Mountaineering

With the new year’s celebrations out of the way, race teams, drivers and motorsport fans are counting down to this year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race, where Audi will be looking to increase its record three wins at the Mountain to four in 2019.

A 43-car grid will line up at the country’s most famous race track on February 3rd to contest the gruelling enduro, with 28 of those entries in the top GT3 category. In all, 10 marques will be represented at Mount Panorama in the GT3 class looking for outright victory, with five Audi R8 LMS GT3 cars confirmed at time of writing. 

“It is truly a world-class grid and the competition is going to be brilliant between some of the best brands and teams in not just GT3 racing, but in motorsport full stop,” Bathurst 12 Hour Event Director, Kurt Sakzewski, told speedcafe.com.au late last year.

“The growth of the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the enduring appeal of Mount Panorama is reflected in the sizable manufacturer presence, but the addition of so many strong privately entered teams shows that anyone can have a shot at winning this race.

Audi Sport customer racing will have a strong presence with both local teams and factory-backed entries at the race, where the brand has won a record three times.

Local hero Garth Tander will be back behind the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS when he partners with internationals Kelvin van der Linde and Frédéric Vervisch in one of the two Audi Sport Team Valvoline cars prepared by Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC). Tander has not only driver for Audi at the Mountain before, but helped Geoff Emery successfully defend his Australian GT title last year.

In the other car, two-time Bathurst 12 Hour champion and former Australian GT champ, Christopher Mies, again teams with Christopher Haase and Markus Winkelhock as he looks to make 2019 his third Mountain win.

In November last year, Mies set a new lap record for the Mount Panorama circuit in the Challenge Bathurst meeting.

Driving and MPC-prepared R8 LMS which had had its Balance of Performance restrictions removed for the meeting, Mies managed a record 1.59.3 second lap of the 6.2 kilometre circuit and he is hungry build on his already impressive Bathurst record next month. 

Audi Sport Team Valvoline’s Steve McLaughlan is looking forward to race and a strong start to the 2019 Australian GT season. 

“We have a long and very successful relationship with Audi Sport and that will only grow for 2019 as Audi Sport Team Valvoline,” he said. 

“We continue to grow our relationship with Audi Sport and the change of branding for the new year is a reflection of that ongoing relationship and also the continued support from Valvoline, who have been great supporters for a long time now. 

“There’s no doubting the abilities of the drivers assembled for Bathurst and we’re looking forward to representing Audi and Valvoline there – and moving into a new Australian GT season in 2019.”

The Hallmark Racing entry of Lee Holdsworth, Dean Fiore and Marc Cini will join the two Audi Sport Team Valvoline cars, as well as a Matt Stone Racing entry led by Todd Hazelwood as part of the Aussie Driver Search initiative. The details of the fifth Audi R8 LMS entry are still to be confirmed.

The 2019 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour will be held from January 31st to February 3rd.