Mercedes squad confirmed for Bathurst 12 Hour

An entry from Harrolds Volante Rosso Motorsport has been confirmed for the 2023 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

A Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing outfit, the team made its debut this year in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS.

Ross Poulakis shared driving duties last time out at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International with Jordan Love, when they finished third outright in the three-hour Motorsport Australia Endurance Championship encounter.

Thus far, Poulakis has been locked in for a second start at Mount Panorama, next February in the #101 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“Before November, competing at Mount Panorama was a dream and to leave there with a trophy and having stood on the Bathurst podium was incredible,” said Poulakis, who is a Managing Director of the high-end Harrolds menswear business.

“Confirming our entry into the Bathurst 12 Hour is the next step for Harrolds Racing as we continue to dive headfirst into the world of GT Racing.

“The 12 Hour is one of the most prestigious and competitive races on the planet and to even talk about going there is exciting.

“The three-hour race was a great opportunity to get the experience we needed to feel confident to take the next big step and enter the 12 Hour next year.”

Volante Rosso Motorsport’s Josh Hunt added, “We’re excited to be working with Ross and the Harrolds crew to take the next step forward and tackle the Bathurst 12 Hour.

“As a team, we have lots of experience in long-distance racing and we know we will put our best foot forward with a very competitive team.

“The pieces of the puzzle we have assembled have all come together well and we’re very pleased with the team we have.

“The race will be competitive from others we know are running, but we want to be in a position to win our class and we think we have the ingredients in place.”

Harrolds Volante Rosso is fielding two cars in this weekend’s GT World Challenge finale at the Valo Adelaide 500, with Poulakis himself in the Am class and Christos Batzios/Sam Brabham in another Mercedes-AMG in GT4.

The remainder of its Bathurst 12 Hour driving crew will be announced following that South Australian event.

Its entry is the second announced for the once-around-the-clock Mount Panorama enduro, following news that German-Australian partnership Manthey EMA will field a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The event takes place on February 3-5.