Le Mans winner joins shuffled Phoenix line up

Phoenix Racing has drafted in GT ace Stephane Ortelli as a late replacement for Rene Rast in the squad’s Bathurst 12 Hour tilt.

Multiple Porsche Supercup champion Rast was originally named in the German team’s line up for the Mount Panorama classic on February 6-8, but other Audi commitments have forced him to sit out the endurance classic.

As a result, Le Mans 24 Hour winner and Blancpain Endurance Series champion Ortelli will now join the team in the #16 Audi R8 alongside Nurburgring 24 Hour winner Christopher Haase and stratosphere jumper Felix Baumgartner.

Ortelli’s arrival has sparked a driver line up shuffle in the two cars with Blancpain Endurance Series champion Laurens Vanthoor moving to the #15 entry, alongside one-time F1 driver Markus Winkelhock and two-time Italian GT champion Marco Mapelli.

The Phoenix Racing crew has also unveiled its liveries for its two car attack for the once-around-the-clock-classic.

As previously reported, the #15 car will sport an Australian themed kangaroo paint scheme, while the #16 entry will carry a livery, which resembles the crocodile colours used by the Audi R8 prototype at Adelaide’s Race of Thousand Years in 2000.