Epic grid to line up for 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour

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A RECORD ELEVEN different GT3 brands will contest the 2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour – the tenth for cars built to the international GT3 regulations. 

The strongest GT3 grid yet seen at Mount Panorama will contest the January 30 – February 2 event, Australia’s International Enduro once again doubling as the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli.

Secure your Tickets and Camping for the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour here.

The 40-car field is set to be two stronger than the 38 that started the 2019 race, however following continued interest from potential competitors, additional entries may be added prior to the event commencing.

The currently 34-strong GT3 contingent will be split between the Professional, Pro-Am and Silver categories and represents the largest ever gathering of GT3 vehicles in 12-hour history.

The record GT3 manufacturer representation includes cars from Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Nissan and Porsche, while the Australian-built MARC Cars entries will again contest the invitational category.

The variety in GT3 manufacturers eclipses the previous record of 10 brands set in 2019, 2017 and 2015, while the 34 different GT3 vehicles entered eclipses the previous record of 33.

“This is a field as competitive and deep as any GT race in the world and represents the truly global nature of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. As we saw in 2019, we think this field represents a great balance between having a strong field and depth to have a clean and highly competitive race,” said Event Director, Kurt Sakzewski.

“Teams from Asia, Europe, North America and of course Australia will participate and will represent 11 different GT3 manufacturers for the first time in the history of the Event. The addition of the Honda NSX, in particular, has attracted enormous attention while the addition of the latest-generation cars we’ve yet to see at Bathurst will make for a very different looking grid this year.

“We are still fielding enquiries from teams putting programs together so there is every chance that this list will grow further prior to the event.”

The 2020 race will mark the Mount Panorama debut of the latest Aston Martin Vantage GT3, McLaren 720s GT3, Honda NSX GT3, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO and the Generation II 991 Porsche GT3 R, among other updated ‘evolution’ models.

Several teams will also make their maiden visit to Mount Panorama in 2020, including the Orange 1 FFF Racing Team who will enter a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for the first time.

Supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse, FFF has tasted success in Asian GT Competition and in the one-make Lamborghini Super Trofeo series and brings added firepower to the Italian brands quest for a maiden Bathurst victory.

Meanwhile, Shanghai-based Absolute Racing will make their highly anticipated Bathurst debut running a pair of Porsche 911 GT3R entries and works Porsche drivers.

A factory-supported partner of Honda for more than 20 years, JAS Motorsport will also make their Bathurst debut this year – bringing with them the first ever Honda NSX GT3 to compete on Australian soil.

Aston Martin customer racing outfit Garage 59 will also make their Bathurst debut, running a pair of Vantage GT3 entries – one each in the Pro-Am and Silver GT3 categories.

Several teams have expanded their operations – including Audi Sport Team Valvoline who will run a trio of R8 LMS GT3 entries in the professional class for the first time. Triple Eight Race Engineering will also support an entry in the Pro-Am class for the first time, alongside their existing outright Mercedes AMG GT3 entry.

Experienced Bathurst campaigners Walkenhorst Motorsport will field a pair of BMW M6 GT3s while popular outfit GruppeM – who started on pole position in 2019 – also return with their Mercedes AMG GT3.

Seven cars will compete for victory in the competitive Pro-Am category, while six will fight in the Silver category – for predominantly non-professional drivers.

At present two entries in Class C (GT4) are nominated, while four of the latest MARC II entries are nominated in the invitational category.

2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour – official entry list

CLASSNo.TEAMMAKEMODEL
CLASS A PRO1Earl Bamber MotorsportPorscheGT3 R
CLASS A PRO2Audi Sport Team ValvolineAudiR8 – LMS GT3
CLASS A PRO7Bentley Team M-SportBentleyContinental GT3
CLASS A PRO8Bentley Team M-SportBentleyContinental GT3
CLASS A PRO18KCMGNissan GTRNismo GT3
CLASS A PRO22Audi Sport Team ValvolineAudiR8 – LMS GT3
CLASS A PRO27Hub Auto CorsaFerrari488 GT3
CLASS A PRO30J.A.S Motorsport s.r.l (Honda Racing)HondaNSX GT3
CLASS A PRO32Walkenhorst MotorsportBMWM6 GT3
CLASS A PRO34Walkenhorst MotorsportBMWM6 GT3
CLASS A PRO35KCMGNissan GTRNismo GT3
CLASS A PRO6059Racing / EMA RacingMcLaren720S GT3
CLASS A PRO62R – MotorsportAston MartinVantage AMR GT3
CLASS A PRO63Orange 1 FFF Racing TeamLamborghiniHuracan GT3
CLASS A PRO76R – MotorsportAston MartinVantage AMR GT3
CLASS A PRO77Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo RacingMercedes AMGGT3
CLASS A PRO222Audi Sport Team ValvolineAudiR8 – LMS GT3
CLASS A PRO888Triple Eight Race EngineeringMercedes AMGGT3
CLASS A PRO911Absolute RacingPorscheGT3 R
CLASS A PRO912Absolute RacingPorscheGT3 R
CLASS A PRO999Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM RacingMercedes AMGGT3
CLASS A PRO AM4Grove RacingPorscheGT3 R
CLASS A PRO AM9HallmarcAudiR8 – LMS GT3
CLASS A PRO AM12Earl Bamber MotorsportPorscheGT3 R
CLASS A PRO AM75SunEnergy1 RacingMercedes AMGGT3
CLASS A PRO AM188Garage 59Aston MartinVantage AMR GT3
CLASS A PRO AM777The Bend Motorsport ParkMercedes AMGGT3
CLASS A SIL6Wall RacingLamborghiniHuracan GT3
CLASS A SIL24Tony Bates Racing Pty LtdAudiR8 – LMS GT3
CLASS A SIL29Trofeo MotorsportLamborghiniHuracan GT3
CLASS A SIL5959RacingMcLaren720S GT3
CLASS A SIL96Brett HobsonNissanGT-R NISMO GT3
CLASS A SIL159Garage 59Aston MartinVantage AMR GT3
CLASS A SILTBATBAMercedes AMGGT3
CLASS C GT413RHC Jorgensen-StromBMWM4 GT4
CLASS C GT4TBATBATBATBA
INV20T2 RacingMARCII
INV91Ryan McLeodMARCII
INV92Ryan McLeodMARCII
INV95CJ MotorsportMARCI