Six Intercontinental manufacturers feature on 35-strong grid
Farfus and reigning IGTC champion Van der Linde eager to defend 2025 victory
Habul heads record Independent Cup driver roster
The biggest Intercontinental GT Challenge season since 2020 kicks off at the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour this weekend when six manufacturers, 23 of the 35 entries, and a record six Independent Cup contenders battle for global IGTC points down under.
Series debutants Chevrolet and Ford are joined at Mount Panorama by Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and reigning Intercontinental champions BMW, which is aiming to become only the third manufacturer to win Australia’s International Enduro consecutively.
Team WRT, Augusto Farfus and reigning IGTC champion Kelvin van der Linde could also join an exclusive club: only SunEnergy1 has gone back-to-back during the 12 Hour’s GT3 era, while just five drivers – Kenny Habul, Luca Stolz, Jules Gounon, Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young – have mounted a successful defence.
Habul also heads a record Independent Cup entry. Six drivers – Ralf Bohn, Jonathan Hui, Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Kerong Li, Johannes Zelger and the reigning class champion – contest IGTC’s season opener, while a seventh – Adrian D’Silva – joins the series later this year. As ever, Bronze-graded drivers who register for the competition are permitted one drop score across the five rounds.
The event’s wider 35-strong entry is one of the deepest in 12 Hour history. Pro crews comprise 15 of GT3’s 31 GT3 cars, with the rest split between Pro-Am, Silver and Bronze. Two GT4s and the same number of Invitational entries complete the grid.
The star quality is also undeniable. Nine former winners account for 15 Bathurst 12 Hour victories between them, while there’s also at least one winner from each of the last six races.
As ever, all Intercontinental entries – regardless of class – remain eligible to score points at each event. Only a constructor’s two highest finishers can contribute towards the manufacturers’ standings, while drivers’ points are awarded per IGTC’s final top 10 classification.
