2026 Bathurst 12 Hour
| Event information | |
|---|---|
| Round 1 of 5 in the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge | |
 | |
| Date | 15 February 2026 |
| Location | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia |
| Venue | Mount Panorama Circuit |
| Duration | 12 Hours |
| Results | |
| Laps completed | 262 |
| Distance | 1,627.806 km (1,011.472 mi) |
| Pole position | |
| Time | 2:01.079 |
| Team | .svg.png){kind=small} Scott Taylor Motorsport |
| Drivers | Cameron Waters |
| Winners | |
| Time | 12:01:39.898 |
| Team |  Mercedes-AMG Team GMR |
| Drivers |  Maro Engel.svg.png){kind=small} Mikaël Grenier.svg.png){kind=small} Maxime Martin |
The 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour (commercially titled 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour[1]) was an endurance race for FIA GT3 cars and invited vehicles, staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on 15 February 2026. It was the opening round of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge.
The race was marred by the first red flag in nearly a decade.[2] Tsunami RT's Johannes Zelger in the GT3 Bronze class was involved in an incident with Volante Rosso Motorsport's Damien Hamilton in the GT3 Pro-Am class at Forrest’s Elbow. While the incident was minor, both Zelger and Hamilton were stopped in the turn. Team Craft-Bamboo Racing's Ralf Aron was leading the GT3 Pro field as they approached Forrest’s Elbow. Aron would end up colliding into Zelger's car at nearly full speed. The race was red flagged within a minute and was stopped for nearly an hour.[3]
Aron would end up crawling out of his car and was transported to a regional hospital.[4][5] The incident was criticized for a lack of flags giving warning in the run up to the stoppage at Forrest’s Elbow.[6][7][4][2]
Entry list
Class structure
Entries were divided into classes based on car type and driver ratings.
- Class A – GT3 (Current Specification FIA GT3 cars)
- Pro – No Driver Restrictions
- Pro-Am – For driving combinations featuring one or two FIA Platinum, FIA Gold, or FIA Silver and two FIA Bronze related drivers.
- Silver Cup – For driving combinations featuring only FIA Silver and Bronze drivers.
- Bronze – For driving combinations featuring one Platinum or Gold, one Silver and one Bronze driver.
- Class B – Porsche Cup
- Class for Porsche GT3 Cup from One-make racing series.
- Class C – GT4 (Current Specification SRO GT4 cars)
- Class I – Invitational class
- For IRC GT cars, SRO GT2 cars and other special GT cars.
Entries
Results
Practice
| Session | Day | Fastest Lap | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Ref | ||
| Practice 1 | Friday | 32 | Charles Weerts
|
Team WRT
|
BMW M4 GT3 Evo | 2:03.869 | [31] |
| Practice 2[a] | 45 | Brett Hobson
|
RAM Motorsport / GWR Australia
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:05.318 | [32] | |
| Practice 3 | 55 | Will Brown
|
Jamec Racing Team MPC
|
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 2:03.899 | [33] | |
| Practice 4[a] | 75 | Kenny Habul
|
75 Express
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:04.906 | [34] | |
| Practice 5 | Saturday | 55 | Christopher Haase
|
Jamec Racing Team MPC
|
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 2:03.040 | [35] |
| Practice 6 | 222 | Cameron Waters
|
Scott Taylor Motorsport
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:02.357 | [36] | |
Qualifying
Top 10 Shootout
| Pos. | Class | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 222 | Cameron Waters
|
Scott Taylor Motorsport
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:01.0790 |
| 2 | P | 77 |  Lucas Auer
|
Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +0.1770 |
| 3 | P | 75 | Luca Stolz
|
75 Express
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +0.2154 |
| 4 | P | 911 | Matt Campbell
|
Absolute Racing
|
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | +0.2308 |
| 5 | P | 55 | Christopher Haase
|
Jamec Racing Team MPC
|
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | +0.4645 |
| 6 | B | 93 |  Marco Mapelli
|
Wall Racing
|
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | +0.6706 |
| 7 | P | 46 | .svg.png){kind=small} Raffaele Marciello
|
Team WRT
|
BMW M4 GT3 Evo | +0.7942 |
| 8 | PA | 44 | Scott Andrews
|
Geyer Valmont Racing / Tigani Motorsport
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +0.8512 |
| 9 | P | 64 | Broc Feeney
|
HRT Ford Racing
|
Ford Mustang GT3 | +0.8703 |
| 10 | P | 6 | Jayden Ojeda
|
Tigani Motorsport
|
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +1.0444 |
| Source:[38] | ||||||
Race
Class winners indicated in bold and with ‡.
