THE Bathurst 12 Hour already lures some of the world's best endurance racing drivers and teams to Mount Panorama each year, but come next year the event will evolve further.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A revised set of event sporting and technical regulations have been released for the January 31 to February 2 event in a move designed to further boost the on-track component.
"We have been working closely with CAMS and our partners at SRO to evolve the regulations to a point where that are now very similar to the other major events on the Intercontinental GT Challenge, offering consistency to the teams, drivers and manufacturers involved across the full championship," event manager Kurt Sakzewski said.
"The changes have already been tried and tested in major races and proven to be successful so it makes sense for us to adopt something that already works.
"We are excited to add the Super Trofeo cars to the mix in 2020. It opens the potential for even more international participation and we have been in discussion with Lamborghini for some time now - they are excited about the potential for their competitors to become involved.
"The Huracan Evo is a very cool car that perfectly fits the 12-Hour grid - it sounds and looks the part.
READ MORE: Supercars launches the 2019 Bathurst 1000
"There is already a lot of excitement among ICGT teams about the 2020 event and we're very confident that it will be bigger and better than ever."
The vehicle eligibility list has been updated to include GT3 machinery homologated for the 2019 racing season, meaning all current GT3 brands are eligible for the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour.
The event will retain a four-class structure, with Class A for GT3 vehicles to be split between three divisions.
- Are you a Western Advocate subscriber? Then why not CLICK HERE and join our new Central West Sports Subscribers Facebook group?
However, 2020 will mark the introduction of the Class A Silver Cup for the first time for amateur-classified drivers, while Class B will be for designated Lamborghini Super Trofeo machinery.
To further bring the race into line with European rules, maximum stint length for any driver to be limited to 65 minutes. No driver will be allowed to compete more than two consecutive stints before commencing a one-hour rest period.
Pit stops will include a mandatory minimum time, measured from pit entry to pit exit. Two 'joker' stops - one in the first six hours and one in the second - will be permitted with no minimum time limit to allow for strategies to remain flexible throughout the race.
Finally, a four-minute 'technical' pit stop will also be mandatory, to be completed prior to the conclusion of the 11th hour of the race.
This will allow for brake pad changes or more extensive work to be completed in a measured fashion.