Double for BMW Team WRT at Bathurst 12 Hours

SRO

Feb 2

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. Double for BMW Team WRT at Bathurst.

Team WRT put on a spectacular show at Mount Panorama Circuit and executed a masterful strategy to reclaim Bathurst 12 Hour glory after their maiden win in 2018. With back-to-back successes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi setting the stage, Team WRT continued their 100% winning streak in 2025, by delivering a commanding performance in both their entries at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour. Augusto Farfus, Sheldon van der Linde, and his brother Kelvin, clinch the first BMW victory in Bathurst 12 Hour history since the GT3 regulation was allowed, just in front of sister car driven by Raffaele Marciello, Valentino Rossi and Charles Weerts. The fuel-saving strategy of the WRT team made the difference with the competition offering the double with a victory of the #32 of the van der Linde brothers and Farfus ahead of the sister #46.

Dominant strategy gets #32 win

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. Farfus, Kelvin van der Linde and Sheldon van der Linde celebrating victory at Mount Panorama Circuit.

From the fourth hour onwards, both Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 commanded the race, car #32 took the lead while car #46 maintained a strong second-place position.

Augusto Farfus, Sheldon van der Linde and Kelvin van der Linde crossed the checkered flag first with their #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO after Kelvin had to let pass competition while saving fuel. A brilliant fuel-saving strategy paid off as all competitors had to pit during the last 20 minutes, even for a splash with 6’ to go for Mercedes-AMG #77.

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. Farfus and the van der Linde brothers in #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Augusto FARFUS, driver #32: “I’m an incredibly lucky guy to be with BMW M Motorsport for such a long time. We have come here many times and never were lucky enough to win. This time, we thought we had a chance and we executed a perfect race. To put my name in the history books of this event now is very emotional. During the final 40 minutes we just hoped for a green end, as a safety car would have ruined our race. Luckily it all went well. Thanks a lot, to BMW M Motorsport, Team WRT and my teammates who did a perfect job.”

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. BMW M4 GT3 #32 honored in front of podium.

Kelvin VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: “This was a race with a crazy amount of emotions for me. First race back with Team WRT, first race back with my brother, first race with Augusto, second race for BMW M Motorsport. This is all very special. I don’t have to explain what this win means for my brother and myself. I’m sure our Mom and Dad are proud at home. It’s also amazing for me to share this victory with Augusto, whom I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. He was one of my heroes. Looking at the race, the final stint was very tough, as I had to hit fuel numbers and had Chaz Mostert behind me catching up. But in the end, it worked out perfectly.”

Sheldon VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: “I am very, very happy! I think this victory was down to excellent execution by the guys at Team WRT. I don’t think I have ever seen such a perfect execution in terms of strategy before. We did not have the outright fastest car today, but still, we did it! Both my teammates made no mistakes. Sharing this win with my brother for the first time since 2018, is very special of course. I’m really impressed how quickly he is up there with his pace in just his second race with BMW M Motorsport.” Source: Team WRT

Challenging moments and resilience for #46

Car #46 encountered a setback in the eighth hour, dropping from second to last in the PRO category following a drive-through penalty for a breach of Safety Car regulations. However, flawless on-track driving and swift pit-stop execution allowed a strong recovery, ultimately allowing car #46 to finish in second place.

#46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO — 📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. #46 Marciello-Rossi-Weerts in BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Raffaele MARCIELLO, driver #46: “A 1-2 is a great result for the team. I know they have tried to win it again for a long time, and now it finally worked out, although not for me personally, so I will still have to wait for my first victory here after a couple of podium finishes. It was a good fight with Jules Gounon. I knew I had the faster car on the straights, and when there was a slower car in front of us, I took the opportunity and attacked him. It was a good move.”

Valentino ROSSI, driver #46: “This podium is a fantastic way to start the season. The whole weekend was great, as we were always strong and competitive. We were able to fight with our sister car until I made a mistake unfortunately and we had to serve a drive-through penalty. I thought at that point that the fight for the podium was over, but we managed to come back with great pace. Raffaele’s overtake on Jules Gounon was a lot of fun to watch. I am very happy with the result.”

Charles WEERTS, driver #46: “Huge congrats to our sister car. They were really quick all week and really deserve this win. For BMW M Motorsport it has been a long time trying to win here, so this 1-2 is pretty big for them and for the entire Team WRT also. Their strategy was an absolute masterclass today. The overall result is great, but next time I hope we can swap positions.” Source: Team WRT

Fourth podium in a row for #75

Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul and Luca Stolz in the #75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from SunEnergy1 Racing finished third overall. Despite several early race incidents, the trio owes its podium to a fuel-savings mode in the closing stages of the race.

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. Gounon-Stolz and Habul in #75 Mercedes-AMG.

Jules Gounon, SunEnergy1 Racing #75: "It was a really tough race today. We didn't quite have the pace, so we decided to save fuel to save ourselves a pit stop at the end. It's incredible, for me it's the 5th podium finish in a row at Bathurst. And that in such a tough race on such a difficult track. Thanks to Kenny, Luca and the whole team and Mercedes-AMG. This series of victories and podium finishes is strong proof of how good the product is."
Luca Stolz, SunEnergy1 Racing #75: "It wasn't an easy weekend for us, at least at the beginning. We weren't at the front in qualifying. The car was always a bit sketchy on the hill. But for the race we found a super good set-up again, a very good balance. But some of the other cars had more top speed and that was very difficult for us to defend. In the end, it was a strategic masterclass that put us on the podium." Source: Mercedes-AMG

A Ferrari in the top 4

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. #26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3T3 EVO.

Chaz Mostert completed the top-four in his #26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 he shared with Australian Supercars Champion Will Brown and two-time Le Mans GTE-Pro class winner Daniel Serra.

A second Mercedes-AMG in top 5

Lucas Auer, Maximilian Götz and Jayden Ojeda in the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing car finished the race in fifth place, after diving in for a splash with six minutes remaining.

📷© Courtesy of ICGT at Bathurst. Auer-Goetz-Ojeda in #77 Craft Bamboo Racing Mercedes.

Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing #77: "Qualifying was my personal highlight. We had a really fantastic car yesterday. Unfortunately, our strategy didn't quite work out today and we ended up in P5. But there are still a lot of positive things to take away. Let's hope we're all here again next year."
Maximilian Götz, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing #77: "We didn't come here to finish P5. We had a clear goal, we had a good approach and the team did a great job. The car was much better than last year, Lucas did a fantastic job in qualifying. That shows how good the car was. In the race, we tried everything to put ourselves in a position where we could fight for the win, but it didn't work out. I definitely want to come back and finally win this great race." Source: Mercedes-AMG