- Fastest race lap: 2:02.3071 – Nicky Catsburg on lap 204
Notes
References
- ^ Miles, Thomas (17 October 2024). "New backer of Bathurst 12 Hour". Auto Action. Action Media Partners. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Red flag waved at Bathurst following significant crash". sportnation.nz. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (14 February 2026). "Bathurst 12H Red-Flagged After Massive Crash". Sportscar365. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Drivers blow up after sickening crash rocks Bathurst". Nine. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ "Bathurst 12H Red-Flagged After Massive Crash – Sportscar365". 14 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ "'We could have done better': Furious drivers demand answers after sickening Bathurst crash". Fox Sports. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ McKern, James. "Horrific crash brings Bathurst to a standstill, no yellow flags waved". news.com.au.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dagys, John (13 January 2026). "Bamber, Sims, Catsburg in JMR Corvette for Bathurst 12H". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Klein, Jamie (20 January 2026). "Mercedes-AMG Reveals Bathurst 12H Driver Lineups". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Klein, Jamie (12 January 2026). "Arise Racing GT Names Pro Lineup for Bathurst 12H". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Euwema, Davey (19 November 2025). "Pepper to Make BMW Debut in WRT Bathurst Effort". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Bartholomaeus, Stefan (4 February 2026). "Brown reunites with Schumacher for Bathurst bid". Speedcafe. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Earl Bamber Motorsport confirms Bachler, Heinrich and Feller for 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour". Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ a b c Dagys, John (15 January 2026). "Feeney to Join Olsen, Mies in HRT Mustang GT3 for Bathurst". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Euwema, Davey (18 November 2025). "Optimum to Make Bathurst Debut With Pro McLaren Entry". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
- ^ a b c "Grove racing shoots for historic Bathurst enduro double". bathurst12hour.com.au. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ a b c van Leeuwen, Andrew (29 September 2025). "Mostert replaces Lowndes in Bathurst enduro line-up". Speedcafe. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ a b c "Absolute Racing fields Campbell, Buus and Picariello for 23rd running of Bathurst 12 Hour". Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Chapman, Simon (4 February 2026). "DJR rookie to spearhead McLaren in Bathurst 12 Hour". Speedcafe. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ O'Brien, Connor (10 February 2026). "McLaren junior added to Bathurst roster". V8 Sleuth. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ a b Dagys, John (27 January 2026). "De Angelis, Barrichello Complete Heart of Racing by SPS Lineup". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Kilbey, Stephen (26 January 2026). "Tsunami RT Firms Up Crew For Bathurst". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Klein, Jamie (3 February 2026). "Boccolacci Joins High Class Porsche Lineup for Bathurst". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d Dagys, John (29 January 2026). "Mapelli Joins Wall Racing Lamborghini Bathurst Lineup". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d Wane, Ewan (28 October 2025). "Quinns Set For Family Outing At Bathurst". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d van Leeuwen, Andrew (23 January 2026). "Ryan Wood to lead Ferrari Bathurst 12 Hour entry". Speedcafe. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d Dagys, John (29 January 2026). "Team BRM Submits Last Minute Bathurst 12H Entry With Audi". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
- ^ a b c "Team NZ locks in Aston Martin GT4 entry". Bathurst12Hour. 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
- ^ Dagys, John (18 December 2025). "Mustang GT3, Corvettes Confirmed in 36-Car Bathurst Entry". SportsCar365. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (3 February 2026). "Final 35-Car Bathurst 12H Entry List Revealed". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ^ Chapman, Simon (13 February 2026). "Team WRT tops first Bathurst 12 Hour practice". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Kilbey, Stephen (13 February 2026). "RAM/GWR Mercedes Leads Tight Bronze-Only FP2". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Dale, Will (13 February 2026). "Close call as Audi tops Bathurst 12 Hour Practice 3". V8 Sleuth. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Dagys, John (13 February 2026). "Habul Blitzes Field in Final Friday Practice". Sportscar365. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Chapman, Simon (14 February 2026). "Problems for Ferrari as Audi ace paces fifth Bathurst practice". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Kilbey, Stephen (14 February 2026). "STM Mercedes Fastest Ahead Of Qualifying". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Zalavari, Michael (14 February 2026). "Super Pole Beckons After STM AMG Tops Qualifying". DailySportsCar. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Zalavari, Michael (14 February 2026). "Waters Snatches Simonsen Pole Award In Scott Taylor AMG". DailySportsCar. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Dagys, John (15 February 2026). "GruppeM Mercedes-AMG Wins Wild, Red-Flagged Bathurst 12H". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "Classification – 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour - Race". Natsoft. Natsoft. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.