Updates from Owen Bradley and Aaron Carroll
The Intercontinental GT Challenge returns to Mount Panorama for the Bathurst 12 Hours, which is also the first of five rounds in the IGTC 2025 season. In this article, you can find LIVE updates for the Bathurst 12 Hours, which begins at 18:45pm UK on Saturday evening.
The No.77 Mercedes Craft-Bamboo racing took pole position with Lucas Auer at the wheel, followed by Ricardo Feller who put the No.183 Jamec Racing Audi on the front row of the grid. The No.888 Mercedes AMG Team GMR start from third, Maro Engel putting the triple eight Mercedes into podium contention once again.
MotoGP Legend and 9-Time World Champion, Valentino Rossi, will also be participating in this event, in the No.46 WRT BMW which starts from 12th place. Rossi will also be competing in the World Endurance Championship this year, so Bathurst marks the first race in the Italian's motorsport calendar for 2025.
Please refresh for LIVE updates. Updates will be in UK time, GMT.
LIVE: Bathurst 12 Hours Updates
Race Update: After 3 Hours
1st No.911 Porsche, Picariello
2nd No.46 BMW, Weerts
3rd No.32 BMW, K Van Der Linde
4th No.888 Mercedes, Martin
5th No.26 Ferrari, Serra
6th No.183 Audi, Feeney
7th No.77 Mercedes, Ojeda
8th No.27 Mercedes, Robichon
9th No.75 Mercedes, Habul
10th No.14 Aston Martin, Robotham
21:43 - Battle for the lead now, No.46 BMW driven by Chalres Weerts on the back of Picariello in the No.911
21:41 - Massive moment for the No.77 Mercedes, going wide at the top of the mountain, off the track, but somehow managing to stay straight and on the track
21:40 - Change for the lead in Silver, No.14 Aston Martin getting past the No.47 Mercedes
21:36 - No.91 Porsche has come into the pits, Sam Shahin swapping over to Laurin Heinrich
21:33 - 5 minute stop and go penalty for No.24 McLaren GT4 for trying to complete the wave-by before it was called. Massive mistake from driver and team there, costing them tonnes of time on track
21:32 - Drive through penalty for No.14 for a pit stop infringement
21:31 - Alessio Picariello gets a brilliant restart in the No.911 Porsche, already two seconds ahead of the BMW pairing of No.46 and No.32
21:30 - No back-markers to get in the way on this restart with the wave-by, a few cars still go side-by-side up mountain straight
21:28 - Green Flag
21:27 - Safety Car in this lap, wave-by to be complete
21:24 - Drama behind the Safety Car, the McLaren GT4 tries to complete the wave-by before it had been called by race control, almost spinning a Mercedes around
21:16 - The timing of this Safety Car couldn't have been much better for the No.911, who with all the pit stops having played out, leads the race behind the Safety Car on the same pit strategy as everyone else
21:13 - No further investigation for that incident between the two Mercedes
21:10 - The No.911 takes this Safety Car as an opportunity for a pit stop, now putting themselves back on sequence with the leaders, and the net lead of the race
21:09 - Good news for the driver, he got out of the car unaided and is now being transported to the medical centre
21:08 - The No.4 Grove Mercedes found itself in the wall, after contact with the No.75 of Kenny Habul. The No.4 went airborne, luckily staying within the confines of the race track, driver Steven Grove visibly and audibly shaken from the crash
21:05 - Safety Car
21:01 - Close call with Kenny Habul and the No.36 Ferrari at the top of mountain straight, Habul in the No.75 Mercedes on the grass as he narrowly avoids contact at the apex
20:59 - The Aston comes in to serve said penalty, the order is now No.911 Porsche from No.46 BMW and No.32 BMW
20:57 - The car in second - No.14 - has received a penalty for a pit lane infringement
20:54 - Guven in the No.911 has pulled a three second gap out front now, Rossi still stuck behind the No.14 Aston Martin
20:48 - Clean getaway for all the leaders then, Rossi on the back of Villagomez in the Aston for second
20:46 - Green Flag
20:45 - So the top two have one less pit stops than the rest of the field, so the No.46 is the net leader but No.911 leads on the road
Race Update: After 2 Hours
1st No.911 Porsche, Guven
2nd No.14 Aston Martin, Villagomez
3rd No.46 BMW, Rossi
4th No.32 BMW, K Van Der Linde
5th No.26 Ferrari, Brown
6th No.888 Mercedes, Martin
7th No.4 Mercedes, Grove
8th No.27 Mercedes, James
9th No.47 Mercedes, Youlden
10th No.75 Mercedes, Habul
20:30 - No.46 jumps ahead of the sister No.32 for the net race lead, Valentino Rossi still driving the 46
20:28 - A lot of the leaders in now, with 10 hours and 20 minutes remaining
20:27 - Big damage on both cars but the Audi is able to attempt to limp back to the pits but stops before it can get home
20:25 - Massive crash for the No.25 GT4 leading McLaren up at skyline, the GT4 dropped it on his own and collected the No.44 Audi GT3
20:23 - Safety Car
20:22 - Left front puncture seems to be the cause of the issue, as Liam Talbot pulls into the pits. No.75 has been given a 15 second penalty for the earlier incident with the no.27
20:20 - The No.183 has now slowed and is limping back to the pits after the contact
20:19 - More contact between the No.183 Audi and No.75 Mercedes as the Audi barges through, trying a move up the inside. Kenny Habul in the Mercedes narrowly avoiding the wall
20:17 - Ian James has had a spin in the No.27 Mercedes after being turned around by Kenny Habul in the No.75. No.222 Mercedes has also stopped just before the pit entry with what seems to be left rear suspension issues, the driver has stepped out of the car, despite being so close to pit lane
