Brothers Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde with team-mate Augusto Farfus tamed the mountain to win the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour at the weekend, with Kelvin at the wheel as the WRT BMW crossed the line to take the flag.
Farfus started the race in the early morning darkness and after some initial first corner argy-bargy settled the BMW into fourth place, while the Chaz Mostert in the Arise Ferrari took the lead from fifth on the grid but, a carefully maintained strategy, good race pace and a couple of pace car moments meant the BMW could keep up and attack in the second half of the event.
With just six minutes to go heir WRT team-mates Raffaele Marciello, Valentino Rossi, and Charles Weerts moved into second place overall with just 10 seconds separating the BMW M4’s at the finish while Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon, and Luca Stolz extended both their own and 75 Express’ impressive podium streak at Mount Panorama to four consecutive races, finishing just a second further back.
BMW has long been a powerhouse in this event’s production car era, yet despite securing pole position twice, had never clinched victory in the GT3 category—until now. WRT, meanwhile, had not won Australia’s prestigious endurance race since 2018, a surprising drought given their success on the global stage.
Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde also made history as the first siblings to win the event together since David and Geoff Brabham’s victory in the Bathurst 1000—also for BMW—back in 1997.
Craft-Bamboo’s Mercedes-AMG started from pole but was soon overtaken by a flying Chaz Mostert in Arise Racing’s Ferrari, which had begun fifth on the grid. Mostert swiftly built a nine-second lead, though a series of Safety Car interventions led to shuffled pit stop strategies.
As the race settled into its rhythm, Absolute Racing’s Porsche and WRT’s BMWs emerged as the leading contenders by mid-morning. While the Porsche’s pace faded, the M4 GT3s remained consistent, with first the #46 and then the #32 car assuming control.
Further caution periods kept the field bunched together, but as the race entered its final phase, it became clear that the Van der Linde brothers and Farfus were firmly in the driving seat. Craft-Bamboo’s Mercedes-AMG, Arise’s Ferrari, and Absolute’s Porsche remained in contention, but as the final quarter approached, both the 296 and 911 fell out of the running. Strategic decisions earlier in the race also left Craft-Bamboo’s Maximilian Götz, Jayden Ojeda, and Lucas Auer—who had taken pole position—outside the optimal refuelling window, forcing them to pit just six minutes before the finish, costing them a podium.
Second place ultimately went to WRT’s other BMW, following a daring overtake by Marciello on Gounon via a trip over Conrod Straight’s grass in the final 10 minutes. The 75 Express Mercedes-AMG once again proved its strength at Bathurst, with Habul completing his mandatory drive time before the halfway mark and keeping the car on the lead lap, allowing Stolz and Gounon to mount a late charge.
Their task was made easier when Arise Racing was forced to make a late fuel stop. Daniel Serra and Broc Feeney displayed excellent pace, but Mostert stole the spotlight in the closing hour by momentarily snatching the lead from Kelvin van der Linde. WRT remained untroubled, however, as the Ferrari’s fuel stop was inevitable. Arise Racing ultimately had to settle for fourth, a frustrating outcome for the reigning GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS champions.
Craft-Bamboo and Absolute completed the top six for Mercedes-AMG and Porsche, respectively. Meanwhile, Heart of Racing by SPS took the Bronze class honours, with Ian James, Ross Gunn, and Zach Robichon finishing seventh overall.
Elsewhere, Arise Racing’s second Ferrari secured seventh-place IGTC points despite crossing the line eighth, while The Bend Motorsport Park’s Porsche 911 completed the IGTC top eight in 10th overall.
Among the high-profile retirements were GruppeM’s Mercedes-AMG, which suffered a heavy crash exiting The Chase, and Jamec/MPC’s Audi, which had qualified second but ended its race beached in the gravel beneath the Rydges Hotel.
The IGTC now moves on to the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring from 19-22 June before heading across the German-Belgian border for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa one week later.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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