Daytona injury forces 12 Hour driver change

Philip Ellis will make his Bathurst 12 Hour debut with Craft-Bamboo Racing in the place of the injured Lucas Auer.

Auer was set to race with Daniel Juncadella and Nicky Catsburg in Craft-Bamboo's all-Pro Mercedes entry.

However, the Austrian was ruled out after he sustained a back injury in a crash at Daytona last week.

Auer suffered broken vertebrae in a major crash during practice at the Rolex 24.

It left Craft-Bamboo looking for a last-minute replacement, with the team recruiting Ellis.

"Philip Ellis will replace Lucas Auer in the #77 Mercedes AMG Team Craft-Bamboo for the Bathurst 12 Hour," Mercedes-AMG Motorsport posted on Twitter.

"We continue to wish Luggi a fast recovery.”

Auer recently underwent surgery and is now rehabilitating.

"Guys, thank you so much for all the love and messages. My surgery went very well and I‘m doing good,”he posted to social media.

"Also a big thank you to the amazing medical team for taking such great care of me.

"I am ready for the next steps of rehab and looking forward to seeing all of you at the track soon.”

Ellis is the latest Mercedes factory ace to be confirmed for this weekend's LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

Juncadella, Maro Engel and Jules Gounon — the Rolex 24 GTD Pro winners — will all race at Mount Panorama.

Engel will join Mikael Grenier and Raffaele Marciello in the GruppeM entry.

Gounon is aiming for a third straight 12 Hour win and will again race with SunEnergy1 Racing.

2021 DTM champion Maximilian Gotz will race with Supercars stars Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney.

Tickets for the 2023 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour are on sale now on Ticketek.com.