GTs join Bathurst 12 Hour support class
The familiar Bathurst 12 Hour support class, Combined Sedans, has grown to welcome early-generation GT machinery next year.
Key stakeholders including NSW Sports Sedans, Motorsport Australia and event promoter Supercars consulted and eventually allowed the change for the January 31-February 2 event.
It means in addition to the usual array of Sports Sedans, Improved Production and Production Touring Cars, the category will now see famous brands such as Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi and Mercedes on track.
However, cars will only be eligible if they are currently log booked by Motorsport Australia 2B & 2F, together with those GT3 cars whose homologation has expired and are no longer eligible to race within the GT World Challenge Australia regulations.
The current specification Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and GT4 Australia cars are not eligible.
“We’ve worked with Steven & Bronwyn Lacey of Ripplestrip Motorsport, who manage the category on behalf of NSW Sports Sedans, with the aim being to add an element of history and legacy from past Bathurst 12 Hour races,” Bathurst 12 Hour Event Director Shane Rudzis said.
Combined Sedans racing at Bathurst this year.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for those who own an important part of our GT history to stretch the legs of their exotic machines on arguably the best track in the world. We expect the uptake to be huge.
“After visiting the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa earlier this year, I had the opportunity to witness for the first time at the event the support category of ‘Racing Legends’ which included GT and GT3 cars from the past few decades.
“This concept for the Bathurst 12 Hour is very much aligned to the Spa24 Hour experience, there are currently many GT and GT3 cars in workshops and garages around Australia which have the opportunity to race as an undercard to one of the world’s biggest GT events.”
The first GT3 car to be locked in for the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour is a Lamborghini Gallardo driven by Richard Gartner, who has not been at Mount Panorama since 2020.
Duggan Family Hotels will back the Combined Sedans again.
“We haven’t raced on the Mountain since 2020 and the expansion of this Category to allow us to do what seemed unlikely to ever happen again is amazing.” Gartner said.
The event will be backed by Duggan Family Hotels for a fourth year in a row.
“We will be there with our VB Aston Martin DBR9 Sports Sedan and are so excited to be part of the expanded grid,” Ellie Duggan said. “The event is always a fun time away for us and now with the added element of the GT cars, we can’t wait.”
Competitors can register their interest at B12sportscarsandsedans2025@
READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE
Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.
