Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia has committed to fielding “at least six” 2022-specification R8 LMS GT3s in this year’s Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.
The Melbourne-based squad will once again directly represent the German marque in what will be Round 1 of this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, and is promising a fitting driver line-up for the Mount Panorama event.
Details are yet to be confirmed, although it is said that the roster will include factory talent and some carryover from when the official Audi customer team dominated Round 1 of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS at Phillip Island earlier this month.
There, it scored five of a possible six podiums across the two, hour-long races, with factory driver Christopher Mies and hotshot gentleman racer Yasser Shahin edging Chaz Mostert/Liam Talbot and David Reynolds/Tony Bates for round honours.
Team boss Troy Russell explained, “We’re in the process of pinning down who is in what car and what the pro driver component will look like in the Pro-Am combinations we are running this year.
“We will be representing Audi in the Intercontinental GT Challenge so there is that element to consider along with it being the opening round of the local [Motorsport Australia] Endurance Championship too.
“Then there’s our customers and the team in general so there’s lots of moving pieces to piece together, but we have the makings of a really strong squad.
“There will be at least six cars run by us there but possibly more depending on how things shape up between now and May, but it’s going to be a pretty exciting line-up.”
Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia has fielded cars in the Bathurst 12 Hour piloted by the likes of Mies, Kelvin van der Linde, and Dries Vanthoor.
One challenge this year with respect to drivers is the clash with GT World Challenge Europe’s Magny-Cours round, although that is a Sprint Cup affair rather than Endurance Cup.
Audi boasts three wins in the once-around-the-clock Australian enduro, the most recent being Team WRT’s in 2018, but its local outfit is yet to taste such success.
“It’s a challenging race and one that hasn’t gone our way for the last couple of years, but we know we have the ability and the people to do the job,” said Russell.
“The R8 has always been a really solid car at Bathurst; it’s fast across the top but tends to perform everywhere, so we know it’s up to the job. Every year we go there, we are in the mix.
“Winning a 12 Hour race is a huge challenge, no matter the circumstances or the grid you are racing.
“It’s always competitive and always a challenge and we can’t wait to tackle it again this year.”
In recent times, amid talk of a skinny entry list, the Invitational class has been broadened to allow for older Supercars which are currently eligible to run in the Super3 Series.
The Audi announcement is therefore arguably a boost for the event, which has already moved twice on the calendar in what will be its return after a year off due to COVID-related border restrictions.
The 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour takes place on May 13-15.
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