More overseas entries in Bathurst 12 Hour
More overseas teams are coming to Mount Panorama and nine different manufacturers will be on show at the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour.
A 31-car grid has been confirmed to take on the February 16-18 event which will be the 21st edition since the first held in 1991.
It is a larger field than the one that took the starter last year when Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz drove SunEnergy1 Racing to back to back victories.
They will return with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 chasing a rare hat-trick, something only Mazda achieved from 1992-1995.
A big part of this year’s 12 Hour will be the added presence of Supercars drivers with the event the first leg of the Bathurst SuperFest, which also includes the Bathurst 500 season opener.
But there will also be the most international travelling teams since pre-COVID days with 11 teams from Hong Kong, China, the United States, Germany, Belgium, France and Taiwan.
Being the first round of the 2024 Intercontinental GT Challenge, which also includes iconic tracks such as Spa Francorchamps, the Nürburgring and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Leading the global assault will be last year’s Allan Simonsen Pirelli Pole Award winners, Team Gruppe M, which is determined to take victory after three podiums.
Porsche will have its biggest fleet in years with three new Porsche 992 GT3Rs to make their Bathurst debut.
But all eyes will likely be on the Team WRT BMW B4 GT3s which will have MotoGP legend and current GT driver Valentino Rossi returning for a second Bathurst 12 Hour attempt.
The full driver roster of the grid will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Bathurst 12 Hour event director Shane Rudzis is thrilled to see so many international entries on the grid.
“Good luck picking a winner from this field,” he said.
“The 2024 grid marks a return to the depth of competition that we saw before the pandemic, with international teams and drivers returning en masse to the Mountain.
“2023 was a great race but the depth and quality of this field is even better, so it has all the makings of another incredible show.
“To attract 11 overseas entries, up from 4 last year, is a positive development and shows the race continues to have significant overseas interest – which, I can assure you, is only going to get stronger with the advent of Ferrari, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette, among others, already planning to be on the grid in 2025.
“In the meantime, this will be an incredible show and another Bathurst enduro for the ages.”
2024 Bathurst 12 Hour entry list
Car # | Class | Team Name | Make | Model | Location |
9 | A-PRO AM | Hallmarc | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
10 | INV | Matt Stone Racing | MARC | GT | Australia |
13 | A-PRO | Phantom Global Racing | Porsche | 992 GT3R | China |
19 | C-GT4 | Team Nineteen | Mercedes-AMG | GT4 | Australia |
20 | INV | T2 Racing / Localsearch | MARC | GT | Australia |
25 | C-GT4 | Method Motorsport | McLaren | Artura GT4 | Australia |
27 | A-PRO AM | Heart of Racing by SPS | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | USA |
32 | A-PRO | BMW Team WRT | BMW | M4GT3 | Belgium |
39 | A-PRO | HubAuto Racing | Porsche | 992 GT3R | Taiwan |
44 | A-SILVER | Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
46 | A-PRO | BMW Team WRT | BMW | M4GT3 | Belgium |
47 | A-SILVER | Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
48 | A-PRO AM | MMotorsport | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
50 | INV | KTM Vantage Racing | KTM | XBow GT2 | Australia |
55 | A-PRO AM | Schumacher Motorsport | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
65 | A-PRO | Melbourne Performance Centre | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
74 | A-PRO | Melbourne Performance Centre | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
75 | A-PRO | SunEnergy1 | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | USA |
77 | A-PRO | Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Hong Kong |
88 | A-PRO AM | Triple Eight JMR | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
91 | INV | Wheels FX Racing | MARC | II | Australia |
93 | A-SILVER | Wall Racing | Lamborghini | Huracan | Australia |
111 | INV | MRA Motorsport / 111 Racing | MARC | II | Australia |
130 | A-PRO | Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Germany |
222 | A-PRO | Scott Taylor Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
230 | C-GT4 | Method Motorsport | McLaren | Artura GT4 | Australia |
701 | INV | Vortex | Vortex | Vortex 1.0 | France |
702 | INV | IRC / TekWorkX Motorsport | MARC | GT | Australia |
888 | A-PRO | National Storage Racing | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
911 | A-PRO AM | Manthey EMA | Porsche | 991 GT3R | Germany |
912 | A-PRO | Manthey EMA | Porsche | 992 GT3R |
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