Scott Dixon with R-Motorsport at the Bathurst 12 Hours

The painting will clearly look great. Scott Dixon, five-time champion IndyCar and Indy 500 winner in 2008, will line up under the banner R-Motorsport at the Bathurst 12 Hours (January 31 – February 2) 2020, for the opening of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, alongside Jake Dennis and Rick Kelly.

The car will also sport the colors of Castrol, long-time support of Rick Kelly, double winner of the Bathurst 1000 in 2002 and 2003 during the K-Mart Racing era and 2006 Supercars champion.

If Dixon has solid experience in endurance (3rd in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2016 in GTE with Ford Chip Ganassi, overall victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona 2006 with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, then in GT in 2015 and 2018 with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing), this will be the first time that the New Zealander has will slide into the seat of a GT3.

It will also be a first for Chip Ganassi's iconic driver at Bathurst's Mount Panorama. “What I like most about the circuit is the significant commitment you have to make, especially towards the top, the high-speed passages, then the descent until the last corner, Dixon explains.

It's a bit like a street circuit with concrete walls and very confined places. You need a really good rhythm. I've done GT racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other endurance events, but never in GT3.

I love doing long distance races. This rounds out the IndyCar series quite well. I have known Rick Kelly since my years in Australia (Dixon drove for Kelly Racing in 2010 in Supercars). Rick is a great guy.

I haven't had the chance to meet Jake Dennis yet, but I can't wait. I heard it's super fast and very good. My expectations for the 12 hours? With the caliber of the team and the drivers that I am joining, we have to tell ourselves that we will succeed.

I know it's always difficult with the Balance of Performance and the way each car is ranked. I just hope I can get up to speed fairly quickly and be a good addition to what is going to be a very strong team. »

Jake Dennis, for his part, will try to win an event where he came close to triumphing in 2019, already with theAston Martin Vantage, version V12 GT3, de R-Motorsport. Epaulé par Marvin Kirchhöfer et Mathieu Vaxivière, le Britannique avait cédé en toute fin de course face à la Porsche 911 GT3 R n°912 – Earl Bamber Motorsport de Matt Campbell – Dennis Olsen – Dirk Werner.

“The podium was good but I was super disappointed to lose the victory with 10 minutes to go, recalls Dennis, lined up in 2019 in GT World Challenge Endurance Cup with R-Motorsport.

But if someone had told us at the start of the weekend that we would finish second with three rooikes, I would have signed without hesitation. Having two experienced guys with me in the car is amazing. I can't wait to start working with them and learning from them. »

The car had been seen in recent hours testing in Portugal, somewhat spilling the beans on the trio's entry for the Australian 12 Hours. R-Motorsport is expected to enter another car on the Mount Panorama clock lap.