Anglo-American team United Autosports has withdrawn its two previously announced McLaren MP4-12C entries from the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hour.
The team will instead return to Mount Panorama with an Audi R8 Ultra, which replaces the LMS specification Audi that the team campaigned at Bathurst this year.
The news follows United Autosport’s decision to park its troublesome McLarens from the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series in order to prepare for a full assault on next year’s British GT Championship.
“To be ready for the start of the 2013 season, the cars (McLarens) will be needed for a full program of testing and development, something that cannot be achieved whilst the cars are in transit on the high seas,” a United Autosports spokesman said in a statement.
“United Autosports are very pleased to announce that they will be bringing their brand new Audi R8 Ultra car to race in Bathurst. This is a considerable upgrade to the Audi R8 LMS car that the team raced in the 2012 race, with body work, chassis and aerodynamic enhancements that gives the car greater speed and stability for the challenging Bathurst circuit.”
The United car is one of five Audis to appear on the latest entry list circulated by Bathurst 12 Hour organisers today. A single entry from fellow international squad Phoenix Racing will also be joined by the local Melbourne Performance Centre-run cars owned by Peter Conroy, Rod Salmon and Mark Eddy.
Other changes to the Class A line-up from the previous list released in July include the addition of American squad CJ Racing (Porsche GT3 Cup Car) and Australian GT Championship runners Lago Racing (Lamborghini Gallardo) and Trofeo Motorsport (Corvette Z06).
Maranello Motorsport’s Ferrari meanwhile is no longer entered, leaving the Malaysian Clearwater 458 as the only representative of the Italian marque.
Entries for the February race remain open until December.
See below for the latest list released by race organisers today
| Class | Entrant |
Vehicle |
| A | Amac Motorsport | Mosler MT900GT3 |
| A | Trofeo Motorsport | Chevrolet Corvette Z06R GT3 |
| A | United Autosports (UK) | Audi R8LMS Ultra |
| A | Clearwater Racing (SGP) | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| A | Phoenix Racing (GER) | Audi R8 LMS Ultra |
| A | Lago Racing |
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 |
| A | Craft Eurasia Racing (HKG) | Ford GT |
| A | Peter Conroy Motorsport | Audi R8LMS |
| A | CJ Racing (USA) | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (MY10-12) |
| A | Rod Salmon |
Audi R8LMS |
| B | Big Pineapple Music Festival | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Rentcorp |
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Level Racing (BEL) | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Grove Motorsport | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Mark Eddy |
Audi R8 |
| B | Racing Indicent | Lamborghini Gallardo LP 520 |
| B | Motorsport Services (NZL) | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| B | Motorsport Services (NZL) | Porsche 996 GT3 Cup |
| C | Simply Sports Cars | Lotus Exige S |
| C | Tony Alford |
Nissan GTR |
| C | Darren Berry | Ginetta GT50 GT4 |
| D | Bryce Lynton BMW | BMW 1M |
| D | Grant Sherrin | BMW 135i |
| D | Maximum Motorsport | Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| D | GWS Motorsport | BMW 335i |
| D | Motorsport Services (NZL) | BMW 135i |
| E | GWS Motorsport | BMW 130i |
| E | Racer Industries | HSV Astra VXR |
| I1 | Rick Shaw Racing | Mazda RX-7 |
| I1 | Michael Sherrin | Mini Cooper S |
| I1 | Massel Racing | Mazda RX-7 |
| I2 | Motorsport Services | SEAT Leon Super Copa |
| I2 | Motorsport Services | SEAT Leon Super Copa |
| I2 | Racer Industries | Opel Astra VXR |
| I2 | Sam Chester | Mazda RX-7 Turbo |
| I3 | Mal Rose Racing | Holden VY Commodore |
| I3 | Rick Cooper | Ford Mustang FR500CGT |
| I3 | Daytona Sportscars | Daytona Coupe |
| I3 | Ivan Robinson | Nissan Skyline V35 350GT |
| I3 | Michael Benton | Ford FPV GT |
