Bathurst 12 Hour: From the back to the top GMR Mercedes wins at Mount Panorama

Mercedes-AMG and GruppeM Racing celebrated a major victory at Mount Panorama,as the #888 GMR Mercedes claimed overall honours in the Bathurst 12 Hour. After starting deep in the field, the team delivered a strong and consistent performance to fight their way to the front and control the race in the closing stages.

Technical failure forces JMR corvette to retire

The final hour of the Bathurst 12 Hour was full of tension at Mount Panorama. After several Safety Car periods earlier in the race, everything was still open going into the final 60 minutes. Strategy, fuel management, and small mistakes would decide the result.

The #2 JMR Corvette suddenly lost pace. Just like earlier in the race, the car looked like it was struggling again. Nicky Catsburg managed to bring it back to the pits, but he had already dropped to sixth place. He later said there was “no alarm” and called it “a real shame.”

With around 90 minutes to two hours remaining, the #2 JMR Corvette driven by Earl Bamber suffered a technical failure at Skyline. The issue was believed to be related to the left-rear suspension, possibly the toe link.

The failure caused the car to suddenly snap out of control as it headed toward The Dipper. Bamber tried to regain control, but the Corvette spun and eventually hit the tyre barrier.

The damage was too severe for the car to continue, forcing the #2 Corvette to retire from the race. The incident also brought out another Safety Car period.

Restart battle at the front

With 76 minutes to go, Jules Gounon led the restart. Behind him were Maxime Martin, Dorian Boccolacci in the #86 High Class Racing Porsche, Will Brown in the #183 Team MPC Audi, and Augusto Farfus in the #46 Team WRT BMW.

As the race entered the final hour, Gounon slowly pulled a small gap of just over one second to Martin. The top group remained close, and one small mistake could change everything.

Mercedes collision

Further back, two Mercedes-AMG cars collided while fighting for P13. The #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes of Chaz Mostert and the #6 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes of Jayden Ojeda made contact.

Ojeda hit the wall and bounced back into Mostert. Both cars were forced to retire from the race. Another Safety Car was deployed, adding more pressure to the final stages.

Strategy gamble for Kelvin van der Linde

The Safety Car period helped Kelvin van der Linde in the #32 Team WRT BMW. He was trying to reach the finish without another pit stop, and the slower pace helped him save fuel. For a short moment, he moved into the lead.

But at the restart, there was contact again. Gounon hit van der Linde, and Maxime Martin took over the lead. Van der Linde lost momentum, and not long after, the #32 BMW was shown the black-and-orange flag and forced to pit for repairs.

Intense fights across the field

Behind the leaders, the battles continued. Will Brown moved up into fifth place. Bastian Buus tried to follow but ran wide at Hell Corner, losing valuable positions. Max Hesse gained another spot during the chaos.

There was also more contact in the midfield. The #61 EBM Porsche of Ricardo Feller was pushed onto the grass again, this time by the #911 Absolut Racing Porsche of Bastian Buus. Feller dropped further down the order as the race entered its final minutes.

GMR Wins Bathurst 12 Hour

The final minutes at Mount Panorama were intense as the fight for victory went down to the wire in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

With three laps to go, Maxime Martin in the #888 GMR Mercedes-AMG held a 2.5-second gap over Dorian Boccolacci. The French driver kept pushing, and the gap briefly came down to 1.8 seconds. However, Martin stayed calm and controlled the pace as the field began the final lap.

There were no late mistakes and no last-corner surprises.

Maro Engel, Mikaël Grenier, and Maxime Martin safely brought the #888 Mercedes-AMG home to win the race. It was a remarkable comeback drive, as the team had started from 29th on the grid and fought all the way to victory.

The win also marked a record-equalling fourth overall victory at Bathurst for Mercedes-AMG, sealing a strong and well-managed performance in the closing stages of the race.

Dorian Boccolacci, who was entered in the Bronze class, not only challenged for the overall win but also claimed victory in the Bronze category, completing a strong performance at Mount Panorama.

Class winners

In the Pro-Am class, Brett Hobson, Dylan O’Keeffe, and Garth Walden secured victory in the #45 RAM Motorsport Team GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG. They finished on the overall lead lap, capping off a strong and consistent race.

Second in Pro-Am went to the #99 Johor Motorsport Racing Corvette, driven by Ben Green, the Ibrahim princes, and Jordan Love. Third place in class was taken by the #14 Volante Rosso Aston Martin of Bryce Fullwood, Damien Hamilton, Andrés Pato, and Maxime Robin.

In the Bronze Cup, the #89 KRC BMW of Max Hesse, Maxime Oosten, and Ruan Cunfan claimed second place in class after a solid performance throughout the race. They finished ahead of the #193 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Ferrari, driven by Chris Froggatt, Jonathan Hui, Lorenzo Patrese, and Ryan Wood.

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