Team vows to return in 2026 after late Bathurst withdrawal
111 Racing forced to withdraw from Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour
Team had stepped up from Invitational to Bronza class for 2025
Last-minute failure of promised sponsorship left team short of the funds
An unfortunate situation outside their control has forced 111 Racing to withdraw from this weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
The team had stepped up from competition within the Invitational class last year to enter their Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Darren Currie and Axle Donaldson to join a yet to be named third driver in the Bronze-class entry.
Sadly, the last-minute failure of promised sponsorship has left the team in the lurch and short of the funds needed to contest Australia’s International Enduro.
The team, aided by the Bathurst 12 Hour team and other key supporters, worked until late Sunday – the latest possible time they could – to find a replacement backer for the event.
However, the late notice made finding the required funds impossible; forcing their hand and ultimately, their withdrawal from the event.
That situation was made even worse by the fact that the two drivers had just enjoyed contesting a fruitful pair of endurance races in the Middle East; claiming a pair of podium finishes in the Dubai 24 and Abu Dhabi 6 Hour, respectively, and claiming the GTX class in the championship.
“We had funding promised and even agreements in place that while promised, were not delivered on,” Currie explained.
“We’ve been let down badly by a third party who up to a week ago had promised us that the sponsorship was there. Unfortunately, that has forced our hand. If we had one more week we might have had a chance to fill the void, but it’s all happened too late.
“We were all incredibly excited to be part of the GT3 field and compete against some of the world’s best drivers. It’s something we have been working to for a long time and having our names on that entry list was a long-term goal.
“Unfortunately, the resources you need to contest the event are significant and we’re unable to do to it without external support, which until the last minute we believed were secured.
“We will be back in 2026, there’s no doubt about that.”
The 2025 Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour will be contested across January 31 – February 2 with tickets, camping and corporate experiences on sale now via the official event website, www.bathurst12hour.com.au.
