The 2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race in February will see three McLaren GT teams take to the grid with a bunch of Aussie racers in the mix.
MCLAREN GT has announced that it will field three teams in next year’s 2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race at Mt Panorama: McLaren GT; Tekno Autosport (running as a GT entry for the first time) and Objective Racing. The three teams will each run McLaren 650S GT3s. This will mark the debut for that car at Mt Panorama.
McLaren GT factory drivers for the 12-hour race are Shane Van Gisbergen, Rob Bell, Alvaro Parente and Young Driver Andrew Watson. New Zealand-born, Van Gisbergen, has previously contested the race with McLaren in one of the most memorable finishes in the history of the 12-hour race. “Van Gisbergen stormed to a hard-fought fourth place in 2014 when he contested the 12 hours alongside father-and-son Tony and Klark Quinn and McLaren GT Managing Director Andrew Kirkaldy”.
Tekno Autosport will use factory drivers Alvaro Parente and Shane Van Gisbergen joined by team owner Jonathan Webb. “After a strong debut season in the Young Driver Programme, Andrew Watson will share the second Tekno Autosport 650S GT3 with Factory Driver Rob Bell and V8 Supercar race winner Will Davison. The third car on the grid will be run by customer team Objective Racing, which campaigned the Australian GT series with the 650S GT3 throughout this season. Objective Racing will line up with an all-Australian quartet of Tony Walls, Matt Campbell, Warren Luff and Tim Slade,” McLaren GT said.
Andrew Kirkaldy, Managing Director, McLaren GT said “The Bathurst 12 Hour is one of the most fantastic races on the motorsport calendar, both for spectators and for drivers. It is great to partner with Tekno Autosport; a new team on the GT grid, and having such a strong line-up of drivers in the cars, including the very talented silver-rated drivers like Andrew [Watson], underlines how seriously they are approaching the challenge.
“Having being part of the 2014 line-up, I can vouch for how tough this endurance race is, but it is definitely one of the most exhilarating. The 650S GT3 has enjoyed a strong debut season across the globe, including in Australia, and I am really pleased to see Tekno Autosport and Objective Racing on the grid, and they will be hopefully both be pushing for the podium positions.”
