Bathurst 12 Hours – Martin / Engel / Grenier take the victory

There's no doubt that the Bathurst circuit remains true to its legendary status. The 2026 edition certainly lived up to its reputation. The race was marked by numerous spectacular incidents that will be remembered for this 19th edition! It all began after just 20 minutes of racing when Christopher Mies's No. 64 Ford Mustang came to a stop in the night, on the Conrod Straight. It took several minutes to understand what had happened: Mies had hit a kangaroo, one of the very real risks of this event. The image was spectacular, and the German driver will undoubtedly remember it vividly for years to come.

Numerous leadership changes

The battle was intense at every moment. For an endurance race, the pace remained absolutely insane throughout the 12 hours. Mercedes Benz No. 222 (Waters, Mostert, Randle), BMW No. 46 (RossiFarfus, Marciello), the No. 77 Mercedes (Goetz, Aron, Auer), and the Corvette (Bamber, Sims, Catsburg) shared the lead on numerous occasions. Many prestigious drivers made the trip for this edition of the Bathurst 12 Hour, but they all experienced varying degrees of success. One example is the No. 2 Corvette of Sims, Catsburg, and Bamber, forced to retire less than two hours from the finish after having led the race for much of the race.

The Mercedes of Supercars champion Chaz Mostert also experienced a dramatic race. After Thomas Randle went off the track earlier in the event, the No. 222 restarted late and subsequently battled within the top 15. However, a final collision, with Mostert at the wheel, definitively ended the Supercars stars' hopes. The car ultimately finished in 24th place.

The most spectacular moment of the race occurs approximately four hours before the checkered flag. Porsche Car number 79, driven by Zelber, Babini, and Fontana, blocked a large section of the track at the Forest Elbow corner. The Mercedes number 77, driven by Ralf Aron, was unable to avoid a violent collision. Race control had to red-flagged the race for nearly an hour to clear the wreckage and clean the track.

The cause behind red flag conditions in Bathurst.#B12Hr pic.twitter.com/JYs7dSUNAM

— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 15, 2026

A totally crazy finish!

The final sprint was intense after yet another safety car period, following contact between the No. 6 Mercedes and the No. 222. With Gounon having made his final pit stop, the No. 32 WRT BMW, driven by van der Linde, took the lead by staying out on track. At the restart, the No. 75 Mercedes couldn't avoid contact with the leader's M4. Both cars ran slightly wide at Turn 1, and Maxime Martin's No. 888 Mercedes dived to the inside to seize the lead, taking the opportunistic Dorian Boccolacci with it! Gounon then dropped back to 4th position. His AMG GT, damaged in the incident, gradually slipped down the overall standings. The Franco-Andorran driver ultimately crossed the finish line in a disappointing 7th place, when victory seemed within his grasp.

Max Martin made no further mistakes and crossed the finish line less than two seconds ahead of the Porsche of Boccolacci, Anders Fjordbach, and Kerong Li, as well as the No. 46 BMW of Valentino Rossi, Augusto Farfus, and Raffaele Marciello. This was the second podium finish in four appearances at Mount Panorama for the former star of the MotoGP.

Driving the No. 888, Maro Engel displayed heroic skill after narrowly avoiding a horrific crash with the No. 77 Mercedes. He secured his first victory at Bathurst on his 10th attempt. Maxime Martin, the final driver, was competing in his 5th Bathurst Rally, while Mikael Grenier was racing in Australia for the first time. Dorian Boccolacci also delivered an outstanding performance, once again winning the Bronze category. WRT secured another podium finish in Australia with the fantastic trio of Farfus, Rossi, and Marciello. Also noteworthy was the impressive 4th place finish for 2024 Supercars Champion Will Brown, partnered with Christopher Haase and Brad. Schumacher at the wheel of the old Audi R8LMS No. 183.

The next round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge is scheduled to take place at the Nürburgring from May 14th to 17th.

12 hours from Bathurst
The results of the race