BATHURST 12 Hour winners Maranello Motorsport have declared their intentions to defend their remarkable 2017 victory by returning to the race next February.
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Entries for Australia’s International Enduro officially opened last week and the Ferrari team has been vocal about their desire to achieve a rare Bathurst back-to-back.
To be held between February 2-4 next year, the Bathurst 12 Hour is again expected to attract a world-class field of both cars and drivers from both Australia and overseas to Mount Panorama.
Maranello Motorsport secured their second 12 Hour victory - and the second win for Ferrari in the race - earlier this year with drivers Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Toni Vilander.
The victory came after a thrilling final-hour battle with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Shane van Gisbergen, Maro Engel and Craig Baird.
Team owner Mark Coffey said the team was working hard to ensure they were back next February.
“We have supported the Bathurst 12 Hour every year since it became a GT race and we’re already working on our plans to come back next year,” Coffey said.
“Things didn’t go to plan when we tried to defend our 2014 win, so we want to come back next year and see if we can go back-to-back, which has only been achieved once before in the GT era.
“The Bathurst 12 hour has become a ‘must win’ race on the GT schedule and we’re proud to represent Ferrari every year. It is our intention to do so again in 2018.”
The outright GT3 class will again be split into divisions, with the Pro, Pro/Am and Am categories to return.
