Twenty-three year-old German Christopher Mies will return to Mount Panorama next month in an attempt to win his third consecutive Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour crown.
With 2012 winning outfit Phoenix Racing scaling back to a single entry as part of Audi’s reduced involvement in the race this year, Mies has joined the two-car Melbourne Performance Centre squad to drive a recently imported Audi R8 Ultra alongside gentleman racers Mark Eddy, Marc Cini and Dean Grant.
As previously reported by Speedcafe.com, V8 Supercars stars Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff will partner car owner Rod Salmon in what shapes as MPC’s lead entry.
A co-winner of the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series, Mies took victory in last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour alongside fellow internationals Darryl O’Young and Christopher Jöns despite a mid-race spin that saw the trio’s R8 LMS needing to be towed out of the Murray’s Corner gravel trap.
O’Young remains hopeful of returning to Bathurst this year despite being yet to lock in a deal, while Jöns is also unconfirmed to return, but could form part of Phoenix’s yet-to-be-named line-up.
Few of the race’s 52 entries teams have confirmed their full driving crews, although the likes of Craig Baird and Matt Griffin (Clearwater Ferrari), Allan Simonsen, Mika Salo and John Bowe (Maranello Ferrari), David Russell and Peter Kox (JBS Lamborghini) and Steven Richards (Justin McMillan Lamborghini) are among the big names already locked in.
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The race received a boost this week when reigning World Endurance Championship winning squad, AF Corse, lodged a late entry. Although its driver line-up is yet to be confirmed, the team co-owned by NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip is expected to be a formidable force.
Further details of the AF Corse Ferrari 458 entry are expected within the coming days, with the race itself set to take place on February 10.
See below for the current entry list
| CLASS.. | ENTRANT | NATIONALITY | VEHICLE |
| A | Amac Motorsport | Australia | Mosler MT900GT3 |
| A | Trofeo Motorsport | Australia | Chevrolet Corvette Z06R GT3 |
| A | United Autosports | United Kingdom | Audi R8 LMS Ultra |
| A | Clearwater Racing | Singapore | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| A | Phoenix Racing | Germany | Audi R8 LMS Ultra |
| A | Lago Racing | Australia | Lamborghini LP 560-4 |
| A | Peter Conroy Motorsports | Australia | Audi R8 LMS |
| A | Rod Salmon | Australia | Audi R8 LMS |
| A | Maranello Motorsport | Australia | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| A | Engstler Motorsport | Germany | BMWZ4 |
| A | Dragonspeed | USA | Audi R8 LMS Ultra |
| A | Justin McMillan | Australia | Lamborghini LP 560-4 |
| A | Mark Eddy | Australia | Audi R8 LMS Ultra |
| A | VIP Petfoods | Australia | Porsche GT3-R |
| A | Erebus Racing | Australia | Mercedes Benz SLS AMG |
| A | Erebus Racing | Australia | Mercedes Benz SLS AMG |
| A | Dean Koutsoumidis | Australia | Audi R8 LMS |
| A | AF Corse | Italy | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| B | Competition Motorsports | USA | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Rentcorp | Australia | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Level Racing | Belgium | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Grove Motorsport | Australia | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Racing Incident | Australia | Lamborghini LP 520 |
| B | Motorsport Services | New Zealand | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Motorsport Services | New Zealand | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Motorsport Services | New Zealand | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Tinkler Motorsports | Australia | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| C | Simply Sports Cars | Australia | Lotus Exige |
| C | Tony Alford | Australia | Nissan GTR |
| C | Aston Martin St Gallen | Switzerland | Aston Martin Vantage GT4 |
| C | Rob Thomson | Switzerland | Lotus Exige |
| D | Maximum Motorsport | Australia | Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| D | GWS Motorsport | Australia | BMW 335i |
| D | Beric Lynton | Australia | BMW 1M |
| D | Sherrin Rentals | Australia | BMW 135i |
| D | Robinson Racing Developments | Australia | Ford FG-FPV GT |
| E | GWS Motorsport | Australia | BMW 130i |
| E | Racer Industries | Australia | Holden Astra HSV VXR |
| E | Allan Shephard | Australia | BMW 130i |
| I1 | Ric Shaw Racing | Australia | Mazda RX-7 |
| I1 | Michael Sherrin | Australia | Mini Cooper S |
| I1 | Peugeot RCZ France | France | Peugeot RCZ |
| I1 | Peugeot RCZ France | France | Peugeot RCZ |
| I1 | Motionsport | United Kingdom | Lotus Elise |
| I2 | Motorsport Services | New Zealand | SEAT Leon Super Copa |
| I2 | Motorsport Services | New Zealand | SEAT Leon Super Copa |
| I2 | Motorsport Services | New Zealand | SEAT Leon Super Copa |
| I2 | Creventic | The Netherlands | SEAT Leon Super Copa |
| I2 | Racer Industries | Australia | Opel Astra VX-R |
| I3 | Tony Burrows | New Zealand | Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| I3 | Mal Rose Racing | Australia | Holden VY Commodore |
