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Team WRT and BMW M Motorsport are heading back to Mount Panorama for the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour, and the target is clear: defend the crown. After stamping their authority with a 1–2 result last time out, the Belgian squad returns with a pair of BMW M4 GT3 EVOs to tackle the IGTC season opener on one of the calendar’s most punishing circuits.
BMW’s works roster is stacked across the two factory entries, blending proven pace with fresh momentum. The #32 car pairs reigning Bathurst winner Kelvin van der Linde with fellow South African Jordan Pepper for his first works outing with BMW M Motorsport, alongside Charles Weerts, a previous IGTC drivers’ champion. It’s a line-up built for long stints, sharp tyre management and late-race sprint speed when the fuel burns off, and the track comes to you.
In #46, Valentino Rossi returns for another crack at the Mountain, joined by Augusto Farfus—one of last year’s winners—and Raffaele Marciello. It’s a trio with serious mileage in GT machinery, and the combination should suit Bathurst’s constant rhythm changes: the climb through Skyline, the commitment over the top, then the high-speed run where aero balance and braking stability decide whether you attack or defend.
There’s more BMW presence on the grid, too, with China’s Team KRC running a BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the Bronze class. Works driver Max Hesse makes his Bathurst debut alongside Maxime Oosten and Ruan Cunfan, taking on a race where traffic reading is as vital as outright pace, and where a clean cockpit, calm radio calls and disciplined pit work can be worth more than a headline lap.
Van der Linde has already framed it as a proper title-defence challenge, while Pepper arrives keen to make an immediate mark in factory colours. Farfus is treating Bathurst as the ultimate test of precision and resilience, Rossi remains drawn to the circuit’s character, and Hesse is preparing the hard way—learning the lines and kerbs before the first real laps count. When the lights go out, it won’t be about bravado; it’ll be about turning downforce, torque delivery and strategy into twelve hours of relentless forward motion.
