Combined Sports Cars and Sedans grid to return to Mount Panorama

ANOTHER massive grid of GT, Production Sports and Sedan cars and Sports Sedans will fill the grid at the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour in 2026 with the return of the Duggan Family Hotels Combined Sports Cars and Sedans grid.

The popular support act has become a staple of Australia’s International Enduro and drew even more attention for its inclusion of older-specification GT and one-make Porsche machinery for the first time in 2025.

In a move designed to add to the competition at the pointy-end, this year will see a reduction in the categories fastest permitted lap time – reduced down from 2m09 seconds to 2m05 seconds for the first time.

The category will return in 2026 with an anticipated capacity 55-car grid, with the Duggan Family Hotels brand on board to support for the fifth consecutive year.

“Steven and Bronwyn Lacey of Ripplestrip Motorsport will once again return to Bathurst as the Category Managers for this event. This will be their sixteenth consecutive year at the Mountain managing a large grid category and this event promises to be even bigger than the last,” said Duggan Family Hotels’ Ellie Duggan.

“It will also be Duggan Family Hotels fifth year of sponsoring the category. It’s become a tradition for us and an event we look so forward to.”

In 2025 the grid included a wide array of cars including several Lamborghini Huracan and Gallardo GT3 models, Porsche GT3 Cup Cars and an Audi R8 LMS.

They competed wheel-to-wheel with the spaceframe Sports Sedans dominating proceedings: Geoff Taunton winning for the third straight year in his IRC GT SS.

“Before entries officially open we have already had international interest and many of last year’s competitors expressing their interest,” Category Manager Ripplestrip Motorsport’s Bronwyn Lacey explained.

“This bodes well for a full grid of quality racing machines, including older GT cars, Production Sports and Sedan Cars, Sprint Challenge Porsches and Sports Sedans.”

“This category, with the assistance of Motorsport Australia, Supercars and various National Category Managers give so many competitors a rare opportunity to race at the Mountain on the big stage at the Bathurst 12 hour, which wouldn’t be possible without all parties working together.”

In 2026 it’s expected the Spaceframe class will be dominated in terms of field size by IRC & MARC Cars, but that won’t stop the likes of Mark Duggan in his VB Aston Martin and Paul Boschert in his Corvette pushing the limits of speed in their flame throwing Sports Sedans.

The field is not only about the front runners, with competitive racing throughout the field in the chassis classes which include older full-bodied Sports Sedans, Improved Production Cars and competitors from the Australian Production Cars.

For competitors, Expressions of Interest are now open, so if you’d like to challenge the Mountain over the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend in the Combined Sports Cars and Sedans, email the category management for more information and an entry form.

Images: Mick Reynolds, MTR Images