Australia’s International Enduro, the Bathurst 12 Hour, returns for 2026 with a 35-car entry – the largest since the 2020 event. 115 drivers from 22 nationalities will take the field, with 12 brands represented across Pro, Pro-Am, Silver, Bronze, GT4 and Invitational classes. The deepest field this decade has plenty of storylines, with the very best of Australia’s driving talent up against the might of the international GT3 world.
Headlining the 35-strong field is a 15-car Pro entry, fighting for overall honours. Not only are 15 cars the most entries in the overall category since 2020 (which saw 20 cars entered), it is almost double last year’s eight-car field, and spans eight different manufacturers – once again, the most since 2020.
Included in the eight different brands on the entry are two marques making their Bathurst 12 Hour overall debut, plus the introduction of two new EVO-spec cars for the first time at the event.
The 2026 Pro-class entry presents a truly mouthwatering prospect of competition, with quality all around; the 45 Pro-class drivers feature nine previous 12 Hour champions, as well as class winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, overall winners at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Nurburgring, and 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, plus current IMSA, IGTC and GTWC Australia champions.
BMW
Heading off the entry list is the reigning champion, BMW Team WRT, returning with two cars. WRT broke through for BMW’s first 12 Hour win in the GT3 era last year with a dominant display, using their ability to run longer stints than their competitors to claim a comprehensive 1-2 victory in what winner Augusto Farfus described as a “perfect race.”
Farfus swaps into the #46 WRT BMW this year, alongside seven-time Moto GP world champion Valentino Rossi, and Raffaele Marciello, while last year’s winning #32 BMW retains the reigning IGTC Driver’s champion Kelvin Van Der Linde, along with Charles Weerts, and the return of 2020 winner Jordan Pepper, as he starts his BMW factory driver career.
The BMW M4 GT3 EVO package makes its debut at the mountain too this year, with proven success the world over in the 2025 season, mostly at the hands of Team WRT. While a race win eluded the Belgian outfit in the FIAWEC, wins at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Suzuka 1000km and Indianapolis 8 Hour saw the team claim the IGTC title. The team picked up wins in the GTWC Europe competition, too.
Team WRT is arguably the best operator in the GT racing world at the moment, and coming in as the reigning Bathurst 12 Hour and IGTC champion certainly puts a target on its back. However, with no weak link in the team, it will be a tall order to see them knocked from the top spot.
Mercedes-AMG
The closest team to doing so last year was two-time winner 75 Express Racing in the #75 Mercedes AMG, as part of a six-car Pro-Class attack from Mercedes-AMG.
75 Express returns this year, maintaining the line-up that has seen two overall wins and two overall podiums since 2022; Kenny Habul, Luka Stolz, and Jules Gounon. The trio won the 2022 Pro-Am edition of the event before taking the same combination into the Pro-Class ranks in 2023 and taking overall victory in one of the tensest editions of the race, where the top three were separated by only 2.5 seconds at the finish.
The team’s strategy – of working around Bronze-rated Kenny Habul’s required driving early before setting up for the frantic final stint – has seen a remarkable run of four successive podium positions. While Habul lacks the pure outright pace of the Pro-rated drivers, he’s shown himself to be a consistent competitor who can stay in the mix across his stints, allowing Stolz and Gounon to put the car into absolute contention late in the race. Anyone discounting 75 Express based on Habul’s driver rating alone has not done their homework!
Internationally-supported AMG entries come from Team GMR and Craft Bamboo once again, while Australian team Tigani Motorsport is also receiving factory backing this time around.
The #6 Tigani Motorsport outfit sees Aussie young gun Jayden “The Juice” Ojeda drafted in alongside current IMSA GTD champion Phillip Ellis and Mercedes-AMG factory driver Fabian Schiller. Ojeda has plenty of experience at The Mountain and in Mercedes machinery, and will complement the vast GT3 experience of Schiller and Ellis nicely. Ellis, meanwhile, comes to Bathurst as the reigning GTD champ with Winward Racing, and the Daytona 24 Hour winner to boot.
Craft Bamboo, the team of 2011 and 2012 winner Darryl O’Young, returns once again with Mercedes AMG backing and the #77 of Maximillian Gotz, Lucas Auer, and Ralf Aron. Gotz and Auer return to the race after a late splash-and-dash halted their chances of a win last time, relegating them to fifth place, while Aron makes his Bathurst debut. Craft Bamboo Racing has a long history at The Mountain, with a podium in 2022, along with three fifth-place finishes. The team will be desperate to improve that record.
Team GMR rounds out the international entries from Mercedes-AMG, with the #999 featuring the same driver line-up as last year: Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier, and Maxime Martin. There are a few international drivers with more Bathurst laps than Maro Engel, who has won the Allan Simonsen pole award on two occasions. Yet the stars haven’t aligned for the German ace at ‘The Mountain’, with a best finish of second in 2022. Engel and Grenier raced together to third in 2023 – a race they arguably should have won – while last year’s race with Martin ended in the wall on the exit of the chase in the early-afternoon.
