- Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul and Luca Stolz in third place
- Three Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the top ten and valuable points for the IGTC standings
- One class win (Bronze) and two second places (Silver Cup, GT4) complete the success
Mercedes-AMG successfully kicked off the new season of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. In the traditional opening race, the prestigious Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hours, Jules Gounon (AND), Kenny Habul (AUS) and Luca Stolz (GER) in the #75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from SunEnergy1 Racing finished third overall. Lucas Auer (AUT), Maximilian Götz (GER) and Jayden Ojeda (AUS) in the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing car finished the race in fifth place. On the legendary Mount Panorama Circuit, the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach also celebrated a victory in the Bronze class by team Heart of Racing by SPS, a second place in the Silver Cup by team Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport and another second place in the GT4 classification by Team Nineteen.
The race weekend got off to a promising start: Lucas Auer set the fastest time of the top teams in the pole shootout at his Bathurst debut. From pole position early on Sunday morning – still in the dark – the 22nd edition of the Australian endurance classic got off to a thrilling start. All four Mercedes-AMG GT3s competing in the Pro category were initially able to establish themselves among the front runners.
However, there were setbacks as the race progressed: On lap 35, Scott Taylor Motorsport’s #222 retired after contact with the track barriers. Shortly after the middle of the race, Maxime Martin in the #888 Mercedes-AMG Team GMR had an accident and was forced to retire early from the fight for overall victory.
In the final phase, with six GT3 cars still on the lead lap, the refuelling and pit strategy ultimately became the decisive factor. Ten minutes before the end of the race, final driver Lucas Auer in the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was in second place with a chance of victory. However, he then had to pit again for refuelling and dropped back to fifth place. Jules Gounon in the #75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was one of the profiteers of this stop: The three-time Bathurst winner moved up to third place and held it until the chequered flag after 306 laps.
One victory and two second places in the class rankings
In the Bronze category, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #27 managed to take a commanding lead. At the finish, Ross Gunn (GBR), Ian James (GBR) and Zacharie Robichon (CAN) from the AMG Customer Racing team Heart of Racing by SPS had a total lead of 14 laps over their nearest rival. The trio also finished the 12-hour race in an excellent seventh place overall. The class victory was complemented by two further podium finishes: In the Silver Cup, the Australian quartet of James Koundouris, Theo Koundouris, David Russell and Luke Youlden took second place in the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport team. Second place in the GT4 category went to the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT4 from Team Nineteen, driven by Daniel Bilski (FIA), Adam Christodoulou (GBR) and Mark Griffith (AUS) (GT4).
>> Race result IGTC, Bathurst 12 Hour
Race Facts, Bathurst 12 Hour 2025
| Pole position for Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #77, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, time: 2:01.2760 minutes |
| Lucas Auer clinched the fifth pole position for Mercedes-AMG in the Bathurst 12 Hour. Previously, Maro Engel (2023, 2014), Raffaele Marciello (2019) and Lee Holdsworth (2013) achieved this. |
| The fastest lap of the participating Mercedes-AMG GT3s was set by the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #75, SunEnergy1 Racing, with a time of 2:02.5480 minutes on lap 133. |
| Jules Gounon stands on the Bathurst 12 Hour podium for the fifth time in a row. 2020, 2022, 2023 as winner, 2024 as runner-up and 2025 as third. No race was held in 2021. |
| The top six cars in the race completed 306 laps. The distance record of 323 laps from 2023 is still held by Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz. |
„Congratulations to BMW on their well-deserved overall victory here at Bathurst. In a race dominated by strategy, our performance teams were not quite able to convert the good starting position after qualifying into a victory. Nevertheless, we can go home satisfied with an overall podium and valuable points for the IGTC championship as well as the class win for Heart of Racing.“
Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing
„It was a really tough race today. We didn’t quite have the pace, so we decided to save fuel to save ourselves a pit stop at the end. It’s incredible, for me it’s the 5th podium finish in a row at Bathurst. And that in such a tough race on such a difficult track. Thanks to Kenny, Luca and the whole team and Mercedes-AMG. This series of victories and podium finishes is strong proof of how good the product is.“
Jules Gounon, SunEnergy1 Racing #75
„It wasn’t an easy weekend for us, at least at the beginning. We weren’t at the front in qualifying. The car was always a bit sketchy on the hill. But for the race we found a super good set-up again, a very good balance. But some of the other cars had more top speed and that was very difficult for us to defend. In the end, it was a strategic masterclass that put us on the podium.”
Lucas Stolz, SunEnergy1 Racing #75
„I feel amazing. First of all, I would like to thank Mercedes-AMG. I am also very grateful to Jules and Luca. They make all the difference. But also a big thank you to the team and the strategy. We didn’t have the speed, so we had to outsmart them. This is my fifth podium here at Bathurst. Unbelievable!”
Kenny Habul, SunEnergy1 Racing #75
„Qualifying was my personal highlight. We had a really fantastic car yesterday. Unfortunately, our strategy didn’t quite work out today and we ended up in P5. But there are still a lot of positive things to take away. Let’s hope we’re all here again next year.”
Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing #77
„We didn’t come here to finish P5. We had a clear goal, we had a good approach and the team did a great job. The car was much better than last year, Lucas did a fantastic job in qualifying. That shows how good the car was. In the race, we tried everything to put ourselves in a position where we could fight for the win, but it didn’t work out. I definitely want to come back and finally win this great race.”
Maximilian Götz, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing #77
„I am super excited. It was a nerve-wracking 12 hours full of tough battles. Last year there was quite a hiccup at the last restart and we lost the victory. To come back and win this year is justification for that. The AMG kept on ticking for 12 hours. We finished 1 lap behind the Pro cars, which is pretty good for our set-up.“
Ian James, Heart of Racing by SPS #27
„I’m really frustrated. It’s a real shame to finish a race like that. I can’t remember the last time I crashed a car. But things like this can happen in motorsport. We had a good car, the team did a lot of hard work. In the race we had some penalties, some issues, but we still fought for the win. I’m very sorry for the whole team. We will come back stronger next year!“
Maxime Martin, Mercedes-AMG Team GMR #888
