MOTORSPORT: 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour locked in
Date shift sees the Bathurst 12 Hour open up to more potential international entries, plus new modelsAustralia’s international endurance race, the Bathurst 12 Hour, will be held next year on Sunday, February 2, 2025.
The shift to two weeks earlier in the schedule will allow for additional breathing space around other global sports car races at the start of the year, including the Daytona 24 Hours, slated for January 26, and the Asian Le Mans Series, which will be contested on February 7-9 at the Dubai Autodrome, and then February 14-16 at Yas Marina.
Importantly for the event, it will once again kick off the Intercontinental GT Challenge, which is expected to draw strong interest from leading manufacturers and has the potential to attract a host of newly eligible models.
Among the potential new entries are the Ferrari 296 GT3, the Chevrolet Corvette GT3 and the Ford Mustang GT3, with the Ford factory having previously flagged its interest in the event.
The seventh-generation pony car debuted earlier this year and is participating in dual campaigns in the World Endurance Championship, plus the North American-based IMSA Series.
The GT4 iteration of the Mustang recently made a successful debut in Australia at the class’ inaugural event at Phillip Island.
There, it claimed the model’s first win globally, receiving notable factory marketing and media support.
To date, the most successful of the new models has been the Ferrari, which was victorious in the professional GT class at the Daytona 24 in January.
Outside of the international interest in the event, it is likely to capitalise on the strength of the local GT World Challenge Australia series, which has seen a spike in competitor numbers this year since coming under the full control of the SRO.
“2025 has the potential to be the biggest Bathurst 12 Hour yet, thanks to several new manufacturers entering the GT3 space and a growing number of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS entries,” said Stephane Ratel, founder and CEO of the SRO Motorsport Group.
“This is a bucket list event for international teams and drivers, and also highly prized by manufacturers, but a strong domestic environment is vitally important for any Intercontinental GT Challenge round to truly flourish.
“Indeed, it is a cornerstone of the series’ philosophy.
“Moving the date back to its traditional slot also avoids clashing with the Asian Le Mans Series – a major consideration for our local and regional base.”
This year’s Bathurst 12 Hour was won by a Manthey EMA Motorsport Porsche 911, piloted by Porsche factory aces Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Guven and Laurens Vanthoor.
The field for that event was dominated by the Mercedes-AMG GT3, which were joined by the Audi R8 LMS, a Lamborghini Huracan and a pair of factory BMW M4s that once again saw MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi compete Down Under.
Other manufacturers with eligible outright cars for the Bathurst 12 Hour include Aston Martin with the Vantage AMR GT3, and McLaren with the 720S GT3 EVO.
The addition of the lower GT4 and invited classes in the 2025 event has yet to be determined by event organisers.
The GT World Challenge Australia series returns this weekend at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend with the Shannons SpeedSeries.
The stacked field includes the new Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296s, with the outfit led by Supercars stars Chaz Mostert and Jaxon Evans, who will go up against Will Brown aboard an Audi and a Triple Eight-prepared AMG, amongst several potential frontrunners.
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