What a start to the Intercontinental GT Challenge 2026: at a dramatic 12-hour race at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Australia, there was a great elimination of pre-race favorites.
In front of a new record crowd of over 55,000 spectators, the race on the 6.213-kilometer “mountain circuit” was characterized by difficult conditions. The occasional kangaroo on the track, a wildlife incident, as many as ten safety-car phases, and a long race interruption after a horror crash without serious injuries formed the motorsport script for the Bathurst 12-Hour Race.
In the middle of it all were our KW motorsport customers as well as the Australian KW importer Scuderia Autoart, who have been one of the partners of the endurance race at the Mount Panorama Circuit for five years.
Of the 31 GT3 race cars that started at the Bathurst 12-Hour Race, the Aston Martin, BMW, and Porsche vehicles are homologated with our KW V6 Racing dampers. Overall winner was the GMR team (#888, Mercedes) with Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, and Mikael Grenier, who won from the 30th starting position.
The surprise of the weekend was provided by the Porsche 911 GT3 R (#86) from High Class Racing, starting in the Bronze class. Behind the wheel were Dorian Boccolacci, Anders Fjordbach and Kerong Li. Over the entire race, the #86, which had started the race from 31st, stayed out of the on-track action.
While the professional teams largely eliminated each other at the front, the High Class Racing team drove a clean race. The #86 worked its way further forward over the course of the race and celebrated, as the best-placed Porsche, not only the Bronze class victory but also second place overall!
Third overall were Augusto Farfus, Raffaele Marciello and Valentino Rossi from BMW Team WRT. Their BMW M4 GT3 (#46) was within striking distance of the lead throughout the race and secured seventh on the grid in qualifying.
But it could have been different for the BMW M4 GT3 (#46). In the early hours of the race, a kangaroo jumped onto the track in the fast McPhillamy Park sector in front of Valentino Rossi. He was able to avoid it, and the animal remained uninjured and the #46 undamaged.
The second BMW of Team WRT (#32) with the driver trio Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Charles Weerts did not have as much luck. Already in the first lap the M4 GT3, which had started from twelfth, had come into close contact with several cars, slightly damaging the front end. Shortly thereafter, Kelvin van der Linde collided with a small kangaroo, which significantly worsened the front damage
As more and more components came off the front end, the #32 returned to the pits. Because of the nearly four-minute repair phase, the BMW lost further positions and had to start a recovery.
Five top-10 results for KW motorsport customers
The BMW Team KRC (#89) came in 5th overall (P2 Bronze class). Starting from 11th, Ruan Cunfan, Max Hesse and Maxime Oosten fought back from early damage into a strong finish.
Another top-10 result went to the Absolute Racing Porsche squad. Bastian Buus, Matt Campbell and Alessio Picariello kept their nerves through the entire race and the yellow phases and took sixth place with their Porsche 911 GT3 R (#911).
The Porsche drivers from Earl Bamber Motorsport (#61), Klaus Bachler, Ricardo Feller and Laurin Heinrich, had the unfortunate task of starting the race from last place. In the end, they managed to climb from 34th to eighth place overall.
Drama in the final minutes
The trio from Robert Renauer, Alfred Renauer and Ralf Bohn delivered a flawless performance in the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (#21). Starting from 23rd place, the team finished the race in 11th
Forty minutes before the end, Kelvin van der Linde led the field in the BMW M4 GT3 (#32) at the last restart. In the Hell Corner sector, a nearly 90-degree turn, there was a collision between him and the Mercedes of Jules Gounon (#75). While the AMG finished seventh, nothing more than twelfth place was possible for the second WRT BMW M4 GT3 (#32) at the end.
Photo Teams, Manufacturer, Race Organizer
