Bathurst 12 Hour: The Line-Up

Action, excitement, and world-class racing; the Bathurst 12 Hour promises to bring it all. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about this stunning motorsport spectacle!

(Image credits to V8 SLEUTH @v8sleuth.com.au)

The Rundown

The Bathurst 12 Hour, is an endurance race that features a line up of international GT3 and GT4 cars and racers. Taking place at the famous Australian Bathurst race track - Mount Panorama Circuit - Australian and European fans flock to see their favourite drivers team up and battle it out for the win. Camping on site at the top of the mountain, 12 Hour fans consider this endurance race as a pinnacle event in motorsports. Running from 13-15 February, this high-action endurance race features some of the most famous brands in motorsport; McLaren, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche. In addition, notable names in Australian and International Motorsporting are also guaranteed to be competing, including Chaz Mostert, Cameron Waters, Kai Allen, Valentino Rossi (legendary Moto-GP Champion), and many, many more!

One of the key features of the 12 Hour race is that the competitors are all placed into four racing classes;

Class A: this class features professional racers, many of whom will be current Supercar drivers.

The pro-am class: consists of gold and silver ratings, along with the Silver Cup racers of silver and bronze ratings.

GT4 class: this class features all GT4 cars, which are considered less powerful than GT3-spec cars.

Invitational: this final classification features cars that are not considered GT3 or GT4-spec, such as KTM racing and IRC GT racing.

Confirmed Teams and Drivers

McLaren have three entries this year, ranging across three different teams. Two Mclaren 720S GT3 EVO will be competing, with car #15, sponsored by Volante Rosso, being driven by Bayley Hall, Rylan Gray, and Marcos Flack. The second car, #95, is driven by Ben Barnicoat, Garnet Patterson, and Marvin Kirchhofer, and will be sponsored by Optimum Motorsport. The third and final Mclaren entry will see Kevin Madsen, Adrian Kunzle, and a third unannounced driver race car #42, a Mclaren Artura GT4, sponsored by Method Motorsport.

Two Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3’s will be at the race, one of which is sponsored by Volante Rosso; car #14. This car will be raced by Bryce Fullwood, Damien Hamilton, Andres Pato, and Maxime Robin. The second Aston Martin is racing under team NZ with the drivers being Chris Van Der Drift, Romain Leroux, and Graeme Dowsett.

Melbourne Performance Centre, or team MPC, will have three entries, all of which are Audi R8 LMS EVO II’s. The first car, partnering with Jamec Racing, will have Brad Schumacher, Christopher Haase, and Will Brown, all under car #183. Car #9 will be partnering with Hallmarc Racing, featuring Marc Cini, Dean Fiore, and Lee Holdsworth. Finally, in the third car entry, Tony Quinn, Clark Quinn, Ryder Quinn, and Kent Quinn all team up. An additional entry for Audi sees team BRM sponsoring Mark Rosser, Steve Brooks, Alex Peroni, and James Golding.

WRT racing team have officially entered two cars for the endurance race, both of which are BMW M4 GT3 EVO’s. The first of their two entries, car #32, features drivers Kelvin Van Der Linde, Charles Weerts, and Jordan Pepper. The second car, #46, has MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, Augusto Farfus, and Raffaele Marciello. A third BMW entry is being sponsored by team KRC, car #89, with Max Hesse, Maxime Oosten, and Ruan Cunfan.

There are two Chevrolet entries, both being the same model - a Corvette ZO6 GT3.R - which aims to bring a touch of American flair to Bathurst. Car #2 will have Earl Bamber, Alex Sims, and Nicky Catsburg behind the wheel. Car #99 is particularly special, with the two crown princes of the Bruneian royal family, HH Prince Jefri Ibrahim and HH Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim, racing alongside Ben Green and Jordan Love. The two cars are sponsored by Johor Motorsport Racing JMR, which is officially supported by the Bruneian royal family.

