Bathurst 12 Hour Preview: World’s best cars set to do battle
The Bathurst 12 Hour attracts world-class drivers representing the likes of Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren and Aston Martin at Australia’s top track.
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The fastest cars on sale will go head-to-head at the Bathurst 12-Hour on Sunday.
Supercars from the most desirable brands will contest a must-win race for prestige marques as world-class drivers wrestle with homegrown talent.
Last year, Ford’s Mustang was barely challenged in the local Supercars title and Bathurst 1000 — in contrast, for the 12-Hour a sophisticated “balance of performance” process ensures every entry from the 11 manufacturers has the pace to win. The variety of cars and depth of driving expertise at the country’s best track makes the Bathurst 12-Hour one of the greatest spectacles in Australian motorsport.
Prestige brands court customers with VIP treatment such as passenger rides, hot laps and catered vantage points, crowned by the Mercedes-Benz 200-seat venue on the top floor of a trackside hotel.
Mercedes-AMG will bring six updated “evo” versions of the thumping V8-powered GT coupe, steered by local talent in Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen, who share their car with Benz ace Maxi Goetz.
They will have fierce competition from the Mercedes of GruppeM, a team led by Italy’s Raffaele Marciello, as well as a sister car steered by former Supercars racer Maro Engel.
Craig Lowndes defected from Mercedes machinery to drive for Porsche with Le Mans stars Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor. A date clash meant Lowndes replaced Queensland young gun Matt Campbell in last year’s winning team.
Campbell looked set to miss the race — then shifting schedules opened up a seat in another Porsche 911 stacked with factory-backed drivers who will be hard to beat.
Aston Martin finished second last year in the final appearance for the V12 Vantage GT3. The British outfit is back with a vengeance, sending four examples of the latest twin-turbo V8-powered Vantage to Bathurst.
In its lead car are 2019 pole sitter Jake Dennis, two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Rick Kelly and New Zealand’s Scott Dixon, an Indy 500 winner and five-time IndyCar champion.
For Nissan’s breakthrough win at Bathurst in 2015, Japanese ace Katsumasa Chiyo steered his GT-R to a popular victory. Chiyo is back in one of two Nissan GT-Rs challenging for a repeat victory.
Bentley has entered a pair of enormous Continental GT3 coupes aiming to improve on past podiums.
McLaren’s entry, a pair of 720S GT3 machines, promises to be quick. The menacing carbon-fibre coupe set the quickest time in testing at challenge Bathurst and is likely to feature in Saturday’s top 10 shootout.
Lamborghini, previously represented by professional drivers paired with enthusiastic amateurs, has its first all-pro line-up in a V10-powered Huracan coupe. They are joined by two pro-am entries.
The fury of 10 cylinders will blast from the twin tailpipes of five Audi R8s entered in the race — three are from the factory-anointed Audi Sport Team Valvoline. In the first-class outfit attempting to give Audi its fourth victory from 10 attempts, Australian Bathurst guru Garth Tander joins eight European Audi specialists.
Ferrari has a single bullet, aiming for its third victory in a 488 GT3 with Bathurst regular Tim Slade on the driving roster.
Just one example of BMW’s M6 GT3 will take part in the race, with local hope Chaz Mostert leading the charge alongside European guns Nicky Catsburg and Augusto Farfus.
Honda’s latest NSX GT3 makes its Bathurst debut in the race. The team will look to replicate the podium finish the original NSX in 1993, when Australian motorcycle champion Wayne Gardner helped steer the car to class victory.
How to watch
The race starts at 5.45am on Sunday.
Adult tickets are $50 at the gate, under-12s free.
Viewers at home can catch the entire race live and ad-free on Fox Sports, with coverage also available on the Kayo sports streaming service and Channel 7.
Originally published as Bathurst 12 Hour Preview: World’s best cars set to do battle
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