GTWC front-runners confirm 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour campaign

Front-running Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia team Volante Rosso Motorsport has confirmed it will enter its two Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Drivers are yet to be named but the squad has announced that it will field one car in the Pro-Am class and ‘Silver/Bronze’.

Volante Rosso Motorsport Director Josh Hunt remarked, “With our entries confirmed, I met with [fellow team owner] Chris Papadopoulos last week to really begin zoning in on our driving team as the programme takes shape.

“There are many Australian and international drivers that would be suitable for Volante Rosso Motorsport’s 12 Hour team across the entries in both classes.”

Volante Rosso finished second in the Silver class in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, with Ross Poulakis, Hunt, and internationals Kevin Tse and Jonathan Hui sharing driving duties.

Since then, Poulakis has joined forces with Jayden Ojeda in GT World Challenge Australia, a combination which has yielded a race win, podiums, and pole positions.

Those exploits saw Ojeda’s talent recognised with a berth in the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Young Driver Test which is currently taking place at Spain’s Valencia circuit.

Meanwhile, Volante Rosso has also won the outright title in Radical Cup Australia with 16-year-old Alex Gardner, as well as the Masters and Challenge Cups with Peter Clare.

“We’ve had a tremendous year in 2023 GT including a podium at the Bathurst 12 Hour and race wins in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia – along with the Radical Cup Australia – taking out that Championship, so it has been a year of great progression for our team,” said Hunt.

“Our engineering team has been able to get a really great handle on the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in 2023, and the Pirelli DHF Tyre compound,” added Papadopoulos.

“Our crew at Volante Rosso Motorsport have left no stones unturned to extract more from the cars and how we can unlock the maximum performance from them, and consistently.

“Our commitment to 2024 starts with being one of the early entries into the Bathurst 12 Hour as the event approaches its 100-day countdown.”

The team’s Bathurst driver line-up will be “announced closer to the event.”

A Pro-Am class entry is comprised of two drivers categorised Platinum, Gold, or Silver, and one or two categorised Bronze.

Silver and Bronze are also each distinct subclasses of Class A for GT3 vehicles, the former being for cars with three to four Silver or Bronze drivers and the latter for Bronze drivers only.

Volante Rosso’s announcement follows those of 2022 and 2023 race winners SunEnergy1 and Valmont Racing, which is switching from Mercedes-AMG to Audi hardware next year.

The Method Motorsport team co-owned by Chaz Mostert will also contest the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour, in Class C for GT4 cars.

Action takes place on February 16-18 as part of the Bathurst SuperFest which will feature the Supercars season-opener on February 23-25.