> 11 GT3 manufacturers and new models also feature
> 40 cars – two more than 2019 – included on provisional entry list
> Provisional entry list
Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour organisers have confirmed that a record 34 GT3 cars are provisionally set to contest 2020’s Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli season opener on January 31 – February 2.
11 GT3 manufacturers – also a record – and several new models make up most of the 40-car field, which also comprises two GT4 and four Invitational Marc Cars entries.
The late-January deadline for full-season Intercontinental manufacturer entries means the total number of championship nominations won’t be known for some time. However, there’s no denying the quality on show at Mount Panorama, which hosts #IntGTC’s season opener for the fifth consecutive year.
Indeed, 21 cars – more than half of the total entry – feature fully professional driver line-ups.
Reigning Intercontinental champions, Porsche, will attempt to defend their Bathurst victory with three Pro entries, including one for 2019 winners Earl Bamber Motorsport. The latest-specification 911 GT3 R also makes its Mount Panorama debut.
Mercedes-AMG and Audi can also call on three professional line-ups, while Bentley, BMW, and Nissan each have two apiece.
There will be much interest in two more debutants: Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage and McLaren’s 720S, both of which feature at least one professional crew. AMR’s previous V12 variant finished second last season while McLaren’s 650S won overall in 2016.
There are three additional Pro cars courtesy of Lamborghini, Honda and Ferrari, as well as 13 more entries split between the Pro/Am (seven cars) and Silver classes.
Bathurst 12 Hour manager Kurt Sakzewski said: “This is a field as competitive and deep as any GT race in the world and represents the truly global nature of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. As we saw in 2019, we think this field represents a great balance between having a strong field and depth to have a clean and highly competitive race.
“Teams from Asia, Europe, North America and of course Australia will participate and will represent 11 different GT3 manufacturers for the first time in the history of the event. The addition of the Honda NSX, in particular, has attracted enormous attention while the addition of the latest-generation cars we’ve yet to see at Bathurst will make for a very different looking grid this year.
“We are still fielding enquiries from teams putting programmes together so there is every chance that this list will grow further prior to the event.”
Australia’s international enduro comprises one-fifth of this year’s Intercontinental calendar. The world’s only global GT3 championship also visits the Total 24 Hours of Spa (Europe), Suzuka 10 Hours (Asia), new-for-2020 Indianapolis 8 Hour (North America) and Kyalami 9 Hour (Africa) during a blockbuster campaign that features five major endurance races on as many continents.