Italian fans will be pleased with the two Ferrari entries, both of which are sponsored by Arise Racing GT. The cars will both be Ferrari 296 GT3’s, and will both have some spectacular Supercars talent in the drivers’ seat. Car #193 will be driven by Ryan Wood, Lorenzo Patrese, Jonathan Hui, and Chris Froggatt. The second car, #26, has Jaxon Evans, Daniel Serra, and Davide Rigon.

HRT Ford Racing has entered for the first time with their Mustang GT3, with Broc Feeney racing along with Dennis Olsen and Chris Mies, in #64.

Two wildcard entries featuring separate car models and team sponsors will attempt the endurance race, the first being from 111 racing. With the same car number, Darren Currie, Axle Donaldson, and Daniel Stutterd driving an IRC GT. KTM Vantage racing will enter a KTM X-BOW GT2, driven by David Crampton, Trent Harrison, and Glen Wood, under #50.

Unfortunately, only one Lamborghini car will be racing this year, but it will be driven by some familiar faces. The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO will have TV personality and motorsport regular Grant Denyer race with Supercars star Tony D’Alberto. Alongside these two, we have Marco Mapelli, Lamborghini factory driver, and Adrian Deitz, all under #93 for Wall Racing.

It seems that most of the grid will be Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO models, so Mercedes fans can remain hopeful for a podium this year. 75 Express, under the same car number, will have Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul, and Luca Stolz as their drivers. Tigani Racing have entered three cars; the first, #47, features Zach Bates, James Koundouris, and David Russel. The second car, #44, has Scott Andrews, Brendon Leitch, Sergio Pires, and Marcel Zalloua. Their third car, #6, will be driven by Philip Ellis, Jayden O'Jeda, and Fabian Schiller.

The next Mercedes entry is from Grove Racing, with car #100 being raced by an all Australian line-up of Supercar drivers Kai Allen and Will Davidson, along with Brenton Grove, team owner Stephen Grove’s son. Heart of Racing by SPS will be racing under #27, with the drivers Ian James, Roman De Angelis, and Eduardo Barrichello. #77, entered by Craft-Bamboo Racing, will have Ralf Aron, Lucas Auer, and Maximilian Gӧtz. Team GMR will be racing with #888, with their drivers being Maro Engel, Mikaël Grenier, and Maxime Martin. The second last Mercedes entry is sponsored by RAM Motorsport under #45. The drivers announced are Brett Hobson, Dylan O’Keeffe, Mike Sheargold, and Garth Walden. The final entry is from Scott Taylor Motorsport, with a full Supercars line-up of Chaz Mostert, Thomas Randle, and Cameron Waters, both of whom were championship contenders in the 2025 season. They will all race under #222.

With five entries this year, previous winners under the Porsche brand are hoping to reclaim the podium which they narrowly missed out on last year to BMW. The first Porsche entry, by EBM - a Porsche 911 GT3R 992 - will be raced by Klaus Bachler, Laurin Heinrich, and Ricardo Feller, under #61. The second entry is from Herberth Motorsport, with #21 being raced by Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer, and Robert Renauer. High Class Racing will be competing under #86 with Anders Fjordbach, Kerong Li, Bob Yuan, and Leo Ye. Tsunami RT will race with #79, and their driver lineup will feature Johannes Zelger, Daniel Gaunt, Alex Fontana, and Fabio Babini. The final Porsche entry is Absolute Racing under #911. Australian Matt Campell, a Porsche factory driver and Carrera Cup champion, will race alongside Alessio Picariello and Bastian Buss.

12 Hour Weekend

The weekend will see this diverse driver line-up battle it out on track, as hordes of fans swarm in from across the country. From camping it out on the top of the mountain to parking behind the pit lanes, fans put in the effort to make sure they can hear the cars coming roaring down the mountain in the early hours of the morning. The race on Sunday will start at 5:45 am AEST, with the threat of fog adding all the more excitement; a challenge for the drivers and a photo opportunity for the fans. The 12-hour weekend is sure to be a spectacle, and we don’t have long left to wait!

(Image credits to V8 SLEUTH @v8sleuth.com.au)

Article written by Gabriella Pugh Ⓒ Gabriella Pugh 2026