The 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Earl Bamber, Kevin Estre and Audi refugee Laurens Vanthoor have been confirmed for the factory Porsche at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour from February 3-5.

The trio will take command of the factory 911 GT3 R that will be run at the 12 Hour for the first time by Walkinshaw Racing.

Porsche Motorsport announced details of the all-pro line-up which will run alongside another Walkinshaw Racing 911 GT3 R which will be comprised of a yet-to-be confirmed pro-am line-up.

Walkinshaw Racing managing director Adrian Burgess told Speedcafe.com that both machines are among the favourites in their respective places in Class A.

“It’s exciting. These are two good line-ups. And I think we should be challenging for the win in each class,” Burgess told Speedcafe.com.

Bamber finished second (ironically behind an Audi co-driven by Vanthoor) in the Sepang 12 Hour in Malaysia late last year in a Manthey Porsche (pictured) he shared with Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet.

Burgess attended the race to get a feel for how the factory operated.

“I went to Sepang for the 12 Hour and spent some time with the team over there. I thought they probably should have won the the race.”

Drivers for the second Walkinshaw Porsche are expected to be announced soon.

The Bathurst 12 Hour is part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge series, won by Vanthoor in its inuagural year, which has grown to four rounds in 2017 with the inclusion of the Laguna Seca 8 Hour race in October.