‘Best race of the year’
08 Jan
INDUSTRY mouthpiece Sportscar365 has hailed the 2023 edition of Australia’s International Enduro as the best race of the year.
Nominated by staff members of the well-respected Sportscar and GT racing website, the 2023 Repco Bathurst 12 Hour was selected as their best race of the season in their annual season review rankings.
It saw Australia’s International Enduro eclipse the 100th anniversary Le Mans 24 Hour race as their on-track highlight of the 2023 season.,
Highlighting the day-long battle that built to one of the most thrilling finishes in the race’s history, the site acclaimed the 12-hour as a race that had; “quality over quantity at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, which had only 24 cars on the grid but managed to produce the most exciting endurance race finish of 2023.”
“The return of Pro lineups helped to stoke the fire as Mercedes-AMG, BMW and Porsche brought an armory of factory drivers to the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season-opener in Australia,” wrote the website.
“While other races boasted larger car counts and flashier occasions, this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour was simply professional GT3 racing at its absolute best.”
The 12-hour was in elite company with the stunning 100th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours and highlights from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, Super GT Championship and GT4 European Series deemed worthy of honourable mentions.
The 2023 event saw the SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenny Habul, Luca Stolz and Jules Gounon fend off the Manthey EMA Porsche and GruppeM Racing Mercedes-AMG in a three-car battle to the finish at the end of the longest green-flag period in event history.
The dramatic conclusion delivered Habul and Stolz their second 12-Hour successes each, while elevating Gounon to become the first three-time winner of the race.
The 1.4177s margin between the three cars at the line was the closest between the top three finishers in 12-hour history.
The grid for the 2024 event, to be held on the 16-18 February weekend this year, continues to build with event organisers expecting a field well above 30 cars this year.
Key contenders already confirmed include Craig Lowndes, Cameron Waters and Thomas Randle sharing a Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG, the Australian debut of international teams Heart of Racing by SPS and Phantom Global Racing, plus Chaz Mostert’s two-car McLaren GT4 team, Method Motorsport.
More high-profile additions are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks prior to the full entry list being revealed.
Tickets, camping and corporate experiences are now on sale for the event.
