Favourites, dark horses, underachievers: 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour
The fight for outright honours in the 2025 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour is set to be one of the most competitive the event has seen in its history.
To race day, the quality of the driving has been superb, with just one red flag thrown across six practice sessions, two-part qualifying and the Pirelli Pole Battle.
Such was the speed in the Pirelli Pole Battle, that Cam Waters' time, good enough for ninth on Saturday, would have claimed pole for last year's race.
It was Mercedes-AMG and Craft-Bamboo Racing with Allan Simonsen Pole Award honours, courtesy of Austrian Lucas Auer, who is finally making his first 12 Hour start after a broken back robbed him of a debut back in 2023.
As ever, anything can and usually does happen across 12 blockbuster hours of racing. However, which cars are the ones to beat, the ones to watch, and the ones with work to do on Sunday?
The ones to beat
The pole-winning #77 has been solid all weekend, with Auer to race with Maximilian Gotz and Aussie Jayden Ojeda. Craft-Bamboo is hunting redemption after being the 2024 race's final DNF. Led by two-time winner Darryl O'Young, the team is still looking for its first 12 Hour win, and first podium since 2022.
Jamec Racing/Team MPC has impressed with its #183 Audi, having only revealed its entry just days ago. Ricardo Feller has been superb in a leading role, while Supercars star Broc Feeney is as fast as they come at the Mountain. Importantly, the #183 has a very fast Bronze in Liam Talbot, who could prove a wildcard amid the pit stops and driver changes.
You can never count out GruppeM and 75 Energy, with the Mercedes entries starting third and seventh. GruppeM, like Craft-Bamboo, is chasing its first win, and the #888 has been a front-runner for much of the weekend. Maro Engel is one of the best, while Maxime Martin and Mikael Grenier will be hard to dislodge. Then, there's that #75 car, shared by Jules Gounon, Luca Stolz and Kenny Habul. If a Mercedes will win the race, don't be surprised if it's the #75.
WRT BMW's best hope always seemed to be the #32, even before the #46 tripped up in qualifying. Van der Linde brothers Sheldon and Kelvin are super fast, while Augusto Farfus, remarkably, hasn't claimed a 12 Hour podium. The #32 bowed out in dramatic fashion last year, and the team will be hoping for a complete reversal of fortune. Performance in the middle of the day will prove crucial, given the team's concerns over heat.
The ones to watch
Whilst all the attention has been on the #911 Porsche this weekend, the Pro-Am #91 has quietly gone about it's business all event. Sam and Yasser Shahin make up the Am component of this car, and are both very dependable drivers, with Yasser a Le Mans class winner in 2024. Morris Schuring was one of Shahin's Le Mans co-drivers last year, whilst Laurin Heinrich has arguably been the revelation of the event, and claimed class pole in sixth outright.
Much like the #91 Porsche, the #222 Mercedes wasn't the most fancied runner amongst the manufacturer's ranks, however the car proved ultra speedy in the hands of Cam Waters and Thomas Randle today. With two-time 12 Hour winner and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes completing the trio, if this entry can stay at the front throughout the day, you can be sure that Waters would mix it with the world's best in the final hour.
The ones with work to do
While Chaz Mostert was a solid fifth in the Pirelli Pole Battle, Arise Racing's #26 Ferrari still has plenty of questions to answer on race day if it wants to win the whole deal. Will Brown, while a Supercars champion, is still finding his feet in the car, while Daniel Serra will be keen to atone for his weekend-ending crash in 2020. Mostert holds the key for the #26's hopes, given his raw speed.
The #911 Absolute Racing Porsche of Matt Campbell/Ayhancan Guven/Alessio Picariello will start 11th. Campbell and Guven won with Laurens Vanthoor last year with Manthey EMA, but it hasn't been a smooth ride to this point. Wins can come from anywhere in endurance races, but the #911 hasn't fired a sizeable shot at any stage this weekend.
WRT’s #46 BMW of Raffaele Marciello/Charles Weerts/Valentino Rossi is starting 12th, after Marciello was consigned to the pit lane with an apparent overheating issue, the team later stating a water leak was to blame. The #46 was granted dispensation by the stewards under a 'restricted hardship' to cut some laps after the Pole Battle, to ensure the car was good to go for the race. The #46 raced from sixth to sixth in 2023, and from eighth to fifth last year. A podium was on the cards in 2024, but mistakes and the crash for the #32 ensured the going would be tough.
Honourable mentions
Whilst these entries probably won't be contenders for an outright victory, they are certainly contenders in their respective classes and could jag a strong result if they have a good day.
Aussie expat Scott Andrews has more than proven his worth as a new addition to the #44 Audi alongside incumbents Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires. Andrews did a sensational job to qualify for the Pirelli Pole Battle, which could prove to be invaluable if track position becomes key. The trio are most certainly contenders in a strong Pro-Am Class.
Completing the Pro-Am field is the #36 Ferrari, although Jaxon Evans could only muster 16th in Qualifying in what has been a curiously off weekend for Arise Racing GT. However, with Italian factory ace Alessio Rovera, local favourite Brad Schumacher, and Elliott Schutte completing the line-up, there is no reason why the 296 can't work it's way forward in the race.
Fabian Schiller has looked very quick in the #4 Grove Racing Mercedes at timed this weekend, acquainting himself to the Grove outfit as a replacement for injured Grove regular Ben Barker. Brenton Grove has also proven to be more than reliable in GT World Challenge Australia and Bathurst 12 Hour competition, whilst Stephen Grove has had a tough couple of years at the 12 Hour, he has a proven track record in class competition at Bathurst.
There are also a few Silver Class entries to keep an eye on tomorrow. The #93 Lamborghini surprised with superb speed from veteran Tony D'Alberto today, whilst Kiwi Brendon Leitch was being saved up for race day, and the #14 Aston Martin has also looked strong, especially with Emirati teenager Jamie Day at the wheel, and also has Bathurst experience amongst it's line-up in Jaylyn Robotham.