Two Aussie-based squads complete the Mercedes-AMG Pro class line-up, with some of the country’s best drivers at the helm.
Grove Racing steps up for the first time, with the #100 Mercedes AMG featuring Brendan Grove, Will Davison and Supercars youngster Kai Allen. Grove Racing is one of the most successful teams in the event, taking Class B victories (for Carrera Cup machinery) on 5 occasions between 2011 and 2020. After a start at Le Mans last year, Stephen has stepped down from driving duties, allowing the team to push into the Pro ranks.
While Will Davison brings a huge amount of experience to the team in both Supercars and GT machinery, it will be Kai Allen’s 12 Hour debut. But there’s plenty to be excited about; Allen has already shown his talent in the Supercars championship, reaching the final four of the Finals last season in a super-consistent back end of the season, which featured five podiums. A strong drive here could be a breakout race for the 20-year-old Australian.
Finally, the #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes returns with a driver line-up stacked with Australian talent, and once again racing in support for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. Tickford Racing drivers Cameron Waters and Thomas Randle return, this time joined by reigning Australian Supercars champion Chaz Mostert.
All three drivers made the Supercars Finals last season, with Mostert clinching victory in a dramatic final race. Mostert has recent GT3 experience, racing at Daytona with the 75 Express Mercedes team to second place in GTD Pro.
While the trio will be popular and well known to the Australian audience, it will be interesting to see how they match up with the best in the world.
Porsche
Porsche is bringing two of its 911 GT3 R (992) models to the Mountain for 2026, with a strong set of drivers across both teams who have performed well at the Bathurst 12 Hour in the past.
The locals will certainly be supporting the #911 from Absolute Racing, with local favourite and two-time 12 Hour champ Matt Campbell headlining the driver line-up, alongside Alessio Picariello and Bastian Buus. Campbell’s pass to win the 2019 event in the dying stages catapulted the Aussie into the world stage, and he has achieved almost everything possible with Porsche since, and comes to Bathurst as the reigning IMSA GTP champion.
Picariello himself has a class win at the 12 Hour, taking home Pro-Am honours in 2024 on debut. He rejoins Campbell in the Pro-Class car after the pair managed 6th last year, fading late on in the race. Joining the pair this year is Buus, who is making his second start at Bathurst. The 2023 Porsche Supercup Champion has enjoyed consistent outings in Porsche GT3 machinery since, taking home third in last year’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
Returning to the Bathurst 12 Hour after a few years away is Earl Bamber Racing, with the #61 EBM car reprising the “Silver Fern” livery that took home the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour in dramatic circumstances. This time around, experienced Porsche racer Klaus Bachler is joined by Laurin Heinrich, and making his first start for Porsche at Bathurst, Ricardo Feller.
Feller has been positively rapid at Bathurst at the seat of Audi machinery, but hasn’t been able to put together a proper result due to misadventures and reliability, including ending his final race for Audi in the gravel trap at The Chase after a brake failure. His first race at Bathurst for Porsche is sure to draw plenty of attention, especially when paired with two drivers with plenty of experience in the Porsche 911. Despite the lack of experience in the Porsche, he is the experienced driver at The Mountain; Bachler will be making his Bathurst debut after shipping issues prevented his first run back in 2023, while Heinrich has one prior start in Pro-Am last season.
Ferrari
Ferrari returns to the Pro-Class with Arise Racing GT, bringing Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra down under to pair with GTWC Australia regular Jaxon Evans in the #26 Ferrari 296. Serra returns after a close call last year, finishing fourth after a late splash and dash, while for Rigon, it’s his first run at Bathurst in over a decade, with his last race down under back in 2015.
Evans might look like the odd one out in that trio, but he was a key part in Arise Racing claiming the team’s championship in GTWC Australia last season, and was within a post-race penalty at the last race from winning the driver’s championship. He has plenty of experience at Bathurst in both GT and Supercars machinery, and knows the 296 platform very well.
As well as he knows it, however, it pales in comparison to the experience of Serra and Rigon; Serra’s career reads like a wishlist of events and achievements in GT machinery (including wins at Daytona, Petit Le Mans, and two Le Mans class victories), while Rigon’s 15 year career with Ferrari has seen six FIAWEC GT class wins, alongside simulator duties for the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team.
The 296 GT3 has been mega in every competition it’s landed in, and had the outright pace last year at ‘The Mountain’. This year, they will be hoping the cards fall their way on strategy after they were outfoxed by WRT.
McLaren
McLaren returns to Mount Panorama in the GT3 ranks for the first time since reaching the podium in 2020, with Optimum Motorsport running the #95 McLaren GT3 Evo. This year, Ben Barnicoat returns with the team, alongside Garnet Patterson and Marvin Kirchhofer.
Kirchhofer is also returning to the Mountain for the first time since 2020, but for him, it’s a chance at facing a demon. Kirchhofer was one of many victims during Qualifying for the 2020 event, when he was involved in a sickening crash where his car rolled after hitting the wall at the Metal Grate. While Kirchhofer emerged unharmed, it was a huge accident that prevented him from taking the grid.
