The entry list for the 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour has been announced with a roster full of A-grade talent from both Australia and abroad confirmed to compete.
Serving as both the opening round of the Motorsport Australia GT Endurance Championship and the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, a field of 20 cars will battle it out over the course of 12 hours at the famous Mount Panorama circuit.
From international entries to domestic teams running the crème of Australian motorsport – there are plenty of drivers for fans to get excited about.
Current Supercars Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen headlines the entry list and will be teaming up with Supercars teammate Broc Feeney and Prince Jefri Ibrahim in the Triple Eight Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 in the A Pro-Am Class.
There will be 11 other entries contesting the class, offering a big challenge to the trio with a number of Supercars stars driving them including Chaz Mostert, Nick Percat, Will Brown and Lee Holdsworth.
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Other familiar names to motorsport fans around the country contesting the class include five-time 12-Hour class winners Stephen and Brenton Grove, current Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series leader Tony D’Alberto, reigning S5000 Australian Drivers’ Champion Joey Mawson, Supercars endurance driver Jack Perkins, Tony Bates, Liam Talbot, Geoff Emery, Yasser Shahin and popular three-time Supercars champion Craig Lowndes.
Lowndes will be alongside Emery, Alex Davison and Scott Taylor in the Scott Taylor Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car and the car will be sporting a livery honouring the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
“When this opportunity was presented, I couldn’t get behind it quick enough – it’s like the ideal weekend,” Lowndes said.
“A chance to raise funds and awareness for a really important cause, but also spend a weekend at Bathurst in a Porsche! It wasn’t hard to say yes.
“We’re all really excited about getting to the track. We’re going there to have a great time and really enjoy the whole race and everything around it.”
A handful of international drivers will also make their way to Mount Panorama with Frenchman Jules Gounon, who is widely considered as regarded as one of the best GT3 racers in the world and another GT star in Luca Stolz from Germany among them.
Both drivers will be teaming up with American based Australian GT driver Kenny Habul, while Hong Kong-based Craft Bamboo Racing will announce the international line up to steer their Mercedes-AMG in the coming weeks.
Event Motorsport Operations Manager Paul Martin was pleased with the turnout of stars despite the smaller than usual entry list.
“It might not be the largest field in Bathurst 12 Hour history, however it is extremely high quality,” Martin said.
“The quality and depth of talent throughout the grid is already world class, with several of the key international names yet to be unveiled. The local names already confirmed are among the best drivers in the country and they will put on a show.
“There was no shying away from the fact that this was going to be a challenging year to run the event, but we were committed to putting on the show and we are confident that it will be a very good race based on the field we have.
“There’s no doubt in our minds that this year will be another memorable chapter in the history of the Bathurst 12 Hour.”
The 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour takes place at Mount Panorama on 13-15 May.