There was no racing action this weekend as the sport collectively shifts into holiday mode, counting down towards Christmas and the New Year.

Instead, the spotlight firmly moved to Australia, where a steady stream of announcements shaped the early picture for the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour. Over the past week, teams and manufacturers revealed driver line-ups, factory-backed programmes and notable returns.

Mustang vs. Corvette: A rivalry rebade on The Mountain

The 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour is shaping up as a classic Corvette vs. Mustang showdown, with both American icons set to make their Mount Panorama debuts in GT3 form. Johor Motorsports Racing brings the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to Bathurst for the first time, while Ford arrives with a factory-backed Ford Mustang GT3 run by Haupt Racing Team. Two new-era programmes, one unforgiving circuit.

Read both full articles to see how the all-American Corvette versus Mustang rivalry kicks off on The Mountain.

Fan favourite Porsche teams return to The Mountain

Former winners are firmly back in focus for the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour, with two proven Porsche squads locking in headline line-ups. Absolute Racing returns with Matt Campbell, a two-time Bathurst winner, joined by Alessio Picariello and Bastian Buus, while Earl Bamber Motorsport is back for the first time since its 2019 debut victory, fielding Klaus Bachler, Laurin Heinrich and Ricardo Feller in a Pro-class effort.

Read the full Absolute Racing article to see how Campbell and Porsche target another Bathurst podium.

Read the full Earl Bamber Motorsport article for details on the 2019 winners’ long-awaited return.

Heavy hitters stack up on The Mountain

The 36-car grid for the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour is packed with recognisable stories well beyond the headline numbers. At the front, Team WRT returns as the benchmark after last year’s 1–2 finish, bringing two BMW M4 GT3s loaded with star power. With Kelvin van der Linde and Augusto Farfus back, Valentino Rossi returning, and Jordan Pepper making his BMW works debut after winning Bathurst in 2020 with Bentley, WRT once again arrives as one of the teams to beat.

But Bathurst is never just about the favourites. Optimum Motorsport adds a welcome splash of British GT pedigree with one of only two McLaren 720S GT3 entries on the grid, while Wall Racing’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3 – instantly recognisable in its red-and-white colours – remains a Mount Panorama fan favourite. The local flavour continues with the Quinn family lining up together in Team MPC’s Audi R8 LMS GT3.

Australian touring car pedigree is again well represented, with multiple Bathurst 1000 winners Will Davison and Chaz Mostert joined by Supercars title contender Cameron Waters, underlining just how seriously local experience continues to shape the fight at Mount Panorama.

Explore the full, continuously updated Bathurst 12 Hour entry list to keep track of every confirmed car, driver and Bathurst favourite as the build-up continues.

From the archive: When Scott Dixon took on The Mountain

Amid the current Bathurst build-up, it’s worth rewinding to 2020, when Scott Dixon finally ticked Mount Panorama off his list. Fresh off a Daytona 24 Hours win, the IndyCar legend made his Bathurst 12 Hour debut with R-Motorsport, sharing an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and discovering first-hand just how alien – and daunting – Bathurst can feel, even for one of the world’s most accomplished drivers.

Read the full interview to revisit Dixon’s first laps at Bathurst, his take on GT3 racing, and why “snapping out of what you think should be normal” was key on The Mountain.

Up next: Winter break, then straight back into action

After the upcoming Christmas pause, the GT racing calendar fires back up in mid-January. The second weekend of the new year brings the Michelin 6H Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit, signalling the end of the off-season and the first serious endurance test of 2026.

One week later, the spotlight turns to the GT Winter Series, which kicks off its seventh season at Portimão from 15–18 January. With top-level GT3, GT4 and prototype machinery returning to southern Europe’s winter playgrounds, the early-season momentum starts building quickly.