. Another thanks to my parents for helping me make this journey, Cannon School and all my teachers for working with my busy schedule, OMP, Bell Helmets, Xbox, Penske Truck Leasing, Nightrain Clothing, Sevenfriday watches, and everyone who was cheering us on, either at the track or overseas.

In just that short amount of time, I created friendships and relationships that will last much longer than just that race weekend. There are experiences in this trip that will be life-long memories. I really want to come back for 2016 and I really hope that I will be able to work with the Erebus guys again in the future!