Supporting the 15-car strong Pro class grid is an awesome supporting cast of 20 Pro-Am, Silver, Bronze, GT4 and Invitational-Class machines, bringing together a full grid of 35 cars – the most since the 2020 edition, which saw 39.
On this grid, too, are 31 GT3 machines, once again the largest since the post-COVID resumption of the 12 Hour.
There are plenty of storylines to keep track of throughout the field, with some factory drivers, Australian Supercars stars, international GT teams and a few of Bathurst’s specialities making up the rest of the field!
Pro-Am
The Pro-Am class requires two Bronze-rated drivers in the driver line-up, with those Bronze drivers required to complete one hour of drive time after the halfway point in the race. This ensures that the Bronze plays a key role in the result. The Pro-Am class for 2026 consists of four cars from four different manufacturers.
Volante Rosso Motorsport brings the #14 Aston Martin to The Mountain, drivers Bryce Fullwood, Damien Hamilton, Andres Pato and Maxime Robin. Fullwood has recent Australian Supercars experience, competing in 2025 with Brad Jones Racing, and he pairs with regular co-driver Damien Hamilton, while Maxime Robin makes his Bathurst debut after many seasons in the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup.
Mercedes is represented in the Pro-Am class by regular GTWC Australia pairing Sergio Pires and Marcel Zalloua, who are back at the wheel of the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes. Pires and Zalloua have added the services of Brendon Leitch, who has been an incredibly exciting driver in GTWC Australia competition, and Scott Andrews, more well known for his exploits in IMSA competition.
The #99 JMR Johor Motorsports Racing Chevrolet features both Prince Jefri and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim, marking their first Bathurst 12 Hour together. While both have raced at Mount Panorama before, only Prince Jefri has had a start at the 12 Hour – he has three Pro-Am podiums from 2022-2024. They are joined by their co-drivers, Aussie Jordan Love, and Briton Ben Green, with the quartet having just wrapped up a tilt at the Asian Le Mans Series last month.
The last of the Pro-Am entries comes from Team BRM, with the #268 Audi R8. It features GTWC Australia regulars Mark Rosser and Steve Brooks, with the additions of former Formula 3 racer Alex Peroni and current Supercars driver James Golding completing the line-up. Rosser and Peroni have taken Pro-Am wins in the GTWC Australia over last season, making them a formidable competitor in this class.
Silver
Silver Cup is for Am-driver line-ups limited to one Gold-rated driver, and this year sees two entries, both from GTWC Australia teams. However, one of those cars is brand new to the series!
The brand new car is the #15 Volante Rosso Motorsport McLaren, launching Volante Rosso’s new partnership with the British brand. The driver line-up is packed with young talent too; current Super 2 champion Rylan Gray makes his second Bathurst 12 Hour start, joined by Porsche Carrera Cup racers Marcos Flack and Bayley Hall. The Australian trio are 19, 19 and 21 respectively, and are joined by new junior McLaren pro Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer, in his first race for McLaren after a few seasons in the European Le Mans Series racing for Inter Europol Competition in LMP2.
They are up against a GTWC Australia regular, the #45 RAM Motorsports/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG, which is driven by Brett Hobson, Garth Walden and Dylan O’Keeffe. Hobson has raced previously at the 12 Hour in the Nissan GT-R in 2017 and 2020, on the latter occasion with Walden. Completing the line-up as the Gold-rated driver is Dylan O’Keeffe, the current Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion.
Bronze
The Bronze class features driver line-ups with either two amateur drivers – one of which must be Bronze-rated – or a Bronze driver alongside two Gold-rated drivers. This year, a massive 10 cars from six manufacturers make up the field, with a great mix of international teams and local driving talent.
The international teams are well represented, with five teams making the trip down under for the first round in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, and one team combining with Australian support.
The reigning Bronze-class champs return, with The Heart of Racing by SPS bringing the #27 Mercedes AMG back to Mount Panorama once again. Ian James returns after taking the Bronze victory last year, and brings along Roman De Angelis and Eduardo Barrichello in an attempt to retain the title. De Angelis raced with The Heart of Racing here in 2024 to a Pro-Am podium, while it will be Eduardo’s first race at Bathurst after a successful debut for the team at Daytona last month.
The Heart of Racing was the top finisher outside the Pro class in 2025, finishing only 1 lap off the lead. If the cards fall its way, it may even be in with a shot of mixing in with the Pro field.
Chinese-based Team KRC make the trip to Bathurst as the reigning GTWC Asia Silver-Am champions, with the #89 BMW featuring the championship-winning pair of Chinese driver Ruan Cunfan and Dutchman Maxime Oosten, joined by BMW Gold-rated driver Max Hesse. Hesse has a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring as well as race wins in IMSA GTD-Pro from last season.
Three Porsches make the long trip from Europe, with regular GTWC Europe competitors taking the grid as well.
Herberth Motorsport makes its Bathurst debut with the #21 Porsche, featuring the regular driver line-up of Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer and Robert Renauer. The trio took a recent win at Sepang in the 24H Series at the end of last year, and have been consistent challengers in the 24H Series and GTWC Europe for a number of years.
