Third-generation driver Cameron McLeod is locked-in for a drive in the 2023 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour on February 3-5.
McLeod will steer a Ford Mustang-inspired MARC II V8 alongside Keith Kassulke and Hadrian Morall in the Invitational Class at the Mount Panorama endurance event, which doubles as the opening round of the 2023 Intercontinental GT Challenge.
The 18-year-old, who is the grandson of 1987 Bathurst 1000 winner Peter and son of Racer Industries spearhead Ryan, is looking forward to making his 12-hour debut at Mount Panorama.
“I’m looking forward to it, I’ve been getting ready for it for a long time,” McLeod told Speedcafe.com.
“I’ve known Keith for a bit, he is a great guy to be around and he’s helped me out in racing, so I’m very excited to be doing it with him as well as Hadrian, hopefully we’ll all do a great job.
“It’s going to be another great experience to work with the team, to drive that MARC car in the 12 hour against all the other really high-end drivers.”
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The Bathurst outing follows a drive in the 2023 Dubai 24 Hour earlier this month, where McLeod and Kassulke steered a BMW M4 GT4 to a second-place finish in the GT4 class.
During that event at the Dubai Autodrome, where Australian squad Grove Racing finished fourth, McLeod built on his endurance racing experience with two-night stints.
“The Dubai 24 Hour was an enduro shakedown for me to see how I would go in endurance races and I think I performed really well there,” he reflected.
“I didn’t get too much time in the car, I got two stints in over the time of the night, they were about a hour and a half each.
“It was a really solid run those two stints, the second one was even better and it was such a joyful experience as well.”
The Bathurst 12 Hour will mark McLeod’s fourth start at Mount Panorama, following two starts in the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, as well as the 2022 Challenge Bathurst.
“This will be my first 12 hour and following this I would have completed all the endurance type of races; I’ve done a three-hour, six-hour and 24-hour so far,” he explained.
“I think it’ll probably be a little bit harder just because of the car and the track and the amount of seat time we’re going to get.”
While still finalising the finer details of his 2023 programme, it is understood that McLeod is set to drive a Nissan Altima in the Dunlop Super3 Series.
He believes his time in last year’s Australian Formula Ford Series, where he finished third and picked up a round victory at Morgan Park Raceway, will serve him well this year.
“It probably has the best racing of any junior category,” McLeod said.
“You learn a lot about driving, being smooth behind the wheel, as well as car set-up and what you’re going to expect from the car when there’s a set up change.
“Formula Ford teaches you a lot about that as well.”
The 2023 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour features a 28-car entry list.
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