For Europeans, the Nürburgring Nordschleife is the ultimate benchmark. For the Australians, the Bathurst circuit and its legendary 12-hour race take on this role. And Mount Panorama doesn’t have to shy away from comparison with the dramatic highs and lows of Germany’s Green Hell. Quite the opposite.
The Bathurst race track is one of the most famous race tracks in the world. Similar to the Sarthe high-speed line in Le Mans and previously the Nürburgring, the Mount Panorama Circuit, which opened in 1938, is a public road most of the year. It is also the only true landmark of the city of Bathurst, home to about 35,000 people in the Australian state of New South Wales. The special thing about this route is the extreme differences in altitude. With more than 170 meters of altitude and gradients of up to 16 percent, it is already spectacular in a normal road car and a real thrill in a racing machine.
The start of the Intercontinental GT Challenge has long had a permanent place in the international touring car calendar. In Australia it probably enjoys even greater recognition than the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which begins the season in just two weeks. “The 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour was a truly unforgettable event with a record number of visitors coming to experience the magic of Mount Panorama,” said event director Shane Rudzis. “We are incredibly proud of how fans, teams and partners support this race with so much passion and enthusiasm. This year’s attendance reflects the growing global importance of the 12 Hours and the commitment of everyone involved in making this event possible.”
35 teams with their up to 600 hp GT vehicles from ten different manufacturers are just part of the spectacle. The driver line-up is just as impressive year after year. Anyone with serious ambitions in GT racing makes the long journey down under, traveling from Asia, Europe or the United States to the east coast of Australia to claim one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies.
This year there was something like a German festival again. After Porsche won in 2024 and BMW achieved a one-two in 2025, Mercedes took victory in 2026. At the checkered flag, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with starting number 888 driven by Engel, Martin and Grenier crossed the finish line after 262 laps, just one second ahead of the Porsche 911 GT3 driven by Li, Fjordbach and Boccolacci. The best-placed BMW M4 GT3, driven by Rossi, Farfus and Marciello, was a further seven seconds behind.
How dangerous the track in the Australian outback still is was shown not only by the numerous safety car phases and a red flag around three hours before the finish after a serious accident in the mountain section. There was also a moment of pure Bathurst madness at the start when German driver Christopher Mies hit a kangaroo that had jumped onto the racing line at around 250 km/h in the twilight of the night. The impact destroyed the animal and also caused damage to other cars.
Mount Panorama is considered one of the most dangerous and spectacular race tracks in the world. The constant climbs and descents, two long straights up and down the mountain and the narrow, winding passage at over 800 meters above sea level give it a very unique character. Kangaroos, wallabies and even snakes always find their way onto the race track. Sections like Griffins Bend, The Cutting, Frog Hollow and The Dipper can be recited like a prayer by almost every Australian boy.
Safety regulations are still difficult to compare with those of European racing circuits. With few fences to speak of and few run-off areas, parts of Bathurst feel little different to 1966, when Mini claimed one of the most legendary victories in Australian motorsport history. The first nine places in the Gallagher 500 were taken by Morris Cooper S models. The winners were rally icon Rauno Aaltonen and his co-driver Bob Holden. Their little Minis defeated much larger and more powerful touring cars with remarkable ease, while a Chrysler Valiant V8 only finished tenth.
Today the race is dominated by significantly more powerful GT3 machines such as the BMW M4, Porsche 911, Corvette Z06, Audi R8 LMS, Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin Vantage and Ford Mustang. Nevertheless, the uniqueness of the route has remained untouched. Every year, the Bathurst 12 Hour race remains one of the major highlights of the motorsport calendar, starting at 5:45 a.m. in the pitch-black early hours of the morning.
It is no surprise that the 2026 edition attracted a new record viewership of more than 55,000 viewers. And if you want to be taken seriously in the GT world, you have to compete here at least once and ideally be on the podium.