Barnicoat, on the other hand, had a much more successful event in 2020, with the Briton keeping the 720s in the mix all the way through the day, timing a late charge perfectly to claim second position. More recently, Barnicoat is better known for his IMSA efforts with Vasser Sullivan, and he also has a Le Mans class win to his name, with an LMP2 Pro-Am victory in 2024.
Completing the entry is Garnett Patterson, an Australian driver with experience in LMP3, LMP2 and GT3 McLaren machinery. Patterson has just returned from an Asian Le Mans Series campaign with United Autosports, with whom he’ll be competing in the European Le Mans Series later this year. The Aussie is still making strides in his career, so keep an eye on his progress through the race.
Chevrolet
Two marques are making their Bathurst 12 Hour Pro-Class debut, with a storied rivalry between them already.
The first is Chevrolet with Johor Motorsports Racing JMR bringing the Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06 GT3.R to Bathurst for the first time. It marks the first Corvette to race at the Bathurst 12 Hour since 2013, where a Trofeo Motorsport-run Z06-R competed in the A-Class (for GT3 and GT3-like machinery), 13 years ago.
Driving the #2 will be Alex Sims, Nicky Catsburg, and Earl Bamber – three very experienced GT3 drivers in a range of machinery.
Catsburg has the most experience at the circuit of the trio, with three prior starts; two with BMW, and one with Mercedes. While none of the attempts achieved a significant result, his CV over the past few years includes an FIAWEC GT championship, as well as class victories at Le Mans, Daytona, Spa and the Nurburgring. The one major title missing is one at Bathurst.
Bamber returns to Bathurst for the first time since 2018, where he not only raced in the 12-hour with Porsche, but also finished in the top five as a co-driver in the 2018 Supercars Bathurst 1000, driving with fellow Kiwi Shane Van Gisbergen. While normally behind the wheel of the Cadillac Hypercar, Bamber’s GT credentials make him a formidable driver.
Rounding out the team is current IMSA GTD-Pro champion Alex Sims, who is making his Bathurst 12 Hour debut. There would be few who have more experience than Sims in the Z06 GT3.R. While the car will be new to the Mountain, expect this team to be immediately on the pace.
Ford
The Mustang GT3 will make its debut on Australian shores at the hands of HRT Ford Racing. The driver line-up for the #64 Mustang features two previous Bathurst 12 Hour champions in Christopher Mies and Dennis Olsen, joined by Australian Broc Feeney in his Ford debut.
Christopher Mies came to the Mountain back in 2011 as a 21-year-old and ushered in the dawn of the GT3 era of the event with back-to-back victories with Audi. The 2026 entry will be his 12th start, making him the most experienced international driver in the field.
Dennis Olsen also makes a return for the first time since his win in 2019, where he went on to take the inaugural IGTC Driver’s championship with Porsche. Now a Ford factory driver, Olsen has plenty of experience in the Mustang, piloting the Mustang GT3 in WEC, IMSA and SRO competition.
And finally, Broc Feeney’s first event as a Ford driver comes at the Bathurst 12 Hour, after the entire Triple 8 Race Engineering operation transitioned from Chevrolet to Ford in the Supercars off-season.
Broc was the unlucky victim of the Supercars Finals system in 2025, with his almost perfect championship challenge coming undone due to contact and engine dramas in the final race of the season. Despite the disappointment, the raw pace Feeney has shown in the past at the 12 Hour is now matched by maturity and experience.
Audi
Audi’s 15th consecutive entry at Bathurst rounds out the Pro-Class with Jamec Racing/Team MPC returning with the #55 Audi R8 LMS Evo II.
The team features reigning GTWC Australia champion Brad Schumacher, driving alongside 2024 Australian Supercars champion Will Brown, and the super-experienced Audi legend Christopher Haase. Schumacher took the 2025 GTWC Australia championship beyond the end of the last race of the season, with a post-race penalty for his championship rival handing Schumacher the championship lead after a perfect final weekend. His Bronze rating hides his canny racecraft and consistency, and, much like the 75 Express machine, he shouldn’t be discounted because of his rating.
Especially with arguably one of the best drivers in the country, and arguably the best Audi GT3 drivers filling out the entry. Will Brown exploded onto the Supercars scene in 2022 and was a consistent challenger in 2023 before a championship-winning season in 2024. Haase, on the other hand, has starts for Audi at Mount Panorama, as part of an almost 20-year career with Audi Sport. With wins at the 24 Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Haase brings a wealth of experience to share with Schumacher and Brown.
With the largest Pro-Class field in years, the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour is looking to be one of the hardest-fought editions of the race. With a field so deep, staying clean and out of trouble will only get teams so far…
Click HERE to read our preview of the other classes!
Images courtesy of SRO, Asian Le Mans Series, Andrew Hall, Arise Racing and Optimum Motorsport
