BMW wins 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour

International stars including Valentino Rossi took a landmark victory against Australia’s finest.

BMWs packed with international racing stars – including motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi – beat the best Australia had to offer in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

The German brand took a dominant 1-2 victory led by a determined drive from South African brothers Sheldon and Kelvin Van der Linde in a BMW M4 GT3 shared with Brazil’s Augusto Farfus.

The team won by saving fuel to avoid a late-race stop that rubbed out faster rivals.

Kelvin Van der Linde said the latter stages of the race were “the hardest two hours of my life”.

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BMW won the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

“Fuel saving is sometimes harder than pushing flat out. I knew it was going to be tight.”

Farfus said BMW won not by having the fastest car, but by executing “the perfect race”.

Swiss star Raffaele Marciello combined with Belgium’s Charles Weerts and Italy’s Valentino Rossi to finish second in the around-the-clock classic.

Rossi said the podium result did not represent the end to his racing in Australia.

“I want to come back,” he said.

“For me it’s good to come one time a year to Austrralia. It’s the perfect way to start the season.

“I hope that in the next years more factory drivers and factory cars can come.”

Rossi is likely to get his wish, with Ford teaming up with Australian powerhouse Triple Eight Race Engineering in Supercars and beyond next year.

The Mercedes-AMG of Luca Stolz, Jules Gounon and Australian entrepreneur Kenny Habul finished third.

Gounon, a three-time winner of the 12 Hour, said he was thrilled with third as he did not have the pace to win.

A Ferrari shared by Supercars stars Chaz Mostert and Will Brown looked strong, setting the race’s fastest lap and leading late in the race before they had to take on fuel at a late pit stop that secured a fourth-place result.

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The BMW of Valentino Rossi took second. Photo: by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Defending winner Matt Campbell led early on for Porsche, though his car lacked the speed to stay with faster rivals as the race unfolded.

The first half of the contest was marked by fierce battles on track that knocked several cars out of contention.

Supercars team owner Steven Grove was hospitalised with back injuries following a serious smash in his Mercedes.

Grove tangled with the Mercedes of Habul early in the race, copping a bump that sent his car into – and almost over – the wall at Brock’s Skyline.

Though race officials ruled neither driver was at fault, Habul expressed regret for his role in the smash and promised to visit Grove in hospital.

Stephen Grove crashed heavily in his Mercedes. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Fellow Mercedes driver Craig Lowndes crashed out of contention in a car shared with Supercars stars Cam Waters and Tom Randle.

The rapid Mercedes of Maro Engel, Mikaël Grenier and Maxime Martin suffered a similar fate.

Fellow Supercars driver Broc Feeney looked set to challenge for the podium in an Audi until co-driver Ricardo Feller beached their car in deep sand at the end of Conrod Straight.

Ferrari won the Pro-Am category for mixed professional and amateur driving crews, with Supercars racer Jaxon Evans combining with Ferrari pro Alessio Rovera and local businessmen Elliott Schute and Brad Schumacher to take out their class.

Television presenter Grant Denyer helped steer the Wall Racing Lamborghini shared with Tony D’Alberto, Brendon Leitch and Adrian Deitz to victory in the “Silver” class for drivers who are not full-time professionals.

America’s Heart of Racing by SPS won the Bronze category in a Mercedes-AMG shared by Ross Gunn, Zacharie Robichon and Ian James.

Sydney racer Josh Buchan won the GT4 class on his first attempt at the event in a McLaren Artura shared with Jake Santalucia and Anthony Levitt.

The Bathurst 1000 starts at dawn and finishes in the late afternoon. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

2025 Bathurst 12 Hour: Top 5

1 – Team WRT – BMW M4 GT3 – Farfus, S.Van Der Linde, K.Van Der Linde

2 – Team WRT – BMW M4 GT3 – Rossi/Weerts/Marciello

3 – 75 Express – Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO – Habul/Gounon/Stolz

4 – Arise Racing GT – Ferrari 296 GT3 – Mostert/Brown/Serra

5 – Craft-Bamboo Racing – Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO – Gotz/Auer/Ojeda

Class winners:

Pro-Am – Arise Racing GT – Ferrari 296 GT3 – Evans/Rovera/Schutte/Schumacher

Silver – Wall Racing – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 – D’Alberto/Leitch/Denyer/Deitz

Bronze – Heart of Racing by SPS – Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO – Gunn/Robichon/James

GT4 – Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 – Santalucia/Levitt/Buchan

Originally published as BMW wins 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour