Who's who: Every 2025 International ace profiled
1d
TWENTY SEVEN International drivers representing 15 different nationalities will tackle this year's Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour - and they're among the best of the very best. Get to know each of them below.
Lucas Auer (Austria)
THIS fast 30-year-old from Austria is a GT gun for Mercedes-AMG and is the current GT World Challenge European Sprint Cup Champion, claiming the title last year for Winward racing. Was the runner-up in the DTM in 2022 and will make his Bathurst debut this year. Fun fact – his uncle is Formula 1 Royalty – none other than former Ferrari, McLaren and Benneton driver, Gerhard Berger.
Jamie Day (United Kingdom)
STILL a teenager, 19-year-old Day is the latest graduate of Aston Martin’s GT academy and last year claimed the Silver Cup in the British GT4 Championship. His Bathurst debut comes following third place in the Pro-Am class of the Dubai 24 Hours earlier this year, driving with Comtoyou Racing.
Maro Engel (Germany)
MARO needs little introduction in these parts and is arguably the most successful driver yet to claim a Bathurst win. Two incredible poles in 2014 and 2023 and podiums in 2022 and 2023 make him one of Bathurst’s best. Makes his ninth start this year and will be the most experienced international driver on the grid and the fifth-most on the entire grid. Oh, his CV is pretty good outside of Bathurst too: He's twice won the FIA GT World Cup, has won Nurburgring, Daytona (twice in class) and won Macau's GT major three times. Has won the Suzuka 10 Hour, Petit Le Mans, the GT World Challenge Enduro Cup and DTM races. Recently smoked the Nurburgring's road-car record in an AMG ONE at a tad under 6:30.
Augusto Farfus (Brazilian)
FAST Brazilian Augusto makes his fifth Bathurst start this year, all of them with BMW – a brand with which he is intrinsically linked. The son of a three-time Brazil Stock Car champion, Farfus has also claimed three titles in his homeland, along with 2 class wins at Daytona, 14 World Touring Car Championship race wins (with a pair of third-place title finishes) and a runner-up finish for WRT in the GT3 class at Le Mans last year. His best Bathurst finish came in 2019, driving with Chaz Mostert.
Ricardo Feller (Switzerland)
CLAIMED the somewhat unique honour of winning the shortest (in terms of distance covered) Nurburgring 24 Hour last year thanks to the weather, but won the race none the less. Won the 2021 ADAC GT Masters title in Germany and the GT World Challenge Europe Enduro Cup the same year, plus the Sprint Cup Championship in 2023. That same year he finished third in the DTM Championship. Makes his fourth Bathurst start this year, having finished 7th in 2022 and 9th in 2023, both times in an Audi. Was a non-finisher last year but gets another shot in the Pro Audi this time around.
Maximilian Gotz (Germany)
ONE of two ‘Maxi’s to tackle Bathurst – the other was Maxi Buhk – the 37-year-old enters his seventh 12-Hour this year as one of the race’s most familiar faces from Germany. Long track record in GT3 competition, including a Spa 24 Hour win, and his Bathurst CV includes third-placed finishes in 2019, 2020 and 2022, plus a fifth in 2023 when driving for Triple Eight.
Jules Gounon (France)
IS the Andorra-based Frenchman the best International ever at Mount Panorama? His strike rate certainly suggests so and it’s not just his three wins, his how he’s done them. From a tyre bursting on the Bentley to three hours of pressure from Maro Engel or being hit by the same driver a year later and then having to fend off Matt Campbell, he’s done it all and has never broken. Ridiculous record, an Intercontinental GT Challenge title, a Spa 24 win and a factory Alpine Hypercar drive and the best thing is, he’s only 30. Fun fact; father is former F1 driver, Jean-Marc, who raced in Australia during his F1 career.
Mickael Grenier (Canada)
BUILDING a decent track record on the Mountain, 31-year-old Grenier returns for a third 12-Hour this year having grabbed a podium with GMR in that dramatic 2023 finish. Backed that up with sixth last year with Triple Eight, those pair of consistent, anchor-style performances putting him in line for a return call-up this year back in the familiar surrounds of GMR.
Ross Gunn (United Kingdom)
MADE his Bathurst debut last year and finished 10th outright and second in class with Heart of Racing by SPS on debut, having been given the job to qualify the car and bring it home at the end. A long CV with the US-flagged team, including 8 IMSA race wins and a runner-up finish in the 2024 GTD Pro Championship. Believed to be the first driver from High Wycombe to start at Bathurst, so that’s a stat.
Ahyancan Guven (Turkey)
MADE history last year by becoming the first Turkish driver to win on the Mountain and did so in style. Came to GT racing via one-make Porsches, where his three years in Supercup delivered finishes of second, second and third in the title. Raced DTM last season in a Porsche and drove an LMP2 car in the Asian Le Mans Series so this 27-year-old is nothing if not diverse, but comes into the 2025 race with a very good chance of another Bathurst crown.
Laurin Heinrich (Germany)
HAS all the makings of becoming an enormous star in Sports Car racing, Heinrich (no relation to the South Australian Aussie Racing Car champion, in case you were wondering) comes into his first 12-hour as the 2024 GTD Pro Champion in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. A former German Carrera Cup Champion and Supercup podium finisher, he’s a star.
Ian James (United Kingdom)
THE principal of the Heart of Racing enterprise, James is also a highly capable Bronze-ranked ‘Am’ driver with class victories at Sebring and Daytona in IMSA competition, among other key races globally in a long career. The Heart of Racing concept was founded by James and other partners to support the Seattle Childrens Hospital, located in James’ hometown.
Brendon Leitch (New Zealand)
CAME into the Aussie public’s consciousness last year with a series of hugely impressive drives in GT World Challenge Australia aboard an Audi, but is immensely respected worldwide as a hotshot Lamborghini-supported ace and has claimed multiple races and titles for the famous Italian brand, including in their Lambo SuperTrofeo world finals. Hails from Invercargill, in the far south of New Zealand, with a longstanding racing family that includes his brother Damon and dad, Barry.
Raffaele Marciello (Switzerland)
IN Five Bathurst starts ‘lello has had just about everything at Mount Panorama and is yet to finish the race outside the top six. Second on debut in 2018, he was third in 2019 and 2023, fifth in 2024 and finished sixth in 2020 – though that race could have been another podium had it not been for a post-race penalty. Pole in 2019 adds to his remarkable Bathurst CV. Fast, exciting and now a factory BMW ace, he’s elite everywhere, but especially on the Mountain.
Maxime Martin (Belgium)
AFTER years with BMW, the Belgian expert is now a Mercedes-AMG driver but checks out as one of the most experienced GT aces going around. A winner in the 24 Hours of Spa in 2016, he has remarkably finished second outright in the Nurburgring 24 Hours on three separate occasions. Heads back down under this year for his third crack at Bathurst and first as a Mercedes-AMG driver having finished 6th in 2023 and 5th last year.
Alessio Picariello (Belgium)
ONE of the trio that claimed the Pro-Am class last year, 31-year-old Picariello was rewarded by Porsche with an outright attack this year with Absolute Racing. Spent a lot of his career racing GT cars in China, but also won the European LeMans GTE title in 2020 and finished second in GT World Challenge Asia in 2024.
Zacharie Robichon (Canada)
THIS 32-year-old from Ottawa, Canada, makes his Bathurst debut this year but comes with plenty of GT experience, including the 2021 IMSA GTD Championship with Pfaff Motorsport and a Rolex 24 win the following year with Wright Motorsport. Three starts at LeMans with Proton Competition and a recent campaign in FIA WEC driving a Ford Mustang GT3 add to his diverse racing background.
Valentino Rossi (Italy)
A RELATIVELY inexperienced GT racer, this now 45-year-old is gradually rising up the ranks of GT racing and recently locked in a second full-time campaign with BMW Team WRT in the World Endurance Championship. Makes his Bathurst return this year for his third start, with finishes of 6th and 5th in his records already and in particular strong pace last year that had him lapping as quick as the Pro’s in his car. For someone so fresh to car racing, appears to have an enormous fanbase and global following. Will turn 46 two weeks after the Bathurst 12 Hour which, we are told, is a significant number.
Alessio Rovera (Italy)
HUGELY experienced and successful 39-year-old Italian Rovera makes his Bathurst debut with Arise Racing GT this year and comes with a long track record. He’s a former Carrera Cup Italia champion, won the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship in the GTE-AM class and then did the same in 2022 in LMP2 Pro-Am. When Ferrari send drivers out to their racing programs, they don’t tend to be mugs.
Fabian Schiller (Germany)
SCHILLER, 27, is a Mercedes-AMG regular and links up with Grove Racing for his Bathurst debut this year, deputising for the injured Ben Barker. In 2024 alone he raced in Asian Le Mans, 24H Series, GT World Challenge Europe Enduro Cup, GT World Challenge Asia, The Nurburgring 24 Hours, the NLS Endurance Series, International GT Open and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Morris Schuring (Netherlands)
A TRUE rising-star in GT racing, 19-year-old Dutchman Schuring was part of the Manthey-EMA team that won LeMans last year, with Yasser Shahin as one of his copilots. Graduated from one-make Porsche racing directly into the top flight of GT3 competition and ended up second in the World Endurance Championship GT3 category last year. This is his Bathurst debut.
Daniel Serra (Brazil)
BRAZILIAN Serra, 40, is one of Ferrari’s best GT guns-for-loan and has won plenty in his career, including the World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro class for Aston Martin and AF Corse Ferrari. Contested the ELMS for Kessel Racing last year, won Daytona with Risi Competizione and has won the Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta, too. Is a three-time Brazilian Stock Car Champion. Has been at Bathurst, in 2020, but didn’t start the race after the Ferrari he was driving was crashed in practice and withdrawn.
Luca Stolz (Germany)
PERHAPS it’s Kenny’s larger-than-life personality or that Jules Gounon has been in the car for all the ‘hero’ moments, but Luca Stolz has been the quiet achiever in SunEnergy1’s recent performances on the Mountain including his two wins and last year’s runner-up finish. More than that, he was third in 2018 and 5th with Craft-Bamboo in 2020 meaning he’s got five top five’s from six starts. And that is elite in anyone’s book.
Sheldon van der Linde (South Africa)
THE 2022 DTM Champion, Sheldon is a BMW staple despite only being 25 and last year tackled LeMans in the brand’s Hypercar. Fourth on debut with WRT in 2023, van der Linde scored pole in 2024 with a stunning qualifying lap and was in the lead early before watching as his car was crashed out at half-way. Whatever was in the water in the van der Linde household when Kelvin was born was clearly still there when No. 2 son came along three years later.
Kelvin van der Linde (South Africa)
ONE of those guys you’ll pay money to watch drive on the Mountain. Insanely quick, the older VDL Bros. representative has twice qualified second and twice set the race’s fastest lap. Last year broke through for his maiden podium on his fifth attempt alongside Chris Haase and Liam Talbot. Twice a winner of the Nurburgring 24, Kelvin recently moved to BMW after Audi began to wind-back their GT3 campaign – to which he had been a longstanding servant. An exciting new era awaits in Munich, surely.
Mateo Villagomez (Ecuador)
WILL go into the record books as the first Ecuadorian to start an endurance race – any race, for that matter – at Mount Panorama. The 22-year-old comes from an open wheel (Formula 4) and junior Prototype racing background, but combined with fellow AMR young-gun Jamie Day to chase success in European GT4 competition last year.
Charles Weerts (Belgium)
INTRINSICALLY linked to WRT, Charles’ driving career has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years and culminated in 2024 in him being crowned the drivers champion of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. He’s also a three-time champion in GT World Challenge Europe’s Sprint Cup championship and in the past five years hasn’t finished outside the top three. Third Bathurst start this year.
