MOTORSPORT: Pros return to Bathurst 12 Hour

The Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour will return to its traditional date for 2023 and its top class will once again be dedicated exclusively to professional driving crews, event organisers confirmed today.

Scheduled for February 3-5, Australia’s premier sports car racing event will again host the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli, which is set to see the world’s leading GT3 manufacturers and drivers return Down Under for the once-around-the-clock motorsport classic.

Moved to May due to uncertainty around the opening of Australia’s international borders, this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour was largely supported by local outfits, with the top Class A reserved for Pro-Am combinations.

That race was claimed by the SunEnergy 1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon, Martin Konrad and Luca Stolz, with the squad backed by Triple Eight Race Engineering, which last weekend also claimed the Bathurst 1000 with drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander.

As a point of difference to the 1000, the 12 Hour will also retain the dedicated top-10 final qualifying session format that was used this year, when adverse weather was set to impact the originally scheduled shootout for the Allan Simonsen Pole Award.

“We have worked closely with our partners to develop the formats for 2023 and their commitment, along with communication from manufacturers who want to be back on the Mountain, were enough to convince us that the time was right to return to the all-Pro format for the outright fight,” said Shane Rudzis, Bathurst 12 Hour Event Director.

“At the same time, we have developed a new set of regulations around the driver standards to ensure that the Pro-Am teams and Am drivers are looked after as best as possible, along with many of the Am-centric regulations around driver time and stint length from 2022 remaining in place.

“The decision at the last minute to change qualifying formats in 2022 has proved to be a blessing in disguise in giving the 12-Hour its own unique Shootout format, while still maintaining the uniqueness of needing that one perfect lap to get pole on the Mountain.”

The event will see a suite of strict regulations put in place relating to driving conduct, with harsh penalties dished out for any contact from professional-classified divers with those who are amateur-ranked, while the Am competitors will receive their own separate practice sessions.

Also, the ‘Lucky Dog’ wave-around rule for crews one lap down will also be carried over from 2022, ensuring a large number of cars in contention at the end of the race.

The Bathurst 12 Hour has a rich history dating back to its production car roots in 1991. The modern event was revived in 2007, before moving to a GT event in 2011.

Next up on the racing calendar for the Mount Panorama circuit is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International, which will see TCR Australia joined on the program by the GT World Challenge Australia, Touring Car Masters, Trans Am, Porsche Sprint Challenge and Australian Production Cars, while S5000 open-wheelers will conduct a series of unrestricted demonstration runs.

Images supplied Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 hour