Bathurst 12 hour – 5 hours: JMR leads Mount Panorama after WRT setback

Five hours into the 2026 Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour, the race has changed again. Mercedes led early, then BMW took control. Now, Johor Motorsports Racing and Team WRT are fighting at the front — and fuel strategy has made the difference.

Another Safety Car changes everything

The latest Safety Car came after Daniel Stutterd in the #111 111 Racing IRC GT went off at The Chase.

Many teams used the chance to pit. Klaus Bachler brought in the #61 EBM Porsche. Maxime Martin pitted the #888 Team GMR Mercedes-AMG. Garnet Patterson (#95 Optimum McLaren), Jules Gounon (#75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG), and Lucas Auer (#77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG) also came in.

The #268 Team BRM Audi was still in the garage after Mark Rosser’s earlier crash. The team had to cut the spokes of the damaged rear wheel to remove it. The #6 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG was also being repaired quickly to stay on the lead lap.

Problems for WRT

Team WRT then faced more trouble. Charles Weerts received the black-and-orange flag because of earlier damage from contact on the opening lap. The #32 BMW had to pit and was pushed into the garage for repairs. After a 3-minute and 9-second stop, Weerts returned to the track — but one lap down.

Rossi managed his fuel well and stayed out two laps longer than the #2 JMR Corvette and the #222 Scott Taylor Mercedes-AMG before handing the car over to Raffaele Marciello.

Rossi leads, but Corvette fights back

At the restart, Valentino Rossi in the #46 Team WRT BMW led the race with 9 hours and 42 minutes remaining. Charles Weerts followed in the sister #32 BMW.

Alexander Sims in the #2 JMR Corvette started to push. He passed Will Davison on Mountain Straight to move into third. Then at The Chase, Sims went up the inside of Rossi and took the lead. Rossi was saving fuel during his stint, which made him more vulnerable. Chaz Mostert also passed Rossi shortly after.

JMR takes the lead

Later, Nicky Catsburg got into the #2 JMR Corvette and made a strong move around the outside of Marciello at The Chase to take the lead again.

Cameron Waters in the #222 Mercedes-AMG was close behind. Luca Stolz and Maro Engel were fighting for fourth place, about ten seconds behind the top three as the race reached the end of the fifth hour.

The #99 JMR Corvette in Pro-Am, first driven by Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and later by Ben Green, also lost a lap after a long pit stop but stayed in the class fight.

Lead Changes Again Before the Five-Hour Mark

Just before the five-hour mark, drama struck again. Nicky Catsburg was noticeably slower through The Chase. The #2 Corvette appeared to lose pace suddenly after a very long stint. Raffaele Marciello took the opportunity and moved into the lead for Team WRT. Catsburg then headed into the pits shortly after, suggesting the team had reached the end of its planned stint window.

Following the recent pit cycle, the #2 JMR Corvette rejoined with Earl Bamber at the wheel. He quickly passed Valentino Rossi and started closing in on Maxime Martin.
The top three now stand as Bamber, Martin and Rossi.

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