On February 17, 2024, the engines roar to life at the crack of dawn on the other side of the world. It’s finally time again: the spectacular Bathurst 12 Hour race in Australia brings together the world’s fastest and most renowned GT3 racing drivers for the kick-off of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

What makes the ‘Little Nürburgring of Australia’ so special is that the track is partly a public road, and the racing cars have a real roller coaster ride ahead of them. In some sections, the GT3, GT4, and the occasional GT2 racing cars have to overcome climbs with gradients of up to 16 percent.

One of the most spectacular sections of the track is the “The KW suspensions Chase” corner combination, which is located at the end of the Conrod Straight high-speed passage. There is plenty of action there every year, as the who’s who of motorsport set their braking points later and later in order to overtake on the narrow track.

The following BMW M, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche customer racing teams will be competing in the 2024 Bathurst 12h race in the A-Pro, A-Pro-Am and GT4 classes with our KW Racing dampers.

For Porsche motorsport fans, this year’s race is very interesting because, as in previous years, not only will the current Porsche 911 GT3 R (991) compete at Mount Panorama, but 2024 is also the first time the current Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) will start in the legendary race.

Laurens Vanthoor, Ayhancan Güven, and Matt Campbell, the 2019 Bathurst winner, will share the cockpit of the #912 Grello in the A-Pro class.

Harry King, Alessio Picariello, and Yasser Shahin will share the wheel of the #911 “The Bend Manthey EMA” Porsche 911 GT3 R (991) in the A-Pro-Am class.

In partnership with Timo Bernhard’s Team 75 Motorsport, the Chinese Porsche customer racing team, Phantom Global Racing, celebrates its first endurance outing in Australia. The Porsche 911 GT3 R (#13) is piloted by Bastian Buus, Jaxon Evans, and Joel Eriksson.

HubAuto Racing fields the fourth Porsche 911 GT3 R (#39) in the Bathurst 12 Hour, boasting one of the most successful driver lineups in the field. Seasoned veterans Kévin Estre, Patrick Pilet, and Klaus Bachler are among Porsche’s most accomplished racing drivers. On Sunday, February 11, 2024, HubAuto Racing announced that, due to logistical issues, the team will not participate in the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour race. For further details, please visit the team’s online platforms.

Worldwide, the five-way adjustable KW V6 Racing dampers are homologated in all BMW M4 GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 R models. Additionally, a major automotive manufacturer (consider naming them) will soon feature motorsport suspensions with KW Solid Piston Technology in its customer racing program, further solidifying KW’s presence at the forefront of performance.

Driven by the memory of a sixth-place finish due to a technical issue with the rear light in 2023, legendary racer Valentino “Dottore” Rossi returns to Mount Panorama Circuit with his sights set on a podium finish. He’s enlisted the help of experienced veterans for this year’s challenge, aiming to conquer the mountain with a strong team behind him.

Maxime Martin and Raffaele Marciello join forces with Valentino Rossi, piloting the #46 BMW M4 GT3 in the challenging Bathurst 12 Hour.

Also, BMW M Team WRT teammates are the 2022 DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts, who will compete in the yellow M4 GT3 (#32). The sole KW customer racing team in the GT4 category will be the Australian Mercedes-AMG Team ‘Team Nineteen’ #19 with their Mercedes-AMG GT4.

At Bathurst, however, another project will be showcased, in which we are involved with our KW Engineering. Romain Dumas will be piloting the electrified Ford SuperVan 4.2, which, thanks to its KW Solid Piston dampers, delivers its power to the road.

Photos Teams, BMW M Motorsports, Ford Performance