Record GT3 field set for Bathurst 12 Hour

The 2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour is set to boast a record GT3 field with cars representing 11 different manufacturers set to compete.

A total of 40 cars have entered the event, 34 of which will be split between Class A Professional, ProAm, and Silver.

The balance of the field are comprised of GT4 and Invitational entries.

This year’s event is set to mark a number of firsts, including the Australian debut of a Honda NSX GT3.

Two McLaren 720S GT3s will also race at Mount Panorama for the first time with 59Racing boasting entries in both Class A Pro and Silver.

Also making its first appearance in Australian competition will be the Aston Martin AMR Vantage, with R-Motorsport and Garage59 set to field two entries apiece.

Other notable entries include 2019 race winners Earl Bamber Motorsport, Bentley Team M-Sport, Walkenhorst Motorsport with a pair of BMW M6s, and Triple Eight Race Engineering with two Mercedes-AMG GT3s.

“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,” said event manager Kurt Sakzewski.

“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.

“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.”

Entries could swell from the 40 already announced with Sakzewski claiming others were looking to finalise their plans.

“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,” he said.

Though no drivers have been named a number have already had their participation announced.

Garth Tander was last week confirmed in one of the Audi Sport Team Valvoline entries, while Lee Holdsworth will race the No 9 Marc Cini entered Audi.

Last year’s race winner, Matt Campbell will race with Absolute Racing having been confirmed by the German marque when he was announced as a fully-fledged factory driver last month.

Class C for GT4 competitors sports just one confirmed entry with a second listed but still to be announced, with four MARC IIs rounding out the field.

There are no entries in Class B, which has previously catered to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars but this year changed to allow for Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVOs.

The 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour is set to get underway on January 31, with the race itself on February 2.

2020 Bathurst 12 Hour Entry List

Num	Team	Car	Class
1	Earl Bamber Motorsport	Porsche GT3 R	Pro
2	Audi Sport Team Valvoline	Audi R8 – LMS GT3	Pro
7	Bentley Team M-Sport	Bentley Continental GT3	Pro
8	Bentley Team M-Sport	Bentley Continental GT3	Pro
18	KCMG	Nissan GTR Nismo GT3	Pro
22	Audi Sport Team Valvoline	Audi R8 – LMS GT3	Pro
27	Hub Auto Racing	Ferrari 488 GT3	Pro
30	J.A.S Motorsport s.r.l (Honda Racing)	Honda NSX GT3	Pro
32	Walkenhorst Motorsport	BMW M6 GT3	Pro
34	Walkenhorst Motorsport	BMW M6 GT3	Pro
35	KCMG	Nissan GTR Nismo GT3	Pro
60	59Racing/EMA Racing	McLaren 720S GT3	Pro
62	R – Motorsport	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Pro
63	Orange 1 FFF Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	Pro
76	R – Motorsport	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Pro
77	Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing	Mercedes AMG GT3	Pro
222	Audi Sport Team Valvoline	Audi R8 – LMS GT3	Pro
888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Mercedes AMG GT3	Pro
911	Absolute Racing	Porsche GT3 R	Pro
912	Absolute Racing	Porsche GT3 R	Pro
999	Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing	Mercedes AMG GT3	Pro
4	Grove Motorsport Pty Ltd	Porsche GT3 R	Pro Am
9	Marc Cini	Audi R8 – LMS GT3	Pro Am
12	Earl Bamber Motorsport	Porsche GT3 R	Pro Am
29	Trofeo Motorsport	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	Pro Am
75	Kenny Habul	Mercedes AMG GT3	Pro Am
188	Garage 59	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Pro Am
777	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Mercedes AMG GT3	Pro Am
6	Wall Racing	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	Silver
24	Tony Bates Racing Pty Ltd	Audi R8 – LMS GT3	Silver
59	59Racing	McLaren 720S GT3	Silver
96	Brett Hobson	Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3	Silver
159	Garage 59	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Silver
TBA	TBA	Mercedes AMG GT3	Silver
13	Daren Jorgensen	BMW M4 GT4	GT4
TBA	TBA	TBA TBA	GT4
20	Adam Hargraves	MARC II	Invitational
91	Ryan McLeod	MARC II	Invitational
92	Ryan McLeod	MARC II	Invitational
95	Geoffrey Taunton	MARC II	Invitational