20:15 - The top three have got an 18 second gap at the front now, with all the action happening behind the traffic. The No.888 in third now has a drive through penalty for a pit lane infringment, BMW's only challenger right now will drop out of the battle now
20:13 - Ryan Sorensen in that McLaren has got going again, as the leaders try to lap the No.36 Ferrari
20:11 - The leaders getting away cleanly from the restart, less so for the mid-pack with GT4 traffic ahead, the No.25 McLaren falling victim, going backwards into the wall after contact with an Audi
20:08 - Green Flag
20:06 - Safety Car in this lap
20:04 - Race control now looking at that incident between the Mercedes and the Ferrari
20:03 - No.46 BMW now driven by Valentino Rossi has jumped the No.888 into second, which means there is a 1-2 for BMW WRT now with the No.32 leading. The No.77 has being pulled back out of the gravel and is running a lap down
20:00 - No.32, No.888, No.46 and No.27 will all get cheap pit stops now under the first Safety car of the race
19:59 - Safety Car - Max Gotz has spun into the gravel in the No.77 Mercedes after being turned around by the No.26 former race leading Ferrari
19:57 - During the pit stops here at Bathurst, pit stops must be at least 80 seconds long, so far teams are clocking in at just over this mark, as the No.911 Porsche comes in this time
19:55 - Next time around a range of the leaders in, No.26 and No.77 in from first and second, No.75 and No.222 Mercedes' come in as well
19:53 - First caller for pit lane and it's the No.183 Audi of Riciardo Feller, as he steps out of the car for Liam Talbot to get in. Tyre change and fuel taken as well
19:49 - Not long now before the majority of the GT3's come in to the pits for their first stops, strategy will definitely be an important element in the fight for the race win here
19:47 - After a move on Engel for fourth, Feller in the No.183 Audi is now looking ahead and behind, defending from Engel and attacking the No.32 BMW. The GT4 McLaren has also been forced onto the grass by Luca Stolz, who was trying to lap them
Race Update: After 1 Hour
1st No.26 Ferrari, Mostert
2nd No.77 Mercedes, Gotz
3rd No.32 BMW, Farfus
4th No.183 Audi, Feller
5th No.888 Mercedes, Engel
6th No.75 Mercedes, Stolz
7th No.222 Mercedes, Randle
8th No.46 BMW, Marciello
9th No.911 Porsche, Guven
10th No.44 Audi, Andrews
19:37 - That mid pack fight has broken up slightly as Shahin drops to 17th, a four way battle for 13th turns to three at the no.9 Audi is the first GT3 to come in to the pits
19:30 - At the head of the field, Chaz Mostert has pulled his No.26 Ferrari six seconds ahead of Max Gotz in the No.77, with Farfus in the No.32 BMW less than a second back in third
19:28 - Contact with the barrier on the top of the mountain for Jamie Day in the No.14 Aston Martin, no visible damage, but certainly a scare for the driver and team
19:26 - Back at the front, the No.183 Audi is still trying to get past Maro Engel in the No.888 Mercedes, but just can't get by
19:24 - Shahin in the Porsche drops another position to Ross Gunn in the No.27 Mercedes, Yassar is the bronze driver in the No.91 so this isn't his race at the moment, he's just trying to keep the car running at a reasonable pace before his teammates hop in
19:21 - The KTM is back out on track, and now has the leaders breathing down its neck to put another lap on it, along with the GT4 field
19:20 - Bold move from David Russell on the Porsche, going around the outside at skyline, the No.47 Mercedes driver makes it stick and is up to 11th
19:18 - The car that seems to be the cork in the bottle of that train at the moment is the No.91 of Yassar Shahin, the cars ahead of him quickly pulling out a gap
19:17 - Big battle down the field, with all the cars from 11th down to 17th all battling to fight their way up the field
19:14 - No.44 Audi overtakes the No.91 Porsche for the lead in GT3 Pro-Am, and tenth overall
19:13 - Mostert in the No.26 has some mega pace at the moment, already two and a half seconds ahead
19:11 - Lead Change - Chaz Mostert makes a move at the end of the back straight to put his Ferrari ahead of the No.77 Mercedes
19:10 - Hairy moment at turn one between the No.183 Audi and the No.888 Mercedes as the Audi gets onto the gravel on the outside trying to find a way past
19:08 - Chaz Mostert takes second in the No.26 Ferrari from Farfus in the No.32 around the outside of the kink, he will now chase down leader Max Gotz
19:07 - No.25 McLaren driven by Tom Hayman leads in GT4, that class is a three car fight, with the No.19 Mercedes and the No.24 McLaren
19:04 - The first rays of sunshine begin to appear as the drivers get settled in at the moment, the No.183 Audi is currently the fastest on the track
19:01 - The sole invitational class entry, No.50 KTM, is in the pits early with a mechanical issue
18:59 - Replays showing heavy contact at turn one for the No.183 Audi, no visible damage for Riciardo Feller at the moment, he runs in fifth
18:57 - With the three cars banging doors up mountain straight, Augusto Farfus and Chaz Mostert jumped up to second and third in the No.32 BMW and No.26 Ferrari respectively. The No.46 sits in ninth heading up over the mountain on lap two
18:55 - And we are racing for the 12 hours of Bathurst, and Gotz in the No.77 goes wide leading into turn one as he goes three wide with the No.183 and No.888, but keeps the lead up over the top
18:46 - Something a bit different at Bathurst, the clock begins counting at the start of the formation lap, so 2 warm-up laps to go before we start racing
18:45 - GREEN FLAG
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