Lowndes, Tickford stars secure 12 Hour return in 2025

Still fresh from contending for victory in the 2024 race, Scott Taylor Motorsport will return with an unchanged lineup for the 2025 Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

Two-time race winner Craig Lowndes and Tickford Racing teammates Cam Waters and Thomas Randle will again return to drive the STM Mercedes-AMG GT3 following a stunning performance this year.

The team led 11 laps on their way to seventh position in the 2024 race, finishing on the lead lap and less than eight seconds behind the winners.

2024 saw the Ashley Seward Motorsport-prepared STM Mercedes running as a full-pro combination against some of the leading GT teams in the world, the squad proving they had the capability to challenge for outright victory.

The familiarly-liveried Mercedes will again carry support for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia this year, following a lengthy relationship between the team and the charity – now the official event charity of the 12 Hour event itself.

Two-time winner Lowndes will start his 12th 12 Hour this year, having claimed two victories in 2014 and 2017 and a further podium finish, adding to his remarkable Bathurst CV.

Waters, who finished fourth in the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship for Tickford, made his third 12 Hour start in 2024 with seventh representing his equal best finish: he claimed seventh in 2018 on debut with Strakka Racing and then 11th outright driving an Audi R8 in 2022.

2025 will represent Randle’s second 12 Hour start, having made his debut in the race with STM in 2024. Randle finished a career-best fifth in the 2024 Supercars Championship, with three podium finishes to his credit.

The return to Bathurst comes following a strong 2024 season for STM, which included podium finishes in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia with driver Nash Morris, while team owner Taylor and Paul Morris combined for several winning starts in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3R.

STM has a long history in the Bathurst 12 Hour, including contending for victory in 2017 and claiming the class win in 2022 with a Porsche GT3 Cup Car.

STM also launched the second edition of their incredibly popular Documentary series, showcasing the team’s epic trip from Queensland to the Northern Territory for the Darwin round of the Repco Supercars Championship.

“Team STM are proud to be once again contending for the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour, we thank Craig, Cam and Thomas for choosing to be part of our great team and of course appreciate Tickford and Red Bull/Triple Eight giving us access to these incredible talents," Taylor said.

“Behind the scenes there is an enormous group of dedicated people helping to bring this campaign together who include, but certainly not limited to amazing people such as Ash Seward Motorsport, Rebecca Taylor, Lara Lowndes, team STM and the list goes on and on of incredible people, can I say now a sincere ‘Thank you’.

“We are proud to once again partner with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia to bring further awareness and stimulate conversation amongst our community on this topic, please remember to ‘Get Checked’.

“Remember to bring your cowboy hats everyone as we can’t wait to see you all back at Mountain.”

Lowndes said: “We proved this year that we had all the pieces of the puzzle together to challenge for victory.

“Our approach was spot on and to see the #222 car leading the race was great for everyone, especially Scott and Rebecca who put so much into the sport each year. I really enjoyed teaming up with Cam and Thomas last year and we are heading back for a second year having proven we are contenders.

“It’s a tough race with great competition and all the usual challenges Bathurst throws up, but it’s exciting to go there knowing you are a shot at winning.

“To continue to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia is great. It’s a cause close to my heart and each year we are fortunate to make an impact on people’s lives by raising funds and awareness by reminding men to ‘Get Checked’.”

Waters said: “I’m excited to be teaming up with Craig, Tom and STM for the Bathurst 12 Hour. “We had a lot of fun in 2024 and learned a heap that we’ll use going into this one.

Randle added: “I’m rapt to be back to the Bathurst 12 Hour again with the STM crew and pairing up with Lowndesy and Cam. It was such an awesome weekend this year and so much fun with the whole team at ASM, STM and also supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

“We had a blast on and off track this year and we’ll be going back with a more competitive package.

“It’s such an amazing race to be part of. It’s going to be a fun weekend and I’m keen to get back behind the wheel for a few test days before we get up there in January.

“We want to take on the internationals and are heading there to win – let's see what we can do.”