Audi Customer Racing Australia is set to field a six-car attack on February’s Bathurst 12 Hour, including a professional class entry piloted by factory Audi drivers.

Troy Russell’s Melbourne-based operation will run Steve McLaughlan’s two Jamec Pem Racing R8s alongside cars owned by amateur racers, Greg Taylor’s GT Motorsport entry, James and Theo Koundouris, Ash Samadi and Marc Cini.

Audi is expected to send a host of factory drivers to the February 3-5 endurance race with a yet-to-be-confirmed trio set to pilot one of the Jamec Pem Racing R8 GT3s at Mount Panorama.

The Bathurst 12 Hour will welcome a professional class for the first time this year, which will allow teams to enter cars without the requirement of an unseeded (FIA Silver or Bronze rated) driver.

Formerly branded Melbourne Performance Centre, Russell’s squad has formed close ties with Audi as the marque’s customer racing representative in Australia, fielding entries in the Bathurst 12 Hour and Australian GT Championships.

The German marque has regularly deployed drivers to the squad in recent years with Christopher Mies, Marco Bonanomi and Miguel Molina enjoying stints in the Australian GT Championship this season.

Rene Rast, Christopher Hasse, Marco Mapelli and Christer Jons all joined the team at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, where it ran five cars.