That his team-mate, Bruce Thomlinson, had crashed their Motorsport Services' Porsche 996 GT3 Cup Car on the first turn in qualifying did not bode well but frantic repairs to the broken hub and rear suspension meant they still qualified 12th.
All was not well once the race started, however, and the Porsche made several pit stops to replace some failing rear shock absorption parts, caused by the accident the day before. Soon the team was down in 18th place .
"We thought we had fixed the whole thing but the shockie was damaged," Dippie said.
Then the torrential rain began and didn't let up for the next 10 hours, meaning cars were running on full wet tyres. Carnage ensued to the extent that only 18 of the 29 cars finished.
"A lot of the Class A cars hit the wall. There were a lot of accidents and a lot of near misses."
One positive was that the wet weather created slower lap times, which equated to lower fuel consumption and longer driver stints. Instead of going out for 75 to 90 minutes, drivers spent up to 150 minutes at the Porsche's steering wheel.
Dippie praised the 996 for being a "marvellous car in the rain," especially in its ABS braking. Although he admitted to being "terrified" about battling through the thick fog and mist at the Mount Panorama track, once on board it was pure exhilaration to successfully combat the conditions, he said.
"We were really pleased to keep it off the wall and bring it home."
His three-man team with Mark Maddren and Thomlinson finished third in class B, the same result as 2011. Phoenix Racing's No 1 Audi R8 LMS, driven by Darryl O'Young, Christopher Mies and Christer Jons, won the Bathurst 12-Hour.
