Bathurst 12-winning Mercedes crew to defend victory as Pro entries revealed
Jules Gounon, Luca Stolz and Kenny Habul will defend their Bathurst 12 Hour victory with SunEnergy1's Mercedes next month as the German manufacturer launches its Intercontinental GT Challenge assault.
The Australian enduro on 3-5 February has attracted a grid of 28 cars, with full Pro crews once again eligible after the 12 Hour was switched to a Pro-Am event for its first running since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.
The field is headlined by the return of the SunEnergy1 squad, which prevailed at the 12 Hour with Gounon, Stolz, Habul and Martin Konrad last season, and went on to secure the Pro-Am title with Bathust local Habul and Konrad.
French ace Gounon, who also won last year's Spa 24 Hours and eventually finished runner-up in the IGTC's Pro division to fellow Mercedes ace Dani Juncadella, is targeting a record-breaking third event win after he triumphed in the 2020 edition for Bentley with Maxime Soulet and Jordan Pepper.
Gounon will link up with the team after racing against SunEnergy1's GTD class entry - to which Stolz was added at late notice following the withdrawal of IndyCar champion Will Power - at this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours for the WeatherTech Racing GTD Pro squad.
After its Bathurst podium clean sweep in 2022, Mercedes is also fielding two further full Pro entries nominated to score points towards the five-round IGTC series that counts the Kyalami 9 Hour (23-25 February), Spa 24 Hours (1-2 July), Indianapolis 8 Hour (5-7 October) and Gulf 12 Hour (8-10 December).
Last year's Bathurst runner-up Craft-Bamboo Racing has again entered Juncadella, who joined Gounon and Raffaele Marciello in winning last year's Spa 24 and GT World Challenge Endurance Cup, together with DTM runner-up Lucas Auer and 2015 Spa 24 winner Nicky Catsburg.
GruppeM will field Marciello and its 2022 DTM drivers Maro Engel and Mikael Grenier.
Mercedes is the most popular car in the GT3 field, with nine examples of its AMG-GT3 entered.
Start action
Photo by: Edge Photographics
Two come from Supercars powerhouse Triple Eight, with 2021 DTM champion Max Gotz joining its Supercars regulars Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney in its Pro car, while its newly-signed endurance extra Richie Stanaway will pair up with team boss Jamie Whincup and Malaysian Prince Jefri Ibrahim will drive a second machine in the Pro-Am division.
Supercars ace David Reynolds will race a Pro-Am Volante Rosso Motorsport car that is also nominated by AMG for IGTC points, joining Tony Bates and Jordan Love, while two-time 12 Hour winner Craig Lowndes features on the driving strength of Scott Taylor Motorsport's Pro-Am entry.
Belgian squad Team WRT will make its first outing as an official BMW works team at Bathurst, after winning the Dubai 24 Hours on its debut with the M4 earlier this month, with a two-car lineup that includes newly-appointed factory driver Valentino Rossi.
The MotoGP legend will share the #46 entry with season-long GTWCE Endurance team-mates Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin, with DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde joining 2018 12 Hour winner Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weets in the #32 car.
Porsche has a single Pro entry operated jointly by Manthey Racing and EMA for 2019 12 Hour winner Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet and DTM race-winner Thomas Preining, while Audi's lone Pro entry run by Melbourne Performance Centre will be driven by factory drivers Christopher Haase, Mattia Druidi and Patric Neiderhauser.
Two-time Bathurst winner Christopher Mies will share one of MPC's three other machines, entered in Pro-Am, with DTM race winner Ricardo Feller and Yasser Shahin.
Barwell signs Balfe for British GT campaign
Ellis named as replacement for injured Auer in Bathurst 12 Hour
Why physical fitness is an understimated challenge for IndyCar rookies
The lack of in-car physical fitness is an “underestimated” hurdle for an IndyCar Series rookie, according to Dale Coyne Racing's Indy Lights graduate Sting Ray Robb.
Bubba Wallace ‘got dumped’ by Austin Dillon in NASCAR Clash
Bubba Wallace says Austin Dillon “dumped” him out of second place in NASCAR’s chaotic Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night.
Albon warns Williams has "long road ahead" to recover in F1
Alex Albon admits that his Williams Formula 1 team has a “long road ahead” as it tries to progress up the field this year.
Toyota won’t put more pressure on Katsuta at WRC Rally Sweden
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says the team won’t "put more pressure" on Takamoto Katsuta to deliver in his first drive for the factory team this weekend.
The F1 technology behind Mercedes’ Nordschleife record hypercar
It’s taken over half a decade of development but now the Mercedes-AMG One is here – boasting 1048bhp from a Formula 1-based hybrid powertrain and smashing the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record for a production car with Maro Engel at the wheel last month. ROBERT HOLMES wonders if it can now claim to be the ultimate hypercar...
How to get the best out of amateur racers
Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.