The #86 High Class Racing Porsche marks the Danish squad’s first run at Bathurst as well, with Dane Anders Fjordbach driving alongside Chinese driver Kerong Li. The pair took race wins in Silver-Am in last year’s GTWC Asia, driving under the Origine Motorsport banner. Joining the pair is Porsche ace Dorian Boccolacci, who has been racing for Phantom Global in GTWC Asia.
Completing the international Porsche trio is the #79 Tsunami RT machine, with the San Marino-flagged outfit racing in their first Bathurst and IGTC campaign. Johannes Zelger is joined by 2001 Le Mans GT class winner Fabio Babini, with recent GT Open Pro-Am champion Alex Fontana anchoring the line-up. All three are making their Bathurst debuts, in what is sure to be a strikingly presented Porsche!
Ferrari is represented in the Bronze class by the combination of Ziggo Sport Tempesta and Arise Racing GT, with the Australian outfit providing support to Ziggo Sport Tempesta in its attack on The Mountain. Christopher Froggatt and Johnathan Hui are joined by regular co-driver Lorenzo Patrese, and have added Supercars young-gun Ryan Wood to the squad, who finished in the top 10 in last year’s Supercars championship.
Australian-based teams make up the remainder of the Bronze-class field, with some long-time competitors back on the grid once again.
The longest continual combination is back once again; the #9 Hallmarc Audi will once again feature Marc Cini, Dean Fiore, and Lee Holdsworth for their 9th attack at The Mountain as a trio. It will be Cini’s 15th 12 Hour – and 12 in a row! – extending the record for most 12 Hour starts, while 2022 Bathurst 1000 winner Holdsworth brings up his 10th start.
Wall Racing returns in the #93 Lamborghini Huracan, with the BASF-inspired livery that remains a fan favourite for the event. Adrian Deitz is joined by long-time Co-Driver Tony D’Alberto and Australian TV personality Grant Denyer, with Italian Lamborghini pro Marco Mapelli anchoring the line-up for 2026!
The Koundouras brothers are also back, with James and Theo Koundouras entering the #47 Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Mercedes AMG for another shot at The Mountain. They are joined by 15-time Bathurst 12 Hour entrant David Russell (continuing to share the record with Cini), as well as young Australian Super 2 competitor Zac Bates, who is just starting his career as a top-level motorsport driver.
Finally, rounding out the Bronze class is a special family affair; the #101 Q/Team MPC Audi features three generations of the Quinn family. Tony Quinn will be racing with his sons, Kent and Klark, as well as his grandson, Ryder. Tony and Klark have raced at the 12 Hour a total of eight previous times, including podiums in 2008, 2011 and 2013, while Kent has 6 Hour experience at the Mountain.
Most recently competing in GT4 machinery, Tony Quinn has been very open from the outset that the goal for the team is not necessarily to compete, but to get to the finish, in what he’s called “a dream” entry.
GT4
Two cars make up the GT4 category, with the reigning GT4 Bathurst champion, Method Motorsport, up against Team NZ, both bringing international drivers into their line-ups.
Method Motorsport is running the #42 McLaren Artura GT4, with a trio of American-based competitors in the form of Adrian Kunzle, Stephen Aghakhani, and Kevin Madsen. The trio have experience in SRO racing in the states, with Kunzle taking race wins in SRO GT2 America last year, while Aghakhani has previously raced in the VP Sportscar Challenge in LMP3. Madsen has McLaren Trophy experience in both Europe and America, making it a perfect match to step into the McLaren GT4 Artura for the weekend.
Team NZ, which competes mostly in endurance races across Asia, is here for its second foray at Bathurst with the #7 Aston Martin Vantage GT4. The team features Chris Van Der Drift, who has four prior Bathurst 12 Hour starts, including a class B podium, alongside Graeme John Dowsett, and Aston Martin Junior driver, Frenchman Romain Leroux. The team is running with support from Earl Bamber Motorsport. What’s the link? Earl himself founded the team with Dowsett in 2012.
Invitational
The Invitational class runs to a 2:05.000 index time, and allows entries for GT-like machinery to tackle the 12 Hour. In the past, the MARC Cars, Daytona Sports Coupes, and even the French-built Vortex has taken the grid (all with big V8s to match), adding some great flavour to the event.
This year, two cars make up the class. Firstly, the #50 KTM Vantage Racing returns with the KTM X-Bow GT2 for another run at the enduro. Regulars David Crampton, Trent Harrison and Glen Wood return in the X-Bow GT2 with another year of development in the car. The X-Bow looks awesome out on track, but has had its issues in the past – an engine failure in 2023 took the car out in practice, while a crash in qualifying in 2024 saw the car fail to make the grid – but a solid run in 2025 bodes very well for another attack on The Mountain.
They will be up against the 111 Racing IRC GT, of Darren Currie, Axel Donaldson, and Daniel Stutterd. Innovation Race Cars are the spiritual successors to the MARC cars and are built to deliver GT3 pace at a lower price point. Running an LS3 6.2L V8, the car sounds awesome and looks the part in the GT3 field.
Currie, Donaldson and Stutterd all have experience at Bathurst, and it will be great to see (and more importantly, hear) the car on track all day.
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Images courtesy of Andrew Hall & IGTC
